Page 40 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

Shelley laughed."I'm not that busy.Trip's making dinner.He was the one who suggested that I should still call you since I said I would."

"Aww.He sounds awesome.Tell him I said thank you, will you?"

"I will.And he is.But enough about him.When do you want to come?"

"I should be free and clear after this week.I'm going to have a gap in my schedule.So, you tell me."

Shelley drummed her fingers against her thigh as she considered it.

"I can hear the cogs whirring," Harper said with a laugh."If you're trying to factor in how much time you'll have to spare for me and how much time you'll still get with the sexy doctor, don't worry about it.I already told you I'm perfectly fine to entertain myself if you're otherwise engaged.Especially if you're hanging out with him.I like the sound of him."

"I know I don't need to babysit you the whole time, but I do want us to be able to hang out."

"And we will.Whenever you can spare the time.Wait a minute.Are you still thinking about leaving?"

Shelley looked up at the mountains as she considered the question."I am...”

“Why not hang around for a while longer, see how things go?"

"I keep asking myself the same question."

"Do you even know where you're going next?"

"I don't.Just that it's time to move on."

"But why, Shelley?"

She glanced back at the door again."I don't know, Harper.I just...This was only ever supposed to be a quick visit, and I've been here for months already...And..."

"But I thought the whole point of you being footloose and fancy-free was so that you could go with the flow.Be in the moment, whatever the moment holds.If you’re enjoying your moments there, why not stay?"

Shelley considered the question."I can't renew the lease on my house again after the end of the month."It was the only concrete answer she had.

"So, find another one," said Harper."How hard can it be?"

"From what they tell me, pretty damn hard around here in the summer.The place gets full of tourists visiting Yellowstone."

"Yeah, but I bet you could find somewhere if you really wanted to."

"Probably," Shelley agreed.

"I can tell I'm not going to get any more out of you, so how about this?How about I start looking at flights for the week after next and I'll get back to you when I find something that works for me and see if it works for you, too.In the meantime, you go and hang out with Trip.And while you're doing that, keep the question in mind.Why shouldn't you stay?"

"Okay, I'll do that.Let me know what you find in the way of flights, and I'll call you after work on Monday."

"Okay, I'll talk to you then.Have yourself a great weekend and say hi to Trip for me."

"I will.But what about you?What does your weekend hold?"Shelley felt bad that this entire conversation had been about her.

"You know me," said Harper."I'm ticking along just fine.Now go.I'll talk to you on Monday.Love you, girl."

"Love you too."

~ ~ ~

After they'd eaten, they moved to the den, and Trip was pleased when Shelley sat right beside him on the sofa.She leaned her head against his shoulder as she asked, "What kind of movie are we watching tonight?"

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head."Whatever you want to watch is good with me."

---