Double Blind. Hannah Alexander

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СКАЧАТЬ Betsy would bring so many of her memories crashing back. But the time had come to face them—and there was no turning back now.

       Chapter Eight

       C anaan sat on the sleeper sofa in Sheila’s small apartment, listening to the splash of water in the bathroom as Sheila got ready to go to dinner. She obviously was reluctant to join him for tonight’s meal. He wasn’t exactly ecstatic about it, either. He would have enjoyed sharing a meal with her without the prying eyes of the whole student body and faculty on them. How he would love to sit down with her and catch up on the past years.

      Sheila joined him, and they stepped out into the darkening, cooler air of evening.

      “I had forgotten how suddenly night falls here,” she said. “In Missouri, the sunset hangs on forever.”

      “I remember,” he said.

      She looked up at him. “You were in Missouri?”

      “When I had rotations, I drove through a couple of times. I discovered that, in the Ozarks, the sun seems to spread out into the heavier, moister atmosphere there, and then, just before it starts its plunge past the horizon, it lingers in the line of forest.”

      “Sounds as if you enjoyed it.”

      “I did.”

      “I wish you’d tried to contact Dad or me on your way through. We could have put you up for the night.”

      “It just never seemed to be the right time.” Especially since she had been married then. Canaan doubted her husband would have understood an old male friend simply stopping by to spend the night.

      He couldn’t help noticing as they walked that Sheila was studying every line of every building, every plant. It must be disconcerting to find a once-familiar home changed so completely.

      All of the old school buildings were gone, and it seemed to take her a few moments to realize that the cafeteria, just ahead and to their right, was set in exactly the same position as the old one.

      “The new cafeteria’s prettier,” Canaan said, and was rewarded by a fleeting look of surprise. Amazing he could still, at times, read her mind.

      Piñon and olive trees, thriving in this climate, surrounded the cafeteria. Canaan had considered planting cactus, as well, but he couldn’t risk harm to children playing in the area.

      “It seems as if some calm, gentle spirit has encompassed the school,” Sheila said.

      He warmed at her words of praise. “Thank you.”

      “Don’t tell me you did the landscaping,” she said.

      He nodded. “Doc said I needed a deeper tan.”

      “That sounds like something he would say.” Warm affection filled her words. Sheila had once been one of Doc Cottonwood’s favorite young students; when he had taken her under his wing, it had helped establish her as just another student, and not a biligaana. Her friendship, in turn, had encouraged Canaan to face up to the bullies who’d picked on him.

      “I enjoyed the gardening,” Canaan said.

      “More than you enjoy medicine?” she asked.

      “No, but I like it more than being principal. Besides, the physical activity did me good.”

      She glanced up at him, and he thought he caught a brief gleam of approval as her gaze rested on the breadth of his shoulders, and again he relished that approval. Having been the smallest in his class, he had despaired as a child of ever growing. His growth spurt had hit in his senior year of high school. Perhaps it was this feeling of isolation for so long in his childhood that had kept him hitting the books when other classmates were more active in sports.

      “Once the trees have matured,” Sheila said, “this whole place will look like an oasis from the road.”

      “That’s the plan.” He hesitated. Though it would be great to bask in her kind words—particularly after the uncomfortable circumstances accompanying her arrival—he couldn’t linger there. “Were you looking for an oasis when you decided to come here?”

      “Nope.” Clipped. Almost sharp, and the tone relayed Back off clearly enough for most people.

      “So why did you come?” He wasn’t most people.

      “Because I’m between permanent jobs at the moment. And no, I wasn’t fired from my previous position. The hospital where I worked lost federal funding and had to cut back on staffing.”

      “A loss of federal funding would shut down most hospitals.”

      “It probably will this one, as well, eventually, but it’s still limping along right now.”

      “What was the infraction?”

      “One of the doctors refused to accept a patient being transferred from a smaller hospital. The patient died in transit to the other hospital in town.” She looked up at him. “Do I have to undergo another employment interview? Your grandfather already asked me these questions.”

      “I’m just curious,” Canaan assured her. “So you suddenly decided, after all these years, that you’d like to work for room and board and paltry pay in the isolation of this school?”

      She didn’t reply.

      “It’s been a bad homecoming for you,” Canaan said. “I’m sorry I’m not making it any easier.”

      “You sure aren’t.”

      He glanced at her, appreciating the profile of the grown-up Sheila. She looked a lot like her mother, though her hair was darker; her mother had been blond. Evelyn Metcalf had been a beautiful woman—at least, from the viewpoint of a ten-year-old boy who didn’t know very much about women. Sheila had inherited those looks.

      It appeared that she’d also inherited a strong strain of her father’s dynamic personality. Although that strength seemed to have left her earlier today.

      “I think you’ve had a difficult couple of years,” he said.

      She didn’t look at him, but slowed her steps to match his. “You’ve been talking to your grandfather.”

      “Of course. I was sorry to hear about the death of your husband.”

      She nodded but said nothing.

      Canaan wanted to ask why she’d resumed using her maiden name, but that was pushing it too far. Maybe after dinner.

      “I gather you’re not thrilled about my presence here,” she said.

      “I am, in a way.”

      Amusement came and went in her expression. “A very small way.”

      “Fishing for compliments?” he asked.

      She chuckled suddenly, and he couldn’t help smiling. When they were kids, any time Canaan became frustrated СКАЧАТЬ