Knowing the time for teasing was over, Gloria slipped her good hand into Franklin’s waiting palm.
“Should we stay here ‘til he comes back?”
“What for?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got to pay him, right? He’s the doctor and he didn’t ask me if I had insurance or have me fill out any forms or anything.”
Franklin waited until Gloria was steady on her feet to let go of her hand. She tried to ignore the twinge of disappointment in her belly when he stepped away from her.
Cocking his head slightly, he said, “Is that how they do things on the outside?”
When Gloria nodded, he shrugged. “That’s weird. Well, it’s different in Hamlet.”
No, duh.
“I don’t know... I feel like I should wait for him to come back so he doesn’t think I’m not gonna pay him.”
“You’ll be waiting a while,” mumbled Franklin.
“What? Why?”
Running his hand through his short hair, he tried to explain. “Sheriff De Angelis and the doctor have a… contentious relationship. Everyone in Hamlet knows that. They’ve been together a long time and there’s no doubt that they’re devoted to each, but sometimes it seems as if she might be a little bit more attached. I went to school with them. Caitlin… the sheriff? He’s not exaggerating. If he doesn’t answer her page, she’ll probably just show up. Either way, now that she’s got him on the radio, it might take a while. We can go. If Lucas decides to bill you, he knows where to find you.”
He had a point. Hamlet was such a small town, it was basically hidden away from the rest of the world; or, as Franklin just proved, it was almost fair to consider it its own world. But once you were welcomed into its fold?
There was no hiding in Hamlet.
As Franklin guided her back toward the entrance, Gloria thought about everything Franklin just told her. Ever since she first met him at his garage, there was something she wanted to ask. With his explanation, he finally gave her the opportunity to do so.
“What about you?”
Franklin held the door open for her. “What about me? I’ve got no reason to bill you.”
“That not what I meant.” Gloria rolled her eyes, though she had to admit his oblivious nature at times made him all the more adorable to her. “Listen. The doctor’s married to the sheriff. There’s Addy and Gus. Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson. If Bailey has her way, she’ll snag Ethan Oliver—”
“Not my sister,” mumbled Franklin as he followed her outside.
Gloria ignored him. When he went overprotective like that? He was super cute then, too. “Come on. You’re a good looking guy, Franklin, with a job. That’s more than I can say about most guys on the outside. I know you live alone.”
His expression was guarded as he nodded. “I do. Bailey still lives with my dad and my stepmom, but I moved out on my own as soon as the cabin was available. Lived there on my own ever since.”
There was being oblivious. And then there was being obtuse.
He was a good looking man with his own house, a job, and he was maybe thirty at most. Franklin was kind and considerate and, okay, he wasn’t a fan of Christmas, and he might’ve just scared her into falling off her ladder, but he was like catnip for Gloria. He had to know that, right?
Did Gloria have to come out and say it?
“A girlfriend,” she blurted out, glancing up at him to catch sight of his reaction. “Are you seeing someone?”
He blinked. Gloria couldn’t tell if it was because they were back in the bright winter sunlight or because she had managed to shock him.
And then he surprised her by shaking his head. “No.”
There was something in the way that he said that single word that told Gloria it was time to drop the subject. That was fine with her. She got the answer—and, thank goodness, it was the one she wanted.
The two of them approached Franklin’s truck in a surprisingly companionable silence.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked a few seconds later as he pulled the passenger side door open for Gloria. “Your wrist… your… your bottom? Did the pain stop yet?”