Читать книгу Healing His Widowed Heart - Annie Hemby - Страница 12
ОглавлениеLexie met the man’s gaze. “Thank you for rescuing me this morning.” She offered her hand to the dirt-smudged fireman in front of her. He shook it, and just that simple touch made her knees weaken. She’d always thought weak knees at the sight of a man were a myth. She was a medical professional and there was no good reason for knees to go weak just because...
Because when God designed this one, He’d tailored him with every trait she’d ever found attractive in the opposite sex.
She averted her gaze, hoping to steady her pulse.
“Nice to meet you under better circumstances,” he said in a deep voice with just a hint of Southern drawl.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t driven by.”
“God put Mason in the right place at the right time.” Clara turned to her husband, Rick, who had slipped into the room and was now seated quietly at the head of the table. “We can wait a few minutes, right?” She gestured to Mason. “A man deserves to be clean while he eats. Especially one who’s worked so hard helping others today.”
“Indeed.” Rick nodded. “Of course we’ll wait.”
Clara made a shooing motion at Mason. “Go, go. When you come back we’ll eat and get to know our new houseguest.”
Mason frowned, glancing over at Lexie. She felt exactly the same way that he appeared to. Not that she didn’t like Mason—he seemed nice enough—but she’d embarrassed herself with him this morning.
“Go on and clean up before the food gets cold,” Clara told him. “We’ll be waiting.”
With a sideways glance at Lexie again, neither smiling nor frowning anymore, Mason disappeared down the hallway. Lexie stared after him. He was the tenant who lived here with Clara and Rick? The man she’d hoped to avoid for the rest of the summer?
She took a seat at the kitchen table and resisted any negative thinking. She’d kept her spirits up all day despite running toward wildfires and landing herself in the hospital. Living next door to a man she’d hoped to avoid the rest of the summer really wasn’t that big of a deal.
A few minutes later, Mason reappeared, clean-faced and dressed in a T-shirt and pair of jeans. He sat at the table across from her and just the close proximity made her blood pressure rise. Her heart bounced around nervously in her chest. Lexie tried to focus on Clara and Rick instead of the man in front of her. Tried and failed.
“Let’s pray.” Clara turned to Rick. She extended her hand to him and to Mason on her other side. Mason took her hand and then reached for Lexie’s.
Lexie swallowed, completing the chain by taking Rick’s hand on her left and Mason’s on her right.
Rick bowed his head. “Heavenly Father, thank You for the food You’ve provided for us,” he said. “We know that You are our source. Thank You for these friends and family, old and new,” he said, referring to Lexie. Then he prayed for the safety of the town and the firemen as the forest fire raged a few miles away. “Keep us all safe, Lord. You are our protector. In Jesus’s almighty name we pray.”
Everyone around the table said, “Amen.”
Then Clara started to pass the serving bowls to the right.
“She does this every night,” Mason said, serving himself several slices of honey-coated ham.
“And he rarely misses a dinner. Not unless there’s an emergency. Or it’s his night at the Teen Center.” Clara smiled proudly at him, just as she probably would for her own sons if she had any. Lexie didn’t see any pictures of children in the house, though, so she gathered that the older couple didn’t. “You work at the Teen Center, too?” she asked.
“Oh, Mason runs the place, dear.” Clara beamed.
“And I don’t recall okaying any new volunteers lately,” he said, lifting his gaze to meet hers.
Lexie swallowed. There was a hard tone to his voice that made her uneasy. “Dr. Marcus okayed it with you.”
“You work with Dr. Marcus?” he asked.
Lexie got the distinct impression that Mason wasn’t thrilled with her involvement. “Yes. I’m the new doctor who will be assisting him at the free health clinic.”
She tried to smile. She was happy to be able to officially call herself a doctor. “I just passed my boards. Dr. Marcus was a professor of mine in medical school. He asked me to come to Carolina Shores and help him. He says there’s a big need for medical care here.”
