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“Oh. So, that was complet
ely not what I thought you were going to say. Okay, back to that night at The Harbor House. Remember when I told that woman in the bathroom that you had a…you know, a big…” she made a motion with her hand.
“A big dick?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You were drunk. What’s that got to do with anything?” he demanded.
She threw a pillow at him. He caught it and threw it back at her. “Nate! I’m trying to tell you… I’m happy to say I didn’t lie to the woman!” She started laughing again.
He shook his head, like he was embarrassed, then padded off to the bathroom. “Me and my big dick are taking a shower. As always, you’re welcome to join us.”
This time, Lauren was more than happy to accept his invitation.
Life was good, Nate decided. His mother was healthy and in less than two months she’d be taking her first cruise. Lanie seemed unusually happy, and Doc hadn’t pulled Nate in for another one of his “talks” since the Francis Kiefer incident. Even the office staff seemed friendlier.
Hector had been a factor in that. Nate still brought him to the office daily. There was never a lack of anyone to walk him or pay attention to him, and the staff almost seemed more cohesive because of him. With the exception of Lola, of course. But Nate didn’t think anything less than his canonization into sainthood would make Lola change her mind about him.
The patients seemed to be more accepting, as well. He even had a couple of Doc’s regulars switch over to him for their annuals, and Frances Kiefer had actually requested him to personally take her blood pressure when she came in. Eventually, he did have to put her on blood pressure medication, but she’d lost four pounds since her last visit and was exercising daily. He prided himself on thinking maybe he’d helped her make a lifestyle change.
The weekend after he delivered Kitty Pappas’ baby, Steve had invited Nate to join him and a few of his friends for their Sunday afternoon basketball pick-up game. One of those friends included Lauren’s ex, Tom. It had taken Nate a couple of Sundays’ worth of games to relax around the man. Not because Tom was anything other than friendly to him. But this guy had been married to Lauren. She had loved him. At least, in some kind of way. They had a son and they ate Sunday brunch together.
His own relationship with Lauren was crawling along at a snail’s pace. They’d continued their “friends” routine, mostly because Lauren said she wasn’t ready to tell Henry about them yet, and they’d only slept together once since the night of couples Bunco. He supposed he should be content. No pressure meant no strings. Most guys would be ecstatic with that kind of set up.
Bianca stuck her head in the open door. “Can I take Hector for a walk? Oh, and there’s someone here to see you. Allie Grant from the Whispering Bay Gazette? She says she has an appointment for an interview.”
Damn. Was that today? Last October, when Allie had still been working as a freelance journalist, she’d approached him about doing an interview. But he’d put her off so many times that he simply couldn’t anymore without being rude.
“Sure, tell Janie to send her on back.” He grabbed Hector, who was running around in circles chasing his newest squeaky toy, clipped on his leash then handed him over to Bianca. “Thanks for walking him. I appreciate it.”
A few minutes later Allie came into the office. She hugged him, then took a seat behind the desk. “So, it’s been almost eight months but I’m finally getting my interview,” she said shrewdly.
“I’ve been busy, sorry about that,” he mumbled.
“Don’t worry,” she said, sensing his reluctance. “This isn’t going to hurt. We’re just going to talk, like old friends, and then I’m going to write up this fabulous piece on you for the front page of the Gazette.”
“The front page? I don’t think I warrant that, do I?’
“The front page,” she repeated. “Roger will be by later to take your picture.” Roger Van Cleave was her partner at the paper and a top rate professional photojournalist. “I also took the liberty of inviting Kitty Pappas and her new baby here for a photo shoot. She was thrilled when I told her about the article. She had nothing but the best to say about you.”
“Kitty Pappas? Is that really necessary?”
“Don’t be so humble. Everyone in town knows how you delivered her baby. You’re practically a hero!” She took out a pen and opened up a yellow legal pad and laid it across her lap. “So, why don’t we start by you telling me what brought you back to Whispering Bay to practice medicine?”
“This is home,” he said simply.
Allie nodded. “And you always knew you’d come back here?”
“My family lives here. My mother and my sister, and I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship from Dr. Morrison that allowed me to get through medical school with no debt.”
“Ah,” she said, scribbling in her legal pad. “So you have a contract with him?”
“You could say that.”
“What? Do you have a contract or not?”
“We have a contract,” Nate said.
