he’d found last Christmas lonely and depressing.
Admittedly, Ethan wasn’t as sad this year. Yet he wasn’t at peace, either. He couldn’t shake the notion that he was at a crossroads in his life. The sensation had been growing over the past few months.
A rustling sound from the doorway had him spinning back around. His medical partner Connor hovered on the threshold of his office, his attention engrossed on the tablet in his hand.
“Got a minute to discuss a patient?”
Ethan checked the watch he’d worn in the military and continued to wear as a symbol of where he’d been and how the past had shaped the man he’d become. “Sure.”
His next patient wasn’t due for twenty minutes.
“I’ll keep it brief.” Connor stepped fully into the office, then shut the door behind him.
Ethan felt his jaw tighten. He recognized that look on the other man’s face. He’d seen it often enough during their long-standing friendship to know whatever Connor had to say, Ethan wasn’t going to like it.
He made his way around the desk. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he leaned back on his heels and waited.
Connor dropped his gaze back to the tablet. Ethan studied his partner’s bent head as he punched at the screen. They’d been friends longer than Ethan could remember. They’d played on the same sports teams and run in the same crowd.
But while Ethan had alternated between keeping his siblings out of trouble, working two jobs and earning his college degree before joining the military, Connor had taken the traditional route of college, medical school and marriage to his childhood sweetheart. Sheila’s death had hit Connor hard, leaving him to raise his twin daughters on his own, until he’d found happiness a second time around with Ethan’s sister, Olivia.
Throughout the years, even with time and distance between them, Connor and Ethan’s friendship had remained strong.
When Connor became a widower, Ethan had been there for him. After Tracy’s accident, Connor had given Ethan a reason to come home, by selling him half of his already thriving medical practice.
At last, the other doctor lifted his head. “I saw a new patient this afternoon. Felicity O’Toole.”
Ethan’s heart thumped extra hard as two simultaneous emotions moved through him. Relief that Keely had brought Flicka into the office. And insult that she’d made the appointment with Connor and not him.
With Connor being the father of twin daughters Flicka’s age, it made sense Keely would want him to be the child’s primary care physician. Nevertheless, if Ethan had any doubt as to whether the woman still held the past against him, he now knew she did.
He was suddenly regretting his agreement to work on the parade with her. If she wanted to, she could make his life difficult, or at least uncomfortable. Except Keely was never spiteful and he’d given his word.
Surely the next three weeks wouldn’t be too terrible.
“Keely specifically requested that I let you know she’d followed through her with her promise.” Connor shifted his stance, angled his head at a curious tilt. “Want to tell me what that means?”
Ethan gave his partner a brief explanation of Sunday night’s events, then finished with “I insisted she bring the child to the office for a complete exam.”
“All of which she told me. And yet she made the appointment with me instead of you?” Connor’s eyes filled with bafflement. “Why do you think she did that?”
“No idea.” Hearing his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, Ethan drew in a tight, audible breath. “Maybe you should have asked Keely.”
“I did. She got all nervous and tongue-tied. What is it with you two? One would think...”
He fell silent.
“One would think what? Spit it out, Connor.”
The other man waved away the question. “Not relevant to the conversation.”
Since dropping the subject worked for Ethan, he refocused on the practice’s newest patient. “Did you discover anything in Flicka’s medical history I should know about, in case I have to make another house call?”
Connor’s eyebrows pulled together. “Who’s Flicka?”
A smile tugged at Ethan’s lips. So the kid only wanted him to call her by the nickname. But the warmth that spread through him immediately turned to ice. Only heartache resulted when a guy got too close to a woman with a sweet kid. “I meant Felicity.”
“She likes to be called Flicka?”
“Yeah, she does.” At least by Ethan.
“I’ll make a note of that.” Connor typed in the change. “You can read her chart later, but basically the child is healthy and up to date on all her shots.”
Good. That was good.
“She’s also extremely fond of you. Throughout the exam, it was Dr. Ethan this and Dr. Ethan that, with a little Baloo thrown in to mix things up.”
Ethan chuckled.
“Given everything she’s been through,” Connor continued, “I suggested Keely create an environment of consistency and—”
“Hold up.” Ethan lifted a hand in the air to stop Connor. “What situation are you talking about?”
“Keely didn’t tell you about the girl’s mother?”
“She did not.”
And Ethan hadn’t asked. Why hadn’t he asked? Because he hadn’t wanted to get too close, or overly involved with the child and her pretty guardian.
No better way to keep things on the surface than by not asking too many personal questions.
“Felicity’s mother is Keely’s first cousin.” Connor went thoughtful again, but only for a moment. “She’s in prison serving a twelve-year sentence for embezzlement.”
The words echoed in Ethan’s head.
Prison. Embezzlement. Not what he’d expected. Even if Flicka’s mother served a third of her sentence, and was released on good behavior, she would miss out on a lot of her daughter’s life, possibly even the important preteen years.
No wonder Keely was concerned about her role in the child’s life. Ethan’s estimation of his neighbor went up five notches. Dangerous ground, since he was perfectly happy keeping the woman at a distance.
“It’s been a hard year on the girl. Village Green Elementary will be her third school in as many months.”
“That explains the stomachache Sunday night.”
Connor nodded. “That would be my diagnosis.”
They briefly discussed the rest of the child’s medical history.
