Second Opinion

by Alexander, Hannah

  “I find it comforting that there’s a doctor willing to dig deeper,” she said, “to find out if there really is a problem or if all these cases are coincidental.”

  Grant smiled again and Lauren realized Gina was right, he did look a bit like a more cerebral Antonio Banderas in his prime. Without the ponytail.

  “Have you ever considered changing careers?” he asked.

  “Changing?”

  “You could be a counselor. You’re good with people. You listen.”

  “You think so?” The man was serious? “I’ve been told I talk faster than a runaway freight train.”

  “I never noticed. Much.” Grant’s smile widened. “What I do notice is how people open up with you. Mrs. Piedmont dotes on you like you’re another grandchild. Archer obviously thinks you’re great.”

  Archer? Really? “He does?”

  “He’s mentioned it.”

  Lauren wanted to ask about other things Archer might have mentioned but this conversation wasn’t about her love life—or lack of it. “Has he mentioned the fact that you are invited to attend our church and bring your kids any time you feel like it?”

  “He’s mentioned it.”

  She sensed she’d hit a nerve with that one. “Of course, you may already attend church somewhere.”

  “No.” His tone couldn’t have said more clearly, though gently, “Don’t go there.”

  She nodded. She’d seen that look often enough. “It must be hard raising teenagers alone. Your wife has been gone two years now?” She knew she was getting more and more personal but he didn’t seem to mind. Much.

  “It will be two years next month.”

  “I’m so sorry, Grant. Lately I’ve been whining because I’m homesick and here you are grieving over something that has changed your life permanently. I’ve never even been married. Now I’m babbling like—”

  “You’re not babbling.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him.

  “Someone once told me that the period of mourning after a death actually serves to honor the memory of the one who passed on.”

  Grant nodded as if thinking about her words for a moment. “I like that. It fits. Annette deserves to be honored.”

  “It sounds as if you had a good marriage.”

  “We did. We were best friends before we even dated.” He looked over at her. “I think it’s vital to like someone before you love them. Thanks to her deeply ingrained belief system we took the time for that.”

  “Annette was a Christian?”

  “Yes.” Grant fell silent and his movements stilled. The chatter of the tech and the secretary, punctuated by hints of laughter, filled the space where words, for a few moments, refused to enter. Then the telephone rang and the chatter stopped.

  “For the record I, too, once called myself a Christian,” Grant said softly.

  She concealed her surprise. “Once?”

  “Once. Annette carried the weight of spiritual leadership in our family since the children were little. She was their teacher. She tucked them in at night and prayed with them. Sometimes it seemed she tucked half the world in at night. She reached out to so many people and all I did was my job.”

  “You’re a doctor and from what I’ve seen you always go beyond the call of duty. How much more caring could you get? It sounds like you two were a good match.”

  The warmth that deepened in his dark gray eyes revealed more to Lauren about Grant’s love for his wife than any words could have.

  The triage bell rang. Lauren got up to check on their first patient of the day and as she walked away she thought she heard Grant sigh.

  ***

  “Hello, Archer.”

  The rich, melodious voice startled Archer so much he nearly dropped the receiver. Then he smiled and leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his desk. “Jessica? Is this possible? Are you actually calling me at last?”

  There was a soft chuckle at the other end. “I know I deserved that.”

  “You sure did. If you only knew how many times I’ve sat at home alone by the telephone, watching it, waiting for it to ring.”

  “And it never did.”

  “It always did. But it was never you.”

  Another chuckle. “I’m booked at the theater most nights, remember?”

  “You’re not only booked, you’re booked up. Congratulations. Every time I’ve tried to reserve a ticket for your performance, they’ve been sold out.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have gotten you a ticket.”

  “You told me not to call you.”

  She didn’t answer for a few seconds. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. You can call me.”

  Thank you, Lord. “So what finally made you break down?” He had so many things he wanted to talk to her about. Archer was suddenly in the best mood he’d been in for weeks.

  “Well get this, I missed you.”

  Oh, yeah. It felt good to hear her say that. “It took you long enough.”

  “No it didn’t. I just couldn’t bring myself to pick up the telephone and dial the church number. I didn’t want to take a chance on disturbing you on your cell if you happened to be counseling someone or visiting members. When I dialed your home number I never got an answer.” There was an unspoken question in her voice.

  “When you block caller ID I don’t know it’s you or I’d call you back.”

  “Business as usual.”

  “Sounds like it.”

  “Why didn’t you leave a message for me?”

  “Because sometimes a recording just doesn’t get the job done. So how’ve you been doing?”

  “I’ve… um…taken on another little job.”

  “Oh Archer, you didn’t.”

  “It didn’t seem like much at first.”

  “That’s what you always say. What is it this time? Are you the music director now, too? Let me guess, graded choirs as well as adult choir practice on Wednesday nights.”

  “Not music.”

  “Then what? Did your janitor quit?”

  “Nope. I had a lot of time on my hands without you so I volunteered to be an on-call chaplain at Dogwood Springs Hospital.”

