Page 30 of The Leaving Road

“So sorry I’m late, but that’s my every day. Magnolia, so happy you are here!” Dr. Lewis’ boisterous voice broke up the seriousness of the conversation. “Let’s go over a few things. Come, come.” He turned on his heel and started walking back toward the treatment area.

The morning passed by quickly, and if I wasn’t seeing a patient with Ben, then I was being filled in on everything by Dr. Lewis or Louise. The computer software they used was much like the one back in Iowa, so I had it figured out in no time. Before long, the clock read eleven a.m..

“I was thinking about getting everyone lunch today to celebrate Magnolia’s first day here,” Dr. Lewis said.

“Oh, that’s really not necessary…”

“Hush now, child, you never say no to a free meal,” Louise quipped. “Let’s get Montgomery’s. They deliver, and I’ve been craving one of their patty melts for days.”

“That settles it! Magnolia, do you need a menu?” Dr. Lewis asked.

“Oh no, a patty melt works for me, too.”Of coursethey would order from Montgomery’s. My only saving grace was that since Sloan owned the place, there was no way he’d be making a delivery. That thought instantly brightened my mood back to positively cheerful as it had been only a few moments ago.

“Fabulous. I’ll go put the order in; you two boys want your usual?” Louise asked over her shoulder, not bothering to turn around since she seemed to already know the answer.

I was eyeball-deep in catching up on some medical notes from this afternoon when the overhead bell rang, signaling the arrival of lunch. Currently, Louise was back talking to Dr. Lewis about how Mr. Featherington’s owner was demanding to bring him by because she was concerned he wasn’t eating enough. Dr. Lewis groaned, “That damn bird. He does this so he can come in and antagonize me, Louise! You know this!”

“Yes, well, I told her to swing him by around twelve-forty-five and you would look at him. Now don’t pout; you would feel awful if something were wrong.”

She turned her gaze to me. “Magnolia, dear, will you go grab the food? I’m in the middle of dealing with a toddler and a temper tantrum.”

“Now, Louise, that’s not fair…”

Walking away from those two, I chuckled. They were really something else.

“Hey, Louise, I got your order here…”

Sloan.He was rifling through the bags, not realizing it wasn’t Louise he was talking to. What were the chances he would turn around and walk out without sparing a glance at me when I grabbed the bags? And why did he have to not look terrible? He had a backward baseball cap on, andJesus.Listen, I know I shouldn’t think he’s attractive—I still want to punch him in his stupid pretty face—but I’m not blind and I’m not an idiot. Ignoring the fact that I find him attractive would only get me in trouble in the long run. I found him attractive, but his personality sucked.That’s it.Unfortunately, I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t think to grab the bags from him, which prompted him to look up.

“Magnolia. Hi.” His eyes did a slow perusal of me in my scrub top and jeans, appreciation shown through them.

Good, see it and weep.

“Sloan. I see your dad still hasn’t promoted you yet.”

He laughed, and I’d forgotten how much I liked his laugh. It made my heart jolt in a way it hadn’t in years.

“Now I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” He smirked. “Unfortunately, being the boss means you have to fill in at any time, like when someone calls out sick.”

“Cassie must hate that.” I couldn’t believe I just said that, my mouth hanging open in shock. I justcouldn’thelp myself.

He dropped the bags on the reception desk since I still hadn’t grabbed them and he crowded my personal space. “Listen to me, Magnolia. There is no Cassie, not anymore.”

“There willalwaysbe Cassie for me.”

Pain flashed in his eyes, the raw kind you couldn’t mask, no matter how hard you tried. It almost brought me to my knees seeing him look at me with that kind of devastation, but I couldn’t take back what I said, and even if I could, I didn’t think I would want to.

“I deserve that, and more.”

“Look, I don’t want to hurt you unnecessarily. It’s just difficult to be around you.” I was old enough and in control of my emotions to be honest. Being around him brought up painful memories, memories and feelings I spent a long time trying to bury.

“I know you don’t owe me anything, but would you ever consider sitting down and having a conversation with me?”

I looked at him. I could see the regret etched all over his face, almost like he had aged ten years since walking into the clinic. I had been considering this after what Lexie had said to me a few days ago, and the fact that I had run into him multiple times already—this being the third time.

I weighed my options for a few seconds. Should I risk a conversation with him where I’m unprepared, like today. Or should I have one later, when I could prepare myself. I went with the latter.

“It might be better if we do.”

---