memories of him today, he hadn’t come back to haunt her in his old stomping grounds.
Shorter hair, a perpetual frown and a broader build gave away Adam’s identity. Lines of stress and exhaustion bracketed his eyes and downturned mouth. “Are you ready?”
“How did you get in? I turned the dead bolt behind the staff.”
“I have Dad’s keys.”
She had no keys, which meant she couldn’t leave without explaining to Kay why she needed a set or risk leaving the office unlocked and unprotected, which she would never do since she knew how much each piece of equipment and bottle of medicine cost.
An intentional oversight? Most likely, given the way this trip had transpired.
“What procedure did they end up doing on Da—your father?”
“A lobe resection.”
Lobe meant lung, not hernia. Danny hadn’t lied to her. She should be relieved, but she wasn’t.
“You should have warned me that he’d lied to his staff.”
Dark eyebrows spiked upward. “About what?”
“He told them he was going in for a hernia operation.”
She hated liars. That was ironic since her life back in Quincey was based on a lie—one of omission, one that hurt no one. But her story was still dishonest no matter how she justified it. When she’d first arrived in Quincey she’d let everyone believe that she was a recent vet school graduate who’d just happened to hear about Dr. Jones’s practice upon graduation. No one knew she was running from a past that wouldn’t quit pursuing her.
“Is it impossible for you to comprehend that Dad might not have wanted his employees to worry about their job security?”
“Trust is essential in any partnership—business or personal.” A lesson she’d learned through Andrew’s betrayal.
Frustrated by the whole messy situation, she swiped a strand of hair off her face. Unless she wanted to alienate the people she was supposed to work with over the next eight weeks, she’d have to perpetuate the lie by not revealing their beloved boss’s faults.
“I’ll give him an opportunity to tell them the truth, but he needs to do it as soon as possible. I will not look them in the eye and lie to them. If they ask a direct question, I’ll answer it truthfully.”
“Tell him that when you visit him tonight.”
Alarm splintered through her. “Visit him?”
“You’re going to stand by his bedside and tell him everything is wonderful—even if it isn’t.”
“No.” The idea revolted her so much she pushed away from the desk. If she never set foot in another hospital it would be too soon. Lying there after she’d lost her baby, seeing the sympathy on the doctors’ and nurses’ faces as they bustled into and out of her empty room and having no one to tell her what was going on with Andrew had pushed her to the brink of sanity. It was a doctor she’d never seen before who had informed her of Andrew’s passing.
“I’m not going to the hospital, Adam.”
“Yes, you are. Let’s go.” He turned and left.
She racked her brain for an excuse he would accept. “It’s been a long day. I need to rest for tomorrow.”
He held the front door open for her, his hard eyes bored into hers. “Your day has been nothing compared to what my mother and father have been through.”
True, she admitted with a pinch of remorse. “Your father won’t be ready for company.”
Adam turned the key, locking her out of the building. She couldn’t go back inside. “Your reassurances will quicken his recovery.”
Another truth she didn’t want to accept. Resignation settled heavily on her shoulders. “Can we at least stop somewhere so I can grab a sandwich?” Procrastination at its finest. “I appreciated the lunch, but it was a long time ago.”
“And you only ate one slice of pizza.”
Yet another unpleasant surprise. As if there hadn’t been enough of them already. “You’re checking up on me? What do you care if I eat?”
“I told you. This isn’t about you. It’s about my father’s practice and your ability to hold it together until he returns. Frankly, I don’t think you’ll last. I think you’ll bail at the first opportunity. But until you do, I’m going to do my part.”
Indignation stiffened her spine. “I keep my promises.”
“We’ll see about that.” He held open her car door, then closed it behind her, sealing her inside the silent compartment. Trapped. The word echoed through her brain and made her skin crawl. She’d never been prone to claustrophobia, but she suspected this need to claw her way out might be how it felt.
Anger steamed through her. Why had she come back? Why had she let herself be suckered into helping?
Because you want this debt behind you so you can finally find some peace.
Adam rounded the hood and slid behind the wheel. “Passing out due to low blood sugar won’t get you out of helping. You can eat in the hospital cafeteria—our food is good. I need to check on Dad one more time before going home. When I left—”
He clamped his jaw shut and wrenched the key in the ignition. His Adam’s apple bobbed. Witnessing his emotional response deflated her anger and dredged up a reciprocal concern she did not want or need.
“How is Danny?” She wished the words back the instant they escaped. She’d been fighting with herself all afternoon trying not to care, but that was easier said than done when she’d been treading the tiles she and Danny had walked together so often.
“Surgery went as well as could be expected.”
He pulled out of the parking lot, turning the opposite direction from his house. Her nails dug into the armrest. She wanted to insist he take her back to his place. But judging by his hard face and white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel, arguing would be a waste of time. She was at Adam’s mercy, dependent on him for food, shelter and transportation. She’d resolved after the crash to never let herself rely on anyone again, and yet here she was.
She should have brought the truck, but she worried every time she took a long trip that it wouldn’t make it home. Then what would she do? She wouldn’t be able to reach the livestock on surrounding farms.
The truck’s starter was at the top of the list of expensive things needing repair. On the drive home from Georgia Saturday she’d been afraid to turn off the engine when she filled the gas tank for fear that the vehicle wouldn’t restart, and then she’d have to pay for a tow from someone besides the mechanic who traded his skills for animal care. Working here instead of at home meant she wasn’t earning the money she’d need to buy the parts.
But her debt to Danny was one that money couldn’t repay. So if she had to go to the hospital then she would, but she wouldn’t leave empty-handed. She had questions of
