Page 15 of Shared By the Mountain Men

And the cyclists! For every pedestrian I saw, there were two people on bikes. Men, women, young, old, people of all shapes and sizes were biking around town. Everyone smiled and waved, including several people who called out “Doctor Noah” by name.

“You’re a popular guy,” I said.

“That’s the life of a doctor in a small mountain town,” Noah replied happily. “I set broken bones, patch up scrapes, diagnose colds, administer vaccines, and occasionally deliver a baby when the obstetrician can’t get here in time from Gunnison.”

Noah stopped at a red light, and then I winced. Walking down the sidewalk to my right was Jack. Just as I began considering ducking down in my seat, Jack’s eyes passed across the Jeep… and then locked onto my face through the windshield.

He shook his head and scowled at me.

“Hey Jackie!” Noah said, sticking his arm out the window to wave.

Jack paused next to my open passenger window long enough to say, “Guess you’ll accept help fromsomepeople.” He continued on his way before I could think of a response.

“He offered me a ride into town before you did,” I began to explain.

Noah only chuckled. “Jackie’s a big grump. You don’t need to elaborate more than that! Where in town were you headed?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I was going to wander around until I found something good for lunch.”

Noah pulled onto a side street and then parked next to a cafe. “What you’re looking for is Marlene’s Diner. Best sandwiches in town.” He hopped out and hurried around to the other side in time to help me down. “Tell you what. I’m heading there now… how about you join me?”

“Join you for lunch?” I repeated dumbly.

“Sure!” He quickly held up a hand. “Not as a date. Just a friendly lunch. Besides, I told Marlene I’d send as much business her way as I could. You can tell me about this crazy hike you were trying to do.”

Why the hell not?I thought before nodding.

8

Noah

I loved being the doctor in a small mountain town.

My buddy was a cardiologist in Boston. Big hospital, lots of patients. But he was miserable because he never really felt like he was making a difference in peoples’ lives. He was brought in to do a specific kind of surgery, a surgery he performed five days a week, forty weeks a year. To hear him talk about it, he felt more like an Amazon warehouse worker, doing the same monotonous work every day.

But me? I freakinglovedmy job! It was never boring; I did something different almost every day. I got to take care of people in a thousand different ways, and their gratitude was always front-and-center. Not just when I saw them at the hospital, but all around town. I could hardly walk up the street to Marlene’s Diner without running into a handful of patients.

Josie was riding her bike up the street; her arm was in a cast from the last time she fell, and she was itching to get it off so she could get back to rock climbing.

Aaron was recovering from long-COVID, but he was out walking around and getting fresh air with his wife like I had recommended.

Then there was Beth, six months cancer-free and living her best life. She rode by on a bicycle, a bouquet of flowers in the basket and a big smile on her face.

This was a tight-knit community, and the residents were mypeople. It was my job to take care of them, and I woke up every single morning with unending enthusiasm.

And now Melissa was part of that community. Which meant I felt a strong impulse to take care of her.

Jack was right about one thing: she was stubborn. Limping up the dirt road after a day, when I’d told her to take it easy for aweek. I couldn’t really blame her. Nobody liked being bedridden, especially far from home. But it still made my caregiver muscles twitch.

Marlene’s Diner had a good lunch crowd, but we found an open booth by the window. At least four different customers saw me and raised a hand in greeting.

“You’re a popular guy,” Melissa said.

I shrugged. “I’m well-known. That’s not the same thing as popular.”

“No, you’re definitely popular,” she insisted. “If I saw my doctor at a restaurant, I’d hide behind my menu.”

“Sounds like you need a better doctor.”

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