intend to have. Find someone else if you need an extra pair of hands.”
“There isn’t anyone else,” she insisted. “Look, if you want to spend your days resting and relaxing, great. But can’t you spare a few weeks out of your busy schedule? I’m not asking you to work twenty-hour days, either. Nine to four, Monday through Friday. I’ll take care of the night and weekend call schedule.”
Her offer was quite generous, in her opinion, but if he wanted more—such as working only three days a week—she’d agree to his terms, because any assistance he could give was better than none.
“I sympathize with you, but I’m not interested.”
“I’ll pay you a salary,” she offered impulsively.
He raised one dark eyebrow. “You said this is your first practice?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Then you don’t have two cents to rub together.” His tone was flat. “I know because I’ve been there myself. Unless you’re independently wealthy?”
“I’m not. If you won’t accept a salary, then I’ll split the office profits with you, with none of the expenses.” She didn’t know how she’d manage that and still meet her loan payments, but she’d find a way.
“I don’t take advantage of my colleagues,” he stated. “Save your money.”
Calling her a colleague boosted Ivy’s hopes for the second time since she’d walked into the cabin. “Then it’s a deal? You’ll join me?”
“No.”
Impatiently, she rubbed the back of her neck and struggled to hold her tone even. “What’s the problem?”
“There isn’t a problem. I just want to be left alone,” he ground out. “Is that too difficult a concept for you to grasp, Dr. Harris?”
Although the red highlights in her hair came courtesy of her hairdresser, Ivy’s temper rose to match. “You don’t have a concept. You have an excuse. How can you ignore children who need a doctor?”
“They have you, and you seem capable enough.”
“What about your Hippocratic Oath and the joy of healing those who seek your help?”
“I can’t help you, Dr. Harris,” he said flatly.
“You won’t,” she corrected.
“I have my reasons.”
“Which are?”
“None of your business, Dr. Harris.”
“Perhaps you don’t understand the dynamics of rural communities. Everyone helps each other. Think on that the next time you go to town and expect someone to serve you at the diner, sack and carry your groceries, or change the oil in your car.”
“For the record, I’m immune to threats.”
“A threat would be if I said no one would serve you,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m merely pointing out that the people in this area share their skills and talents. We don’t hoard or use them only when it’s convenient.” Her voice shook with frustration. “You don’t have any children, do you, Dr. Locke?”
His eyes turned dark and his expression cold. “No.”
“I didn’t think so, because if you did, I wonder how you’d feel if you had a sick son or daughter and the doctor who could treat him refused because his vacation was more important.”
He didn’t answer.
Unable to spend another minute in his presence, she headed for the exit. “Enjoy your rest and relaxation, Doctor. I hope you’ll be very happy spending time in your ivory tower.”
She stormed out, carefully and quietly closing the screen door when it was tempting to do the opposite. It was equally tempting to rev her engine and scatter the gravel as she peeled out of the driveway, but she refused to act in such a petty manner. Ethan Locke might think of her as a country hick, but she possessed more class than that. With any luck she wouldn’t run into the man for the rest of his so-called vacation, however long it lasted. Considering how she spent nearly all of her time at the clinic, the ten-bed hospital, or her father’s diner, the odds of never seeing him again lay solidly in her favor.
Twenty minutes later she parked in her spot behind the Danton clinic’s employee entrance and gratefully entered the air-conditioned wing which had been earmarked for pediatrics.
Heather Fox, Ivy’s office nurse and inseparable childhood friend, poked her head out of an exam room as Ivy walked past. “How did it go?”
Ivy detoured into the cubicle and sank into a chair. “Not well. He turned me down. Flatly and unequivocally. I shouldn’t be surprised or disappointed. It was a long shot.”
Long shot or not, she’d carried high hopes… To add insult to injury, it wasn’t fair for a man with his good looks to be such a selfish grump! What an insult to pediatricians everywhere!
“Hmm. I would have thought a retired gent would have been happy to hop back into the saddle and supplement his income for a few weeks.”
“He’s not retired,” Ivy said. “I don’t know how Lew got that impression, but Ethan Locke hasn’t hit forty. To quote him, he’s on ‘an extended and well-deserved vacation’.”
“He’s under forty and can take an extended holiday? Wow! Makes you wonder what his rates as a pediatrician are.”
Remembering how he’d related to Ivy’s lack of finances, she wondered that herself. If he’d earned his millions by charging his patients exorbitant fees, it was a good thing he’d turned her down. Neither she nor the families in the area could afford his services. “No kidding.”
Heather frowned, clearly puzzling out the situation. “So why did he say no? Even if he’s wealthy, I’d think he’d be willing to volunteer.”
“‘Let me count the ways’,” Ivy quoted as she began ticking off his reasons on her fingers. “He’s on vacation. He’s not interested. He wants to be left alone.”
“Did you explain he wouldn’t have any evening or weekend duty?”
“I did, but he still wasn’t interested.” Ivy pinched the bridge of her nose. “Nothing I said made a difference.” She met her friend’s gaze, disappointed by her failure. “I’m sorry, Heather. I know you’d like to leave at a decent time every evening to spend time with your family, and now—”
“Hey, don’t apologize. You did everything you could.” She sighed. “This hasn’t been the best welcome home for you, either, Ivy. Instead of a quiet summer with Dr. Griffith, getting to know the routine, you got tossed in over your head from the very beginning.”
Ivy shrugged, although she smiled. “Don’t worry about me. Murphy’s Law and medicine seem to go hand in hand. We’ll do the best we can and hope it’s enough.”
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