  This time the silence was longer, more thoughtful. Jessica was the one person in the world with whom he could read the silences as well as the spoken words. He had come to know her that well. “Do you enjoy that kind of work?” she asked.

  “Enjoy isn’t exactly the word I would use. It only started out to be one night of call a week.”

  “And now?”

  “And since that first night I discovered that I can’t just let those patients go without a follow-up. I’m getting more personally involved.”

  “Of course you are.” Her voice held affectionate warmth. “It’s your nature to care about people.”

  He loved it when she talked like that. “To put your mind at ease, the church is searching for a youth minister to take some of my duties and Lauren McCaffrey is helping out a lot with the kids until we get someone in officially. She’s also helping me keep in contact with some of the patients since she’s an ER nurse.”

  “Lauren. Didn’t she just join the church a few months ago?”

  Jessica’s voice was still soft, thoughtful, but for some reason Archer felt a touch of tension. “The last part of February. She came from Knolls. Remember? I told you about her. I’ve known her forever.”

  “She’s a very pretty woman. Single, isn’t she?”

  “Yes. That’s why she has free time to help me.”

  “If memory serves, the kids at the church stuck to her like Velcro.”

  “That’s the one. She’s great.”

  “Was the chaplain position Lauren’s idea?”

  “Only my participation in it. Our new ER director requested that the program be put into motion while he was still negotiating with the hospital on his contract. Lauren called me as soon as she heard about it. When can we get together?” he asked, changing the subject abruptly
.

  There was a quiet hesitation. “Friday is still your day off, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Oh no, hold it. That wasn’t exactly true. He had a couple of appointments tomorrow but maybe he could fit everything in. “How about lunch?”

  “How about making a day of it? I can get you a ticket to our afternoon show at two.”

  He bit his lip, thinking. Yes, it could be done. “I’d love it. I have a counseling session in the morning and then Lauren and I are making a visit late tomorrow afternoon to follow up on a patient. I should be back in time for that.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow about noon?”

  “I’ll pick you up. Thanks for calling, Jessica.”

  There was a long silence. “Sure. Goodbye.”

  Somehow, when Archer hung up, he didn’t feel quite as elated as he would have expected to. It might have had something to do with Jessica’s sudden apparent lack of enthusiasm. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Archer hoped she hadn’t caught the bug that was going around.

  Chapter 13

  Sergeant Tony Dalton gripped his gun and crept with soundless steps across the concrete front porch of the only unoccupied house on Sycamore Street. With a quick nod he signaled for his younger partner, Henry, to come in closer. The station had received a call ten minutes ago about suspicious activity here. The caller described an intruder he saw slip into the building just after dawn.

  His description sounded uncomfortably familiar. For the past six weeks Tony had been after a man who used the street name “Peregrine.” The man befriended the teenagers who cruised on Friday and Saturday nights.

  The problem with Peregrine was that he always seemed to be a step ahead of them, as if he had inside information. He knew whom to approach and he knew how to avoid arrest. Tony had no doubt that the man was a drug kingpin but until two weeks ago no one had been willing to talk.

  Thanks to frightened but brave Evan Webster they now had a little more information to go on. And thanks to old Mr. Scroggs, who had a good memory for detail, they might even have a good case with which to nail this guy. If Peregrine thought he could hide out in this empty house, he’d underestimated the neighborhood watch.

  Avoiding the windows, Tony inched toward the front door. The two officers going around to the back of the house would be in place by now. He made no noise, cast no shadow, but before he could reach the knob and test it he heard a soft thud of footsteps inside the house.

  “He’s moving,” he whispered to Henry. “Get into place.”

  From the back of the house came a cry of alarm and a report of gunfire.

  Tony signaled for Henry to stay by the door and quick-stepped to the side of the porch. He turned the corner just in time to see a dark figure retreating into the trees with two officers in pursuit.

  “Door’s unlocked,” Henry called from behind him. “I’m going in.”

  Tony swung around. “No!”

  His partner pushed the door open as Tony rushed toward him and shoved him aside. The telltale hiss of a popped cork preceded the blaze of spewed ammonia that caught Tony full in the face like knives of fire stabbing his eyes.

  On instinct, he did not inhale as he stumbled off the porch into ankle-deep grass. Only then did he allow himself to breathe. He gasped and screamed with agony.

  ***

  “All’s fine in Knolls, Lauren.”

  “Let me guess—the only repeat customer you’ve had lately has been Cowboy.”

  Lukas Bower’s deep baritone laughter gave Lauren a feeling of peace she hadn’t expected—and for reasons she wouldn’t have imagined a few weeks ago. “He’s adding camels to his ranch. When he got his first shipment the bison didn’t take too kindly to the newcomers. He had to do some herding and fix a few fences.”

  “Nothing new, then.”

  “Nope. Are you really concerned about an epidemic?”

