In the past year and some change, they’d added two new spouses to the family. Crew had paired off with Malachi who had come with a built-in kiddo, and Hawk had a steady partner, an older man called Carter Cahill, now too.
Cahill was interesting. He was wealthy, but seemed to have started some sort of a program to help out new entrepreneurs. I hadn’t looked into that much yet. I wanted to meet the man first, but I had a feeling he could help the family see things my way when it came to security.
Jesus Christ, I still had over an hour left of the flight. I really fucking hoped they had my rental car ready by the time I made it out of this metal tube and back onto solid ground.
It was nearly three hours later that I turned onto that long driveway.
Since it was the afternoon, I could observe the surroundings as I drove slowly along the well-maintained road.
The thing about the Harringtons had always been—according to Wren—that they never half-assed things. They weren’t wealthy, but they had money and they used it to better and maintain it all.
The herd of cows in a multitude of colors was on a green pasture to one side, and on the other, there was a new road leading… somewhere? To something being built in the distance. I had no idea what that might be, but then again, I was here for the latest information that Wren didn’t have.
I needed to have a meeting with whomever the family decided should be part of the conversation on security, but I could do that tomorrow.
I didn’t know where Jenn would tell me to lay my head, but I was sure there’d be a spot for me somewhere. Driving to Russell Crossing, the nearest town, wouldn’t be too bad, but I hadn’t checked if there was anything available there, either.
Driving slowly, I saw the signs and even a camera that was good but not the quality I’d have chosen. I would have to fix that, too.
I drove past the turns to the barns that were each dedicated to different purposes, and then eventually I heard the donkey alarm. He was an actual donkey named Juanpablo. Not super keen on most people, but he would alert whenever someone drove close enough to his paddock by the main house.
Chuckling, I rolled to a stop by someone’s truck in front of the house. If I only could clone the donkey and set a handful of them free on the property. Who needed cameras anyway?
As I got out of the SUV and stretched my legs, then the rest of my body, the front door opened and Jenn walked out onto the porch.
“Ville! It’s so good to see you!” Her smile was pure motherly love she seemed to have for every living being.
“Hey, Jenn. Thanks for accommodating what we need,” I replied as I went to accept the hug she wanted to give me.
“Pshaw,” she swatted my arm gently. “I know you need security for Wren, but it’s you that’s doing us a favor.” She smiled and stepped back. “Come on. You must be hungry. I just put the coffee on.”
I chuckled under my breath and followed her inside.
Chapter 2
Emery
Iloved my job. To my very core. I was six when I decided I wanted to be a doctor at Russell Crossing Family and Urgent Care and that never wavered. The second I finished my family med residency, I hightailed it back home, knowing that Dr. Hastings had a place for me at the clinic. A year later, I was still finding my feet, but even though I worked long hours and was on call more often than not, I had no problem getting out of bed every day, ready to get to work.
Sundays were my short days, covering the Urgent Care side of things from noon until five p.m.. when the nurse practitioner, Luz Hernandez, took over. She called Dr. Hastings when she needed a consult, so once I saw this last patient, I was free for the day.
It was my one and only non-negotiable. Sunday brunch was sacred to my family. We didn’t go to church and weweren’t religious, but that time together Sunday mornings was important to us all. With a family as large as we were, it was hard to stay connected, even though we all talked constantly. But on Sundays, Mom cooked a huge brunch and everyone had to be there, unless they got special dispensation from the matriarch. And usually that was only for my youngest siblings, who were attending college.
I was anxious to get home. I was not going to let myself think about why.
Lindsey stuck her head through the open door of my office. “Emery? Patient in room two is ready for you.”
I gave her a smile. “Thanks. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
I read over Margot Rawlings’ chart, carefully studying the triage notes, then the x-ray. I scoffed at the remote radiologist’s report, locked my computer, and headed to the treatment room. Knocking before I entered, I waited for the patient’s response before I went in.
“Hi, Margot. I’m Dr. Harrington.”
She shot me a wary kind of look but shook my hand when I offered it. I logged into the laptop in the room, clicked into her chart, then sat on the wheeled stool before giving her my full attention.
“What’s going on today?”
Margot rolled her eyes. “I already told the nurse.”
