“Hmmm.” Jenny patted my back. “Well, it’s like pulling off a bandage. Do it fast, and get it over with. And then . . . we’ll see what comes next for you. Maybe someone else, or maybe, like you told me before, just you and your land and your tomatoes.” She picked up the taco dip. “But for now, we should probably get back out there, or they might think we’re telling secrets in here.”
“Aren’t we?” I quirked an eyebrow.
“Of course, we are. But they don’t have to know that.” Jenny winked at me. “C’mon. Last one out there has to give Cindy a summary of the book.”
I groaned. “I’m gonna need more tequila.”
5
Deacon
“Emma? Do you have a minute?” I stuck my head into our naturopath’s small office. She was sitting at her desk, frowning at her desktop computer.
“Ummm . . .” She blinked at me as though disoriented. “Deacon. Did you need something?”
I smiled. “Sorry. You look like you’re in the middle of a project. I’ll come back.”
“No!” She almost cried out the word, and I paused, stepping into the room. “I mean, you don’t have to go. I was just reading reports of a new study on metastatic breast cancer and the use of phytochemicals.”
“Ah.” I nodded. “Mrs. Dulinkski?”
“Yeah.” Emma pushed back from her desk and let out a long sigh. “I don’t know why I bother, because when she sees me coming, she gets this look on her face . . . like I’m going to wrestle her to the ground and make her meditate or something. The first thing she always says to me is that she doesn’t hold with all that spiritual crap.” She rolled her eyes. “I could help her, Deacon. I really could. At the very least, I could offer her some complementary methods to help her treatment be less uncomfortable. But she won’t even listen.”
I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, careful not to knock down Emma’s diploma where it hung. “Send me that report, will you? I might be able to talk to her and get her to at least give you a chance to lay out some options.”
“Sure.” She clicked a few buttons. “Okay—done.” Turning in her chair, she stretched her back. “Now what did you need before I went off on my pity party?”
Chuckling, I straightened up again. “I wanted you to come over and see the space we’ve prepared for the music therapy room. The contractor has some questions, and I think you’re the one to give him the answers.”
“Oh!” She jumped to her feet. “That’s exactly what I need to do today. I’ve been feeling mopey and defeated, and this will be the perfect way to knock me out of my funk.”
As we walked down the hall, I cast a sideways glance at Emma. “Any particular reason you’re feeling—uh, mopey? Funky?”
She lifted her shoulders. “Not really. All of our patients are doing okay, as far as I can tell. Mrs. Dulinkski is the only problem child at the moment.”
Elaine Dulinkski’s pneumonia had resolved relatively quickly, but while she was recovering, we’d discovered another lump in her breast and found cancer cells in her lymph nodes. She was undergoing another round of chemo, but she wasn’t responding as well as I’d hoped. Maybe I was starting to think like Emma too much, but I had to wonder if the woman’s stubborn refusal to entertain any hope or optimism had something to do with her decline.
“Okay, if it isn’t the patients . . . is everything all right at the cabin?”
“Yep.” Emma smiled, and the peace that her home gave her fairly glowed in her face. “We’re planting and planning. Jimmy and Anna were over for dinner last night, and we know where I’m going to dig in my next plots. Of all the decisions I’ve made since moving to Florida, that was the best one.”
I refrained from making a snarky comment about other choices she’d made—to date me, for one, or to embark on a relationship with Noah. It didn’t seem to be the right time to tease her about that.
“Are you upset about Jenny moving?” My favorite nurse practitioner had informed Mira and me of her impending move north a few days ago. I wasn’t surprised—I’d had a hunch that Nico wouldn’t be content to stay at his current job forever—but I was saddened that we were losing a valuable member of our team. Jenny had been with us since before we’d opened, and I liked her as both a person and as a colleague. But she and Emma had been fast friends, and I couldn’t imagine that Emma was thrilled to see her go.
“I’m going to miss her,” Emma conceded. “Jenny is the best friend I’ve ever had. That’s probably part of my doldrums.” She gave her head a little shake. “I’m okay, though.” She pointed to a doorway that was covered with thick plastic sheeting. “Is this the room?”
“It is.” I lifted the plastic to allow her to walk in. “If you remember, this used to be a supply closet and overrun space, not only for us but for the rest of the hospital. Now it’s strictly an oncology wing room, though I’ve promised a couple of the other departments that we’d share our music therapy room—if they give us advanced notice.”
“I think that’s wonderful. We should absolutely share it with anyone—Angela would want that.” Emma’s smile was wistful as she turned in a slow circle. “So . . . they’re going to put in the soundproofing, right? And the wireless system for music, and computers for subscription services?”
“All of that is on the plan.” I stepped aside as a tall man in faded jeans and a worn T-shirt joined us. “Emma, this is Fred Johnson. He’s the contractor handling this project. He had some questions for you. Fred, this is Dr. Carson.”
The older man extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Carson. This is a great idea y’all have going here. I just wanted to ask you . . .”
As the two of them wandered the room, Fred pointing to walls and corners and making notes about Emma’s responses, I simply stood back and watched. I didn’t often get the opportunity to observe her like this; when we were working together, staring at her would cause talk and make her uncomfortable. But now, no one was around but me, and I could gaze to my heart’s content.
Her rich auburn hair was up in a ponytail, swinging as she moved. Her eyes were animated, bright with excitement, and her mouth was tipped up in a perpetual smile. She was wearing a short, sleeveless dress today, which showed off her long, strong legs and her toned arms.
