was someone behind her.
“You look ready for a knock-down, drag-out with that railing, but I don’t recommend it.”
Ben. the corners of her mouth turned up, which was a minor miracle. She turned. “And yet again you’re trespassing.”
“I saw you at the registration desk, but you were gone before I could flag you down.”
“So…Stalking?” She lifted one eyebrow.
“More of a house call. Someone to use your words with.”
“McKnight in shining armor strikes again.”
“You look like someone broke the heel off your favorite shoe. What’s up?”
“Same old thing. Personnel insubordination.” She leaned an elbow on the railing. “My clerk at the registration desk disappeared again.”
“Again?”
“I know employees are entitled to breaks. That’s not a problem; someone is assigned to cover the desk for a scheduled break. But with her it’s chronic, unscheduled disappearances. Every two hours she’s gone without a word. It’s flaky and irresponsible. And I might have to let her go.”
“That doesn’t sound like Mary Jane Baxter.”
“You know her?” She should stop being surprised by that.
“From high school. The blessing and curse of a small town.” He shrugged. “She was student body president. Smart, efficient. Every two hours?”
“Like clockwork,” she confirmed.
He looked thoughtful. “Now that you mention it, I recall that she’s hypoglycemic.”
“Can you dumb that down for those of us who didn’t go to med school?”
“Her blood sugar dips and she needs to eat regularly.”
“So it’s a recognized medical condition?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not a monster who’d keep her chained to her post until she passes out. I can be fair, but only if I know what the problem is.” Cam threw up her hands in exasperation. “Why didn’t she say something?”
“Maybe it’s famous heiress intimidation syndrome. All the symptoms are there.”
“I’m a very nice person,” she defended.
“Then try talking to her like one.”
Cam thought about it and nodded. “Can’t hurt. Thanks for the suggestion.”
“You’re welcome.”
Now that she was calmer, she remembered that he’d planned to flag her down. “Was there something you wanted?”
“Yeah.” For just an instant intensity darkened his eyes and then disappeared. “My sister checked out your tires.”
“And?”
“They’re practically new and she couldn’t find any damage. No evidence of puncture, but the cap was missing. Syd’s guess is that someone deliberately let the air out.” He frowned. “Probably a prank.”
“Is it still considered a prank when a disgruntled employee does it?” Her sigh had an awful lot of defeat in it.
Obviously Ben noticed because he slung an arm across her shoulders. “They’ll come around. Give it time.”
She leaned into him for a moment, soaking up the comfort he offered. Again he made her feel safe, made her miss her big brother. He’d taken care of her in a way her father never had and she missed him every single day. But Ben wasn’t her brother and a hum of awareness vibrated through her that suddenly didn’t feel safe at all.
She pulled away from him. “It’s been almost three months and things here at the lodge are worse than ever. In my experience, people either don’t like me or they pretend to be my friend in order to get something from me.”
“Betrayal leaves a mark.”
She wasn’t going to confirm or deny. “What do I owe your sister?”
“Nothing. She took it to the shop and put air in the tire then brought it back.”
“A house call?”
He shrugged. “Call it public relations. If anyone here at the lodge needs a good mechanic, put in a good word.”
“Okay. Please give her my thanks and tell her that I appreciate what she did very much.” She started toward the stairs. “My break is over.”
She didn’t want it to be over because being with Ben felt like a sanctuary.
“I’ll see you around,” he said.
Not really a good idea. He was right about betrayal. The mark it left on her was about not being able to trust anyone. Ever. That wasn’t much of a problem here, since everyone fell in the hating her camp. So that made her wonder why the hometown hero was the only one in town being nice to her.
Chapter Four
“I put a patient in exam room one. And I use the term patient loosely, if you know what I mean.”
Ben looked at the disgusted expression on nurse Ginny’s face and was afraid he did know what she meant. It was another single woman faking a sprained ankle or wrist or something else as an excuse to put the moves on him.
“Does she have a casserole?”
Ginny grinned, a sign she was enjoying this way too much. “Yes.”
“Okay. Is there a chart?”
“Uh-huh.” She handed it over. “The home phone number is highlighted and underlined and asterisked.”
He looked at the paperwork inside the manila folder. Cherri Lyn Hoffman. Twenty-five. Worked in accounting at the Blackwater Lake power company. Single. Discomfort in right ankle. “Well, I guess we should see what’s wrong with her.”
“Or not.” Ginny headed down the hall to the break room.
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“You’re a big boy. I think you can handle this.” She kept walking, then turned into the last room and disappeared.
Ben sighed as he knocked once on the exam room door. “Miss Hoffman?”
“Come in.”
He did. In this Victorian house donated to the town and turned into a clinic, the rooms were bigger. There was a sink in the corner and walls filled with charts and posters. One for nutrition, with portions of fruit and vegetables dominating. Another was a skeleton with bones labeled.
The