“Oh, there is,” Clara agreed, between bites.
“Good medical care,” Mason said, his posture growing stonier by the second.
Was he implying that she wasn’t good at what she did?
Lexie shifted uncomfortably. “Of course.” She didn’t want to take offense, but how could she not? Mason was suddenly glaring at her, like she’d said or done something wrong.
“Just because someone can’t afford medical care doesn’t mean they should get subpar attention from a new doctor, who’s more concerned with wedding planning than medicine.” He set his fork down. “And that goes for the teens in this town, too.”
Okay, now she could get offended.
“I’m sorry, but I’m very focused on my role as a doctor.” She’d wanted nothing more since she was six years old, lying in a hospital bed after her first asthma attack. “I graduated with honors from my class.”
“Dr. Marcus wouldn’t have asked Lexie to come to Carolina Shores otherwise, dear,” Clara said, her brows bouncing nervously. Her fork was suspended in midair as she looked between them.
Mason wiped his mouth with his napkin, scooted his chair back from the table and stood. “I don’t want to be rude, Clara, but I’m not very hungry anymore. I also need to head back to the fire early in the morning.”
Clara and Rick exchanged a look.
“Oh, Mason, can’t you just—”
Rick moved a hand to cover her forearm, stopping her from continuing. For the entire dinner so far, he’d been quiet except to pray. “Good night then, Mason. Be careful tomorrow,” he said.
“I will.”
They watched Mason walk away. Lexie forced herself to take a deep breath. She felt like she’d just failed an exam, except school was over and Mason Benfield’s opinion of her shouldn’t have mattered. But it did. The look of disapproval in his eyes just now stung. She’d been foolish to risk her life this morning, she understood that, but it didn’t reflect on her skill as a doctor. Or it shouldn’t have. Neither did the fact that she’d been planning a wedding for the past year.
“I’m sorry about that,” Clara said, gaining Lexie’s attention. “Mason gives all the young doctors a hard time. He hasn’t exactly had the best experience with medical people.”
So he was like 50 percent of the human population who didn’t enjoy going to doctors’ or dentists’ offices, Lexie thought. That was no reason to be rude. She picked up her fork again and continued to eat, making conversation with her new Carolina Shores family. When the meal was over, Lexie retreated to the guest room down the hall, thankful for a soft place to rest her head, and for the fact that Mason had said he’d be leaving early in the morning. She wouldn’t mind not seeing him before she started her own busy day tomorrow—her first at the new health care clinic. She’d also be going to see the teens as planned tomorrow afternoon, whether Mason Benfield approved of her involvement or not.
* * *
After a long day at work, Mason walked into the Teen Center the next evening and his whole mood shifted. He loved coming to this place that his late wife had founded. It had meant so much to her when she was alive, and over the years it had come to mean a lot to him, as well.
He high-fived one of the boys standing off to the side. “Hey, Albert. How are you?”
“Great, Mr. Mason,” the boy said.
Mason kept walking, waving at the kids he passed, smiling and giving a high five every now and then. He stopped walking, however, when he saw the woman sitting at the end of the table. She was helping one of the girls with her homework. “What are you doing here?” he asked, a hard edge threading through his voice.
Lexie looked up, lifting her chin just slightly. “I told you I would be here. You and Dr. Marcus discussed this a few weeks back. You agreed to have someone from the new clinic come over to volunteer. That someone is me. I told Dr. Marcus I’d take care of this for him, so he could concentrate on other aspects of the business. I’m not going back on that commitment,” she said.
Mason shoved his hands on his hips, speechless. There were a whole lot of things he wanted to say right now, but he didn’t want to say them in front of the teens who were all staring at him. He wanted to tell Lexie that she needed to get up and get out. He didn’t think that she had anything she could teach these kids that would be of benefit. Instead, Mason stared at her for just a moment longer and then continued walking to the office in the back. His good mood was gone. Now his neck ached from the tension pulling between his shoulder blades.
