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“Brewing now.”
“What’s wrong? You look tired.”
Sharise entered, her floral tunic fluttering behind her like a flag. The middle-aged nurse practitioner was forever cold. She wore her black curls cropped close to her head and had a wide smile that brightened the room and put patients at ease. That smile was a little dim this morning.
They exchanged greetings, then Sharise hit the donuts. “If y’all ever decide to have a teenage girl, don’t. Just don’t. She’s crazy about this boy, and he can’t decide what he wants, and my girl just won’t have it any other way no matter how much I tell her to drop him like a hot potato. Who took the twisted glaze?”
The coffee finished brewing and Katie helped herself to a cup. “They were out. Isn’t Charlotte just thirteen?”
“That’s another thing, the girl is just thirteen! Too young for all this romance drama. Girl’s gonna to be the death of me.”
The chime sounded again and a moment later their office clerk, Patti, walked in. Greetings were exchanged and small talk commenced as they collected their donuts and coffee and settled into the chairs.
Avery loved the relaxed camaraderie between the women. Having experienced a cold work environment during her residency, she’d intentionally fostered an easy companionship in the office. As a result she’d grown close to the women, and they seemed comfortable coming to her with problems. They even went out together on occasion. Mixing business with pleasure didn’t work for everyone, but the staff of Riverbend Medical Clinic thrived under these conditions.
“All right,” Avery said. “Happy Monday, everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend. Who’d like to start?”
“Any promising applicants for the doctor position?” Sharise asked.
“Sadly, no. But eventually somebody will respond. “
“On another note,” Katie said, “we’re almost out of the tetanus vaccine. I gave the second-to-last dose to a guy who stepped on a nail Friday. It must’ve been four inches long. Went all the way through and came out the top of his shoe.”
Patti, who was really too squeamish to work in a clinic, winced.
Katie grimaced. “Sorry, Patti.”
“Thanks, Katie.” Avery listed a couple more things that needed restocking while Patti, who stocked the medical supplies, noted them on her clipboard. They moved on to the schedule and talked a bit about athletic physicals, which were starting to come in now that summer was in full swing.
They were twenty some minutes into the meeting by the time they’d covered all the pertinent details. Avery just needed to let them know about the construction that would soon be starting out back. “Thanks, ladies. There’s one other thing I wanted to make you all aware of.”
A quiet knock sounded at the door, making Avery’s shoulders tense.
AWho’s that?question appeared in each pair of eyes.
Avery cursed her luck—she’d been just about to explain. “Come in,” she called.
The door opened and Wes appeared, filling the space. His backpack hung from one shoulder. He didn’t look one bit ill this morning in his snug black tee and well-fitting jeans. In fact, he looked very... healthy.
She could practically hear three feminine sighs as Wes’sgaze slid around the occupants in the room, then settled on Avery.
He gave her an apologetic grin. “Sorry. Didn’t realize you were having a meeting.”
Was it just her or did his voice seem deeper this morning? Avery arranged her features in a professional expression. “That’s quite all right. What can I help you with?”
“I’m heading out to the carriage house now.”
“All right. Thank you.”
He nodded. “Ladies.”
The door closed behind him and dead silence expanded around them. The room seemed to hold its breath for a solid ten seconds before three pairs of eyes swung back to Avery and everyone seemed to speak at once.
“Shoo—ee, girl,” Sharise said. “I think you left something out of your update.”
“I was just about to—”
“Like she has a gentleman friend she didn’t even tell her best friend about?”
