The Magnificent M.D. by Carol Grace Read Free Book Online Page A

occasion—boating, golf, deep-sea fishing, parties, bridge. But all that had changed. She’d replaced the white carpet with neutral beige. And the adjoining master bath was now outfitted with a spa. It was her most luxurious accommodation, but one that wasn’t forbidden to kids. She would add a crib and give the room to the parents, but she’d put the boys in her sister’s old room for no extra charge.
    â€œCome with me,” she said, leading the way up the front steps. “I think you’ll be very comfortable here.”
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    Sam left the office without saying goodbye to Nurse Whitlock. He had nothing to say to her and he knew the feeling was mutual. She’d made her feelings about his return to town abundantly clear. Not that he cared. He didn’t need her approval or anyone else’s. She had her back to him when he passed through the waiting room. He stood in front of the office looking up and down the street. He wasn’t ready to go to the Bancroft House yet. He might never be ready. He wasn’t ready to go back to his oldhouse, either, and he knew he would never be ready to do that.
    It should have given him satisfaction to think of walking through the iron gate of Hayley’s house as a guest, but it didn’t. He wanted to forget the past, and he couldn’t do that while he was in New Hope. It was all around him, the places and the people he’d pushed to the back of his mind. But how could he leave the painful memories in the past while he worked in Doc Bancroft’s office or slept under the same roof as his granddaughter? Six months stretched ahead of him like the long road from here to the California border. He would take it the way he’d taken all the long roads in his life, one step at a time. But it wasn’t going to be easy.
    He walked up the street toward the diner and went in to have a cup of coffee. Several heads swiveled in his direction as he took a seat at the counter. But nobody said a word except the waitress, a gum-chewing middle-aged woman who called him “hon.” Then she did a double take.
    â€œI don’t believe it. Didn’t think you’d have the nerve to show your face in this town again. You don’t remember me, do you, Sam?” she asked as she plunked his coffee in front of him. “Wilma Henwood. Those were my flower beds you ran over with your motorcycle.”
    He racked his brain but couldn’t remember any flower beds. But it wasn’t hard to imagine he’d done it. That and much worse. “I’m sorry about that. I’d be happy to replace them for you.”
    â€œIt’s a little late. Twenty years to be exact.”
    â€œI guess it is. I’d still like to do it.”
    â€œWhat do you think of New Hope these days?”
    â€œIt’s changed,” he said.
    â€œSo’ve you,” she said, tilting her head to one side toobserve him. “Hear you’re a doctor now. Taking Doc Bancroft’s place.”
    â€œOnly temporarily.”
    â€œCan’t blame you. Those are pretty big shoes to fill.”
    Sam pressed his lips together to keep from saying that wasn’t why he was only temporary.
    â€œWhere you staying?” she asked.
    He was surprised she didn’t know. The way gossip spread in this town. “At the Bancroft House.”
    â€œShe’s got it fixed up real nice. I went through it last Christmas on the house tour to make money for the library. Not that there was anything wrong with it to begin with. Still, her folks had different ideas about style than Hayley does. She’s more the unpretentious type, don’t you think? What do you think of her?” she asked, while she refilled a salt shaker.
    â€œShe’s changed.”
    â€œPretty as ever, though,” she said.
    â€œVery pretty,” he agreed.
    â€œToo bad about her divorce.”
    â€œYeah, too bad.” He didn’t want to hear about her marriage