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Cami nodded. “I understand. How much do you charge?”
“That’s another thing—I don’t charge. I don’t have a practice or a medical license to practice. I don’t treat patients. What I can do is give you some ideas about where you can go and who you can see to possibly get treatment. And this discussion I give freely. But in doing so, I might also suggest that you see a naturopath, an osteopath, an acupuncturist, a physician who’s a specialist or some other professional if I suspect your condition warrants it.”
“I’ve been dealing with this for almost two years now. I can’t do this anymore, one medication after another, so many side effects. Now the doctor is giving me more medicine to treat the side effects. Nothing is working.”
“I understand. And if, after hearing my history and qualifications and lack thereof, you’re still comfortable talking to me about this, we’ll see what we can do.”
“I am. I promise, I am. I have a husband and two little kids and I can’t…” She choked on a sob. “I want to be able to take care of them and right now I can’t.”
CHAPTER TEN
ALLY OPENED THE door to her date on Saturday afternoon and paused to absorb two facts: she’d never been so conscious of the beat of her own heart, and she’d never seen a man look better in a pair of gently worn jeans.
“Hey.” Tag greeted her with a lazy smile and not a hint of the nervousness plaguing her.
“Hi, come in,” she said, waving him inside. A few strides and he was standing in the middle of her living room. A dark green knit shirt showed beneath his brown leather jacket, and she was fascinated by the way the combination matched the color of his eyes.
She realized she was staring only when he asked, “Is something wrong? Am I too early? I know I’m not late.”
“Um, no. I was just admiring your…you, to be honest. Your eyes change colors, sometimes green, sometimes brown. You’re so…”
Right before her, his eyes darkened, and he made a sound, part chuckle, part incomprehensible mutter while grasping the back of his neck in that way he did when he was uncomfortable. He took a step toward her. Her heart jumped toward him. She wondered if he was going to kiss her. That would be a nice change, since she’d been the one making all the moves up to this point. Which was funny, now that she thought about it, because she’d never kissed anyone first. Ever. Until him.
Her breath stalled while his gaze skimmed her neck and then lingered for a bit on her mouth.
“I’m sure ‘so’ must be a good thing,” he said, his voice a ragged whisper. A warm shiver skittered across her skin.
“Pretty good,” she managed.
“Grab a jacket.” She felt his voice like a warm breeze. “We need to get out of here.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised myself I would keep my hands, and my mouth, off you until we get to know each other better. And that’s not going to happen if you keep talking and…looking at me like that.”
“Okay…” she wheezed, because her heart seemed to have expanded to fill all the space in her chest, leaving no room for much-needed oxygen. She wanted to know him, too. So much.
Flynn’s words flashed through her mind. Maybe he was right that dating was like an interview. She’d just never realized it, because she’d never thought of anyone in those terms before or wanted them to think of her like that. She’d never wanted the interview, so to speak. She did now. Ally turned around and picked up her bag and the jacket she’d placed on top of it earlier and wondered how she was going to manage slow and casual.
After they were settled in his pickup, he pulled it onto the road and asked, “Do you mind if we make a quick stop on the way out of town?”
“Nope. I’ll trust that we’re not going to be late for…whatever. I don’t even know where we’re going, remember?”
“Ah, that.” He glanced her way, a proud-of-himself smile on his face. “I was thinking maybe dinner and a movie?”
Joy swamped her so thoroughly she couldn’t have stopped her goofy grin even if she’d wanted to. He’d remembered. She could count on one hand how many times she’d seen a movie in the theater. Three times when she’d been a kid and had traveled to Anchorage with her grandfather, once in the Army, and then again last year when she’d been going to paramedic school in Michigan.
