Page 79 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“Yes,” I comforted. “I’m sorry, Samantha. Everything feels great. Absolutely nothing to be worried about, okay?”

Her relief was pungent.

I worked not to look at Melody for the rest of the exam and made my best effort to be courteous but professional with Samantha. She didn’t seem to mind at all, and it was actually nice to get through an entire appointment with a patient without feeling like a huge fuck-up.

“I’m going to write out a script for your ultrasound and mammogram, and I know I don’t have to tell you how important it is that you go to your appointment. You’re free, you’re beautiful, and you’re a survivor. Let’s keep it that way, okay?”

She bobbed her head in affirmation and pulled me into a hug. “I know. Thank you for always caring so much, Dr. Cummings.”

After a quick squeeze, I let her go. “Of course. See you next time, Sammy. And tell Justin to give me a call if he wants to play again in the St. Luke’s Charity Golf Tournament next spring.”

“I’m sure he’ll be game for that,” she said with a smile.

Finally done with my medical responsibilities, I headed for the door and let myself look at Melody directly. The crease between her eyebrows had eased, but she still wasn’t looking at me directly.

“Mel?” I called, and her head came up unnaturally fast.

“Yes?”

“Meet me in my office when you’re done, okay?”

She nodded and moved over to Samantha to complete her exit responsibilities. “Take your time getting dressed and then just come out and meet me in the hall. I’ll have your paperwork and walk you up to the front to make your next appointment.”

I stepped through the door as Samantha offered her thanks, and I headed straight for my office.

Grabbing the necessary papers, I quickly wrote up all of Samantha’s procedure orders and waited for Melody to come for them. I had something else I wanted to do, but I also didn’t want to get caught in the act.

A short minute later, Melody stepped just inside of my door and asked succinctly, “Paperwork?”

Normally a gentleman, I would have gotten up to hand it to her, but today, I kept my ass planted in the chair and held it out—to force her into my office.

She stepped forward and grabbed the papers, but I didn’t let go when she pulled them.

Her face took on an immediate air of annoyance, but she smoothed the rough edges of her irritation when I smirked.

“Come back after you take this up to her, okay?”

She gave a jerky nod, and I finally let go.

As soon as she cleared the door, I pulled out a tongue depressor and got to work.

Is that your uvula, or are you just happy to see me?

I know. These are so bad. But they usually make her smile.

Standing up, I waved it around to help the ink dry and then tucked it into my pocket. After two minutes, I started to get antsy, so I walked around the big desk and settled my ass into the front.

When another two minutes passed, I pushed up to standing straight again.

When the final two minutes passed—and still no sign of Melody—I walked right out of my door and up the hall toward the front, checking every open exam room as I went, but all of them were empty.

A commotion at the front was apparent the closer I got, so I hurried my pace a little.

“What’s going on?” I asked when I got to reception to find Marlene and Melody in the middle of a showdown.

“It was Marlene’s day to get lunch,” Betty explained with a shake of her head.

I glanced over my shoulder to find a waiting room full of patients staring at my staff like they were an actual reality show playing out for their viewing entertainment.