I think I would have preferred the mob, to be honest.
“You have a wonderful afternoon, Mrs. Johnson.” I held open the clinic door for her. She smiled at me.
“We'll find you someone even if we have to get you a date from Des Moines,” she told me.
I did my best to smile until she was out of sight.
“You better be careful if the Ladies are figuring out your love life,” Donna said from her desk. “I'll try to stick up for you, but I can't guarantee they won't decide you need to marry Dan in the next three weeks.”
“Thanks, Donna.” I shook my head. I would not be marrying Dan no matter what the Ladies decided. “Any more patients? Or can I get some lunch?”
“No patients for a little bit,” Donna replied. “And Dr. Taggert brought everyone lunch. There's pizza in the break room.”
“Really?” I asked surprised. I had planned on a boring sandwich from home. Pizza was way better. Especially free pizza.
“He heard about the birth last night and wanted to congratulate us.” Donna took a big bite of pizza at her desk. “Go get some.”
I grinned and hurried to the break room to find Dr. Matthews and Dr. Taggert sitting at the break room table eating pizza together. I had to consciously force myself not to look at the wall where Jacob had pressed me up and made me shiver with pleasure. As if sensing my thoughts, Dr. Matthews looked up at me.
“Hannah.” The sound of his voice saying my name gave me goosebumps.
Dr. Taggert turned and grinned at me. He usually played Santa for all the kids at Christmas, and even in the summer he still had the white beard, though he kept it trimmed short. “Hannah!”
The difference in reaction to the two men saying my name only underlined how I felt about Dr. Matthews. He gave me the tingles while Dr. Taggert seemed like he was simply making sound.
Dr. Taggert stood up and shook my hand. “Jacob here was telling me how instrumental you were last night. He says he couldn't have done it without you.”
“Thank you,” I replied, not looking at Jacob. “I couldn't have done it without him.”
“I miss having a nurse like you,” he said with a smile. “Come have a seat and eat some pizza.”
I smiled and followed him to the table wher
e I sat next to Jacob. Yet again, we were unable to talk to one another like we needed to. My heart thumped in my chest every time Jacob even glanced in my direction.
“Hannah? We have a walk in,” Donna said, poking her head into the break room. “It's just a suspected strep throat.”
“I got it,” Dr. Matthews said, standing up quickly. “You eat.”
He gave me a quick smile and another one of those meaningful glances. I nodded.
“He's a good doctor,” Dr. Taggert observed as Jacob left the room. “I'm glad I picked him to take over the practice. He's doing better than I could have hoped.”
I nodded and reached for a piece of pizza. My stomach rumbled as the scent of cheese hit me.
“Did you have other people that wanted the practice?” I asked, taking a big bite.
“Two actually,” Dr. Taggert replied. “They were both from out of town, so someone native to Riversville was my preference. I wasn't sure, given Jacob's admittedly spotty history, but he's proven himself.”
I nodded and swallowed. “He's a different person than he was as a teenager. He's grown up a lot.”
“That he has. I almost regret giving him the morality clause in his contract.” Dr. Taggert paused and then picked up another slice of pizza. “He's proving that he didn't even need it with how well he's been running the clinic.”
“Morality clause?” I swallowed down a big bite of pizza.
Dr. Taggert shrugged. “I thought it prudent given his bad-boy ways. Without going into detail, he has to maintain appropriate relationships in the community. You know, no scandals. This is a business that I built from the ground up and I don't want it to fall to pieces because the man I sold it to can't keep it in his pants.”
I choked a little on my pizza and started to cough.