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“I sure do, honey,” Mrs. Gillispie responded, her gaze steadfast on Sara. “But it doesn’t matter, we’ll sing her praises, anyway.”
“I just did my job like I do every day of the week, like any other chiropractor worth her salt does.”
Mrs. Gillispie had stepped into the cubicle to dress, but that didn’t stop her from commenting. “Well, I for one don’t know what River Oaks would do without you, especially the way these cattlemen and farmers around here are always pulling something out of whack.”
“Well, again, Mrs. Gillispie,” Sara said mildly, “I appreciate your loyalty If you have any more problems, give me a call.”
“You can count on that, Doctor.”
Once the woman had left the office, Rosa said, “Oh, by the way, Mrs. Gillispie was our last patient.”
Sara peered at her watch and noticed it was only four-thirty. She’d have time to visit her mother and get home before dark, which would be a rarity.
With it being early October, the days were shorter, so when she got a chance to leave early, she took it. Today was no exception.
“Thanks for the unexpected break,” she told Rosa.
“Do you ever regret coming back here?” Rosa’s eyes narrowed on her. “In Dallas you had a great place to live and a lucrative practice, not to mention all those single guys running loose.”
Sara didn’t hesitate. “No, absolutely not.”
“You’re indeed one in a million, my friend, because there’s nothing here for a lovely, single woman like you.”
“I’m not lovely, and I enjoy being single.”
“You are lovely and you have a dynamite body, which—”
“Enough, Rosa!”
Rosa’s pretty features sobered. “I hope I didn’t offend you. I know you have your mother and the home—”
“Hey, no offense taken. Forget it. I’ll see you tomorrow. Give your kiddos a hug for me.”
“Will do.”
Once in her office, Sara shut the door and took a deep breath. While she adored Rosa, who was invaluable in her dual role as nurse and office manager, she could be a handful at times. Yet Sara often envied that wild streak in Rosa, knowing she was far too much the other way—too quiet and too much a loner.
When she had left Dallas and returned to the small community outside of Lufkin, she had run into Rosa at the post office. They had caught up on old times, and before she’d gotten her stamps, Rosa had been hired.
Sara hadn’t regretted that impulsive decision, a rarity for her, and that had been three years ago. Her practice had grown steadily. Much of that growth was due to Rosa who told everyone about the clinic.
Still, it hadn’t grown enough. Sara wasn’t sure it ever would, at least not enough to enable her to pay off her huge bank note on the nursing facility in which she was part owner.
When she’d been knocking down that big salary in Dallas, meeting the note hadn’t been a problem. But now her situation was different.
Sara frowned, trying to steer her thoughts in another direction. She didn’t want to think about that burden. It was much too depressing and frightening to dwell on how she was going to juggle her finances each month to meet her obligations.
Rubbing the back of her neck, Sara removed her white coat and hung it up. Then grabbing her purse, she dashed out the back door.
Four
Sara stopped and perused her surroundings. Due to certain state guidelines, Quiet Haven had been designed for function, not beauty. But the grounds were a different matter altogether. The landscaping, including flower gardens filled with seasonal annuals of all colors, sizes and shapes, was breathtaking.
Sara found herself actually holding her breath as her eyes focused on a huge bed of pansies. Their bright, multicolored faces seemed to be staring right at her.
Realizing she was wasting time, Sara shifted her Camry in gear once again and drove around to the back, parked and walked inside where she was once again filled with pride. To think this upscale facility, consisting of three wings all under one roof—skilled nursing which included Alzheimer’s patients, regular residents and assisted-living efficiency apartments—was part hers.
Though Quiet Haven was already five years old, it had the appearance of just having opened. That was due to the way it was run, something Sara and her partners were in total agreement about. Cleanliness and quality care was their motto.
The personal and financial sacrifices she had made in order to become an owner were well worth it, more so now, since this was where her mother would likely live out the rest of her life.
With thoughts of Katherine in mind, Sara increased her pace and headed toward her mother’s large corner room in the assisted-living wing. As she passed down the carpeted hall, she saw several women with canes and walkers. She smiled and spoke a few words to each before moving on.
Finally reaching her mother’s door, Sara opened it. Katherine was sitting in her favorite rocker, facing the garden.
“Mamma.”
Katherine Wilson swiveled, and when she saw her daughter a smile brightened her face. “Hi, darling. Come in.”
Sara crossed to her mother’s side, leaned over and kissed a rouged cheek, then eased into an adjacent chair. “So, how was your day? Any pain in the old hip?”
“Not too bad.”
Sara sighed. “You wouldn’t tell me if the pain was excruciating.”
“Now, now, you know better than that,” Katherine admonished in a soft, gentle tone.
Sara grabbed a fragile blue-veined hand and held it. If she had any regrets, it was where her mother was concerned. The reason she had left Dallas in the first place was to take care of Katherine after she fell and broke a hip.