“Bad day?” his friend Dave asked, looking up from his desk as Mason stormed in.
“Not until now,” Mason said.
Dave studied him. “Well, here’s some good news. We have a new volunteer.”
“Yeah, I know. And I don’t want her here,” Mason ground out.
Dave arched an eyebrow. “Why not? It’s not every day we have someone willing to sacrifice their time. What’s the problem?”
Mason crossed his arms in front of his chest. “The problem is... The problem is...” he said again, trying to think of a good reason why Lexie Campbell’s presence was a problem. “Well, for one, she’s careless. She’s the woman who I rescued from the forest fire yesterday.”
Dave nodded. “I know. She told me.”
“And you don’t think that’s a problem?” Mason asked.
Dave shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not like she’s going to be telling the kids here that they should run into burning forests.”
Mason shook his head. “I don’t want her telling my teens anything. And I certainly don’t want her giving them medical advice.”
“I get it. This is because she’s a doctor.”
“A doctor that just graduated medical school,” Mason told him. “She’s barely got her degree and she’ll be offering the people in this town, who you and I both care about, medical advice.”
Dave considered this. “Well, she’s been to medical school, and I haven’t. So I’m assuming that she has better advice than I could give.”
Mason pointed a finger. “You see? Even you would take her medical advice. That’s why having her at the free health care clinic is dangerous. Just because she’s a doctor, people will think her advice is golden. She’s inexperienced. She can make mistakes that can hurt people. Mistakes that can kill people.”
Dave’s expression softened as he stared back at him.
Mason didn’t want to see the look. Yes, he knew his past was influencing his opinion on this. He couldn’t seem to help it, though. “Lexie said she’s not leaving, so at least help me keep an eye on her,” he finally said.
“Sure. But all she’s doing is helping with the kids’ homework.”
“Good.” Mason plopped himself down behind his own desk and ran a hand through his hair. He needed to collect his emotions before he went back out there.
Dave got up and headed to the door. “I promised Trevor we’d play ball. Catch you in a few?”
Mason nodded. “Sure.” He just needed a couple minutes to himself.
After a few deep breaths and a quick prayer, Mason stood and walked to the glass window that looked out from the office onto the room of teenagers. He watched Lexie as she sat with one of the girls, Kim. Lexie threw her head back as she laughed at something that must have been funny to her. Kim cracked a smile for once, too. The teen girl rarely smiled.
Mason resisted the softening of his emotions. He didn’t want to like Lexie. He didn’t want her working here with the kids that meant so much to him. But Dave was right. The center did need all the help they could get. And truthfully, Lexie seemed like a nice woman. So, as long as she kept her medical advice to herself, Mason supposed that having her around was okay. It was just for the summer, he reminded himself. Then things would return to normal and the beautiful redhead would be gone.
* * *
Lexie was having a good time. Dr. Marcus had explained to her that the purpose of the outreach wasn’t exactly to treat the teens here. Instead, it was to form a relationship with them. To give them somebody in the community that they could talk to. To make the medical professionals more approachable.
Lexie had worked with a lot of the youth in her hometown in Raleigh. She’d grown up doing community service and had always loved helping others. Over the past few years she’d gotten away from volunteering, however, due to her demanding schedule in medical school and planning for a wedding that never happened. This summer would be as good for Lexie as it would be the Carolina Shores community. She just hoped that Mason softened up a bit toward her. She didn’t want to spend her summer tiptoeing around him.
She looked up at the office where he’d disappeared half an hour earlier. The door was still closed. She felt sorry that she was the reason he was blocked off from everyone. That hadn’t been her intention.
The office door suddenly opened and her heart stopped. Mason appeared and started walking in her direction. Here it comes, she thought. Mason was going to try to get her to leave again. She braced herself. When she’d spoken to Dr. Marcus earlier in the day about Mason’s stance on her being here, Dr. Marcus had encouraged her to come anyway. He’d described Mason as a big softy at heart. Mason’s jaw was tight right now, though, the muscles bunched along his cheek—nothing soft about the man.
