Page 5 of Remembering You
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, smiling. “That’s quite an accent you got there.”
“Oh, yeah. You should hear my mama talk. Born and bred in—”
“No wait,” he said, cutting me off. “Let me guess.”
I pressed my lips together, miming zipping them.
“Okay, let’s see,” he continued. Still carrying my bags, he lifted my hand in his and draped it over his shoulder. Then, walking in step with me, he supported my weight as we walked in sync. “You got off a bus, so either you flew here and took the bus from Boston. Or you’re from somewhere closer than that and took a bus the whole way.” He pushed his lips out in thought. “You’ve only got two bags, so I’m going to guess you’re not fromtoofar away. Despite the southern accent… Virginia.” He finally said.
He was close. But not correct. I shook my head no.
“Damn,” he grunted, leading the way to a cafe that was attached to a small Bed and Breakfast. While he held the door for me, I limped inside, sighing at the blast of warm air. That was more like it.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so cold. Do you ever get used to the winters here?” That question earned me another heart melting grin as he dropped my bags next to the closest table.
“The thirty-degrees outside is nothing. Just wait until it gets down into the teens.”
I gulped, limping over to the seat and dropping down into it. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Not even a little.” Then, his gaze traveled the length of my body, flitting over my legs and long wavy blond hair. “Texas?” he ventured another guess and I shook my head no.
Bending, he removed my shoe and pushed my pant leg up to my knee.
I winced as he brushed his hand over the red, swollen area. My foot was sweaty from a long day of travel, despite the cold. God, this was embarrassing.
“Not gonna lie,” Jim said. “It doesn’t look good. Can you move it?” I rotated my ankle and a sharp pain stabbed up my leg.
“Yes… but it hurts.”
“Is there anyone you know locally who I can call for you? A parent… or friend … or boyfriend…?”
I swallowed and shook my head no. I didn’t even have an emergency contact here. The full weight of this decision to move to Maple Grove was a sudden unwelcome visitor, sitting on my chest. “I have no one,” I whispered. Why did I do this? Why did I think moving here, where I had zero family, no friends, and hardly any contacts at all would be a good thing for a girl who wasn’t even twenty years old yet? Sure, I could call my intern director; the random woman that the hospital had assigned to oversee my work. But that wasn’t a family member, or even a friend. It wasn’t someone who was concerned and looking out for my well-being.
Loneliness settled hard in my stomach, cementing there like a permanent fixture.
His thumb moved in gentle circles over the skin at my ankle and when I finally raised my gaze to his, those crystal-hued blue eyes were fastened onto mine. His smile was blurred through the sheen of tears filling my eyes.
With a tender squeeze of my calf, he pulled over an extra chair and placed my foot gently on it. Then, he removed his scarf and placed it beneath my foot to cushion it. “How do you take your coffee?”
“Light and sweet.”
“Coffee first. Then the ER. Deal?”
I nodded and reached for my wallet. “Only if you let me pay.” Unzipping my fringed purse, I pulled out a dollar along with the scrap of paper I had scribbled my intern director’s name and number on. Sheila Wright.
Jim dropped his cheek to his shoulder, giving me a look. “You’re not buying my coffee.”
“Come on,” I said, waving the dollar bill. “It’s the least I can do. Consider it your hero fee.”
“The rate for hero work seems to be quite low.”
A young woman, curvy with strawberry blond hair came running up to us. “What happened here?”
“The new girl took a tumble in the ice,” Jim said. “Marty, this is Elsa. She makes the best coffee in all of New Hampshire.”
Elsa waved him off with the towel in her hand. “The key is to sprinkle just a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg into the groundsbeforeit brews.”
Just the thought of a cup of steaming hot coffee had my mouth watering. “Well, then. I’ll have to try a cup of this cinnamony goodness.”
