“Yes,” she said softly, wishing Francis would get the memo and lower his volume.
But Francis only kept talking with words she barely heard, too conscious of the couple behind her whose conversation had ceased.
She had to get out of here.Pronto.“You have to excuse me.My shift is starting.”
“Oh.Sorry.I was just excited to learn about it.It must’ve been exciting meeting a celebrity like that.”
“Mmm.”She motioned to the door.“Gotta go.”
She hurried away, exhaling.That had been close.And yes, maybe it was immature of her but she didn’t have time for the drama that Philippa Tinker was sure to bring.The drama she’d always brought whenever Gen had been near her beloved, can-do-no-wrong son.
Her evil angel—the one that sat on her shoulder and often murmured stupid things, that she’d tried not to listen to since That Night—begged for one more look.So she quickly peeked back.Her eyes locked with Philippa Tinker’s, their color the exact same shade as Kyle’s.And her granddaughter’s.
Philippa’s eyes widened.
No.Oh no.There was nowayshe couldn’t know who Gen was now.Which meant any second now she’d be hurrying after her, wanting to know how Gen dared to show her face here.And while Gen had faced opposition and impossible odds to finally land in this position, she didn’t have enough fight in her to face the Queen of Conflict.Not today.
So she hurried away to the doctors’ bathroom, where she stalled for a moment wishing that last five minutes was undone.Wishing she hadn’t—yet again!—listened to that perverse spirit that only seemed to land her in trouble time and again.
What would the Tinkers do now?
CHAPTER6
“Did you know that woman is here?”Mom demanded, storming into Kyle’s room.
“What woman?”he asked, although he had a fairly solid suspicion.Mom had only ever gotten this upset over one person before.The one he’d left back in Willow Springs.
Her eyes narrowed to Arctic gray.“Oh, you know very well which woman I mean.Genevieve Rivas.”She almost spat the name.
Dad’s gaze veered from Mom to Kyle.“Your ex-girlfriend is here.”
Kyle dipped his chin.“She works here.”
“Are you serious?”Mom’s screech bounced off the walls.“How could a little nobody like her end up working here?”
He shrugged, but honestly, he was impressed.Gen had had the odds stacked against her since day dot, when her dad had left her mom when Minnie was pregnant.If it hadn’t been for Minnie Rivas and her indomitable fierceness, Gen could have so easily been another trailer park statistic.But Gen’s brains, along with her mom’s take-no-prisoners approach, had always seen her rise above adversity.Truth be told he recalled Minnie Rivas as being a little terrifying.Probably because she shared some of those qualities with his mom.
“I couldn’tbelieveshe had the nerve to answer when someone called her a doctor.”Mom sniffed.“It’s not Halloween.”
“But sheisa doctor, Mom.She’s—”
“Sure she is.She might dress the part, but the best that girl could ever do was become an osteopath,” she scoffed.“Looks like anybody can get away with calling themselves a doctor these days.”
Heat rose.“Mom, stop.Gen is a real emergency doctor.She’s actually the one who first treated me in the ER.”
“What?”Mom blinked.“You mean you’ve spoken to her?Oh, I bet she was trying all her charms on you again, and you’ve foolishly fallen for her—”
“She barely spoke to me, Mom.”His heart panged.He needed to speak to Gen.There was so much to say.
“You mean she didn’t try to flirt with you?I’m shocked.I always hated how you and she would go off together with your little club-of-two.She was always trying to lead you astray.”
Nope.That had been all him.Regret soared.“Mom, you can’t keep speaking about her like this.She’s a fully trained medical doctor now.She’s employed here.Doesn’t that tell you something?”
“It tells me she probably had handouts galore, that’s what it tells me.”
“I think it’s kind of impressive,” Dad said mildly.
“Nobody asked for your opinion, David,” Mom snapped.
