“Thanks.” She brushed by him but not before he caught a telltale pinkness coloring her cheeks. “I’m gonna kill Charlie for this,” he heard her mutter.
Josh trusted Charlie and she said that Howard was the best doctor she knew, but they hadn’t gotten off to the best start. He wasn’t quite sure if Dr. Howard was disapproving or embarrassed, but either way it was awkward.
He looked down the hall and saw Dr. Howard slide her arms into a white coat. At least she was on time—unlike his other employee. He liked Robin and she kept the office running like a well-oiled machine, but she did take liberties with the time clock now and again.
Dr. Howard came back down the hall and Josh decided to try a friendly overture to break the ice instead. “There’s coffee in the kitchen. I was just going to get a cup before I unlock the front. Want some?”
She followed him to the kitchen—a closet, really—and he pulled down two mugs from the cupboard. “There’s milk in the fridge, and sugar here,” he said, reaching for the coffeepot. He poured two mugs and handed her one. She stared at it for a moment before taking a cautious sip—black.
Josh grinned. “I like mine black, too. If the military didn’t teach me to drink it that way, twenty-four hours on hospital shift would. You take what you can get, huh?”
“I have an espresso machine at home, so I prefer macchiatos.”
Of course she did. With that one sentence Josh felt entirely inadequate. Erin had been that way, too, at first—an air of accepting nothing less than the best. Growing up rich and privileged seemed to bring with it a general expectation of standards and this Elizabeth Howard had the same way of looking at him that made him feel just a little bit … lacking. Provincial and unsophisticated. Like his little practice was beneath her. Then again, she was probably right. He’d seen her qualifications. Why she’d ever accepted Charlie’s proposal was beyond him. Even with Elizabeth’s current troubles, another hospital would have snapped her up in a heartbeat.
Josh’s family had never looked down their noses at anyone; there hadn’t been the money or the time. It wasn’t something he apologized for anymore. Maybe blood was thicker than water, but he’d take Sarah’s and Jess’s meddling any day of the week over the cold formality of Erin’s family.
“Well, no fancy coffee machines here. Just plain family medicine. Blood work is done at the local lab, radiology at a clinic in Portland. You’ll find requisitions in each exam room.” The back door opened and closed once more. “That’ll be Robin, I hope.” He looked at his watch. “Make yourself at home and any questions, ask.”
He took his coffee and made his way to the front office and waiting room. The true test would be Howard’s attitude toward her patients. And luckily for Josh, he had the perfect insider already scheduled for two forty-five. Susan would be brutally honest with her opinion of the new doc.
* * *
Lizzie had meant every word. She was going to kill Charlie.
Charlie had known all along that Joshua Collins was drop-dead gorgeous. She had known all along that he was in his early thirties. A military vet and widower indeed. Lizzie had pictured a retired army doc, perhaps with a little gray hair and a crusty demeanor. That’s who she’d prepared for and she’d been relieved—she could handle that sort of boss right as rain. But Collins? Faded jeans and a golf shirt passing for professional attire … good Lord.
She flushed a little and tried to turn her attention back to her chart. He did wear the faded denim well. Too well. She’d gotten a good look at his backside when he’d bent over that trash can and she’d called him “the janitor.” Janitor! She’d been so flustered that the only words she could think of to say were to ask where her office was and to tell him she had an espresso machine at home. What an idiot she was.…
Even worse was the knowledge that Charlie had deliberately kept quiet about such an important detail. That day they’d been touring the town, it had been Collins in the truck behind them, Collins who had laid on the horn and made Charlie laugh. Heat rose into Lizzie’s cheeks. This was the problem with letting people know you too well. Charlie knew that Lizzie would have said no if she’d admitted her partner was a young, sexy, single doc.
Maybe he wasn’t single. Charlie had mentioned he’d moved back after his wife died, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a new Mrs. Collins. And Lizzie hadn’t checked to see if he was wearing a ring. Or there could be a girlfriend in the picture.
Robin tapped on the door. “Dr. Howard? Your two forty-five is here, in room one.”
“Thanks,” she said, pushing aside the chart. She was already going crazy. Today she’d seen a total of ten patients. The most exciting one had needed a slight adjustment to his blood pressure medication. God, she missed the emergency room. Missed the activity and the challenge. Maybe this one would actually need some real medical care.
Outside the exam room she plucked the file off the door and skimmed it. So much for challenge. A ten-year-old patient for a checkup. She sighed. No such luck.
When she opened the door, a pretty woman in her early thirties was sitting in a chair and the patient was already on the exam table, her hair in a perky ponytail and freckles dotting her nose. “Hi, Susan. I’m Dr. Howard.” She smiled what she hoped was a welcoming smile.
“I’m Sarah, Susan’s mother.” The woman stood and held out her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you. You’re here for a checkup?” Lizzie shook Sarah’s hand with the odd feeling that the woman was somehow familiar.
“Josh is my uncle!” Susan announced.
It was tough to keep her smile in place. Oh goody. Josh’s family and on her first day. Was this a test or just a coincidence?
Sarah let go of her hand and sat down again. “I know it must be strange, on your first day and all. We always saw Phil Nye when he was here, and then
when Josh came back to town we started seeing Dr. Yang. It’s a little weird thinking about Josh being our doctor.” She gave a lopsided grin and Lizzie relaxed a little.
“Yeah, more like eeew,” Susan answered. “That’s definitely TMI.”
Lizzie laughed. Maybe today’s appointments weren’t a total loss. She rather liked Josh’s niece. The tone was just a touch snooty, Susan’s eyebrow raised in a sarcastic arch. The girl had just the right amount of attitude and spunk.
They went through the usual stuff—height and weight marked on a percentile scale, blood pressure and heart and lungs … a formality, as Susan appeared to be a perfectly healthy little girl. Lizzie chatted to her about school and what activities she liked, including piano lessons and soccer and an upcoming sleepover where the girls were going to make their own pizzas and ice-cream sundaes with a zillion toppings.