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He pulls the cotton fabric over his head and crumples it between his hands as he sits.
“I’m afraid not. You’ll need to see Mark once a month for another three months depending on the outcome of next week’s tests.” I pull up his file on my desktop.
“Seriously? Isn’t that overkill?” He whines just like one of Anna’s kids.
“Seriously, mate. Look, I get your frustration. When you’re the strong one, the one everyone else always depends on, it’s hard to take time out when your body needs healing.”
“I didn’t think smoke inhalation lasted so long.”
I place my stethoscope against his chest and listen. Holding up a finger for him to stop talking.
“Breath in. And out.” I repeat this a few times until I am satisfied, I have listened to every inch of his lungs and his heart. His lungs sounded clear. But I’m not one to fuck around. I’d seen a man, who was on all accounts healthy, come in with exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, back in South Africa two months after he’d suffered smoke inhalation and die later that week. I wasn’t taking any chances now.
Placing the stethoscope on the trolley beside the treatment bed I step back. “It doesn’t, but often smaller particles remain in the tiny crevices of the lungs. I want to make sure this is not so in your case. We’ll do some bloods and a final x-ray next week, then treat you accordingly once the results are in. Rather safe than sorry.”
“Excellent.” Rhett smiles and hops off the bed, dropping the shirt over his head and pulling it down his torso.
“Okay, here are the forms for an x-ray and your bloods. Both need to be done down in Bundy.”
I click my mouse, printing the two forms then signing them. I hand them to Rhett, who considers the forms a moment before folding them and tucking them in his back pocket.
A weird silence surrounds us. “Anything you’d like to share?”
“Look. I don’t often to do this. But I’ve known Simmi since she was a bub.”
I brace for the talk I know is about to drop from this man’s mouth.
“I also know how sharp Doris’s tongue can be. But I don’t think either of you, on a professional level, can afford or need gossip circulating.”
Rhett looks me straight in the eye.
In this moment, two things happen. One, he earns my respect, and two, he pisses me off.
“Last time I looked, Simmi was a grown woman.” I fold my arms and stand my ground.
I’m half a head taller than the Bay’s golden boy, which affords me the opportunity of looking down at him. But Rhett doesn’t intimidate easily.
Straightening his shoulders, he places his hands on his hips. “She is. But I don’t want to see her hurt.”
I step back as though Rhett just nailed me with a right hook. “And what if I’m the one that could get hurt?” I’m not sure why I chose those words but, I enjoy the look of shock that flashes across Rhett’s face.
“You’re a big boy. I’m sure you can handle it.” He finds his balance and a solid comeback.
I really like this bloke. I just wish we didn’t need to be doing this.
“Look, I get you see yourself as protector of the town. But I don’t think Simmi is the sort who needs looking after.” I maintain my calm only because I know Rhett’s no dickhead.
“You haven’t been here five minutes, Doctor. Don’t think you know her as well as that,” he replies.
He walks out leaving me confused, pissed off, and wondering when would be appropriate to invite him and Anna over for a barbeque.
I don’t like to be told what I can and can’t do. But I do get the feeling if my plan fucks up and Simmi is left hurt, I’ll be paying for it, forever.
I follow Rhett out to the reception desk where he pays and then leaves. There are no more patients in reception, and I walk around to sit behind Myrtle’s desk, letting go of a tense sigh. Rhett’s a decent bloke and I get where he’s coming from, but I’ll be fucked if anyone, even the town’s most stand-up guy, gets to tell me how to behave myself.
It’s late afternoon by the time I see out the last patient. I lock up and make sure the emergency number for Mark is clear for all to see. It’s been a long, testing day. I need some Nina Simone and a strong whiskey.
Guiding my Cruiser down the street, with Nina’s husky voice playing through the sound system—she sounds so much better on vinyl—my yearning for the touch I’ve been hankering for all day overrides my better judgment.
Hooking an impulsive left, I speed away from my house and back down the main street toward the entrance of the holiday village. It’s time I grabbed this demon by the horns and put my plan into action. I want her and I know she wants me. No more games, no more avoiding the elephant between us. Tonight, I’ll show her that we were meant for each other. My dick presses against the fabric of my pants at the thought of bending her to my will. Her groans filling my ears as I covet every inch of her. I grip the wheel as I skid to a stop beside her small hatchback. I’m about to come just at the thought of her beneath me.
