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“Yeah.”
“If you were calling for help, I can change the tire for you.”
She huffed, crossing her arms. Had he said something offensive?
“I know how to change a tire. At least, I’m sure I could figure it out,” she said, voice quieter. “There’s probably instructions. How hard can it be?” She motioned to her car. “I was calling my brother-in-law because my car’s packed full. Every inch of it. I’d have to unpack the back to get to my spare, and since I’m almost to my sister’s house, it made more sense to see if they could bring the truck. That way I could load everything into it, and I wouldn’t have to move all of my stuff onto the side of the road.”
Her convoluted logic made sense. Graham must be losing his mind.
“So, you need a ride to Cash and Olivia’s? That I can do.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Were you...headed in that direction?”
“No, but it’s not far.”
The toe of her boot tapped as she contemplated. A quick shake of her head was coupled with tight-pressed lips. “No, thank you.”
No? What did she plan to do? Walk? Hope for cell reception? She was crazy to think he’d leave without helping her.
“I don’t want to interrupt your plans.”
What plans? Graham hadn’t done anything social in the past...five years or so. Not since Mattie was born and then losing Brooke. He didn’t exactly have a busy social life. Work? He had plenty of that. And colored pictures on his fridge. He had lots of those. Plus, he played a mean game of Go Fish on Saturday nights.
“My daughter and I were just headed home. It will only take us a few minutes to drop you off.” If he had to be direct or demanding in order for her to accept his help, so be it. Anything to make this encounter go a bit faster. Lucy made him feel...uncomfortable. As if he wanted to loosen his tie, even though he wasn’t wearing one today.
After a minute of contemplation, she let out an earth-shaking sigh. “Fine.” The word came through gritted teeth. “I appreciate your help.”
He got the impression she didn’t like his offer of help one bit, especially when her forced tone was accompanied by crossed arms and eyes that flashed with displeasure. Their bright blue color punched him in the chest. Unique. Brilliant. He wasn’t sure exactly how to describe them. Not that he needed to write a report. What he needed to do was drop this woman off at her sister’s and then head home to get his week organized before the craziness of Monday hit. No doubt his medical office would be slammed tomorrow morning as it was almost every Monday. But at least there he felt useful. At least there he was too busy for the images of his past failures to haunt him.
“Let me grab my purse.”
While Lucy did that, Graham opened the trunk to his car and checked the bolt pattern on his spare. It didn’t match the one on Lucy’s wheels. Just as well. Graham wasn’t sure he’d live through the experience of changing a flat tire with this woman. He’d seen what Lucy could do with a shoe. What harm could she accomplish with a lug wrench?
He started his BMW and pulled up parallel to her car. She came over with full hands, so he leaned across the seat and popped the passenger door open. Lucy slid in, dropping a purse and jacket on the floor of his car. When she shut the door, the scent of lime and coconut came with her.
It was the end of January, and she smelled like summer. Graham hadn’t known the season had its own scent before.
He motioned to the backseat. “This is my daughter, Matilda Grace. Everyone calls her Mattie.”
Lucy buckled and twisted to face the backseat while he put the car in Drive. “Hi, Mattie Grace. It’s nice to meet you.”
In the rearview mirror, Graham could see the name earned a smile from Mattie. A shy one.
“I’m Lucy.”
“Ms. Lucy,” he said.
Those eyes of hers jutted to him, giving off a spark of something close to annoyance before she softened and turned back to Mattie. “What grade are you in?”
“Kindergarten.”
Graham could feel the mix of interest and shyness oozing from Mattie in the backseat. His daughter tended to be on the serious side with an older-than-her-years nature. She was compliant, sweet and entirely more than he deserved. He thanked God for her every day.
The short distance to Cash and Olivia’s took only a few minutes. When they arrived, the three of them got out, making their way up the wide porch steps.
Lucy knocked, then opened the door, calling out her arrival. She stepped inside, and Olivia squealed, tugging her into a very enthusiastic hug.
Cash Maddox appeared at the door, surprise evident. “Hey, Red. Mattie. Come on in.”
At thirty-one years old, Graham was a few years older than Cash, but the two of them had grown up together and they’d always had an easy friendship. Cash was one of the few people who understood losing someone—not that he’d lost a wife, like Graham had, but grief was one emotion they shared knowledge of.
Even though Graham was close to six feet tall, Cash towered over him. His friend passed him in inches...and brawn. The fact that Cash ran a ranch from dawn till dusk and Graham saw patients inside all day might have a little something to do with that second thing.
