Internal Fixation - Tawdra Kandle Page 0,52
I shook my head. “I think I’m still a little bit in shock.”
She laughed. “I get that. But once you calm down, I think you’ll see that things could’ve been much worse. I can promise you that if it had been me who bolted for a year, no one would’ve remembered my name when I got back.” She paused and then added, “And in case you don’t know my name in the first place, I’m Deanna Reynolds. I’m with the cardiology department.”
“I knew that.” Well, I knew the second part. I wouldn’t have been able to swear what her name was.
“Well, then, I’m flattered. The great Deacon Girard knows who I am.” She pressed her hand to her chest, and the motion brought my attention to her very . . . generous attributes. I tried not to look, but now that I was noticing, I couldn’t help seeing that Dr. Reynolds had a very hot body. The rest of her wasn’t hard on the eyes, either; she had very short white-blonde hair, electric blue eyes and a turned-up nose. She reminded me a little of a curvaceous fairy.
“Would you want to get a cup of coffee?” I blurted out the words before I thought about them, but . . . hell, why not? I was single, and the truth was, having been without sex since that last fateful night on my couch with Emma, I was horny as fuck. Pun intended.
Her eyes widened a little. “Uh . . . yeah. Yeah, I would.” She hesitated. “You mean now, right?”
I chuckled. “I did. I’ve heard there’s a good coffee shop down the street on the corner, across from the florist.” I gave thanks for my excellent memory and Miss Sissie telling me about the place a while back.
“Okay. Meet you there?”
I almost offered to drive her and then decided that wasn’t the best idea. I didn’t want to be stuck driving back here afterward to drop her at the parking lot, especially if we didn’t hit it off.
“Sure. See you there.”
“Well, this place is totally adorable.” Deanna sat back in her overstuffed chair, steaming mug of cappuccino in her hand, gazing around at the bustling coffee house. “I can’t believe I didn’t know about it until now.”
“I can’t, either,” I chuckled, taking a drink of my own coffee. “Harper Springs isn’t that big. Any new business tends to stand out.”
“Oh, I’m not local.” Deanna shook her head and blew on the hot liquid. “I live about forty-five minutes north.”
“Seriously? That’s quite a commute.”
“I know, believe me.” She smiled ruefully. “But the housing market around Harper Springs isn’t exactly booming. I didn’t want to live in an older apartment above someone’s garage, and I’m not ready to buy property yet. I’d like to travel a little before I settle down.” Her bright blue eyes rested on me. “I think we have that in common. I get the feeling you’re not the kind who wants to stay in one place, either.”
“Not sure I can say that’s true. I own a house here in Harper Springs, and I grew up on a farm about five miles out of town.” I paused. “I did go out of state for college and med school, but I came back for my residency, and I’ve been within an hour of this place ever since.”
Deanna frowned. “I thought from what the board said that you had a wandering foot.”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “Just a long history of involvement with an organization that helps fight childhood hunger worldwide. They often need doctors as part of their team, and it’s work I like, so I try to go when I can.” Grimacing, I added, “Which apparently isn’t going to be as much as it used to be.”
“Yeah, the board kind of put you on a leash, didn’t they?” One side of her pretty mouth turned up. “That was harsh.”
I found myself in the odd position of wanting to defend the people who, no matter how they’d termed it, had in fact just slapped me on the wrist. “Well, I see their point. What I did wasn’t responsible, and it wasn’t smart. It was also not great for my team on the oncology wing. I’m in the unenviable position of having to earn back the trust of everyone who depended on me.” I thought about my nasty spat with Emma. We hadn’t spoken since that day; we communicated about our patients via terse texts, and by silent but mutual agreement, we