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“Hear me out, Key.”
“I’m not interested.”
“You owe me this.”
“As you’ve said. I don’t buy it.”
“You’ll be gratified to know that I haven’t had a single patient in the clinic since the morning of your mother’s seizure. Jody fought off my attempts to help her. You brusquely denounced me in front of the crowd.”
“I didn’t have time to use tact. My mother was near death.”
“Precisely. And when word got around that the Tacketts preferred death over my medical assistance, the few patients I had cultivated disappeared. Months of hard work was destroyed. The confidence that had been so hard won was invalidated with a few harshly spoken words. Since then I’ve twiddled my thumbs.”
“You’re breaking my heart.”
She took a deep breath to curb her temper. “I wanted to conduct sex education seminars at the high school. They’re vitally important, something that would have benefited the young people of the community.”
“Yeah, I read all about it in the newspaper.”
“What they didn’t print is how Jody bribed the school board to disallow the program.”
“You really know how to get folks fired up, don’t you?”
“Compared to your mother, I’m an amateur. Once she got finished with me, what little credibility I had left, your lover Darcy ravaged.”
“You know, I’ve heard about mental cases like yours. They’re called persecution complexes.”
She let that pass. “I’ve officially closed the doors of the clinic. I dismissed Nancy today. My career has been temporarily suspended. So, you got what you wanted. Your family has effectively demolished any chance I had of practicing medicine in Eden Pass. All things considered, I believe you owe me a concession.”
“I owe you zilch.”
“I’ve closed the clinic, but that doesn’t mean I’m preparing to leave town.” She was down to one final ace. She had to play it. “Your mother vowed she would live to see me leave Eden Pass in disgrace. I doubt she will. I can remain here without working until my savings run out, which, if I live frugally, could be several years.”
“That’s bullshit. You love medicine too much. You wouldn’t give it up.”
“I wouldn’t want to, but I would.”
“Just to spite us?”
“That’s right. However, I’m willing to bargain. I’ll spare your family any more discomfort and embarrassment, provided you fly me to Central America. As soon as we return, I’ll leave. Believe me, I won’t be that sorry to go. I’m tired of constant strife and petty gossip. I’m tired of examining myself every time I go out, hoping I’ll pass muster.
“Let me tell you something,” she said, leaning across the desk, “as far as I’m concerned, the people of Eden Pass have failed to pass muster. They’re judgmental and narrow-minded hypocrites, cowards bending to the will of an embittered old woman.
“Take me to Montesangre, Key, and I’ll leave this town to you, not because I’m not good enough for it, but because it’s not good enough for me.”
He said nothing for several moments, then spread his arms out from his sides. “Is that everything?”
She gave a terse nod.
“Good,” he said, rolling off his spine and coming to his feet. “I gotta run. I’m hungry as a bear, and Janellen is expecting me for supper.”
Lara caught his sleeve as he rounded the desk. “Don’t patronize me, you son of a bitch. You’ve trashed me and my practice, but I won’t let you ignore me.”
He flung off her hand. “Look, I don’t give a damn about local politics and gossip. What my mother does with the school board or anybody else is her business. Unless it involves me directly, I stay out of the boiling pot.
“I guess you’re a pretty good doctor, and your clinic has come in handy on occasion, but I couldn’t care less if you do brain surgery there, or twiddle your thumbs, or shut it down entirely. Darcy Winston is not my lover. And if you’ve got a hankering to sneak into a country that’s on our government’s shit list, fine. But count me out.”
“How conveniently you turn ethical,” she said heatedly, indicating his shirt pocket. “You run illegal charters on a daily basis!”