She swallowed and met his gaze as he stood behind her, overlooking the homework she was helping Kim with.
Kim looked up, as well. “Hey, Mr. Mason,” she said, without so much as a smile. “Miss Lexie is helping me do algebra.”
Mason’s gaze moved from Kim to Lexie. “That’s great,” he said. “Every time I help her, she gets the questions wrong.”
Unless Lexie was imagining it, Mason’s mouth curved into the smallest of smiles. She took that as a good sign. “Math was always one of my favorite subjects,” she told him.
He nodded again. “Then I guess we’re fortunate to have you here.”
Did this mean he wasn’t going to escort her out of the building? That he’d had a change of heart? She offered up a smile in his direction, and then returned her focus to the algebra work sheets on the table. She pointed at the next problem. “Okay, let’s try this one,” she told Kim. From the corner of her eye she watched as Mason moved farther down the table and sat beside one of the teenage boys. Relief spread through her and hope blossomed. Maybe she wouldn’t have to tiptoe around Mason Benfield all summer after all.
An hour later, Lexie drove back to the Carlyles’ home to help with dinner as promised.
“Shall I set four place settings?” she asked, gathering the silverware.
Clara shook her head. “Just three. Mason called and said he wouldn’t be coming tonight.”
“Oh.” Lexie swallowed and continued counting out forks and knives. “Is it because of me?”
Clara waved a hand. “No, it’s because of him, dear. He just needs to work through his thoughts, that’s all.”
Lexie nodded, trying to understand. She didn’t, though. She got along well with most of the people she met. His first impression of her hadn’t been the greatest, but people deserved second chances. “I saw him at the Teen Center this afternoon,” she told Clara.
“Oh?” Clara turned to look at her. “And will you be going back?” she asked, not so discretely asking the bigger question: How had Mason reacted to her presence?
“I’m planning on going a few nights a week after I leave the free health care clinic. I’ll help with homework and play games with the kids.” Despite Mason’s initial attitude, excitement swirled around in her chest. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
Clara nodded and lifted a serving plate to carry into the dining room. “That’s good news. God will work things out. He always does.”
Lexie followed behind Clara and sat with her hosts for dinner. There was a void on the other side of the table. Even Lexie felt it. She ate quietly and helped Clara clean up after the meal. Then she retreated to the guest room, thoroughly exhausted from her first day volunteering at the health clinic and Teen Center.
She closed her eyes as soon as her head hit the pillow and thanked God for His grace today. Mason might not have been jumping up and down to see her this afternoon, but he’d allowed her to stay and, considering his reaction to her involvement with the teens the day before, that in itself was the equivalent of moving a mountain. Clara was right. God would work things out in the way He saw fit.
“Thank You, God,” she whispered into the darkness, the prayer fading on her lips as she fell fast asleep.
* * *
The next day, Lexie woke refreshed. She grabbed a banana from the fruit basket on the Carlyles’ kitchen counter and waved at Clara as she headed to her car to drive to the clinic.
“Bright and early,” Dr. Marcus said, turning to wave at her. “Let’s hope we see more patients today than yesterday. Not that I’m hoping for sick people. A few well-check visits would be welcome, though.”
Lexie unloaded her belongings and slipped her arms into the sleeves of her white doctor’s coat. She’d worn a pretend lab coat everywhere she went as a child, fostering this dream. Now she was finally a doctor.
She and Dr. Marcus stared at the clinic’s unbudging front entrance, holding their breath until the door finally opened with the first patient of the day.
* * *
Mason’s skin felt like it was melting as he worked the sidelines of the forest fire. Helicopters overhead dumped the water as fast as they could and the unquenched forest drank it. The loads were like spitting into a fireplace, though. None of it seemed to make a dent in putting out the blaze.
