Stella MacLean - To Protect Her Son

This man cared deeply about his family, a trait she admired very much. A caring family was something she’d never experienced. She envied the family life Nate, Sherri and Anna shared. She longed for the same thing for herself and Adam. How different their life might have been if they’d had a supportive family.

But there was no going back, no wishing for what could never be. This was her new life, and this man had come here to provide support to Adam. With his professional experience and family history, he might make a big difference in her son’s life.

* * *

GAYLE SAWYER SEEMED so understanding. Yet it was more than that. She seemed to genuinely care about people, and that included Anna. He’d seen the look in her eyes as he talked about his sister. Gayle was a friend Anna could count on, and it made him feel...pleased. Yeah, that was it. He was pleased that his sister had found a friend she could rely on—not that Anna didn’t have friends in Eden Harbor. After all, she’d lived here her entire life. But something made him realize Gayle would be special.

And that realization increased his desire to do everything he could for Adam. Not that he hadn’t been committed to this case when he’d come here. But Gayle was a friend of both his sister and his cousin. That gave him a whole other reason for wanting to see Adam a happy, well-adjusted teenager.

Although he was fascinated by this woman, that was as far as it could go. His life was just fine the way it was. He wouldn’t allow himself to see Gayle as anything other than a client and a friend of the family.

Returning his focus to the present and what he needed to do, he glanced at his watch. How had he lost track of the time? That never happened to him. “I have to get out of here if I’m going to make my next appointment. Thanks for the tea and cookies.”

“Of course.” She walked with him to the door, her expression warmed by the sudden smile on her face. “Have a nice day,” she said as she opened the door.

He could have sworn she was about to say, “Have a nice life.”

Was Gayle hoping she wouldn’t have to see him again? Did she find his presence in her life an unwelcome necessity? He hadn’t considered the possibility until this moment. Yet she had to have serious reservations about the whole process they were involved in. Could her private chat with Ted Marston have been about him? He smiled to himself. Necessity had forced her to accept him into her life. Professional responsibility had guaranteed that he would act in her son’s best interests. In other words, the relationship between them was all business.

He had started out expecting that to be the case—counting on it, actually. Yet now as his eyes met hers, he was struck by an idea. She welcomed his leaving. She wanted her space back, free of his interference. The thought made him feel off balance, shaken and for some reason more than a little disappointed.

CHAPTER FOUR

AT THE CLINIC on Monday morning Gayle tucked the phone against her shoulder as she listened to Mrs. Lockhart explain why she couldn’t keep her appointment on Wednesday and needed to reschedule. It had been a busy morning, and as a result Gayle hadn’t gotten the lab results filed from last week’s Thursday and Friday clinics. The normal procedure was that a copy went to the patient’s doctor’s office and one to the clinic where the specialist or surgeon saw the patient.

Distracted by the mound of paper on her desk while she searched the computerized schedule for an opening, she almost put Emily Lockhart into the wrong clinic. She corrected her error and assigned Emily a new appointment. “There. That’s done. See you on the seventeenth, Mrs. Lockhart.”

“Thank you so much. You know sometimes it’s hard to get a drive into town when everyone is working. Some of my family members work two jobs just to make ends meet.”

“I understand,” Gayle said, sympathetic and once again thankful that she had stable employment.

When she got off the phone, she turned to the test results that needed to be filed without delay. She had about an hour before the afternoon clinic, and if she ate her lunch quickly in the staff room, she should be able to get the paperwork cleared up before the busy afternoon began.

It was once again Neill Brandon’s clinic day, and Sherri, as one of the nurses in the clinics, would be back here any minute to ensure that everything was ready. Meanwhile Gayle dug a health bar out of her bag under the desk and took a quick bite before starting to sort the reports in alphabetical order. They would all have to be filed in the cabinets along the back wall of the reception area. She was halfway through the pile when she came to the results of a referral for Anna Barker from Dr. Ningh, a neurologist who held clinics here every two weeks.

Why would Anna be seeing a neurologist? Gayle scanned the report. “...further study is needed to rule out Parkinson’s disease...”

Gayle’s hand trembled. It couldn’t be. Anna was a single mom who worked as administrative assistant to the mayor of Eden Harbor, Larry Green. Not only did she depend on the money it paid, but Anna loved her job because it allowed her to leave the house when the boys went to school, and to be home within an hour of when they returned. Larry was a good boss whom Anna liked. He was very understanding when she needed time off to care for her boys.

But what would happen to all of them if Anna had Parkinson’s?

“Earth calling Gayle,” Sherri said in an overly loud voice, making Gayle jump and send the report fluttering to the floor. “Whatever you’re reading must be important.”

“Just a report,” Gayle said, her heart pounding with worry.

“I’ll get it,” Sherri volunteered.

No one could know about this, not only for reasons of patient confidentiality, but also because she didn’t want Sherri to worry until there was good reason. It was the least she could do for her friend. Besides, there was no need to alarm anyone until Anna had her appointment with Dr. Ningh.

“No. I’ll get it.” Gayle ducked down quickly and scooped up the paper, greeted by a quizzical glance from Sherri. “I was just about to file this, but it can wait,” she said, tucking the paper into the pile on her desk.

Sherri took her usual spot on the other side of the raised counter. “You haven’t told me how your first visit with Nate went.”

“Fine. He and Adam seemed to hit it off, although Adam left before Nate did.”

“Oh, really?” Sherri said, a hint of smugness to her tone.

“It wasn’t like that. Adam had a skateboarding date with his friends, and the interview went a little longer than I expected. Nate left shortly after.”

“Nate tells me that he enjoyed meeting you. How about you?”

“Nate is your cousin, and I hope one day that he and I will be friends,” she said, thankful that there were no questions about the report on her desk. Fending off Sherri’s curiosity about Nate and her was easy. Nate hadn’t shown any real interest in her. As for herself, she remembered the frisson of excitement she’d felt when he’d come to the door, and wished that she dared to talk about her reaction. But it was out of the question, especially when she would never act on her feelings. “Other than that, there’s nothing to report.”

“Did Adam like him?” Sherri said, her tone gentle now.

Gayle glanced up at her friend, noted the concern in her eyes and was once again so thankful that someone like Sherri cared so much about her and Adam. “We talked a little when he returned from his skateboarding, and in Adam’s words, he’s ‘cool.’ Nate asked him a lot about his job.”

“Nate mowed lawns until he went to work in grade nine at Peterson’s Pharmacy stocking shelves,” Sherri said. “The girls used to go into the store just to catch a glimpse of him, but he only had eyes for Natasha Burnham.”