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Jay nodded. “At least she’ll have someone to trust with the baby until she’s able to line up childcare.”
“I don’t want to get my hopes up, especially since we haven’t gotten to this point with any candidate but Nora. But it really is hard not to be hopeful.”
Jay felt the same way. “I just hope she doesn’t take too long to decide.”
“It’s a big decision to make, particularly if she’s uprooting her mom and daughter, too.” Gareth took a sip of his coffee, then straightened. “Guess I’d better go before Janessa has to come hunt me down for my first patient.”
Alone in the breakroom, Jay dragged a hand down his face. He was still tired, but he had a full day of work to put in before he could go home and crash. At least the interview seemed to have gone really well. In fact, he couldn’t see how it could have gone better.
Michelle could be a good fit in the clinic. She’d come across as very composed and calm as she’d answered the questions about her education and experience put to her by Gareth and his mom. And her questions had also seemed to be well thought out.
The way she’d relaxed once they’d touched on personal stuff showed him that she wasn’t uptight, feeling like she had to maintain a distance with everyone around her.
Nora had been uptight, in a way, but somehow, she’d also been able to relate well to the patients. That would always be a conundrum to him. But not one he’d dwell on since she was finally gone.
And now they had a potential replacement for her. Things were definitely looking up.
CHAPTER THREE
Misha followed Dr. Halverson into one of the exam rooms. She hadn’t thought she’d stay at the clinic beyond the interview, but when the woman had offered her the opportunity to shadow her, Misha couldn’t say no.
“Good morning, Jane,” Dr. Halverson said to the older woman sitting beside the desk. “I have Dr. Barnes working with me today. Do you mind if she sits in on your appointment?”
The patient gave Misha a curious look before shaking her head. “That’s fine.”
“Wonderful!”
Misha stood against the wall, watching as Dr. Halverson spoke with the woman. She had a professional manner that was also warm and caring. And from her conversation with the patient, Misha had to assume that they knew each other outside of the clinic.
“Are you going to be working here?” the woman asked as her appointment was drawing to a close.
“I’m considering it,” Misha told her with a smile. “Just had my interview this morning.”
“This is a great clinic,” she said. “My husband sees Gareth. The other Dr. Halverson.” The woman chuckled. “We got used to having just one Dr. Halverson around, then Cathy came back to confuse everyone.”
“Well, we’re working to get back to just one,” the doctor said. “In Haiti, they call me Doc Cathy. We should have adopted that here.”
The patient got to her feet and smiled at Misha. “I hope you see the appeal of the clinic and our town. You couldn’t ask to work with better people.”
Dr. Halverson slid an arm around the woman’s shoulders and smiled. “You’re too kind, Jane.”
“It’s only the truth. I’ve never had a moment of anxiety coming to see you the way I have with other doctors.”
“I’m glad.”
Dr. Halverson guided the woman out of the exam room and walked with her to the front. Misha was going to follow them, but Janessa approached her.
“How’s it going?” she asked as she went into the room they’d just left.
“It’s going well,” Misha said, watching as Janessa deftly cleaned up and sanitized surfaces. “It seems the patients know your mom outside of the clinic, not just as their doctor.”
“Yep. We have a lot of patients who attend the same church we do. Plus, our parents were quite active in our lives while we were in school, so they know people from attending the sports we played and other school events.”
“It says a lot that people who know you personally are comfortable with you in a professional capacity as well.”
Janessa flashed her a smile. “It’s always been important to my parents that we be active in our community and not try to hold ourselves apart, just because we might treat some of them. I think knowing my parents—and now Gareth—socially has helped many feel comfortable with them professionally. Like they know they can trust them to have their best interests at heart.”
Misha liked that. She had had patients at the clinic in Atlanta that she’d known from the neighborhood, but then they’d had to move after the threats started. It had been a struggle to keep those tight-knit ties to the community the clinic served. Plus, for the safety of the patients, she’d had to keep her distance from them outside of the clinic.
