Page 60 of Waiting for Devon
“Shane begged her to play along, and within an hour of meeting his father, she was let go from the hospital. Linhart valued Jasper Barrington’s two-million-dollar donation more than he valued Devon.”
“I don’t believe this.”
“Shane convinced her it would only be for two weeks, a month at the most, before he would be able to convince his father to give him control of Barrington Industries. Obviously, it didn’t work out that way. It hasn’t been all bad, though. She opened Barrington-Brooks, a free clinic, there in Dallas.”
“Yes. I know. That’s where I met them. At least she was able to do something worthwhile,” Jack muttered. “Look, I’m booking the earliest flight I can get to Dallas. Devon’s in trouble. I feel it in my gut. In the meantime, keep trying to reach her, and if you hear from her, call me, okay?”
“All right.” Emmaline paused. “Your heroics won’t exonerate you, Jack. Not in any of our eyes.”
“Fair enough. I behaved like a jerk. I get it. Right now, though, my only priority is making sure Devon is safe.”
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Emmaline promised and ended the call.
Jack cursed to himself when a clerk at the ticket counter informed him that all the early flights to Dallas the next day were filled to capacity, but he secured a seat on one leaving at noon. To occupy his time, he went back to the hospital and spent a restless shift treating patients and calling Devon to no avail. He also bugged Emmaline and Caleb several times and anyone else who knew his ex-wife. No one had heard a word from her. By the time his flight lifted off the following day, he’d worked himself into a nervous wreck.
The intense Texas heat and humidity hit Jack full force as he exited the Dallas airport terminal and hailed a taxi. He slid into the backseat with his duffel bag. Sweat rolled down his face and back. His short-sleeved shirt clung to his skin.
“Where can I take you?” the driver asked in a typical Texan drawl.
Jack figured he would start searching for Devon at the most obvious place first. “Take me to the Barrington-Brooks free clinic. Do you know it?”
“Sure do. Been there once myself. My brother won’t take his family anywhere else even though he makes a good living and has health insurance provided by his employer. He swears Dr. Brooks is the best doctor in Dallas. And fair and honest, too. She only charges my brother his normal co-pay. When he tried to offer more, she wouldn’t accept it.”
Jack’s heart twisted in his chest. His ex-wife always put her patients above everything else. She practiced medicine for the sheer love of helping those in pain or need, not for her own financial gain. What devil in the guise of grief possessed him to destroy his marriage? To destroy Devon’s love for him?
I will not abandon Devon again.
The cab driver turned onto Third Street. It bustled with construction activity. To his left, Jack noticed a three-story steel structure identified as the future home of the Barrington-Brooks job training and education center. He wondered why Devon was leaving projects close to her heart behind her. Jack guessed Jasper Barrington figured out the scheme his son devised to assume control of the company and kicked Devon to the curb. A hot flush crept into his face at the idea of someone mistreating his ex-wife. After what he’d done to her, she deserved better.
As the taxi rolled to a stop in front of the clinic, Jack saw people milling on the sidewalk. When he handed the driver his fare, the latter asked, “Do you want me to wait for you?”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know what my plans will be after I see Dr. Brooks.” He grabbed his duffel bag and entered the clinic.
Inside, a crowd waited to see Devon. Every available chair was filled, and people lined the walls. From the expressions on their faces, Jack could see they were upset. Near the receptionist’s desk, two women were engaged in a heated discussion. A beautiful blonde spoke in flawless Spanish to another woman, who held a baby in her arms. Next to her a little girl bawled.
Understanding Spanish himself, Jack followed their conversation, and when the blonde mentioned Devon’s name, he interrupted them. “Excuse me. Do you know Devon?”
Both women turned to face him. Their eyebrows shot up as they seemed to recognize him.
Jack held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Dr. Jack Taylor, Devon’s ex-husband.”
At the worddoctor, an expectant hush fell over the crowd of patients.
The lovely Hispanic woman slapped his hand away and spewed a string of expletives at him in Spanish. Her daughter covered her ears. “Mami!”
Although she refused to shake his hand, the blonde offered a polite, “I’m not going to say it’s nice to meet you. We know who you are.”
If these women were friends of Devon, Jack assumed she would have told them about him. “And you are?”
The blonde answered, “I’m Blair Barrington. This is Inez Rodriguez.”
“Barrington, huh? Any relation to the SOB who dragged Devon into playing his fiancée?”
Blair and Inez glanced at each other in surprise.
“What, didn’t you know about the scam?”
“Oh, we know the whole story,” Blair assured him. “We’re just surprised thatyouknow. I’m the SOB’s sister, by the way. Did Devon tell you? Is that why you’re here?”
