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I sighed when I saw who had entered. “Georgia.”
“Hello, Dr. Jones,” she said in that falsely pleasant voice of hers. As she walked toward my desk, she swayed her hips more than necessary, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I didn't have the patience to deal with her on a good day, and this was far from being a good day. But here in my office, I needed to try to be professional. Especially since that day, I had Emma with me.
I glanced over at the girl, wishing there was some way I could drag Georgia into another room and leave Emma unsupervised so that she wouldn't have to hear the conversation that I was sure would happen. But even if I had another place to talk to Georgia, I didn't want to think of what she would do, if we were alone in a room together.
I shuddered just thinking about it.
“You don't have an appointment,” I told Georgia. “But if you'd like to schedule one for later in the week, I'll see if I can fit it in.”
“I'm going to be out of town for most of the week, and I need a full physical before I set off,” Georgia said, her smile all teeth. She looked around exaggeratedly. “But since you don't seem busy right now, you probably have time, don't you?”
I closed my eyes and counted to 10. “Georgia, it doesn't work that way,” I said through gritted teeth. “You need to make an appointment, just like any other patient in this town. Even when I don't have appointments, I have other tasks to do. This mountain of paperwork, for one thing.”
“But Dr. Jones, what if it was an emergency?” Georgia asked, widening her eyes. “Why, I heard that yesterday you ran out at the end of one of your appointments because someone was very sick.”
There were so many
things I loved about living in a small town, but the gossip was definitely not one of them. “I think if it were an emergency, you'd probably be a little more distressed,” I said, trying to keep my tone mild.
“If there's nothing wrong with me, then surely a physical shouldn't take too long,” Georgia hounded.
I rolled my eyes that time. “Fine,” I snapped. “I can only do a partial physical, though, because as you can see, Emma's here today, and I can't leave her unattended.” I knew what she was up to, but I had to play my cards right. The last thing I needed to do was deal with a crazed woman screaming lies in hopes of bending me over. I could play her games and still come out unscathed.
“Fine,” Georgia said, helping herself to one of the paper robes and going into the back room to change. I half-expected her to strip down right there in front of both of us.
When she came back out, she hopped up on the examination table in the front room, and I went through the basic checks: vision, reflexes, heart rate. As suspected, there was nothing wrong with her.
“You know, Doctor,” she said, leaning in close as I listened to her heart. “If you wanted to carry out the rest of the examination, I'm free tonight.”
I sputtered. “Excuse me?” I asked.
“Well, this is just so formal,” Georgia said, her eyes glinting. “I figured maybe you'd be more comfortable if you examined me at your leisure, over a bottle of wine.”
I knew that she had been building to something like this for a long time, but it still took me by surprise. Even if I could spare a moment to think about her proposal, I knew that I wouldn't want to go over there. Forget everything with Olivia and Jeannie. There was also everything with Helen. Plus, I would have to find someone who could watch Emma for the night. And the whole town would be buzzing, because Georgia wasn't going to keep it silent.
I shook my head and took a step back. “Georgia, you know my feelings on this; I've made them quite clear,” I said quietly, looking over at Emma. But fortunately, the young girl still seemed oblivious to our conversation. It didn't mean that she wasn't listening, but I had to hope she wouldn't understand what we were talking about, and at least she wasn't upset.
“You could use a little more fun in your life, though,” Georgia said. “You work so hard; you deserve a chance to relax over a nice evening and a bottle of wine.”
“Georgia, I'm still dealing with the death of my wife,” I told her. “I can't possibly think of starting a relationship with someone else. And now, Helen is going through a decline in health. I have enough on my plate already without having to worry about the town gossips.”
“It's been two years since Emily's death,” Georgia snapped, and I glanced over at Emma, giving Georgia a pointed look of warning. That mask of sweetness was back in an instant. She took a step closer, well inside my personal boundaries, putting a hand on my chest. “Darling, the only way you're going to come to terms with her death is if you find some other interest,” she told me. “Someone else who sparks your romantic side.”
I drew in a deep breath, realizing that I had to be frank with her. “Georgia, I'm not interested in you,” I said flatly.
Georgia's face went through a complicated set of emotions, but she did a surprisingly good job of masking her rage. “It's been two years since Emily died,” she repeated in a low, threatening voice. “I can't wait around much longer for you to get over her.”
I scowled. “Georgia, I'm not asking you to wait around,” I told her. “I'm not interested in you in that way.”
“Because you think you could do better with Olivia?” Georgia asked, a sharp smile on her face. “I know the two of you are fucking. But I also know that Olivia is fucking Buck. She's a little slut; you could do so much better than her.”
Anger pulsed through me. “I'd appreciate it if you would stop using such foul language around my daughter,” I snarled, not even having to look at Emma to know that she was wide-eyed and staring. Of course, my angry tone probably didn't help the situation, either.
“So she's your rebound; I get it,” Georgia said. “But now that she's fucking someone else and it's over with her, why don't you move on? I could give you the relationship that you've been craving.”
“Get out of my office,” I said, suddenly unable to take it. She'd been pushy and suggestive ever since Emily had died, but this was too far. I couldn't even believe her, talking about Olivia like that. And for how I was upset with Olivia at the moment, I didn't really believe that she was sleeping with Buck. I believed her when she said that they had slept in separate rooms at the wedding, and I believed her when she said that she was only interested in me. Georgia was, undoubtedly, just trying to stir things up in her favor.
“You're going to see,” Georgia told me. “You'll regret getting involve with that whore.”
