That thought made him shift uncomfortably in his seat. Now that she had health insurance, she was registered with the same doctor that he was… and she didn't know it. That was one thing he had to clear up today.
He looked over at her again. He really didn't want to spoil her moment, and he hoped she wouldn't be mad at him. But she needed to know.
She glanced over at him. "Do I have chocolate on my face or something?"
"You do not. I fed you that Rolo carefully, so that not even a crumb of chocolate would be wasted."
She smiled. "That's good to know. But then why do you keep looking at me like that?"
He wanted to saybecause he finally could, but he didn't know how that would go down. And it was only half the truth anyway. He had to go with the harder half.
"I have a confession to make."
He hated the way her smile disappeared, and pushed on, hoping that when he explained she wouldn't think it was too bad.
"And what do you need to tell me, Reaves?"
"I'm hoping you won't think it's anything too terrible, but…" There was no point in beating around the bush. "You know Dr. Ambrose."
Shit.He wished he hadn't brought it up that way when he saw the way her knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.
"Sorry. All I want to tell you is that I know him. He's my doctor. He's Dad's doctor. The two of them have been friends for as long as I can remember."
"And?"
"And that's it. He's our doctor, a friend of the family, and I should have told you sooner."
She kept her gaze fixed on the road ahead as she said, "You should."
"I know. And I'm sorry."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want to spook you. You chose him yourself—you must have liked something about him. And I thought that maybe if I told you who he was, you'd switch to someone else. And that would be a shame, because Henry really is the best."
"Henry."
"Yeah. Sorry. But that's how well I know him."
"Okay. Well, thanks for telling me."
He waited. But when she didn't continue, he asked, "Is that it? Are you mad at me?"
"No, I'm not mad. I understand why you did it, and…" She sighed. "Honestly, Reaves, I appreciate it. If I'm quiet, it's not because I'm mad at you, or stewing or anything. It's because I didn't understand myself why I chose him. I was determined to find a younger female doctor. But when I browsed all the listings of the people I could see, he was the one who stood out. He just felt…" She shook her head. "I don't know. Safe. Reassuring. And…" She shot him a quick glance. "I guess I need that at the moment."
"Yeah. Well, I'm glad you were able to find it in Henry."
She glanced over at him again but quickly turned her attention back to the road. "He kind of reminds me of your dad," she said after a while.
"Yeah. They're both from the same era. Have the same values. You know what I mean—they're the same kind of people."
"I do. I know exactly what you mean." She paused. "And you're one of them too."
He turned to look at her, but Zia called from the back. "Do you think Peanut and Butter will swim with us?"
Alara was slowing the Suburban as they approached the gates at the Stratton place. Reaves turned in his seat to smile at Zia. "They love to swim. And I'm sure they'll especially love to swim with you."
~ ~ ~
