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“I can’t believe that by the time this is over you’ll have walked from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Have I told you how much it means to me that you’re finishing the trail for Landon?”
“It’s been a great experience. I’m glad I was able to do it. So, let’s see...” He put the phone on speaker, then opened his calendar. “If all goes as planned with the hike, I should finish no later than August first and be able to fly there the second. I’ll go ahead and book a flight tonight.”
“Wait, did you say August second?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Oh no. That’s the week of my training. They’re sending me to Rochester for the week. What terrible timing.”
He deflated a little. He’d waited all this time to meet her in person. “When will you be back?”
“Not until Friday the fifth.”
He injected some enthusiasm into his voice. “All right, that’s okay. It’s only a few days. And it’ll give me a chance to settle in and start searching for a job.”
“I feel bad I won’t be here.”
Last thing he wanted to do was spoil her happy moment. “Well, don’t. I’m so proud of you for getting this job. Maybe by the time you get back from your training, I’ll have one to tell you about.”
Wes wrapped up the phone call and bagged his trash. Despite his words, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. All these months of waiting to reach Albany and Lillian and allthe delays . . . and she wasn’t even going to be there when he arrived.
Suck it up, Wes.It wasn’t her fault. He was the one who’d gotten sick and decided to stay and pay off his bill—and he couldn’t find it in himself to regret the decision.
He stood from the log and headed back through the woods toward the waiting roof. He still had a job to finish and laundry to do—not to mention a flight to book.
***
“All right, Mrs.Warner,” Avery said loudly for the hard-of-hearing woman. She’d somehow managed to get a poison ivy rash all over her shoulder and back. “Here are some samples for you: antihistamine tablets and cortisone cream to help with the inflammation. If your daughter’s not home, feel free to stop by the clinic and one of us will help you with the cream, all right?”
Mrs.Warner’s pale, round face creased as she beamed. “Thank you, honey. That’s so kind of you.”
“And no more scratching. You can get some Calamine lotion to help with that. Some people find a cool baking-soda bath helpful.”
“Thank you for your help.” Mrs.Warner followed her out the exam room door. “You have a good day, honey, and tell your mama and daddy I said hello.”
“Yes, ma’am. Let me know if you have any questions. You have my number.” Avery dropped the woman’s chart off with Patti. “I’ll be in the office on a call for the next little while, Patti.”
“All right, Boss. I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.”
By the time Avery made it to her office she had only two minutes to spare. She pulled the paperwork from the file and got comfortable behind her desk.
When she’d received Lucy Chan’s résumé on Saturday afternoon, Avery nearly jumped for joy. Dr.Chan had graduated from Stanford in the top ten of her class. She’d gone on to Johns Hopkins University, where she specialized in emergency medicine. She’d completed her residency at Johns Hopkins, and now she worked at Sinai in Baltimore. Her referrals were nothing short of glowing. In short, Dr.Chan was the ideal candidate for the clinic.
Well, technically they could use a little testosterone around here—sometimes boys preferred a male physician. But Avery wouldn’t reject the ideal candidate based solely on sex. Especially when she’d had difficulty attracting anyone at all.
Avery opened the video app on her laptop, trying to temper her enthusiasm. She’d been hopeful about the last applicant too, until it became clear he had bigger things in mind for his career than a rinky-dink clinic set in the middle of a Podunk town.
A chime sounded as the doctor joined the call and appeared on the screen in a box next to Avery’s image. The woman wore her dark hair in a professional knot, a few loose tendrils highlighting her high cheekbones.
Her eyes brightened as she smiled. “Hello, Dr.Robinson.”
“Hi, Dr.Chan. It’s nice to put a face with a name. Is it all right if we dispense with formalities? You can call me Avery.”
“Of course. Feel free to call me Lucy.”
“Thank you for meeting up on such short notice.”
“Not at all. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.”
