games. After the residency I just finished, that's going to be a refreshing change.'
'You won't miss the big beautiful office and all the trappings?'
'Not really. There are rewards other than money. Oh sure, it would be great to have all the supplies and equipment we need, but we'll make do. I've spent a lot of years getting ready for this… besides, I made a promise.'
He kept asking her questions to keep her talking. He was interested in hearing about her town but not nearly as much as he was fascinated with her expressions. There was such passion and joy in her voice, and her eyes sparkled as she talked about her family and friends and the good she hoped she could do.
She reminded him of how he had felt about life when he had first started practicing the law, before he'd become so cynical. He, too, had wanted to change the world, to make it a better place. Rebecca had ended all that. Looking back, he realized he had failed miserably.
'I've worn you out, going on and on about my hometown. I'll let you rest now,' she said.
'When can I get out of here?'
'That's Dr. Cooper's call, but if it were up to me, I'd keep you another night. You had quite a nasty infection. You need to take it easy for a couple of weeks, and don't forget to take your antibiotics. Good luck, Theo.'
And then she was gone, and he'd lost the only chance he had to find out more about her. He didn't even know where her home was. He fell asleep trying to figure out a way to see her again.
CHAPTER FIVE
The room was filled with flowers when Theo woke up from his morning nap. He heard whispering in the hallway, opened his eyes, and saw a nurse talking to an older man. She was pointing to the box the aide had left.
The man looked like a retired linebacker, Theo thought. Or maybe a boxer. If he was Dr. Renard's father, she'd gotten her good looks from her mother's side of the family.
'I don't want to disturb you,' the man said, his voice thick with a Cajun accent. 'I'd just like to pick up this box Dr. Cooper fixed up for my daughter and be on my way.'
'Come in,' Theo said. 'You're Dr. Renard's father, aren't you?'
'That's right. My name's Jake. Jake Renard.' He walked over to the side of the bed and shook Theo's hand. Theo didn't have to introduce himself. Jake knew who he was. 'My girl told me all about you.'
'She did?' He couldn't hide his surprise.
Jake nodded. 'You must have been real quick, son, because my Mike knows how to take care of herself.'
Theo didn't know what the man was talking about. 'I was 'quick'?'
'When you clipped her,' he explained. 'Where'd you think she got that shiner?'
'I did that?' He was incredulous. He had no memory of it, and she hadn't said anything about it. 'Are you sure?'
'I'm sure. I figured you didn't mean to hit her. She told me you were in considerable pain at the time. You were lucky she noticed you.' He leaned against the bed rail and folded his arms across his chest. 'Now, my daughter doesn't usually talk about her patients, but I knew she had gone to a fancy party wearing a brand-new dress she didn't want to spend money on, and when I asked her if she had a good time, she told me about you. She had only just gotten there when she had to turn around and go back to the hospital. She didn't get to have a single bite of food.'
'I should apologize to her.'
'You tore her dress. You should probably tell her you're sorry about that too.'
'I tore her dress?'
'Just after you threw up on her.' Jake chuckled, then shook his head. 'Ruined that brand-new four-hundred- dollar dress.'
Theo groaned. He did remember doing that.
'You look like you need to get some rest. If you see my daughter, will you tell her I'm waiting down in the lobby? It was sure nice to meet you.'
'Why don't you wait here?' Theo suggested. 'I've slept as much as I'm going to,' he added. 'When your daughter comes looking for you, I can tell her thank you.'
'I guess I could sit a spell. I don't want to wear you out, though.'
'You won't.'
Jake dragged a chair to the side of the bed and sat down. 'Where's home, son? From your accent, I'd have to guess the east coast.'
'Boston.'
'Never been there,' Jake admitted. 'Are you married?'
'I was.'
'Divorced?'
'No, my wife died.'
His tone of voice suggested that Jake not pursue that line of questioning.
'What about your parents? They still around?'
'Yes, they are,' he answered. 'I come from a big family. There's eight of us, six boys and two girls. My father's a judge. He keeps trying to retire but hasn't quite figured out how to do it yet.'
'I don't believe I've ever known a judge,' Jake said. 'My wife, Ellie, wanted a big family, and if we'd been blessed, I probably would have figured out a way to feed them all. I was willing to do my part, but we had to stop with three. Two boys and a girl to round the family out.'
'Where exactly is home, sir? Your daughter was talking about her clinic, but she never mentioned the name of the town.'
'Call me Jake,' he insisted. 'Bowen, Louisiana, is home, but I don't expect you've ever heard of it. The town's not big enough to
be a speck on a map. Bowen's tiny, all right, but it's the prettiest stretch of land in all Louisiana. Some afternoons when the sun's going down and the breeze picks up, the moss starts in swaying and the light bounces off the bayou just so, and the bullfrogs and the gators start in singing to each other… well, son, I think to myself that I must be living in paradise. It's that pretty. The closest town is St. Claire, and that's where folks do their Saturday shopping, so we're not completely isolated. There's a hospital there
on the north side. It's old, but adequate,' he added.
'Do your sons live in Bowen?'
'Remy, my oldest, is out in Colorado. He's a fireman and still not married,' he added. 'He comes home every now and again.
John Paul, the middle one, left the marines and moved back to Bowen a couple of years ago; he's not married either. Too busy,
I imagine. He lives in a nice little cabin he built deep in the swamp, and when he isn't working the bar for me, he's a carpenter. Last year we opened a brand-new high school, and John Paul helped build it. Daniel Boone is what it's called. Named after a
local celebrity.'
'You don't mean it's named after the Daniel Boone who helped settle Kentucky… the frontiersman… is that what you're saying?'
'That's the one, all right.'
'You're saying Boone lived in Bowen?'
Jake shook his head. 'No, son, we can't boast that, but legend has it that Daniel roamed the area hunting and fishing. Of course, that was way back in the 1700s before Bowen was even a town. Still, we like to think that Daniel fished our waters and stayed
a spell.'
Theo managed not to laugh. It appeared that the people in Bowen were hard-pressed for local heroes.
