A Prescription for Love by Callie Hutton Read Free Book Online

you arrived. Now I ask you, please, this store is a place of business, and whether you agree or not, Heidi is my employee and she has work to do. I assume you’re staying at the Saratoga Hotel?”
    Mr. Lester nodded stiffly.
    “It would be best if you all returned to the hotel and waited there for her. If you are truly concerned about her health, you must know stress is not good for it.”
    Mrs. Lester touched her nose with a handkerchief and sniffed. She hugged Heidi once more. “We will be in the hotel lobby. I expect you to be there as soon as this”—she glared at him—“ man, allows you to leave.” She spun on her heel and marched to the door, with her husband and Mrs. Manfred following.

    Clarence lingered. “Heidi, you know I want nothing more than for you to be happy. Working in a shop is not good for you.”
    Heidi finally found her voice. “Clarence, please do as Mr. Henderson said and wait for me at the hotel.”
    He kissed her cheek and shot Michael a scowl as he left behind the others.
    “I’m so, so sorry.” Heidi’s voice trembled as she addressed Michael.
    He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Let’s close up, then we’ll talk before you meet them.”
    Heidi nodded and opened the cash register to count the money while Michael placed the dust covers on the counters after locking the door and hanging the ‘Closed’ sign. His mind was in a whirl. She was his employee, not his ward. He attempted to push the image from his mind of how she’d appeared earlier. Beaten. And it tore at him. But she wasn’t his responsibility.
    Twenty minutes later, he and Heidi stood in the back room. The bank deposit had been tabulated, dust covers protected the counters, and the lights had been extinguished.
    Michael helped Heidi on with her coat. “What do you want to do?” He hadn’t meant for his voice to come out quite so gruff, but emotions coiled his stomach.
    She jerked her head around and met his gaze. “I want to work. I want to be normal. Furthermore, I don’t want to marry Clarence Manfred.” Shaky fingers fastened the buttons on her coat.
    Against his better judgment, he tucked her always-loose curl behind her ear. “If you can say that to me, why can’t you tell your parents?”
    Her eyes filled again. “You don’t understand. I’ve never gone against their wishes. Papa assured me for years they did everything in my best interests. Now I’ve discovered there is a treatment I can use.” She held up her hand. “I know it’s not a cure, but if I use the medicine, I can be like everyone else for the first time in my life.” With her hands wringing her purse, she added, “Can’t I?”

    “As I told you, I’m not doctor, but I know many people who live normal lives with the treatments available.”
    “What should I do?” Her voice came out strained.
    “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can suggest something.”
    The hopeful look on her face did him in. Like it or not, he felt more for her than a boss should for his employee. “Convince your family to allow you to try the asthma treatment, see how it works for you. Have them talk to Dr. Kane if you think that would ease their minds.”
    Heidi took a deep breath. “Will you come with me to the hotel?”
    He paused on a precipice, about to fall. The best thing would be to persuade her to deal with her problems herself. Then his life could continue the way it had been for years. Comfortable. Lonely.
    Where did that come from?
    His heart couldn’t handle the chance of getting any more involved with her.
    Michael drew himself up, determined to end her dependency on him right here, right now. Then his mouth opened and he heard himself say, “All right. I’ll go with you.”

Chapter 5
    Clarence held the door for the Lesters and his mother to enter the lobby of the Saratoga Hotel. His initial relief when he’d met Mr. and Mrs. Lester at the train station had slowly evaporated when Heidi defied her parents—with the