wall and was on
the floor on top of a mound of torn files and papers. The fabric on the chairs in the reception room had also been cut. They
were all too badly damaged to be repaired.
Theo was glancing from the reception room to the nurses' station when Michelle interrupted his concentration.
'Thank God I'm starting a vacation.'
'It's going to take more than two weeks to get this place in shape again.'
She disagreed. 'Two of my friends are going to drive up from New Orleans. It shouldn't take us more than one long day to get files in order. They're both nurses and will know what goes where. Once the paperwork is put away, John Paul and Daddy can help me paint. I've got enough time,' she added. 'But not the money to replace the furniture, not yet anyway.'
She picked up one of the chairs and put it against the wall, then bent to shove the white cotton stuffing back inside. 'I guess duct tape will work for now.'
'I'd be happy to loan you some money.'
It was definitely the wrong thing to say. She shot upright like a rocket, and the look on her face told him he'd shocked and insulted her.
She didn't give him time to figure out a way to do damage control. 'I don't want your money. In Bowen, we take care of our own. We don't expect outsiders to save the day.'
'That's pride talking. I was only trying to-'
'Help a little lady in distress? I don't mean to sound rude, but you are an outsider, and you don't understand how important it is
for us to be able to manage the clinic ourselves.'
'You saved my life, and I only wanted to…' Her frown stopped him. 'You're right. I don't understand, but I'm not going to press you. I'll even apologize. I didn't mean to insult you.'
Her expression softened. 'Look, I know you meant well, but this isn't your problem. It's mine, and I'll deal with it.'
He put his hands up. 'Fine,' he said. 'You deal with it. So tell me, what did the chief of police say? Does he have any idea who
did this?'
'Not yet,' she said. 'Even if he does catch the kids who did this, I still won't be compensated. No one around here has any
money. Surely you noticed the absence of mansions on your drive into town. Most of the families have to work two jobs just to make ends meet.'
He nodded toward the reception room. 'This looks pretty bad.'
'It's a setback, but I'll recover.'
'What about insurance?'
'It will ease the pain, but it won't cover everything. I had to spend a fortune for malpractice insurance, and there wasn't much
left over. To save money, I took a huge deductible.' Without pausing for air, she switched topics. 'Do you need help carrying
in that box?'
'No.'
'You can put it in the back hall and be on your way. Fish won't be biting this late in the afternoon, but you could get settled at Dad's.'
She was trying to get rid of him and wasn't being at all subtle about it. She obviously didn't know what she was up against. Theo was every bit as stubborn as she was, and he had already decided he wasn't going anywhere,
'I think I'll stay with you… if you don't mind.'
'Why?'
'You've got to be a better cook.'
'These days, I don't have much time to cook.'
'See? You're already better. Come on. I'll unload that box, and then we can drive over to your place. I want to see your house, unpack, and get out of this suit.'
He tried to leave, but she blocked him. 'Why?'
'Why what?'
They were standing toe to toe. He towered over her, but she didn't appear to be the least intimidated. 'Why do you want to stay with me? Dad has more room.'
'Yeah, but you're prettier, and he did offer me a choice. His place or yours. I'm choosing yours. Smalltown hospitality and all that… it would be rude to turn me down.'
'You mean southern hospitality, but you still haven't told me-'
He interrupted her. 'Let me get settled in your house, grab a cold drink, and then I'll tell you what I think about this mess.'
Theo went to the car, got the box out of the trunk, and put it on the floor in the back hall, then waited for her to turn the lights off.
'I should stay and start cleaning,' she said halfheartedly.
'When will your friends be coming?'
'The day after tomorrow.'
He nodded. 'How about if I have a friend of mine go through the place first?'
'Why?'
'To tell me if I'm right or wrong. Take tonight off, Michelle. Then we'll get your brother and your dad to help. It won't take us
any time at all.'
'You came here to fish.'
'Yeah, and I will fish. Now can we go get a cold tlrink?'
She nodded, pulled the door closed behind them, and headed for the car.
'Cooper told me you sounded scared on the phone.'
'I was scared… so scared I've been jumping at shadows.' She stopped to smile. 'My imagination's playing tricks on me.'
'How so?'
'I thought someone was in my house last night… while I was sleeping. I heard a noise and I got up and went through the whole house, but there wasn't anyone hiding in a corner or under my bed. It could have been John Paul. He drops by at odd times.'
'It wasn't your brother, though?'
'I can't be certain. He might have left before I called out to him. It was probably just a bad dream, or the house was making a settling noise. I even thought someone might have been at my desk. It's in the library just off the living room,' she explained.
'Why do you think that?'
'The phone is always in the upper right-hand corner of my desk… it's kind of an obsession of mine to keep the center of my desk clear so I can work, but when I went downstairs this morning, the first thing I noticed was the phone. It had been moved.'
'Anything else?'
'I've had this creepy feeling that someone's been following me.' She shook her head at the absurd idea. 'How paranoid is that?'
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
