Heart to Heart

by Meline Nadeau

  “Dan Prince!” she said, shocked to be charged with making a delivery to the doctor. She read the slips attached, surprised the prescription was for pain. There were other things in the bag, but she didn’t want to tear off the staple to see what they were.

  The big question was, why couldn’t he come get his own prescription? Or send his nurse? She couldn’t help being suspicious of his motive in asking for a delivery when he lived only blocks away.

  A few minutes ago, she’d been in a happy mood, feeling like a kid let out of school early. Now she was sure Bert had deliberately failed to mention who got the second delivery. Had he tuned into the gossip about her and the doctor? Did he think he was playing cupid? And what excuse did Dan have for asking for home delivery of a prescription?

  First, she had to deliver Mrs. Greenwich’s pills. At around ninety-eight or ninety-nine, she was certainly in the running for oldest person in the county. Even more amazing, she lived alone on a small section of what had once been the family farm. Her one surviving son had removed the back part of the original house and made it into a small cottage.

  Amy knew the way, ending up on a long road where she had to drive with extreme care to avoid potholes and loose gravel. She knew from past visits that Mrs. Greenwich’s son lived in another town and was constantly urging his mother to live with him or move to a nursing home.

  When she got there, Amy knocked several times on the frame of the screen door, finally calling out through the mesh.

  “Coming, coming, coming,” the elderly woman said, clutching her cane and shuffling toward the door in bedroom slippers.

  “I have your prescription from Warner’s Drug Store.”

  “Silly to be taking pills at my age,” she said when Amy handed her the bag. “If my son didn’t insist on hauling me halfway across the county to see that quack doctor of his, I’d forget about them. What do you think of the new boy?”

  It took Amy a moment to realize she meant the new doctor.

  “I’m sure he’s very competent.” She thought about Dan a lot, but not about his medical qualifications.

  “Competent!” Mrs. Greenwich scoffed, still standing in the open doorway. On some deliveries, she invited Amy inside and talked a blue streak, but it didn’t look like this would be one of those times. “There’s a word I’d rather not hear. My son doesn’t think I’m competent to live alone. I’d rather share a stall with our old bull Rusty than live with that wife of his. Never liked her and never will. What do I owe you?”

  “It’s all taken care of,” Amy said, trying to be vague because her son was in charge of all her finances now that his mother’s vision was failing. “Do you want me to count out the first week in your pill holder?”

  “I can still count to seven,” the elderly lady snapped. “Thank you for coming all the way out here.” The screen door banged shut behind her as she disappeared into the dim interior of the small house.

  Much as she’d like to offer help to their oldest customer, Amy knew from experience the woman’s pride wouldn’t let her accept any kind of assistance. She drove back down the pitted road, saddened by the brief visit. Mrs. Greenwich had outlived almost everyone she’d ever known: her parents, siblings if she’d ever had any, her husband, and all but one of her children. No doubt her friends had all passed on too.

  When the realization hit her, Amy stopped the car in shock. That could be her at some future time. If she outlived her sister, her mother, even her friends, who would be left in her life? Her darling niece Hannah would grow old too, hopefully with a Prince Charming of her own, but would she stay in Heart City where jobs were scarce?

  After being lost in thought for several moments, she eased the car forward, but her mind wasn’t on the pitfalls in the road. Instead, she could see herself growing old alone, perhaps still a part of the community but without the close ties of a husband or children. It suddenly seemed like a very bleak future, one she saw no way of altering. Her plan to take mythical vacations and meet the man of her dreams was no more realistic than Hannah’s belief in a Prince Charming.

  • • •

  Dan hobbled across the room to get a bottle of water from the fridge, but it was empty except for some sad leftovers and condiments with nothing to put them on. Bert Warner had promised him speedy delivery of his prescription and supplies, but he must have a different idea about what was fast.

  Painfully favoring his sprained ankle, Dan got a glass and filled it with tap water, although he still wasn’t used to the slightly metallic taste. Of all the dumb things he’d done in his life, climbing a tree ranked at the top.

  Back on the couch, he elevated his foot on a pillow and replaced the improvised ice pack, only a bread bag filled with cubes from one of the trays in the small freezer compartment. No surprise, it was leaking. He sank back, thinking unkind thoughts about the pharmacist, his store, the town, and Iowa in general.

  “Don’t be a jerk,” he told himself. His ankle hurt like hell, but he wasn’t in unbearable pain. He was hoping Amy would deliver his supplies, and the suspense about whether she would was worse than his physical discomfort.

  When she finally knocked on his door, he was quick to call out. “Come in. The door’s not locked.”

  He leaned back, rested his head on the arm of the couch, and hoped he looked pathetic enough to gain her sympathy, childish as he knew that to be.

  “What on earth happened to you?” she asked when she stepped inside and saw him.

  “Just a little fall.” He tried to sound manly and unconcerned, but did he detect a whine in his voice?

  “Your ankle is the size of a basketball,” she said, coming close to see.

  “I would’ve said a football.” He tried to sound funny.

  “Well, whatever, it looks awful. Where did you fall?” She stood holding a fairly large white bag.

