Page 22 of Dr. Scandal Claus
I nodded but I was too ashamed to tell her the truth out loud. "And we're dating now because he recognized me, and I do this thing where I feel horribly guilty. I wanted to make him feel better knowing how the town treats him, but we had coffee that day at the Christmas market, and my God Nellie he's so amazing. I'm in so deep and I'm screwed."
I sank onto a stool behind myself and ran my hands over my apron. Nellie stopped work again and looked perplexed and a bit sad for me, but I felt like she was beginning to understand where I was coming from. I hoped it would make a difference next time I had to call her and ask her to pick up my slack.
"I'm not sure what to say, Scarlett. It sounds like there's a lot on your plate now. I'm sorry if I've made that worse for you." Nellie frowned at me and shrugged a shoulder. "I'll do anything to help; I just need to make sure I have Easter weekend off. I'm going to visit my grandma."
I smiled at her, ready to tell her yes, since we had already talked about it, but the bell out front dinged. I knew Jeff was here to start the coffee machines. It would be time to open soon and we had a lot of work to do still. Nellie's face perked up and she looked out toward where Jeff was taking his coat off. Astutely, she remained silent after that, anunderstanding passing between us that what we'd just discussed was confidential. I trusted her, I just felt like a horrible person.
Nick wanted more children, and he didn't even know he had children to begin with. I was a liar and I knew it. I should've told him. I should've been brave enough to share the truth and trust that he was adult enough to understand my situation. But I wasn't. If I'd told him before any connection between us grew, I wouldn't be feeling like this. Now I was afraid my confession would push him away.
And that kept my lips tightly sealed.
16
NICK
Mr. Watt sat on the exam table with a stoic expression on his face, though he was always a serious man. I'd done my exam already, and he was buttoning his shirt up. Every patient I saw, I felt a bit of confidence building toward a new future, my new practice's success. But there was always a lingering bit of doubt in my mind too. My past shadowed me and I hated it.
"So you'll need to increase your beta blockers, but I'll adjust the prescription for you. And let's have a checkup in two weeks. Remember only take the nitros when you have that chest pain, and we'll get you scheduled for that angio if the pain persists." I scribbled on my notepad and tried to make them legible so I could get them into his online chart later this afternoon.
"You know, Dr. Edwards, I've had my doubts about you." Mr. Watt tucked his shirt in and tightened his belt and I sank onto my stool wondering if this would be another case of a patient leaving my practice after having heard the rumors. I'd lost one last week, and even when they told me there was no offense intended, I definitely felt the sting.
"You have?" I asked. It was always my job to listen to their concerns even if they were unfounded. My first oath was "do no harm," and I couldn't properly treat them without being a good listener; ignoring complaints was a really good way to do harm.
"Yeah, I have. But I'm the sort of guy who looks past people's mistakes or the things others say about them. I think you're a really great doctor, and I think you deserve more credit than people give you. I'm really happy I found you. You make it easy to ask for help." He slid off the table and puffed his chest out. "I'm going to tell all my friends that you're the best heart doctor around." He extended his hand and I shook it.
"I really appreciate you saying that. It's not easy to come back from the pit I was thrown into. I deeply appreciate your trust and the fact that you've given me a shot to prove I'm not what they say I am." My heart felt full and warm. Things in life seemed to be going well for the most part.
Other than that run-in with Marjorie, life seemed to be on the right track. My practice was growing slowly, and my relationship with Scarlett seemed to be moving in the right direction. Though, at times I felt like she might be pulling away. She'd been a bit quieter lately.
"I'll get out of here. Just send me a message to remind me of the appointment next week." He walked toward the door and I nodded. Our automated system took care of all of that, but if patients responded their messages always came directly to my phone or my voicemail.
"Have a good week." I stood, ready to follow him out, and when we left the room he moved toward the front desk and I went to my office.
Receiving compliments from patients always made my day. I wasn't one of those doctors who believed that medical professionals were godlike and should be worshipped. I, of all people, knew firsthand how easily mistakes could be made. I'dmade a few, though the ones they pegged on me weren't one's I took credit for. I was lucky my other mistakes had never been brought to light. For now, things were quiet. But if Marjorie, who was capable of nuking my entire practice eight years ago, got involved today, there was no telling what would happen.
After hearing how Scarlett had been approached by the nosy reporter, I decided it was time to get more proactive. I sat at my desk during my break between patients and dialed the police precinct's number. I got passed around to a few departments before finally being connected with a lieutenant who could help me.
"This is Lieutenant Michael Combs, what can I do for you?"
I had never met the man, but he sounded nice enough, and professional. That's what I needed. Someone who knew their job and could do it well.
"Hi, Lieutenant Combs, my name is Nick Edwards. I just have a few concerns I'd like to discuss with you so you can advise me." I knew anytime someone dropped my name it was a negative connotation, but I also knew men like Combs were trained to be professional and helpful.
"Sure, Nick. What's going on?" He sounded annoyed, but I wasn't going to lose my drive to fix this. Marjorie had to learn her place, and that place was anywhere away from me.
"Well, I have a restraining order out against someone. It's been in place for years. It's probably long expired…Anyway, the person is trying to contact me again, and not only that, I'm dating someone new and the person who I placed the restraining order against is trying to harass my new girlfriend." I swallowed hard at the thought of Scarlett having to deal with Marjorie. She was a snake in the grass and always out for blood. The last thing I wanted was for Scarlett to get caught in the crossfire.
"What sort of harassment? Has there been any threat? Any violence?" The questions irritated me. I didn't understand whythings had to wait until they escalated to threats and violence for anyone to do something. Of course Marjorie wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to threaten me or Scarlett. I'd only narrowly succeeded at getting the order placed the first time, and only because she trespassed on office property.
"Well, no, sir. Not yet. But I'm sure there will be some sort of mess to deal with, and I'm trying to prevent that." I drummed my fingers on my maple desk and watched cars passing by out the window. It was a chilly day but the sun was finally starting to warm the earth again.
"Sir, I have to admit that there isn't much we can do. Unless a crime is committed, we can't really press charges or get another restraining order. You understand? You should call me back if or when something occurs—be that assault or threats. We'll take a look at it then."
I wanted to slam the phone down in anger, but I knew he was right. My stab in the dark was a long shot. I just wanted someone to stop this ball from rolling. Marjorie needed to stay out of my business. I just got my life back. I wanted to keep it.
"Thanks…I guess I'll just wait then." I hung up but the unsettled feeling in my gut made me so frustrated. Life could spin wildly out of control at any second and I'd have no way to stop it. Scarlett had already had one run-in with Marjorie; I feared if the nosy reporter pushed much at all, Scarlett would retreat from me.
I knew the mess I lived through eight years ago and while there wasn't anything nearly as dramatic as that, a gossip reporter could spin up a lot of tales that would make my life very uncomfortable. Scarlett had already walked away from me once, albeit after a one-night stand, but this time the rumors could involve her. We'd been seen around town. It was no wonder she'd been pulling away from me. I had to stop that.