Page 43 of The Healer

She paused, assessing her actions to and from the clinic, or along the road to Lover’s Point. “I wasn’t aware I was in danger.”

“Like you said last night, if you’re injured, we’re doomed.”

“Doomed?” She chuckled. “You could call Rebel or drive a doctor over from Glenfell.” She hugged him as she said, “I don’t blame you, Aiden.” Stepping back, she ruffled his hair as she would do if she had a brother. “Where you off to? Need a lift?”

“Visiting Rhys at Cozy Cromwell’s.”

Rhys… She’d like to visit him too, maybe sit on his lap, let him loop his muscled arm around her, brush his beard across her chin, press her lips to his lush ones. She cleared her throat. “Want me to drop you off on the way to the clinic?”

“I’m good, thanks, Doc. Come by Tuesdays for a beer tonight, on me.”

“I’ll text you if I do, but it might be late. I don’t want to treat brawlers nor fend off desperate men looking for a partner for the night.” She laughed. “Not that a burning STD requires emergency treatment.”

With a wave, she climbed into the rental. The truth was, she wasn’t in the mood to sip beer and doubted she would be. As she stood there, her muscles throbbed at the abuse she had put them through cleaning the clinic. When Amos returned, she would give him a piece of her mind. Who left a medical facility in such a state? Sure, shifters didn’t suffer from human diseases, or so they claimed, but hygiene should matter. What if the next patient was human?

Shaking her head, she parked in the nearest spot to the clinic, hoping to reduce the wind’s chances of sneaking into her clothing. Harriet waited in the reception area, humming an indiscernible tune. On the chair beside her sat a basket.

“I brought lunch.” She leaped up when Ilona opened and shut the front door with swift movements. The clinic was toasty warm.

Ilona slipped out of her jacket and hang it on the hooks provided. “You shouldn’t have, Harriet.” Her stomach gurgled on cue. “I’m grateful, though.”

“It’s nothing much. Just a roast chicken with Dijon mustard and peppers on rye, a slice of chocolate cake, and a flask of my vanilla bean coffee.”

“Nothing much?” Ilona grinned. “It sounds heavenly.”

She scooped up the basket and gestured to a door leading off the reception area. After discovering Amos’s office during her search this morning, she’d tackled it first, wiping the bookshelves and all the medical books he had collected over the years. A stack of papers sat on the corner of the desk, which she would sort through tomorrow.

The mahogany desk gleamed after the polish she gave it, and the Persian rug no longer had a layer of dust on it. The window faced the side of Harriet’s house and behind it where the snow-covered fields met the forest stretching to the horizon.

“Did you bring enough for two?” Ilona set the basket centerstage of the desk and flipped it open. Delicious aromas teased her nose, mingling with the crisp spine scent of the polisher.

“Just coffee.” Harriet beamed. “I needed a break too.”

“I don’t know how you do it, cooking so much and managing a bed and breakfast.”

She shrugged. “I have someone who helps in the kitchen. Since Dane moved in, I don’t feel alone. Although, a little quiet time is never a bad thing.”

Ilona plated the sandwiches, then grabbed a coffee mug for a refill, pouring coffee into the lid for Harriet. Biting into the sandwich, she groaned. “I didn’t know I was so hungry.”

Harriet laughed. “I thought as much. I can’t stay long. With two men to feed, I need to ensure the portions are sufficient, and I have a cake waiting for a little love. I finished packing your things after I laundered a few of your items. I hope you don’t mind. Dane delivered a bag or two of groceries to your new home. He wanted to warm the house so it would be ready for you when you finished for the day.”

Tears pressed behind Ilona’s eyes. She struggled to swallow the bite of sandwich past the lump in her throat. None of her neighbors in Fenneg had been this thoughtful. Hell, she couldn’t pick them out in a line-up. Dane and Harriet’s unexpected kindness squeezed Ilona’s chest like a vise.

“Thank you.” It wasn’t enough to convey how she felt, but it was all she could think to say.

“When you come by to fetch your bag, please take a plate of food with you. You’re too thin, my girl.” Harriet sipped coffee with grace as if she took tea with a queen. “You know, you’re the talk of the town.”

“I assumed as much. What with Edison and the two boys this morning—”

“That did liven up conversations at Mo’s, along with Rhys carrying you like a knight would a damsel-in-distress.” Harriet laughed, but her smile faded. “The talk is about the Devereaux part of Mona’s name, Ilona.”

“What?” Ilona frowned. “Well, that’s odd.” She flicked a dismissive hand. “Who’s asking?”

“Rhys,” Harriet answered.

Ilona’s heartrate spiked. Not that she could say if it was from alarm, or just from hearing his name. Though, she sure as hell hoped it was the former. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Harriet nodded. “What are your plans for the rest of the day? More cleaning?”

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