Page 22 of Storm's Embrace

“I think I need to find another pediatrician,” Mrs. Garrison said, picking up her son and turning to leave. Miriam held her breath when she stopped at the door of Miriam’s office and stared down at the papers Eli must have given her.

Please change your mind.

Her hopes were dashed when she crumpled the pages and threw them in the garbage can by the door, saying, “Let’s go home, baby.”

The last thing she saw of them was Jesse peering over his mother’s shoulder and waving as she made the turn in the hall that would take her through reception and out the front door.

“Are you going to follow her?” Miriam asked, turning to him. At that moment, if Eli was hers, she would have stood and taken him in her arms, soothed over his tense brow—offered him the comfort of a kiss.

But he wasn’t.

So she stayed in her seat while her heart broke for him as he shook his head—his face impassive—and turned away from her. Within a few steps he was inside his office where he closed his door with a soft click.

* * *

“Renee asked me to give these to you,” Gail, their billing clerk, said, handing Miriam the Friday morning mail, and then grimaced past her at Eli’s closed door. “Dr. Storm’s been awfully quiet this week.” Her concerned gaze went back to Miriam. “He hasn’t even hollered for you once.”

“He doesn’t holler,” Miriam told her, frowning. “He calls out. There’s a difference.”

“Um… Okay. If you say so,” Gail said with a shrug and walked out.

Gail was right. He had been quiet. And that was worrisome.

Whatever had transpired behind his closed door Monday afternoon, along with what Miriam had witnessed before the young mother had left, must have disturbed him on a deep level. And it had gotten even worse after the county deputy had left after taking his official report.

Oh, Eli was fine with his patients—smiling, caring, giving them all his attention. But otherwise, he wasn’t himself.

And she was loathe to admit it, but she missed him holl…er, calling out to her. She missed him stomping through the office when something wasn’t working right on his computer and he needed her help. She even missed his complaining about his office being too hot, and how he needed to get a separate thermostat to regulate the temperature since it seemed he wassurrounded by a passel of cold-natured women—something he usually complained about at least twice a day.

And while it had only been four days since they’d helplessly watched Brittany Garrison leave their office, the pall she’d left behind made it seem much longer. But knowing Eli—and after five years she felt she did—it wasn’t Mrs. Garrison’s retreating form haunting him. It was the all-too-knowing expression on little Jesse Garrison's sweet face as he’d waved goodbye over his mother’s shoulder.

She’d actually thought Eli might have been coming around the previous day, but that had been before she’d put a phone call through from one of his contacts with Child Services. If anything, he’d gotten even more quiet afterward.

If only she knew what to say to help him, she would do it. But although she was privy to most, if not all, of Eli’s patient information, when it came to these kinds of situations, he tended to remain tight-mouthed. So, she would just have to keep her concerns to herself and hope Eli would eventually get the news he needed to hear to put his mind at ease.

Eli’s door opened and he breezed past her with only a slight nod, his expression not quite grim, but still serious. She sighed and went about the task of opening and sorting his mail, while taking a quick glance at the time on her computer. Two more hours until they closed. She had a feeling it was still going to be a long day.

* * *

Much to her surprise, the rest of the morning ended up going by faster than she’d anticipated, with Eli being out of his office more than he was in it until just a few minutes before, when he’d finished with his last patient. But he’d gone right by her desk again without saying a word.

Who’d have thought she’d be aggravated at him being quiet? She certainly hadn’t.

“Miriam, can I see you?”

Miriam turned in her chair to find Eli standing in his doorway. She grimaced.

He hadn’t hollered.

“Sure.” She got up and followed his retreating form through the door, and then sat in one of the visitors chairs while he took the leather executive chair behind his large wooden desk. She waited. When he didn’t say anything for several seconds, she leaned forward, asking, “You needed something?”

“Hmm?” He gave her a slight smile then rested his elbows on his desk. “Sorry. I just wanted to let you know I’m heading out in the next ten minutes.” He settled back in his seat, his eyes holding hers. “So, there’s no need for you to stay any later.”

“Oh, right. You have a big night coming up tomorrow to get ready for. You and Ms. Bennett.” She hoped he didn’t notice her lack of enthusiasm at the mention of the other woman’s name.

He gave her a barely-there smile. “It is. The Love a Shelter Animal Foundation is one of my favorite charities.” Eli had a special place in his heart for shelter animals, although he didn’t have a pet of his own, which had always surprised her.

“Well, I hope you raise lots of money.” She held his gaze, and then nervously looked away and let her attention roam over his desk before it settled on the spot where his late wife’s picture had sat for the last five years. She’d only been in here once or twice all week. Each time she hadn’t lingered, but surely she should have noticed the photo was gone. Her gaze lifted to his distracted one. So, thingswereserious with Deidre. “Um, is there anything else in particular you needed?”

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