A Doctor's Confession

Maggie gave him a questioning look. “Because they’re older?”

“Because they made a lot of sacrifices for me when I went to medical school, and I sure as hell don’t want them knowing they wasted their money.”

“It wasn’t wasted,” Mellette said, as Justin stepped out on the porch. “Look what you did for me. That, in and of itself, says a lot about your ability. Now all you need to do is let my sister get to work on your case and get you back where you belong on a full-time basis, rather than squeezing it in while you’re letting your drywall spackle dry.”

“My wife’s opinionated,” Justin said, taking Mellette by the arm and leading her down the stairs. “And on that note I’m going to wish you both a good afternoon and escort her home. The waiting room is cleared, and barring any emergencies or walk-ins, you’re free for the rest of the day. Although I wouldn’t count on it, because I heard that Ivy Comfort may be having a bout of rheumatism.” He smiled. “As they say, heard it through the grapevine, which is alive and well in these parts.”

Alain’s expression turned to panic. “I don’t treat rheumatism.”

“But I do,” Maggie said. “And it’s me she’ll want to be seeing for some special tea and maybe a liniment we make that’s—”

Alain held up his hand to stop her. “I’m going to trust that you know what you’re doing, and leave it at that. If Miss Comfort would like any medical treatment, I’ll be glad to see what I can do. Maybe prescribe a mild anti-inflammatory drug or—”

“She won’t take your prescription,” Maggie warned as Justin and Mellette walked away. “It’s been a real challenge here to prescribe traditional medicine. Most of the people are willing to tolerate it, since it’s all they can get without leaving the area. But we have a few holdouts who absolutely refuse to give in to modern ways, and Ivy Comfort just happens to be one of them. So Eula gave her some herbs that seemed to help, then Mellette took over after Eula died, and now that end of the practice is being passed along to me. Along with any regular nursing duties that come up.”

“Your family’s gotten so involved here. I wouldn’t have thought that, given your mother’s status, you’d have been inclined to.”

Maggie shrugged. “Initially, it was because my sister came to help out Justin’s grandmother, who was an herbal practitioner. The people here trusted her for over half a century, and when she died the position of herbal practitioner sort of fell to Mellette because the people here trusted her, too. They didn’t trust Justin, who wanted to practice nothing but traditional medicine, and a lot of them still haven’t come round to his way of thinking. But I suppose because Eula trusted Mellette, and I’m her sister, that’s why they trust me.”

“Then what’s that say about me? I’m just an interloping medical doctor who’s not going to put forth any kind of effort to prescribe herbs.”

“What it says is that you’ll have a tough time. There will be some who accept you unconditionally because you’re a doctor, and some who’ll accept you marginally because they trust Mellette, Justin and me. Then there will be those, like Ivy Comfort, who won’t even acknowledge you.” She smiled. “Ever.”

“Even if I prescribe an anti-inflammatory for her that does more for her than her herbs?”

“Even if you prescribe an anti-inflammatory for her that cures her rheumatism. That’s just the way she is. The way a lot of people here are, and you’ll have to accept it. As in not taking it personally when Ivy walks in that door and instructs you to fix her a cup of coffee.”

Alain laughed. “Actually, I make a pretty mean cup of coffee, so Miss Ivy and I might just hit it off.”

“Don’t count on it,” Maggie warned, smiling. She liked this man. Liked his seriousness, liked the way he fixed on his task. And, Lord knew, she’d watched a good bit of that these past few days.

“So what you’re telling me is that in order to get along in these parts, I’d be better off sticking to my carpentry work?”

“Probably.”

He smiled, and arched wicked, sexy eyebrows. “Then I guess that’s what I’d better get back to. If you need me …” He raised fingers to his mouth and faked a whistle.

“Trust me, I will.” With a fair amount of pleasure, actually. “Oh, and, Alain, I’ll know more from my law firm tomorrow on whether or not they’re going to take on your case. The partners are going to have a meeting on it first thing in the morning.”

“Any indication, one way or another?”

She shook her head. “Although I can say that they usually go with my recommendations. In fact, the only thing they ever fully reject is my suggestion for the office Christmas party. I like glitz and glitter and all the trimmings, and they like to keep it … sedate.”

“You don’t like sedate?”

“For a holiday, it’s boring. And why be boring when you can be over-the-top?”

“An over-the-top overachiever.” He gave her a slight bow as he stepped off the front porch. “I bow to your abilities.”

“And I accept that bow,” she said, laughing. Yes, she really liked this man. Now all she had to do was get him out of the mess he was in. Which meant, if the partners took him on as a client, no mixing of business and pleasure. Too bad, as she had an idea the pleasure part could have been way over-the-top, as well.

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