Moonlight Masquerade (Edilean 8)

“Cut it out!” Reede snapped. “Just say what you’re avoiding telling me.”

“The man you hit bought the ring. He said it was for his engagement.”

“Treeborne?”

“Is that his name?” Carla asked. “He isn’t part of those frozen foods, is he?”

“I’m sure you know more about him than I do,” Reede said. “Carla, unless you have anything else to tell me, I have to go.”

“Don’t let him take her away from you,” Carla said, her voice frantic. “Just because he’s rich and gorgeous shouldn’t scare you away. Sophie is Kim’s friend and you two are beautiful together. Forget that you nearly ran her over with your fancy car, and don’t think about how she poured beer all over you, and definitely don’t think about how you and everyone else in this town lied to her about who you are. I still think you two should be together. Don’t let a flawless pink diamond scare you away. Sophie can—”

“Good-bye, Carla,” Reede said and hung up.

For all that he’d told himself that Sophie would never go back to Texas with a guy like Carter Tree-borne, Reede had difficulty concentrating that day.

As soon as he saw his nurse, Heather, he knew that Carla had told her about the ring. Heather’s eyes were so full of rah-rah encouragement that he half expected her to tell him to keep his chin up. “You can do it” might have come out of her mouth if his glare hadn’t prevented her from speaking.

But for the whole afternoon Heather had hovered over Reede, watching him with every patient. Twice she suggested tests that Reede forgot to order for people.

Old Mr. Felderman put his hand on Reede’s shoulder and squeezed. “I proposed to my wife eight times before she said yes. Hang in there.”

Reede had to clamp his teeth together to keep from making a sarcastic remark.

When he stepped out of an exam room at four, the three women who worked for him put on a show for his benefit. They pretended they were just casually chatting but they were so loud he could have heard them in Virginia Beach. Underwater.

“And Sophie has been sitting on a bench with this man for hours?” Heather half shouted.

“For a long time, anyway,” Betsy answered at the same ear-blasting level.

“And he’s old enough to be her father?” Alice shouted.

Reede had been about to step forward and tell them to be quiet. The last thing he wanted to hear was how Sophie had spent hours with Carter. But who was the man “old enough to be her father”?

Reede opened a file folder and pretended to be reading it.

“So who is he?” Heather asked, her voice lowered somewhat, since there didn’t seem to be any danger of Reede not hearing.

“The old man or the young one who bought Sophie an engagement ring?”

Reede’s hands tightened on the folder. Right now he certainly wasn’t regretting hitting the guy.

“Both!” Alice said, pretending she didn’t know that Dr. Reede was standing just a few feet away.

“The new preacher has something to do with the older man,” Betsy said. “And the younger one must be an old boyfriend.”

The women were silent for a moment, not sure what else to say to warn him about what was going on. Dr. Reede had been much nicer since Sophie had come to town, and the women had done everything they could think of to keep the two of them together.

Just then the four-thirty appointment came in and she looked from the women to Dr. Reede standing in front of a door, his head bent over a folder. “Are you talking about the new sandwich shop?” she asked as she signed in.

The women nodded.

“I was at the grocery and that blond guy who helped Sophie out this morning was there with some dark-haired girl—never saw her before—and they filled four carts full of food. Not that I was looking, but it was a lot of flour and butter and cream. Then later I took my daughter to her dance class and I saw the two of them in the restaurant and it looked like they were making pies.”

“Where was Sophie?” Betsy asked.

“I saw her coming down the street. She doesn’t know me but I said hi anyway. She went inside and later when I picked up my daughter she had on an apron and was sitting at a table peeling apples. Not that I was spying or anything.”

“No, of course not,” Alice said.