The Healing Place. Leigh Bale

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СКАЧАТЬ a brain tumor?”

      “Yeah, she needs an oncologist. Are you the oncologist?” Amazement creased his brows and finally he released her hand, which she put behind her back.

      He rubbed his angular jaw where a day’s worth of stubble showed he hadn’t shaved that morning. He was thinner than Emma remembered, but faint lines around his eyes showed increased maturity and fatigue. Regardless, he was still handsome as ever, with the power to break any girl’s heart.

      He looked good. Too good.

      “Yes, that’s me.” Her voice sounded strangely robotic.

      Oh, why did this man have to be her former high school boyfriend? They’d dated for about a year and then he’d dumped her for Denise Johnson, head cheerleader, a.k.a. The Doll. That’s what all the girls called Denise behind her back because they were so jealous of her long blond hair and perfect good looks. They hated Denise because all the boys loved her.

      Mark shifted the envelope of files beneath his arm and shook his head. “You know, I wasn’t surprised when I heard you went to med school. You were such a bookworm in high school and always wanted to be a doctor. I knew you’d go far.”

      Yeah, when Brian died and David left, she’d almost gone off the deep end.

      “Emmy, we need a good oncologist. We need you.” Mark’s voice sounded firm, insistent.

      Emmy. She hated that name.

      Overhearing the conversation, Emma’s receptionist threw her a curious glance. As she directed another patient into the treatment room, one of the nurses gave Emma an inquiring look. The attention bothered Emma. Why couldn’t her staff mind their own business?

      “Let’s go into my office where we can speak in private.” Emma stepped back to lead the way.

      “Okay, but—” Mark shot Sonja a quick look.

      “I’ll bring her to you as soon as she’s finished in the bathroom,” Sonja said.

      Oh, no. The little girl was here, too. This was not going to be easy.

      Mark followed Emma into her office. In anticipation of the arrival of his daughter, she left the door ajar before she rounded the large desk and sat down. She was grateful to put some kind of barrier between her and Mark.

      He sank into one of the three chairs facing Emma’s desk and leaned forward, his fingers clasped, elbows resting on his knees. His gaze locked on her and he appeared confident and in control, the same old Mark she remembered from high school.

      “You look great, Emma. How’ve you been these past fifteen years?”

      She threw a fleeting look at him, then stared at the black stapler on her desk. “I’ve been fine.”

      “Do you and your husband have kids?”

      She wasn’t about to tell him about her sweet son or her nasty divorce. “What line of work are you in, Mark?”

      “I’m a CPA. My firm serves mostly local contractors. It’s busy and lucrative.”

      It probably suited him, she thought. As a kid he’d lived in a mobile home on the “other” side of the tracks. With his dad gone, his mother had worked hard to eek out a living for them. All he’d ever talked about was marrying a beautiful girl and making truckloads of cash so he could live a life of style and ease. It looked like he got his wish.

      “So, how’s The Doll?” she asked.

      He sat back. “You mean, Denise?”

      She tried to laugh, to lighten the moment, but it sounded more like a hoarse croak. Her hands were damp and she felt the sudden urge to run from the room and hide. “Yeah, remember? That’s what we all used to call her.”

      He shook his head. “No, I never called her that.”

      “Oh.”

      Was her foot too big to fit inside her mouth?

      “We’re divorced.” He spoke in a vacant tone but she caught a flicker of pain in his expressive eyes.

      Inwardly, Emma sighed. As a doctor and a mother, she understood the strain a child’s critical illness inflicted on a marriage. She had learned that lesson the hard way.

      “I’m sorry.” And she meant it, for the child’s sake.

      Anguish filled his eyes, then was gone. Though she had never liked Denise Johnson, she felt bad Mark’s marriage had failed.

      Emma shifted in her chair. She didn’t want to feel bad for this man. She didn’t want to care about him or the chaos in his life. She needed him out of her office and out of her life.

      Fast.

      “Look, Mark, I’m not going to pretend. I can’t take your daughter on as a patient. I’ve already got more than a full load and it wouldn’t be fair to you or—”

      He shook his head before she finished speaking. “I can’t accept that, Emma. Angie’s been through so much. If you tell me no, I’ll be forced to drive ten hours round-trip to San Francisco every week. My partners said they’d cover for me, but I don’t think Angie can take the exhausting drive. She has little energy and no appetite. It’d be better if she gets her treatments here in Reno. Can’t you take her as a patient, just for old time’s sake?”

      Angie. What a sweet name.

      “No, I’m sorry, but I can’t. My staff isn’t prepared to deal with a child’s growth and hormone issues.”

      His face fell, his eyes hollow with defeat. He no longer appeared in control. Instead he looked vulnerable and lost. “You’re kidding, right?”

      He sounded as though he really couldn’t believe her.

      “Mark, I know the limitations of my office.”

      He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. “Look, Emmy, I’m…I’m desperate. I’m afraid if you don’t help, I’ll lose Angie. I can’t risk that. She means everything to me. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t turn your back on us.”

      He breathed deeply, as if the words had been difficult for him to speak, and she supposed they were. She’d never seen Mark Williams beg for anything. As the senior class president and campus jock, he’d been self-absorbed and conceited. What had changed him? Parenthood, or perhaps something more?

      A lump formed in Emma’s throat and she knew irrevocably that he loved his child, just like she loved Brian.

      She stood, prepared to walk him to the door. “I don’t think—”

      “Daddy?”

      A little girl poked her head into the room. Seeing Mark, she walked over and climbed into his lap. Sonja stepped in long enough to smile at the child and close the door, giving them complete privacy.

      As her gaze swept over Mark’s daughter, Emma almost panicked.

      Angie. СКАЧАТЬ