Crystal sighed and shook her head. She could always tell when April was lying, and she clearly realized her friend wasn’t being as honest as she could have been. She never did call April out, though. April appreciated her discretion. Sometimes, you had to fool yourself into being happy during a rough time, and April was uniquely skilled in that regard.
“Take one to go.” Crystal handed her another cupcake. “Hide it in your locker or it’ll be gone by the end of the day. These are too good to label with your name and expect them to be left alone. Once word gets out about how good they are, they’ll be long gone.”
“Thanks, Crys.” April took the cupcake and put it in her locker. “This will come in handy around midnight when I need a sugar high.”
Nathan laughed and stood. “Sweetheart, you are a walking sugar high.”
“Thanks!” April took Nathan’s comment as a compliment because why the heck not?
She stopped by the front desk to grab her list of patients on her way to the waiting room. She’d only been working with the clinic for three years, but already the building felt like a second home. She knew its pale pink color scheme and bright lights, the cheap mauve end tables next to pleather couches and chairs with material easy enough to wipe down and sanitize at every lull in traffic. It was a good clinic, she thought, and she was proud to work there. The staff was definitely the highlight, with everyone from doctors to receptionists equally warm and welcoming. April always thought that, if she were ever going to get sick enough to use a facility like this, she was glad it would probably be this one.
She called her first patient with a smile and led him back to his assigned exam room. She recorded his weight and blood pressure and asked all the appropriate questions before wishing him well and letting the doctor know he was ready.
Then, she moved on to her next patient. April went out and called their name, but no one responded right away, so she got a chance to look over the waiting room and note the people who were there that evening. It was busier than usual—that was for sure. For the most part, it was the usual types of people, a few repeat customers, and one surprise.
Sitting in the corner of the waiting room, about as far from everyone else as they could get, were a man and child. The man held the child on his lap and attended to him more gently than she’d ever seen any father attend to their child in this waiting room. The poor kid looked pale and exhausted, but his father? His father was a massive man with naturally red hair and a well-trimmed beard that filled out his face. He was the sort of man April would have avoided just walking down the street. He looked dangerous. At the very least, she was sure the guy could pick her up and throw her over his shoulder with one arm like some sort of prehistoric caveman.
As hard as it was to tear her eyes away from the man and child in the corner, she had work to do. She called her next patient and took them to their room. On the way back, Crystal caught her eye, and April quickly asked, “Did you see the waiting room?”
Crystal nodded.
“Do you know who the stranger is?”
“What the lumberjack with the little kid?” Crystal said, arching one eyebrow.
April nodded. “I haven’t seen them before.” After three years of living in Summit Falls, April felt like she knew just about everyone. If someone new moved to town, she knew exactly which house or condo they had bought and what their new address would be. But this guy was a mystery.
“I haven’t seen them either,” Crystal said. “Do you think they’re out-of-towners?”
“Why would they come to our clinic then?”
Crystal shrugged. “Maybe they were on the road when the kid got sick. I don’t know. But they’re here now, and I’ve got to say, the lumberjack isn’t so hard on the eyes, if you know what I mean.”
April giggled a little. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”
Just then, Nathan happened by and stopped. “What are you two gossiping about now? You’re not leaving me out of anything exciting, are you?”
They both led him to the window in the door to the waiting room and pointed out the mystery man in question. “Oooh,” Nate said. “I see.”
“Have you seen him around town?” April asked in a whisper.
Nathan shook his head. “Nope. He must be from out of town.”
“That’s what I said,” Crystal added. “Like maybe the kid got sick on a road trip.” She paused, and they all watched the man and his boy for a little while, collectively cocking their heads in the same direction. “I gotta call my next patient,” Crystal finally said, and she walked out into the waiting room with her clipboard.
Nathan stepped away from the door and gestured for April to follow. “Let’s see who he is,” he said. “Is he on your list or mine?”
April let out an awkward laugh. “Why do you care?”
“Because I’m giving him to you if he’s on my list.”
“Yeah, you’re really not supposed to?—”
“It’s your birthday. And that man looks like a gift to me.”
April shook her head. “Really, I don’t need you to set me up.”
“Don’t be taking away all my fun now,” he said. He traced down his list with one finger until he came to the only name he presumably didn’t already know. “Nolen,” he said at last. “Owen. I assume that’s the kid since his father looks healthier than a stallion in springtime.”