“I can’t believe you’re finally here!” Olivia took a step back from her sister, her brown hair contrasting with Lucy’s sunshine blond. “Where have you been? I thought from the last time I talked to you that you were going to get here an hour ago.”
“Flat tire.” Lucy grimaced.
“Where’s your car? Did you change it? What happened?”
Lucy laughed, a lyrical sound that tightened Graham’s throat. Was he coming down with something? There’d been a lot of rash/fever combinations in the office last week. It was either that or this woman had some strange effect on him.
Definitely had to be germs.
“Still on the road. No, I didn’t change it because I didn’t want to unpack everything. And Graham stopped and ended up giving me a ride.”
Olivia’s gaze jumped to him. Seemed she hadn’t noticed his arrival. But then, he would guess Lucy’s entrance anywhere would pretty much overshadow anyone else’s.
“Thanks for taking care of my little sister, Graham.”
He nodded.
“Yeah.” Lucy flashed bright white teeth in his direction. “Thanks for the ride.”
He opened his mouth but no sound came out.
Olivia bent to eye level with Mattie while Graham still choked on his words. Or lack of them. Honestly. What was wrong with him?
“Hey, Mattie. It’s good to see you.” Her hand trailed along one of Mattie’s brown pigtails, coaxing a grin from his daughter.
“Mattie is practically a superhero. She swooped in and saved me from having to make the choice between a long walk or unloading my car.” Lucy shared a fist bump with Mattie, her head tilting in his direction. “Along with her trusty sidekick.”
Graham’s mouth gave in to a slight curve at the acknowledgment. He’d take the demoted status just for the look on his daughter’s face.
Lucy turned to Cash. “About my car. I thought maybe I could borrow your truck. I’ll change the tire. I can do everything if you’ll just let me—”
“What?” Cash snorted. “You really think I’m going to send you back out to take care of a flat tire on your own? What kind of brother do you think I am? I’ll take care of it.”
By the way Lucy’s chin jutted out, she wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “I don’t want you to have to deal with all of my stuff. The car’s jammed full.”
“I have a thing for taking care of little sisters, and since Rachel up and left for college, you’re stuck with my overprotective nature. I might even have a spare out in the garage we could use. And if I don’t, not that much can fit into that tin-can car of yours anyway.”
“Listen, McCowboy.” Her finger poked into Cash’s gray T-shirt. “I’m absolutely helping with the tire. Don’t even think about going without me.”
McCowboy?
Cash shook his head, glancing at Olivia with amusement. “You did mention what a complex your sister has about accepting help.”
So it wasn’t just Graham she fought. Good to know.
Lucy squeaked. “That’s not true! I just accepted a ride to your house.” The woman beamed as if she should win a prize.
“Lucy’s car is near the big oak tree that got hit by lightning when we were in high school.” Graham’s lips twitched, and Lucy’s eyes started dancing with mischief. She certainly wasn’t embarrassed about her tree climb. He got the impression not much caused her to experience that particular emotion.
“So, Graham.” Olivia turned to him. “It’s actually perfect that you picked up my sister. I wanted the two of you to meet.”
A cold sweat snaked under his collar. Was Olivia trying to set him up with her flighty sister? Not going to happen. Graham had already had the love of his life. Now he had Mattie and absolutely no desire to remarry. Olivia would just have to take her matchmaking ideas elsewhere.
“Lulu, Graham’s office manager is out on maternity leave and he needs someone to fill in.”
What?
He hadn’t expected that. And this conversation sounded like trouble. Yes, the woman who ran Graham’s front office had gone on maternity leave unexpectedly early last week, leaving him completely strapped, but that didn’t mean Lucy Grayson was the right person for the position.
“I think it would be a perfect start for you, Lulu.” Olivia gave Graham a look he couldn’t quite decipher. Did she expect him to offer Lucy a job right here and now? Bend down on one knee and start begging?
Lucy studied him long enough to make him squirm, determination sparking in her eyes. “I do have a business degree. I don’t have experience in a medical office, but I could learn.”
How was he going to get out of this? Graham wanted someone for the position who could walk right in and know what they were doing. Someone with experience. Exactly the type of person he’d been looking for since well before Hollie went into early labor. Unfortunately, after three different temps had filled in last week, Graham was beginning to think that person didn’t exist.
Olivia was still talking about the possibility of Lucy working for him, how it would be a great fit, how it would be beneficial for both of them.
Graham could only stare. He felt as though he was sliding down a treacherous slope with little chance of rescue.
