Keeping my head down, I move back down to the first floor. With everyone on their way to the dining room, I make it to the pool house undetected. I move into the bedroom and plonk the clothes down on the bed by Dax. He shifts on the bed, groggily opening his eyes.
“Hey. What are you doing?” he mumbles.
“I got you a change of clothes.”
“Oh, thanks.” He yawns and sits up. “Are they your brother’s?”
“He won’t miss them.”
Dax gives his T-shirt a whiff. “Maybe I should take a shower.”
I throw a thumb over my shoulder. “Bathroom’s right over there.”
On his way out, Dax pulls his T-shirt over his head. It’s painful to watch the way he hunches and grimaces.
“We should think about organizing a doctor’s visit.”
He walks into the bathroom. “Right now?”
“I can arrange for a doctor to come here to the manor.”
“No. I don’t want to tip off your dad and get you into trouble.”
“I can handle myself. Besides, Murphy won’t say anything about it. Like I told you, I have loyal staff.”
His jaw flexes, and he shakes his head. “It was off-putting hanging out at the mall in Victoria Falls. I don’t think I could handle a swanky doctor. Maybe I should just go back and see the doc at Logan’s Point.”
“I can call Dr. Harris and arrange a time for us to see him in private.”
His eyes light up. “You’ll really go with me?”
“Of course. I said I would.” I pull my phone from my back pocket. “I’ll give him a call now.”
Dax closes himself in the bathroom, and I wander down the hallway, waiting out the rings until someone answers. It’s Nurse Cindy.
“Oh, hi, Vanessa,” Cindy replies. “Are you coming in? Like every Sunday, we’re swamped.”
Guilt clamps down on my stomach. “Ah, no, I’m sorry. I was wondering if Dr. Harris is available?”
“Not at the moment, sorry. Do you want me to leave him a message?”
“I was just wanting to arrange a time to see him in person.” I fidget with my bracelet. “In private.”
I hear the clicking of keys. “Hmm. He’s in surgery tomorrow morning. I don’t think he’ll be done until early afternoon. And then he’ll need to be around for post-op care. Is it about the fundraiser?”
“No, it’s medical, I mean private. Are you able to book me time with him?”
“How about tomorrow afternoon at four?” Cindy suggests. “It’s the first time I can semi-guarantee availability. You won’t need to see him for longer than thirty minutes, will you?”
I glance at the bathroom door. “Umm, I dunno. Maybe not.”
“Maybe if he needs to see a patient, you can wait for him to come back into your meeting?”
“Yeah, maybe,” I reply. “Thank you for booking that in, Cindy.”
“No problem. If you have any spare time to spend with us, we’d love to have you back.”
Another whack of guilt. “Mm-hmm. Yep. I’ll see you.”
