Page 104 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

Trip blew out a sigh.“I’ve been saying the same thing.But I haven’t followed up on it yet.”He turned to Shelley.“I should have…”

She shook her head.“We’ve both said that we needed to follow up with him and haven’t gotten around to it yet.But I think this works out just fine, don’t you?”

He gave her a wry smile.“I want to think that, but I guess we’ll have to wait until we hear what Emmett has to say about it afterward.”

Deacon chuckled.“I guess we will.But I reckon we’ll have to make sure there are no kids around when he tells us.I have a feeling he’ll be cursing up a storm.”

Trip took hold of Shelley’s hand under the table, wanting to reassure her.He relaxed a little when she laughed—she wasn’t worried about her friend.She knew Harper could hold her own.

Libby smiled around at them all.“He can get as mad as he likes, but I’m grateful to Harper—that she finally broke through his walls.Maybe now he’ll let the rest of us in, too.”

“In fact,” she added, “I think we should all pile on while she’s opened the door.Let’s figure out a roster between ourselves for picking Alana up from her rehearsals and making sure that Tanya gets home—or wherever else she needs to go while he’s busy.Then we can just tell him how it is, instead of waiting for him to agree.”

Trip and the others all smiled and nodded their agreement.

Emmett had struggled alone for too many years, and none of them had wanted to ride roughshod over his feelings when he protested that he didn’t need help.He squeezed Shelley’s hand again, grateful that her friend had managed to batter down the walls in a way that none of them had been brave enough to.

As the afternoon wore on, Trip started to seriously consider shortening his day on Fridays.He didn’t often make it down to the bakery to hang out with everyone, and he was enjoying himself so much that he decided it might be time to change that.

Hehadset Friday afternoons aside for patients who needed more of his time, and he wouldn’t want to stop doing that.But even if he gave himself every other Friday afternoon off, he could still meet his patients’ needs—and have a bit more of a life himself.

He smiled as he watched Shelley chatting with Retta and Ari.Since she wouldn’t be at the clinic with him for much longer, it made even more sense to start carving out time deliberately if he wanted to be with her more.

His smile grew bigger when he saw Jim approaching the table, and the old guy caught his gaze and winked.

It was getting later now, and the crowd was starting to thin.Trip had wondered if Jim had maybe forgotten his promise to share some stories about Kitty with everyone.He was glad that didn’t seem to be the case.

Everyone greeted him warmly and shifted around to make room for him.Travis hauled Retta onto his lap to free up a seat.There were even more of them this week than there had been last week.Ty and his girl Shayna had come in a little while ago, and Trip loved that Wade and Tanner had brought Mateo and Ashton.

The little guys had claimed a booth for themselves, where they were sitting and chatting animatedly—though they kept trotting over to check in with their dads now and then.

“How’s everyone doing?”Jim asked as he settled into his seat.

“All the better for seeing you,” said Trip, and the others nodded their agreement.

“How about you, Jim?”Ace asked.“Are you about ready to have your world turned upside down this weekend, when Shelley and Harper move in?”

Jim chuckled.“I don’t know about turned upside down, but I think I’m ready for a bit of a shake-up.”He smiled at Shelley and added, “In more ways than one, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Deacon sat up a little straighter, and it didn’t surprise Trip that he was the one who picked up that Jim was referring to his estate.He looked around at the others, and Travis gave him a slight nod.Personally, Trip would have waited to address the matter until later, but that just wasn’t Deacon’s way.

“Spit it out, Deacon,” Jim told him with a smile.“Then again, if you’re about to say what I think you are, I already know.”

“About Gavin?”Deacon asked.

“Aye.I heard that little shit—pardon my French, ladies, but it’s nowhere near as bad as what I could have called him—has been poking around town again.Have you run into him?”

“I haven’t,” said Deacon.“But I’ll make it my business to track him down.”

Jim looked around at the others, but they all shook their heads.

“I don’t think any of us have seen him,” said Libby.“It’s my fault—I’m the one spreading gossip.Al Delaney told me this morning that Gavin’s been seen around town.”

Jim shrugged.“I don’t think I need to worry about him darkening my door.He knows better than that.”

Trip hoped he was right, but he wasn’t convinced.Gavinshouldknow better than to go anywhere near Jim after some of the tricks he’d pulled in his younger days but...

“Want me to run him out of town for you?”Deacon asked with a scowl.