Page 6 of Rough Hands, Soft Lips

“They do?” The boy perked up at her suggestion.

April made a note of his reaction and ran with it. “Yep. Usually, it’s a lollipop, but you’re lucky. You happened to drop by on my birthday, and that means you get a cupcake at the end of your appointment.” She turned back to Cal, realizing she was getting ahead of herself a bit. “That is, if your father says it’s OK. If it isn’t, we’ll think of another prize.”

From his seat, Cal Nolen nodded. “He can have a cupcake if he wants it. I’ll just be happy he’s eating again.”

“Hasn’t he been eating?” April asked.

Cal shook his head. “He hasn’t held food down today, and now he doesn’t want to eat at all.”

April turned back to the boy, whose weak smile had faded. “That’s OK, Owen. I don’t like to eat when I feel really sick either. You’ll still get your prize. You can take it home and eat it later when you feel better. Deal?” She held out her hand, and Owen actually shook it. He was quite the little gentleman, she thought. She was tempted to compliment his father on his parenting skills, but she felt that would be too much straight away. The poor man was clearly still on edge, though he seemed to have softened a touch.

One thing April had always prided herself on was her way with kids. They tended to like and trust her, so she used her skill to put the boy at ease, which seemed to be putting his father at ease, too. “I haven’t seen you two around town before,” April said to Owen, though she knew Cal would be listening. “Were you guys on vacation when you got sick?”

“We live here,” Owen said.

“Really?” April gave his father a doubtful glance.

“Outside of town,” Cal answered her unspoken question. “We live on the mountain.”

Owen added, “We live in the trees!” His enthusiasm was infectious.

“Do you?” April cocked her head and leaned against the work-station table. “That sounds so exciting. I’ve never lived in the trees before. What’s it like?”

“It’s nice,” Owen answered. “We have a rabbit.”

From his place across the room, Cal laughed under his breath. The sound of his laughter was so unexpected, April almostjumped at it. “We’re friendly with a wild rabbit is what he means,” he said. “We don’t own a pet rabbit.”

“Well, who could own a rabbit?” April said, prodding Owen. “They’re way too smart, right?”

“Georgie’s really smart,” Owen said. “And she’s a single mom.”

April burst out laughing at that. What a cute kid! She would have done her best to help him no matter what, but now she wanted to personally ensure this entire experience was the best it could possibly be for both the boy and his unreasonably attractive father. Then it occurred to her. Where was the boy’s mother? Usually, it was the mothers who brought their kids in when they got sick. While it was refreshing to see a father take initiative, the lack of a ring on his finger and his son knowing what a single parent was led her to suspect the possibility that Owen had no mother in his life. The nosey part of her wanted to ask, but her instincts kicked in and stopped her. There was something sad about the boy’s father, something lonely about the uptight way he dealt with people and the distrust in his eyes.

“I have to go call a few more patients in,” she said. “But you two are my favorite today, so I’m definitely coming back as soon as I can.” She stood up and turned to the boy’s father. “Is it OK if I let him play a game on my phone while he waits, just to get his mind off his tummy ache?”

Cal nodded. “He loves games, especially when they’re challenging.”

“Ooh, a smart guy, huh? Well, maybe this one will be too easy for you.” April pulled her phone from her pocket. She had a specific game she often let kids play when they had a long wait. It was her way of keeping things calm and pleasant, and today, shethought no one deserved her favoritism more than Owen, who was turning out to be one of the sweetest kids she had ever met.

“You have to pop all the balloons before they push the clouds away,” April said. “You just touch them, and they pop. See?” She demonstrated, and Owen picked it up pretty quickly. Then she gave the phone over to him.

“Saythank you, chief,” his father said.

“Thank you,” Owen repeated without looking away from the screen. April chuckled to herself and left them in the room to call a few more patients.

She passed Nathan in the hall, and he stopped her. “So… is he the best patient ever or what?”

April grinned. “He’s great. Thank you. But how did you know he would be?”

“I’ve seen him in the hardware store. He lived in town five years ago, but he hasn’t been seen much since he left for the jungle.” He grinned.

“I’ll say. I haven’t seen him at all. So…” She hesitated to ask what she wanted to ask. “You knew he was…”

“Single?” Nathan laughed. “Yeah, I figured he was still on the market. He pretty much keeps to himself. I don’t think he’s really looking for a partner, but if anyone can bring him out of his shell, I know you can.” He nudged April, who allowed herself to feel some pride at that compliment.

“Either way, he seems to really care about his son,” she said. “Cute kid, too.”

Nathan went on his way, but not before he called back to April. “Happy birthday, bestie.”