Page 15 of Reeves

I was the one who told her that future would never include me. She believed me, and it looks like she found someone who could give it to her.

Then I ease my foot onto the gas and let the truck roll forward, never turning down Magnolia.

In the rearview mirror, I catch one last glimpse of Charli jogging beside the boy as he tries again, her hand hovering just behind the seat, ready to steady him if he falls.

The image stays with me long after the street disappears behind the next corner.

FOUR

Charli

The Route:The procession moves through the streets of the neighborhood where the person lived. The path is never chosen at random.

The clinic is finally quiet.

For the first time all afternoon, there are no small sneakers squeaking down the hallway, no parents lingering at the front desk with last-minute questions, no therapy balls thumping against the padded wall in the motor room. The receptionist left twenty minutes ago. The overhead lights hum softly above my desk.

I take advantage of the silence to clear the last few emails before heading home.

Most of them are the usual mix of parent questions and school coordination. I click open the Career Day email from Westlake Elementary, grateful for the familiar, mundane task. Just another parent engagement box to check.

I’m halfway through drafting a polite response when another message farther down the inbox catches my eye.

The subject line is bold.

Confidential: Practice Acquisition Inquiry – MidSouth Pediatric Partners

I recognize the name before I even open it.

MidSouth Pediatric Partners is a huge pediatric therapy clinic with several practices. Their offices are efficient, well-branded, and about as personal as airport terminals.

I click the email.

Dear Ms. Parsons, We've been following your exceptional work at Pediatric Therapy Solutions with great interest. Your impressive patient retention rates and strong community reputation align perfectly with our mission to expand quality care throughout the Gulf region.

The language is smooth as polished glass. Words like strategic partnership and mutual growth opportunity slide across the screen.

The attached proposal outlines our initial offering, which we believe recognizes the value you've built while providing substantial benefits moving forward.

I’ve never seriously considered selling the practice, but curiosity gets the better of me. Apparently someone thinks what I’ve built here has value.

I click the PDF.

The document loads with a sleek corporate logo at the top. The offer is laid out in clean bullet points.

Guaranteed annual salary with quarterly performance bonuses. Comprehensive benefits. Full malpractice coverage. Billing and compliance handled by their corporate team.

Then I reach the acquisition terms.

MidSouth is proposing an upfront payment of $150,000 for the practice itself. Patient records, referral relationships, equipment, the business name. Everything that currently operates under Pediatric Therapy Solutions.

I sit back in my chair and read the number again.

One hundred fifty thousand dollars.

It's not life-changing money, but it's not nothing either. It would be enough to finish paying off the last of my loans and build a nest egg while maintaining what I'm bringing in every month.

I’d keep doing the same work I’m already doing. Same patients. Same therapy schedule. The difference is that MidSouth would own the practice and handle everything that currently ends up on my desk after hours.