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“Hey!” His sister’s laugh told him she wasn’t in the least upset by Sam’s comment.
Lia grinned at Joe. “Sounds good. We’ll be right there.”
Joe let his fingers drift along her skin. He kept his voice low enough so only she could hear. “It’ll be more fun to help you take them off anyway. Let’s go see if we can find you a doctor’s office.”
Lia could barely contain herself when Joe parked in the lot near Phail General. Taking this step should have terrified her, but it didn’t.
Joe had texted with Troy and the man had been thrilled that Lia was considering setting up a practice here. That alleviated the biggest worry. She had something she could contribute and her skills wouldn’t go completely to waste. And it meant she could stay in a place that was important to her. With people who were even more important.
Inside the general store, Troy stood at the counter chatting with a teen. Troy introduced them, then slapped Hudson on the back. “The future of Phail General is in your hands, Hudson. Don’t screw it up.”
The boy laughed and rolled his eyes as they walked out to the sidewalk. Troy rubbed his hands together. “Okay, I’ve got three different buildings plus the saloon for you to check out. And one surprise.”
Surprise? Lia looked at Joe, then Tansy and Sam, but none of them appeared to be in on the surprise.
Troy led the way down the street toward the saloon, but instead of heading to the front, he led their group around the back. At the back, there were two doors at each end of the building. He stopped at the first one and grinned. “I don’t think many people in town remember that way back when there was a doctor and a dentist who worked out of Phail.”
Lia laughed. “You’re not old enough to remember way back when.” Like the rest of them, Troy looked to be in his early thirties.
He grinned back. “I grew up with Grams telling me all the stories of the town. From times she remembered and times her grandmother remembered. According to Grams, at one point Doctor Hamish Phail and Doctor Alastair Phail shared this space. They were cousins and hated each other.”
Joe laughed. “Then why did they share the space?”
Troy smiled as he unlocked the door. “Back in those days, they didn’t have much in the way of anaesthetics, so they both wanted to be next to the saloon in case they needed to numb the pain or knock someone out.”
Lia shook her head. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Troy opened the door and they all stepped in.
The first room was large and had benches attached to two of the walls. It had probably served as a waiting room. A worn wooden desk sat near the back wall. For a receptionist?
Charmed, Lia ran her hands over the woodwork. Her attention had been caught by the wood details on the outer windows at the front of the saloon. The ones back here were the same and the identical curlicues decorated the ends of the benches as well.
Tansy sat on one of the benches. “Aisling is going to be annoyed we didn’t bring her along. She’d love all of this.”
Would she really be annoyed? Tansy looked up and caught Lia’s expression. She smiled and shook her head. “No. She won’t be annoyed, but she’d love this.”
Joe slung his arm around Lia. “Want me to text them? See if they want to join us?”
Lia wasn’t used to having a group of friends. She’d been surprised when Tansy and Sam had wanted to join. Actually, she figured they might have asked to come along to provide extra numbers in case of any trouble.
“Lia?” Joe’s question was soft. She nodded and he sent out a text. In only a moment, he laughed. “They’re at the sawmill and Aisling said to hold on with the tour. She wants in on the action. Graham’s coming too.”
Troy spoke. “Excellent. They can look over the property and give you an idea of what it would take to bring it into this century.”
The couple arrived in no time and they all wandered the area together. No one ventured to peek into a space before Lia did, but they were all free with their opinions and thoughts about what she could do with every room.
It was like being surrounded by the family she’d always wanted.
The main floor held a staircase leading up, four examination rooms, and a small bathroom with hideous fixtures.
Aisling shuddered. “Total gut job here.”
Lia agreed completely.
At the front of the building, there was another waiting room that replicated the one at the back in almost every detail. The only difference was the placement of the exterior door that was locked. “Where does this one go?”
Troy unlocked the door without a word and pushed it open Lia laughed when she walked through it to find the saloon’s main room.
