Page 32

“I know I don’t have to, I want to,” he says.

“I’ll be waiting downstairs.” He turns and walks out of the room, and I have to squat down and exhale because the tightness in my chest gets even tighter.

Besides my parents, there hasn’t been anyone in my whole life who has tried to take care of me like he does.

Who has gone above and beyond to make sure I’m okay, and I’m not sure what to think or feel.

Can I fall in love with a man in less than a month? That’s insane, right?

I swallow down the lump before getting back up and sliding a knit, long-sleeved brown sweater on before pairing it with my brown boots, and then making my way downstairs.

“Thank you,” Theo calls from the front door, “I never thought I would leave this house.” I shake my head, laughing as I walk with him to the front door, with Caleb following me.

“It’s literally almost done,” I tell him. “You said I could move my office downstairs this weekend.”

“I know, but it feels like forever,” he says, walking out and down the steps to his truck. “I may never come back.”

“He’s so dramatic,” Caleb mumbles as he takes my hand and leads me to his truck. I get in, trying not to laugh. We stop and get donuts, and when we pull up at Bruce’s house, the screen door shows you that the front door is open.

I get out with the box of donuts as Caleb walks beside me, and then I see Bruce walking toward us. “Who did you bring?” He pushes open the door as we walk up the stairs.

“This is Caleb.” I turn toward Caleb and smile. “We brought donuts.”

“He your man?” He moves aside so we can step in.

“Yes,” Caleb answers for me as I roll my eyes.

“He’s something,” I mumble and then hear the sound of footsteps.

“Is that why you were trying to rush me out of the house?” Heloise questions with her hands on her hips. “Why you lying liar who lies.”

“I did no such thing, woman,” Bruce defends, grabbing the box from me. “How was I supposed to know she was going to show up and bring donuts?”

Heloise shakes her head. “Hello, dear.” She looks at me. “Ignore my husband with no manners, please come in,” she invites, going to Caleb. “I’m Heloise.” She extends her hand to him. “I’ve heard about you.”

“From who?” Bruce says. “Say their name.”

She rolls her eyes and walks away from him, but he is quick to follow her. “They seem nice.” Caleb puts his arm around my shoulders, bringing me to him and kissing my lips.

“They really are,” I tell him, then hear the arguing coming from the kitchen. “We should get in there.”

“Should we?” he asks, following me into the kitchen.

“Sit down,” Bruce says, looking at the chair beside him as he bites into a donut. Caleb pulls the chair out for me before walking over to the chair beside me and sitting down.

“Can I get you two anything to drink?” Heloise asks from the kitchen as she makes two cups of coffee. We both shake our heads as she comes over, handing one to Bruce and then sitting down in the only empty chair left. “So what is this visit about?”

“Well,” I start and I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants, “I was wondering if you guys know anything about the Hope Springs Medical Clinic.”

Heloise snorts. “That thing?” She shakes her head, taking a sip of her coffee. “It was horrible. Doctors performing things they had no right performing. Taking money from the insurance companies and the patients. They got shut down or something like that.”

“I think I was born there.”

“Makes sense,” Heloise says, looking over at Bruce, who is just eyeing me.

“Why do you say that?” he asks me. I explain to him what I found out and he looks down at his donut. “There was chatter while it was still up and running,” he finally says. “No one could get proof of what was going on, but things were definitely not on the up-and-up.”

“Do you know anyone who used to work there by any chance?” I ask, holding my breath until he nods.

“Meredith Casey,” he says her name, “she worked labor and delivery.” I feel Caleb reach over and grab my hand in his.

“Do you think she would talk to me?”

“I’ll give you her number and also call and tell her you’ll be getting in touch with her,” he offers. “Surprised she went to work there to begin with. She was retired when it opened up.”

“Do you think they kept the medical records somewhere?” I ask, my heart beating hard as I feel like I’m one step closer to the answer.

“They should or at least they did, but then the main pipe valve broke,” he shares and the little bit of hope I had sinks down. “Everything was damaged and then they threw out what was covered in mold.”

I take a deep breath in. “Interesting.” I look over at Caleb.

When we walk out of the house a short time later, I have the piece of paper in my hand. When I get into the truck and he drives away from the house, I pull out my phone. “Here goes nothing,” I tell him, dialing the number and then putting it on speaker.

It rings three times before the answering machine picks up. “You’ve reached Meredith, leave me your name and number and I’ll get back to you.”

“Hello, Meredith, my name is Sierra. If you can call me back at 561-715-4499. Thank you.” I hang up the phone and then look over at Caleb. “And now we wait.”