However, when her mother was released from the rehab unit at the hospital, she refused to live with Sara or let anyone live with her. Much to Sara’s chagrin, it was Katherine’s choice to move into Quiet Haven. Even her younger sister Alice, who lived in St. Louis with her family, hadn’t been able to persuade her mother to change her mind.
So far Katherine seemed to have no regrets. And while Sara would’ve preferred to have had things her way, she had learned to respect, if not accept, her mother’s desire for independence.
“How are you today, my dear?” Katherine asked in her soft voice.
“Busy.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Sara squeezed her mother’s hand, thinking what an attractive woman she still was, even though she was in her late sixties. Like her, Katherine was tall but with a much stouter frame that was now slightly bent from osteoporosis. Still, her hair was thick and a lush color of gray that matched her eyes.
While she might look weak and fragile, she wasn’t. She was headstrong to a fault, a fact Sara had difficulty with as Katherine was her underpinnings; her daddy having died of a heart attack years earlier. Because Alice lived so far away, it sometimes seemed as if she didn’t have a sister, that it was just her and her mother.
“Why don’t you have supper with me?” Katherine’s eyes held a teasing glint. “We’re having lasagna.”
Sara wrinkled her nose. “My least favorite, which you well know.”
“Well, you can’t blame me for trying. It certainly wouldn’t hurt you to put some meat on those thin bones.”
“Don’t you start. Rosa’s already been on my case today.”
“About what?”
“Oh, the usual,” Sara hedged, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. While her mother’s body was failing, her mind was as sharp as ever.
“She worries about you being alone just like I do.”
“Now, Mother, don’t start. I’m fine the way I am.”
“That’s absurd. You don’t have a life. All you do is tend to the sick and afflicted both at the office and here.”
Sara laughed.
“It’s not funny, especially when the only man in your life is older than your mother and a codger to boot.”
“Why, Mother, I can’t believe you’re talking about Uncle Newt like that, especially someone who’s been and still is a lifelong friend.”
Newton Frazier was a retired chiropractor who had become her mentor and whom she visited on a regular basis.
“That’s the problem. He’s my friend and shouldn’t be yours. Besides, he’s not a good influence on you.”
Sara laughed and shook her head. “That makes absolutely no sense. If it weren’t for Uncle Newt, I wouldn’t have this practice and you know it.”
“You’re right, of course, but you need to be around young people, not us old folks all the time.”
“You let me worry about that, okay? Besides, I’m trying to convince Newt to move here. He’s getting too old and much too feeble to live alone.”
Her mother gave an unladylike snort. “Good luck. His head’s as hard as yours.”
Sara hid her smile. “Look, I’m happy with my life the way it is. So give me a break. Now, about my sister, have you heard from her lately?”
“As a matter of fact, I got a letter today.”
“How are things with them?”
Katherine suddenly looked troubled. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I sense all is not well between her and Dennis.”
“That’s nothing new. You know Alice—if there isn’t a crisis in the making, she’s not happy.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say.”
Sara shrugged. “It’s the truth. Anyhow, if there is trouble, they’ll straighten it out. They always do.”
“You’re right. It’s just that I was hoping she and the kids could pay us a visit.”
“Maybe they can,” Sara said, dropping her mother’s hand and rising to her feet. “I have to run, Mamma.”
“But, honey, you just got here.”
Sara leaned over and grazed Katherine’s cheek with her lips. “I know, but I have some errands to run.”
“Of course you do, darling. Don’t pay any attention to this selfish old woman.”
“You may be old, but you’re not selfish,” Sara returned in a teasing voice.
“Are you all right?”
Sara was taken aback by the sudden and unexpected question. “Why do you ask?”
Katherine’s forehead wrinkled into a frown. “I don’t know, really. You just look tired, as if you didn’t sleep.”
Sara hadn’t, but she didn’t intend to tell her mother that. Her encounter with Clark Garrison had preyed on her mind until the wee hours of the morning. She wondered how he’d fared this morning, if his back remained in place. If not, she was sure she’d know soon enough.
“I’m okay, Mamma. You worry too much.”
“You need a man friend.”
“Oops, now I know it’s time to go.”
“Sorry,” Katherine said.
“No, you’re not, but I guess that’s why I love you.”
Katherine gestured with her hand. “Go on, skedaddle, get out of here.”
Sara was still shaking her head when she passed by Zelma’s room only to stop dead in her tracks and blink. As if he sensed he was being watched, Clark looked toward the door. When he saw her, he stood and walked toward her.
“You look surprised,” he said without preamble.
“I am.”
His mouth tensed. “I told you I came to see my aunt.”
“So you did.”
“She doesn’t seem to be doing all that well.”
“She hasn’t for a long time now.”
He flushed, which meant her barb had hit its mark.
“Look, I know how you feel about me, but—”
“I don’t think you do,” Sara said flatly.
“You know what I meant.”
Though he tried to temper his tone, Sara picked up on his suppressed impatience and anger. It was clear he was out of his element here, and she wasn’t helping any. But he had neglected his aunt, and to her way of thinking, there was no excuse for that. She hadn’t mollycoddled him last night, and she wasn’t about to start now.