  “I think it’s a definite possibility at this point,” she said. “We lost a patient this morning who presented to the ER last night with simple viral symptoms. A little girl had the same symptoms a couple of weeks ago and she developed diabetes. Dr. Sheldon has been reviewing the case and can’t find anything unusual.”

  She explained more about the problem and found herself relaxing further. Lukas was still the brilliant doctor she had worked with. Now that she was removed from the situation in Knolls, however, she realized it was his kindness and dedication she had responded to. He was an attractive man in every way. She simply liked him. Maybe she hadn’t made quite the fool of herself she’d always believed she had.

  Then again maybe she had. “Thank you for your help, Lukas. I’m sure Mercy would have mentioned any unusual problems at the clinic.”

  “Yes. I wish there was more I could do.”

  “If you hear of anything would you let me know?”

  “Of course.”

  After she thanked him and hung up, Lauren leaned back in her chair and tried to study the notes she had been taking for the past thirty minutes. Instead, she considered what she’d told Gina last week about the reason she came to Dogwood Springs.

  From her teen years into her twenties, Lauren hadn’t been terribly interested in dating. Her passion was her career. At one time she’d planned to become a doctor. Her large farming family, however, didn’t have the money for medical school and Lauren came from a long line of McCaffreys who hated debt. She took to nursing as if she’d been made for it and she put her whole heart into it.

  Now all of a sudden, in the space of a year, she had reacted to two attractive men like some of the hormone-driven teenagers she used to run around with in high school. Her biological clock truly was ticking and her mother’s constant reminders about grandchildren didn’t help.

  But something else was at work here. She was lonely. Everywhere she looked she saw married couples, engaged couples, families all spending time together. Sure, a lot of those families had problems but at least they had someone to come home to. Maybe the married couples who complained about their spouses wouldn’t be so critical if they knew how it felt to live alone, if they could imagine not having a confidante to share their thoughts with or a companion who cared more for them than anyone else in the world. Everybody she knew had someone else.

  Until recently, despite her wish for children, Lauren had been able to deal with the single life. But in the past year she’d come to realize that this sense of being alone in the world in spite of loving parents and brothers and sisters might be her experience for the rest of her life.

  She didn’t want to live that way.

  And yet, how many more times did she want to express her attraction to a man only to discover he had no interest in her whatsoever?

  Grant came back and sat down beside her.

  She gave him her report. “Nothing out of the ordinary in Knolls, Branson, West Plains, or Harrison. Whatever this is, it’s selective.”

  “So it’s all local.” He completed his first stack of files and shoved it aside. “It could be an epidemic but it doesn’t seem to be spreading yet. I’ll do some more checking and then talk to our administrator. Right now I doubt if anyone will pay much attention and I could be jumping to conclusions that are all based on suppositions. I’d like to interview some patients before we take this further. Maybe they’re all eating at the same restaurant or something. We might have a new version of Typhoid Mary on our hands. Except this isn’t typhoid.”

  Lauren watched him for a moment as he jotted a few notes. “Grant, do you mind if I ask you one more personal question?”

  He laid the pen down and slid the writing pad aside before he turned to make eye contact with her. “Let me guess, you want to know the time and date I became a believer.”

  She smiled. “How did you know?”

  “Because it’s something Annette would have asked.” He looked away briefly.

  “Oh? Was she as nosy as I am? You don’t have to tell me anything. It’s none of my business.”

  “I was seven
teen.”

  She smiled her thanks and he returned the smile.

  “You’d have liked her.”

  “I’m sure I would have loved her. How did you two meet?”

  “I was doing speed. I was getting drunk when I couldn’t get high and I was staying away from home on weekends; my parents were going through a nasty divorce. I didn’t want anything to do with them.”

  For once she didn’t know what to say. She had discovered after working only a few shifts with this man that he was very forthright about himself, both with patients and the staff. If he didn’t know something about a patient’s case he admitted it. Rather than causing confusion, his honesty inspired confidence. He was willing to share facts about his personal experiences if he thought it would make an impact on one of his patients. But he had never shared this much before.

  “Annette was a newcomer to my high school in eleventh grade,” he said. “She was an innocent. A tee totaling Christian. She didn’t want anything to do with me except get me ‘saved.’ She had these magnificent eyes that seemed to look right through me. She talked with her whole body, with her hands constantly in motion.”

  “Yep, I’d have definitely been her best friend in school.”

  “For some reason I couldn’t stay away from her,” he said. “So when she invited me to a youth rally, I went.” He shrugged. “Apparently, she thought she saw something worthwhile in me. It was only a matter of time before I was confessing my sins and praying for Christ to take control of my life.” There was an edge of sarcasm in Grant’s voice but it sounded more directed toward himself than God.

  “Then what?” Lauren asked.

  “I kicked the speed and the alcohol, started going to church, and stopped skipping school so often. My grades improved so dramatically I earned a scholarship the next year. I married Annette three years later.”

  Lauren leaned forward until Grant was forced to look at her. “After all this time, why haven’t you forgiven yourself if you know God forgave you?”