I leaned over and whispered, “We have Paw Patrol stickers.”
His little face lit up and he wiggled out of his mother's grasp to take my hand. She gave me a smile as we left the door open and went to the front desk.
“Donna, we have a very brave patient who would like a Paw Patrol sticker, please,” I said as we came to the front desk. “Actually, he was so brave, I think he can have three.”
Donna spun in her chair and narrowed her eyes, assessing Ashton. “Hmm. I didn't hear any crying or screaming. Make it four.”
Ashton grinned as Donna pulled out a roll of stickers filled with the bright dog cartoon characters. When his mom came out with Dr. Matthews, he had eight stickers- one for each character of the show. I gave him a high five on his good hand.
“Thank you so much, Hannah,” Stephanie said as Dr. Matthews crouched down to talk to Ashton. “You made him so calm. If I didn't know, I'd say you had a dozen kids at home. Thank you.”
She smiled and then took Ashton's good hand and headed home.
“Our next patient isn't until twelve,” Donna informed us. “You guys are free for the next hour.”
“Don't jinx it,” Dr. Matthews told her.
Donna chuckled. “Eh, you have charting and stuff. Go get to work.”
I went to my office to turn on my computer. There was a soft knock on my open door. I turned to see Dr. Matthews smiling in my doorway.
“Chalk up another success,” he said, leaning against the door-frame and tucking his thumbs into his pockets. He looked good doing that. “Good job as always, Hannah. We made that look easy.”
“That's always the goal, right?' I said. “He's a good kid.”
“I'm more impressed at your Paw Patrol knowledge,” he teased. “You watching cartoons on the weekends?”
I chuckled. “I used to babysit for the kid across the hall from me in Chicago. He loved that show. I know all the episodes.”
“You did great. I haven't had stitches that easy in a long time.” He smiled at me and my heart sped up at the compliment. “I'd let you take care of my kid anytime.”
And suddenly I was imagining having kids with Dr. Matthews. My curly blonde hair, his blue eyes... It was so real in my mind.
“Thank you.” I hoped I wasn't blushing too hard as I pushed thoughts of adorable Dr. Matthews babies out of my head. That was not work appropriate. “Anything you need from me right now? I'm thinking about grabbing lunch while it's quiet.”
“No, nothing I need,” he said. “Go have a good lunch and don't rush it. Like Donna said, we don't have any appointments for a bit. I'll call you if something comes up.”
“I'd invite you to come with, but I suppose someone has to hold down the fort,” I said.
“Yeah. I have to chart this,” he said with a shrug. “Bring me back something?”
“Of course,” I said. “What would you like?”
“Whatever you have is fine.” Jacob pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to me. “I'll see you in a little while.”
With that, he turned and walked down the hallway toward his office. I watched him all the way, admiring the way his butt moved underneath his slacks.
He's your boss and not interested, I thought to myself. Knock it off.
I didn't stop watching though.
I checked my work email and found that it wasn't anything that couldn't wait. There were definitely some benefits to a small town office. Things here weren't nearly as hectic or urgent as they were in the city. It was nice to know most of my patients on a personal level as well.
“I'm headed to Katie's Bakery to grab a sandwich and get some fresh air,” I told Donna as I walked past her desk. “You want me to pick you up anything?”
She shook her head and lifted her lunch box up from the floor. “I brought my lunch today. Thanks, though, Hannah. See you when you get back.”
I stepped out of the office and drew in a long breath of clean air. The air here smelled sweeter and cleaner than anything ever did in the city. The overcast sky provided some relief from the summer heat. Katie's Bakery was only a couple of blocks away, so I just walked there.