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Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Matt picked up Brenda and Mia at eight thirty, dragged the trunk and carry-ons into the back of her SUV, and insisted they should sit in the back together to let him focus on the road. He programmed the camp’s address into the GPS and took off.
A short while later, the silence hovering in the car surprised him. He glanced in his rearview mirror and smiled at the disarming picture of Mia’s head cuddled against her mother’s chest, and Brenda’s cheek cushioned on her daughter’s head, both deeply asleep.
Reassured all was good with his charges, he concentrated on his driving, entered the highway, and accelerated. Two hours later, he slowed and zigzagged through the Kentucky fields, approaching his destination. When the SUV passed through the camp’s gate, the ladies in the back stirred and stretched.
“Where are we?” Brenda frowned, surveying the wooded area around them.
“No way! We’re at the camp, Mom. Look at the cars.”
Matt lined up behind the other cars. Security guards checked their identity cards, received the registration forms, directed them to a parking lot where the families unloaded their kids’ luggage onto carts, and security guards wheeled them away.
“I’m in cottage 6 with the junior counselors.” Mia’s voice vibrated with confidence. “Time to say goodbye, Mom.” She hugged her mother. “Make the best of your freedom and enjoy your summer with Dr. Matt.” She winked at him and hugged him. “Take good care of my mommy.”
Without wasting another second, she followed the security guard and her cart.
A flicker of apprehension shadowed Brenda’s face. “My little girl is growing up too fast.”
Understanding the heart of the problem, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “She’s a lovely teenager. Stop worrying so much. You’re doing a great job with her. I’m sure she’ll have a wonderful summer with her friends. Hopefully, we will too.”
Blinking back a few tears, Brenda didn’t answer and hopped into the passenger seat of her SUV.
Matt glanced at her. Would driving her SUV help her forget her sadness by forcing her to focus on the road? “Want to drive?”
“Huh?” The horror look on her face was answer enough. “If you can’t… Are you tired?”
He chuckled. “No. But I’m starving. Can you browse through your phone and find a place where we can stop for lunch?”
“Sure.” She scrolled through a few sites.
He refused them all.
Annoyed, she frowned at him. “Don’t be so difficult. What exactly do you want to eat?”
“Chinese.”
“Well, there are no Chinese restaurants in this part of Kentucky.”
“Too bad.” He swallowed a chuckle.
“There are burger places.” Frustration had replaced her previous sadness.
“No, I’ll keep going. You haven’t asked me about my last week at work.”
Curious, she spun her head toward him. “What happened? Anything interesting?”
“Kind of. Have you heard from Jocelyn Jordan recently?”
“Not since the time she called me to ask for your personal phone number. Have you heard from her?”
“She called the clinic back then to schedule an appointment for a facelift and insisted she wanted me to do it. Heidi told her I was booked solid for several months and booked her with Dr. Nora Herbert who handles those routine procedures.”
“So?”
“She was scheduled for last week. Two days earlier, she came into the clinic and saw me in the hallway. She practically threw a tantrum, begging me to take care of her, or at least attend the surgery.”
“Don’t tell me you said yes.”
