Page 17 of Coming Home

This was just one of the many reasons Nat wanted to be a doctor. To help. To be of service. To change things for the better. Just like her dad.

Just like Evan would have done.Her gaze dropped to the rainbow-glitter framed photo sitting on the corner of her desk. In it, she wore a birthday girl sash and crown and was surrounded by Evan, Clayton, and her parents during her eighteenth birthday party. It was the last complete Owens family photograph taken. A month later, Evan died. Beside that picture was a simple wood-framed photo of Nat and Clayton flanked by Mom and Dad at her medical school graduation.

The incomplete Owens Family. She frowned, swiveling back and forth in the chair.

Like an unyielding current, time had differed since Evan died. The memory of that night still echoed inside her. The somber Perry Police Officers on their front porch. Mom’s howl. Dad’s blank stare. Nat, alone, on the bottom step in the foyer watching the strongest people she knew crumble.

The pain had dulled over the years, but the nagging ache never went away. Evan’s presence haunted each of them in different ways.

Nat returned her gaze to the two photos and studied the variations in her parents’ smiles. In the complete Owens family photo, each unabashed grin reached their eyes. In the incomplete Owens family photo, those smiles were large, but grief and wistfulness shaded their eyes.

She worried that it wasn’t just because they missed Evan in the big moments, but also because they wished they were celebrating his medical school graduation. Wished that Evan was the new Dr. Owens sitting in this chair.

Don’t let yourself go there.Nat pushed up from her desk to head to the front to prepare for the clinic’s reopening.

“Dr. Owens isn’t back from lunch yet,” LeAnne’s muffled voice filtered through the red door between the clinic’s lobby, where patients checked in, and the back area where the exam rooms and offices were.

Nat stopped, hand on the doorknob, and inhaled deeply, fighting her irritation with the medical assistant.I’m Dr. Owens.

“Is the boss around?” a deep voice asked, a soft chuckle punctuating the question.

“Mrs. Owens is at lunch with Dr. Owens. You can?—”

“I’m Dr. Owens.” Nat stepped into the patient check-in area.

“Well, you don’t look like Dr. Owens.” The gray-haired man cocked a teasing brow.

“I’m Dr. Nat Owens. I joined the practice in May.” She extended her arm.

The man took her hand in his leathery grip. “Little Natalie Owens. All grown up and working for your dad.”

Her smile smoothed to a firm line. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

“You probably don’t remember me. I’m Jack Simmons, the rep from J&C Medical Supplies. Your dad’s clinic has been in my territory for thirty years.”

“Oh, Mr. Simmons. You’re right…I didn’t recognize you.”

Jack stroked his chin. “It’s the beard. Can’t grow hair on my head anymore, but it seems to come in like I’m Father Christmas on my face.”

She nodded and forced a laugh.

“Your dad mentioned you’d be coming to work for him.”

With him, not for him.She pushed her clenched fists into the pockets of her white lab coat.

“I remember you running around here as a little girl with your Fisher-Price doctor’s bag.”

“That was a long time ago.” She blew out an annoyed breath and tried not to say that she remembered him with hair. “So, you wanted to speak to Dr. Owens. Well, I’m Dr. Owens. How can I help you?”

“Of course. I’ve got some new blood pressure cuffs and?—”

“Jack!” Mom strolled into the clinic, causing Jack to turn toward the front door.

“Well, there’s the boss.” He opened his arms wide.

“Simmons,” Dad grinned, following close behind Mom.

“Dr. Owens, I was just chatting with Natalie.”

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