The Doctor's Secret Son. Deb Kastner

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      Chapter Three

      Two more days passed before Delia was ready to turn the clinic sign from Closed to Open, and by then it was Friday afternoon and the end of the workweek. The supplies she’d ordered online had arrived and were organized, the financials were up to date. She’d talked Vickie McCall, who’d been Doc Severns’s receptionist, into returning to her old job. Monday morning the clinic would officially open for business.

       She wondered how long it would be before her tiny waiting room was full of people. The word was definitely out about the clinic reopening, at least to some extent, or Zach would never have known to bring Spence in.

       Her best guess was that Jo Hawkins Murphy, the owner of Cup o’ Jo, the local café, had learned of her arrival and spread the word. News traveled fast with that good-humored, redheaded lady. Jo was better advertising than a television ad—and a good deal more persuasive—so on the off chance that the woman hadn’t heard of her return, Delia thought it would be worth a walk down Main Street to fill her in.

       Besides, she hadn’t had much of an opportunity to reconnect with her old friends—except for the occasional email, and that just wasn’t the same thing as face-to-face contact. She was anxious to hear what they’d been up to recently.

       Eventually she’d bring Riley along with her and introduce him to the town. She hadn’t planned to return to Serendipity, but she was here now and she had to face reality. People were going to start asking questions about Riley. Someone was bound to do the math, and like it or not, the truth would eventually come out.

       It was imperative that she protect Riley against the gossip that was sure to arise—and better that she tell Zach the truth before he found it out any other way.

       Soon. But not today. Right now, she had enough on her plate just getting the clinic open.

       She pulled her hair back into a smooth ponytail and checked her makeup before leaving the clinic. She didn’t know why she bothered—Serendipity was a country town with country ways. Hair and makeup were simple here.

       Her heavily lined boots clapped loudly against the wood-planked sidewalk as she headed for the café. The ever-present Texas wind had a strong nip to it, and she pulled her wool coat more closely around her neck.

       Her mind drifted as she walked. Nothing in the scenery was any different than she remembered from her youth. Serendipity was a settlement unchanged by time, looking nearly identical to what Delia imagined it must have looked a hundred years ago.

       It was her perspective that had changed. Her heart. And now she was more confused than ever.

       Catching up with old friends and announcing the opening of her clinic weren’t her only reasons for visiting Cup o’ Jo. She wanted to know more about Zach before she introduced him to Riley. It was better to be prepared than to be taken off guard, and she’d seen enough in her interaction with him to realize things were different now.

       Zach had been a passionate boy, but self-centered in his every thought and action. He’d gotten her into all sorts of trouble—encouraging her to ditch class, driving recklessly with her on his motorcycle—even getting her arrested. It was hard for her to fathom that he could change so completely, even given the ten years since she’d seen him. Leopards could not change their spots, and neither, Delia believed, could Zach Bowden.

       Once a troublemaker, always a troublemaker—right?

       Still, he hadn’t asked if he needed to stay around and help her out with Spence, nor had she indicated СКАЧАТЬ