Page 72 of Break My Fall

Gray had been afraid too.

Maybe all those sweet nothings had been a reaction to fear and today he’d be back to normal. He’d remember that he didn’t want to have a relationship with her or anyone.

Or maybe he’d gone home after she’d viciously fired back at him and decided that he’d dodged a bullet when he’d broken her heart.

The phone rang again, and she tried to answer with her Bluetooth, then realized that it wasn’t going to work until she connected the new phone to her 4Runner’s sound system. She accepted the call on her watch. “Hello.”

The voice on the other end was frantic. “Oh, Dr. Quinn. Are you on your way in?”

“Yes, Lucy. What’s wrong?” Lucy had run her front office for the last two years. The young woman was a managerial whiz, but she could be a bit dramatic.

“It’s Lottie Green.” Lucy was nearly hyperventilating. “Her mom has her in the lobby. I think she has an abscess. Poor baby is crying. I think she’s in so much pain that she’s panicking.”

The poor baby in question was eight, and while she probably was crying, Meredith suspected that Lucy was embellishing the details.

But on the bright side, she now had an excuse to delay the phone return.

She winced at her own thoughts. Grayson Ward had truly driven her over the edge.

“I’ll be there in five minutes, Lucy. Tell Lottie to hang on.”

“Oh, thank goodness. Should I call Sheila?” Sheila was Meredith’s hygienist. An excellent one. But she had kids to take to school in the morning. “No. We’ll manage.”

“Okay. See you in a few.”

An hour later, Lottie was no longer crying, and her mom was taking her to school. Meredith was two patients behind, and she’d only had one cup of coffee. She dashed into the kitchen to grab a second cup and caught a glimpse of someone—a male someone, a male someone in uniform—leaving through the front door.

“Meredith!” Her aunt Minnie came into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face.

“Oh, Dr. Quinn!” Lucy followed Aunt Minnie, holding a vase filled with gorgeous paperbush blossoms. “These are for you!”

“What?” Meredith looked from her aunt to Lucy.

“Your policeman brought them.” Aunt Minnie grinned at her. “Mama says he’s your man, and last night she prayed that you would see that.”

“Please tell me she didn’t.” Meredith tried to hide her shock with laughter.

“Oh, she did.” Minnie’s earnestness couldn’t be doubted.

Lucy doubled over with laughter but kept her hold on the flowers. “Dr. Quinn, if your granny is praying about you and Gray, you should probably go ahead and marry the man.”

Meredith ignored her and stared at the flowers. Her mind refused to process what she was seeing.

“Don’t you like them, Merry?” Aunt Minnie reached out and touched one blossom. “They’re pretty.”

Lucy looked from Aunt Minnie to Meredith to the flowers and then put on a huge smile. “Come on, Aunt Minnie.” She pointed back to the reception area. “Let’s go put these on the front desk where everyone can enjoy them today.”

“Lucy, wait.” Meredith practically chased her down and grabbed at the vase with trembling hands. “Thank you. I’ll put them on my desk.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Meredith tucked the vase in the crook of her left arm and pulled Aunt Minnie in for a hug with her right. “You’re right, Minnie Moo. They are beautiful. You won’t mind if I keep them on my desk, will you?”

Aunt Minnie’s face lit, and she spoke with innocent sincerity. “You should keep them in your office. He brought them for you.”

“Excellent. Thank you both.”

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