AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Four
Emery
The walk-in was the same clinic I worked in, only with minimal staff as a couple of the doctors in town rotated through their weekends. The physician I worked for didn’t work weekends or holidays, but I could pick up extra hours if I wanted. Maybe someday, but I hadn’t moved so I could work more.
The young nurse assistant running the registration desk recognized me, and Landon was the only patient. “You can go right into exam room three.”
“Thanks.” I ushered Landon to the door. “You guys hang out here with, uh, with Coach B.”
Holden. My lungs squeezed the air out of my chest.
Were small towns really so small that I couldn’t avoid experiencing the rejection I thought I had escaped?
The older girls made noncommittal noises, and Riley was attached to Avery, so she would be fine. I glanced at Holden and paused at the door. He was staring at the wall with a stricken expression.
Was he all right? “Just holler if you need me, Holden.”
He blinked back into focus, but I wanted to make sure he was okay. I pointed at each girl as I said their names. “Avery, Afton, and Riley.”
He silently mouthed their names, but his gaze was guarded. He wasn’t the type to get in their faces and ooze friendliness. Which was fine, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was covering deeper emotions.
As if he knew I wasn’t comfortable leaving him alone when he seemed off, he gave me the same smile that hooked me at the bar. “Avery, Afton, and Riley. Got it.”
I wanted to reassure him, but I wasn’t sure about what. I was the one leaving him with my kids.
“Mom?” Landon waited for me on the other side of the door.
“Right.” I let the door to the waiting room shut behind me. “I mean, go to the left. It’ll have a three on the door.”
The nurse who came in had been with the clinic for a few decades. She was no nonsense but also no drama. “Emery, hi. I thought I recognized the last name.”
“Hi, Gale.”
She leaned forward to speak to Landon. “Have I got an NFL player in the house?”
Landon’s bony shoulders sagged. “No. I had to miss my first game.”
I rubbed his uninjured arm. Today hadn’t gone how either of us hoped it would. I was mostly sure Landon hadn’t broken his arm, but I wasn’t going to risk ignoring a break in a growing kid.
They went through the litany of entry questions, then Gale stood. “Nisha will be here to get him for an X-ray in a few minutes. Then the doctor will be in.”
“Thanks.”
Gale left us, and I closed my eyes, willing myself to forget that my one-night stand was in the waiting room with three of my kids. I hadn’t even told him I had one. It wasn’t that I was ashamed. I wouldn’t have talked about my ex either, if Holden hadn’t noticed the line from my ring. I was fiercely protective of my life and that of my kids.
That was why we’d moved to Coal Haven. It was why I’d driven to Crocus Valley to have a drink. I’d wanted the privacy.
It was one instance. One impulsive decision, and it’d beenfantastic. And then it’d been done and I was back to being responsible me.
There was a light knock on the door. Nisha popped her head in. She grinned at Landon. “You get to come with me and take some pictures. Mom, are you coming along?”
“Do you want me to?” One of my big goals was to be chill when it came to the clinic and what happened inside. I tried not to make a big deal out of strep throat swabs, wellness visits, shots, and the occasional X-ray, but I also didn’t shove them out the door, telling them to sink or swim.
“It’s just pictures?” he asked, his voice pitched higher as he tried to be brave.
“With a big camera,” Nisha said. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her, but I liked how she was with patients. “And I even have a special vest for you to wear. It’s made of lead. Wanna see?”
Landon’s curiosity got the better of him. “I’ll be right back.”