  “Do you want the truth or the edited version?” He knew he was going to sound like an idiot either way.

  “Just tell me what happened.” She sounded stern, reminding him of a nurse with an uncooperative patient.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” No way was he going to tell her why. He hadn’t had a full night’s rest since he saw her in the restaurant with the skinny blond guy.

  “And?”

  “I still had hours to kill before my office hours, so I decided to work on the tangle of vegetation in back of the house. I’ve heard kids playing on the other side, and I didn’t want them to get in there and pick up a case of poison oak like I did.”

  “Why didn’t you get your landlord to clear it out?” she asked.

  “The couple who own this place are getting on in age. I thought I’d be doing them a favor. They said I could put the debris on their cart, and they’d haul it to the dump.” He was trying to sound noble instead of idiotic.

  “So you were out there trying to get more poison oak.” She didn’t sound at all sympathetic.

  “Actually, I wore a hoody, sweatpants, and gloves. I had the rash threat covered.”

  Amy stared at his ankle as though she’d like to dissect it for the answers he wasn’t giving.

  “I fell out of a tree.” There, he’d said it.

  “Cleaning out brush?” She sounded skeptical.

  “No, I wanted to see how far the undergrowth went. The kids’ voices had sounded pretty close, but maybe it was because things are so quiet around here. I just wanted to scope out the situation before I plunged into the middle of it.”

  “Let me get this straight. You climbed a tree to see how much work you’d have to do. How high up were you?”

  Who knew she had such an analytical mind? He tried to be cool, but inside he was squirming.

  “Ten, fifteen feet, just high enough to see over all the shrubs. When I started down a branch snapped. I fell maybe seven or eight feet, just a little more than
my height. I landed hard on one foot, and that’s the result.” He pointed at the swelling, already discolored and ugly.

  “Did you go to the emergency room at the hospital?”

  “Be serious. I’m trying to build a reputation here, not be laughed at as a doctor who falls out of trees.”

  “I see your point. I guess you need these supplies.” She handed over the bag.

  “My ankle thanks you,” he said. “I went to the office, but it hurt so much I had to cancel my afternoon appointments. Ah, good, elastic bandage and an ice pack that hopefully won’t leak. Yup, it’s all here.”

  “Of course it is. We may be small-town, but we know how to fill an order.” Now she sounded miffed.

  What had he expected? Maybe that she’d smother him with concern and beg him to let her help him? He remembered Belinda in a dress that looked more like a swimsuit and knew he had a lot to smooth over. The question was, did she have the slightest interest in being friends — or more?

  “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Do you see a lot of that guy?” No point being coy when he really wanted to know.

  “What?”

  “The blonde who was losing his hair.”

  “That’s not a very kind description of the town’s up and coming attorney.”

  She looked anything but happy, but he’d brought it up and wasn’t backing down. “Your date Friday night. Are you a couple?”

  “Do you mean am I sleeping with him, engaged to him, seeing him six times a week, or gaga over him?”

  “Something like that.” Now he really felt like an idiot.

  “I thought of that as our first and last date, but maybe he’s exactly the kind of man I should get to know better. Anyway, you certainly got acquainted quickly — unless your hot date was someone from your past.”

  “It was Belinda, and I think you guessed that.” How could he explain her and not sound like a liar?

  “It doesn’t matter to me.”

  Little Amy wasn’t a very good liar herself.

  “She came here thinking maybe we could get back together. It’s not going to happen,”

  “So you wined and dined her at the best restaurant in the county.” She was trying hard to sound indifferent, but he wasn’t buying it.

  “She’s not the fast-food type. Afterward I dropped her at a motel and said good-bye.”

  “Do you want me to get you more water to take a pain pill?” She switched subjects so abruptly, he practically stammered an answer.

  “Please. And would you mind filling the ice pack?” He held up the leaky bread bag, and she gingerly carried it to the sink.

  “You only have one tray of cubes. The other one has hardly started to freeze.” She efficiently filled the rubberized bag and brought it to him along with the glass of water.

  Watching her intently, he almost forgot about the pain. She was wearing white cotton slacks and practical work shoes, but from the waist up she was adorable. Her shoulders were honey-gold, and the slightly damp tank top hugged her torso like a second skin. Tendrils of dark blond hair clung to her neck, and he could imagine tickling her throat with his breath. She moved with grace and self-confidence, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her down on his lap when she came close.

  “Here.” She’d wrapped a dishtowel around the ice pack, something he appreciated when she gingerly lowered it onto his swollen flesh. “Now take your pill, one every six hours, not to exceed four in twenty-four hours.”

  When she held out her palm to give him the big capsule, it was all he could do not to press his lips against her hand.

  “Now you have one more problem,” she said, stepping out of range.

  He felt amazingly free of concern now that he knew the guy at the restaurant wasn’t important to her.

  “How are you going to get dinner?” She stood, hands on hip, challenging him to come up with something that didn’t involve her.

  “Order out.”

  “Fine, do you need me to look up a number?” She handed him the cell phone he’d left on the coffee table.

  “No, I have the pizza place on speed dial. I can’t eat a whole one. How about sharing? The least I can do after you delivered this stuff is buy you dinner.” He tried not to sound too hopeful.