He stabbed his shovel into the ground, digging faster. All of the machines were busy making trenches where the fire was most threatening. If the winds changed, though—he’d seen it happen before—the fire would be heading this way, toward the schools.
And Lexie Campbell’s rental home for the summer.
Guilt knotted inside his stomach. He regretted the way he’d treated her so far. He hadn’t exactly been the most welcoming guy, even if he’d extended the smallest of olive branches to her at the center last night. He could deal with her assistance with algebra equations. Diagnoses and prescriptions, on the other hand, were entirely different. Lexie didn’t have enough knowledge backing her medical advice. What if she made a wrong decision and someone got hurt in the process?
He shook the thoughts away and continued to work. A string of other firemen helped in the effort. A small trench would deter the fire long enough to get the machines over here if they needed to be. All of the firemen from surrounding communities were involved with the effort. Hopefully, within the week the blaze would be handled.
He stopped and wiped his forehead, resting against the shovel’s handle. He’d been here well past his shift, but despite his chief’s earlier encouragement, he couldn’t leave. Besides, if he went home, the beautiful Lexie might be there.
Beautiful? Had he really just thought that? He preferred to think of her as an inexperienced doctor who needed to return to wherever she’d come from. Even though he had to admit having extra help at the center was nice.
Mason started digging again—harder and faster. Maybe the smoke was playing with his thinking.
A loud crack interrupted his thoughts.
“Heads up!” someone yelled through the trees.
His eyes immediately followed the familiar sound through the dense gray smoke hanging in the air. A tree was coming down. Maybe the fire had gotten to it. Maybe the vibration of the machinery on the ground had rattled an already fragile pine. His eyes darted toward the path the tree would most likely take in its fall. Everyone was safe. With a prayer on his lips, Mason began to run, too. The farther away he could get, the better.
A second later, the ground shook with impact.
Mason’s heart raced and blood hammered his eardrums as he turned to inspect the damage. There was more danger here than just the fire. That was a lesson that the newer firemen hadn’t learned yet. They would though, in time. That’s why they worked as a team. He had everyone’s back and everyone had his for the safety of all. In Mason’s experience, that wasn’t true with doctors. They had the backing of their own knowledge, and a new doctor had less knowledge than one with decades of experience. Maybe if Kristin had seen someone else at the emergency room after her accident, she’d still be alive.
Mason swallowed, pushing down the what-ifs. They didn’t help. His wife was gone. She’d trusted him and the young doctor who’d taken care of her. Ultimately, it had been God’s plan to take Kristin. Mason knew that in his head. His heart ached with her loss, though, and no matter how much counseling he’d done, he couldn’t help feeling like he could’ve changed what had happened that day.
Mason walked toward the shovel he’d thrown down when he’d started to run. His cell phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it to his ear. “Hello.”
“Hey, buddy,” Dave said. “Trevor is on his way to see a doctor. One of the older kids is dropping him off.”
Mason froze. “What happened?” he asked.
“A skateboarding accident. Don’t worry, he’s okay. Just a little scraped up. He’s going to need a ride home, though.”
Mason was already walking in the direction of his truck. Trevor was one of the teens at the Teen Center. He was a great kid with a big heart, who just needed a little extra adult influence in his life.
“I’m on my way to the hospital now,” Mason said, picking up speed. He spotted his truck in the distance.
“I think he’s going to that new health care clinic instead,” Dave told him.
Acid rose up in Mason’s throat. Trevor’s mom worked two jobs, and they didn’t have health insurance. No way was he going to let Trevor trade his fear of a big hospital bill for proper health care. Mason didn’t want to see anyone do that, especially the teens. A lot of them came from low-income families. Some were smoking, abusing drugs, dealing with stuff that they were afraid to tell their parents about. They needed health care, of course, but not from inexperienced doctors like Lexie.
He climbed into his truck and cranked the engine. He needed to get to the clinic as soon as possible to make sure Trevor was treated by Dr. Marcus instead.