“Sorry, Red.” Cash looked far too amused and not nearly concerned enough. “I don’t think there’s any saving you from this one.”
“Seriously? You’re just going to leave me hanging? I am never prescribing anything for you ever again.”
Cash laughed. “I can’t imagine anyone going up against Liv and coming away with a win. Trust me, I know from experience.” His gaze slid to his wife, filled with enough admiration that a twinge of jealousy came over Graham.
Graham remembered that look, that feeling, well. He’d give anything to look at his wife like that again. But those days were gone, and he was healing. He was moving on. Just not into another relationship.
Unfortunately, at the moment, his friend was right. By the look on Olivia’s face, she was going to win this battle. Graham wanted to run for the door. Either that or rewind the evening and not stop at the sight of a stranded yellow Beetle.
“What do you think? Should we give it a try?” Lucy looked so hopeful that something in him tugged. She couldn’t be worse than the temps, could she? Maybe he was overreacting about the fact that he’d found her up a tree on the side of the road. Perhaps they could help each other out.
She’d have to be trained, but he’d figure out that part. Besides, it wasn’t as if he had any other choices lined up.
Graham would usually pray about a decision like this. Take his time. Wait on God’s guidance. But he was desperate. Desperate enough to hire a woman who looked like a model, smelled like sunshine and didn’t have a lick of experience.
Her words came back to him. A try, she’d said.
The tension in his body untangled. That was what he would do. He’d hire her on a trial basis. That way, when she couldn’t do the job, he’d have no issue letting her go.
Chapter Two (#ulink_af19440b-953d-5e84-bc40-82731a8f7ec4)
On Tuesday morning, Lucy sat behind a wide receptionist desk in Graham’s medical office and stared at the blinking black beast in front of her. Some might call it a phone. Lucy deemed it an instrument of torture. It boasted a number on the small gray screen—one that kept growing as the number of people waiting for her to answer increased. When Graham’s nurse, Danielle, had trained Lucy on it early this morning, she’d called it the queue. Lucy didn’t have such a nice name for it.
It scared her more than spiders or spam.
On Sunday night, she and Graham had hammered out a few details. An agreement of sorts. They’d agreed to give working together a try. He’d put a lot of emphasis on that last word, and Lucy felt an underlying sense of tension that normally didn’t invade her life. Graham probably thought she was completely unqualified for the position. And he’d be right. Which meant she needed to prove herself today.
She knew her opportunity to work for Graham had everything to do with God and Olivia making it happen and very little to do with her office skills—which were nonexistent.
On Monday, when Lucy had moved into her above-garage apartment in town—the one her sister had lived in last year—she’d scanned the paper for any other job openings she might be qualified for, just in case working for Graham didn’t pan out.
There weren’t any.
Since her move to Texas had come up quickly, Lucy hadn’t had time to save. She didn’t have any reserves for covering an extended period of time without work. And since she absolutely refused to ask her parents or Olivia and Cash for money, she needed this job.
How hard could it be? she’d thought. Answer a phone. File some charts. But after a few of the calls she’d already fielded this morning, Lucy was afraid to touch the flashing beast in front of her. Since timidity wasn’t in her nature, she took a steadying breath and yanked the receiver up, pressing it to her ear.
“Dr. Redmond’s office. May I help you?”
“This is Walt Birl. Who’s this?”
Another favorite question of the morning. Who was she? What was she doing in town? And from two grandmothers—was she interested in meeting their grandsons?
“Lucy Grayson. I’m new to town. I’m running from some unsolved crimes in Colorado. What can I do for you, Mr. Birl?”
Stunned silence.
Lucy winced and looked at the phone as though she could see his reaction through the small black holes. Oops. Perhaps not her best move. Wasn’t she planning to be professional today? Prove to Graham he hadn’t made a mistake in hiring her?
When she put the phone back to her ear, loud cackling greeted her. “I like you. Listen, I have a rash I need to discuss with someone.”
Don’t pick me. Don’t pick me.
“It’s kind of round, though there’s a few spots—”
“Mr. Birl, you really need to speak with the nurse or schedule an appointment with Dr. Redmond. I’ll be no help at all.”
“Okay. Transfer me to Danielle, then.”
Lucy sighed with relief, then pressed a few buttons on the phone, hoping the call actually went to Danielle’s phone and voice mail in the back.
She dived into the waiting queue. It took her almost two hours to wade through the calls, partially since everyone had to get the lowdown on her before talking medical business. Finally, the screen didn’t show anyone on hold. Lucy did a happy dance, chair sliding back and forth with her movements.
“What are you doing?”