  “It’s a courtesy of the store, a way to stay competitive.” She sounded matter-of-fact.

  “I still appreciate it. You could’ve refused to bring it yourself.”

  “Josie has a husband to get home to. Bert’s knees have been bothering him. Anyway, I had to take a prescription out to an elderly woman. Bert sort of tricked me into taking yours too.”

  This wasn’t flattering, but Dan was too focused on pain relief and her really spectacular breasts to dwell on it. What he wanted more than anything was to stand and take her in his arms. Maybe it was a good thing he wasn’t very mobile. She’d probably run away if he made any moves. He wasn’t back in her good graces. That was obvious from her pouting lips and defensive stance.

  “What do you want on your pizza?” he asked.

  “Really, I’m not hungry. Get whatever you want. I’ll stay until it comes so you won’t have to get up to answer the door. Then I’m leaving.” She sounded so determined he didn’t even try to change her mind.

  Had he done enough damage control so they could at least be friends? Unfortunately, Amy had lodged in his heart, and he was fearful that a casual relationship wasn’t going to be enough.

  She left him with the pizza box open on the coffee table and a tall container of iced tea sweating on a napkin. He watched her go, relieved that the balding guy wasn’t important to her, but not at all sure what the future held for either of them.

  CHAPTER 14

  Tuesday was the longest day of her life, or at least it seemed like it. Amy wanted to check on Dan in the worst way, but she couldn’t leave the store until closing time at six. Bert had taken the day off to go to the clinic in Des Moines where he was getting therapy for his damaged knees.

  “You’re quiet today,” Josie said when no customers were in the store. “A person might think you have something important on your mind.”

  “A person might be wrong,” Amy said, trying to make light of her friend’s observation. “You have to admit time drags when we’re not busy.”

  “I guess it’s just too hot,” Josie mused. “People probably hate to leave home for anything they can get along without. What do you have planned for this evening?”

  “Nothing,” Amy was quick to say. All day she’d debated with herself whether to check on Dan in his apartment, but she didn’t even know if he’d gone to work. Maybe his ankle wasn’t as bad as it had looked yesterday.

  With only an hour to go before closing time, Amy was delighted when her sister and Hannah came into the store.

  “Hi, guys,” she said, hurrying to the front to greet them. “What are you doing out on such a sizzling day?”

  “Hannah had a play date at her friend Cindy’s house,” Natalie said. “It’s so hot we decided to come to Aunt Amy’s store and have root beer in a frozen mug.”

  “It’s not my store yet,” Amy said, bending to give her niece a big hug.

  “Guess what, Aunt Amy? Dr. Prince is sick. Cindy’s mom was supposed to see him today, but he wasn’t there.” Hannah sounded so worried Amy looked to her sister for confirmation.

  “His office called to cancel. Cindy was supposed to come to our house, but her mother said the kids might as well play there,” Natalie confirmed.

  “I don’t think he’s sick, Hannah.” Much as Amy didn’t want to stir up her sister’s curiosity, she didn’t want her niece to worry. “He sprained his ankle. I’m sure he’ll be better soon.”

  “How do you know that,” her sister predictably asked.

  “I had to deliver pain pills and stuff ye
sterday. Come on, Hannah. Climb up on a stool, and I’ll get your root beer.”

  “Just a small one,” Natalie said. “It’s too close to dinner to fill her up.”

  Frozen mugs had been a specialty at Warner’s soda fountain for longer than even Bert could remember. He’d tried to take them off the menu because the heavy glass mugs broke easily when they were kept in the freezer, but his customers had protested loudly. Amy was surprised Natalie was letting her daughter have one. She was a fanatic about limiting sugar intake. Maybe the heat had mellowed her.

  A woman came in and walked back to the prescription counter, so Amy left Josie to chat with her family. As soon as she finished with the customer, Hannah rushed back to her.

  “How did Dr. Prince hurt himself?” her niece asked.

  Smiling at her concern, Amy wondered who had the bigger crush on Dan, her niece or herself.

  “He fell out of a tree.”

  Hannah gave her a look that said, “Are you kidding me?”

  “Really,” Amy said. “He wanted to cut down old bushes behind where he lives so children wouldn’t get into poison plants. He climbed the tree to see how much work he had to do.”

  “There are poison plants?” Hannah looked worried.

  “Some plants can give you a rash, like poison ivy. But don’t worry. There aren’t any in your yard. Your daddy wouldn’t let them grow where you could touch them.” She glanced at the soda fountain where Natalie and Josie seemed to be having an earnest conversation.

  “Will he be all better for the wedding?” If Hannah hadn’t been so sincere, Amy would’ve laughed.

  “Honey, there isn’t going to be a wedding, not with me and Dr. Prince. Maybe someday you can be my maid of honor if I marry someone else.” Unfortunately, even Hannah knew she didn’t have any prospects.

  “No, I’m supposed to be the flower girl. I get to carry a basket and wear a yellow dress.”

  Amy stooped and hugged her adorable niece, telling herself it was only a phase she was going through. When school started, she’d forget all about matchmaking and go on to something else.