Читать книгу Her Mr. Right? - Karen Smith Rose - Страница 8

Chapter Three

Neil definitely had a height advantage.

When Isobel entered his office and he stood, she felt small. His size could be intimidating if he wanted it to be.

He’d been working at the table again, printouts spread all over it. He motioned to the extra chair. “Did you get a breather or did you come straight from working?”

“No breather. I had a consultation with one of the doctors about a patient.”

She lowered her briefcase and purse to the floor and sank into the chair. She knew she had to be alert and on guard in this setting with Neil. Maybe in all settings with Neil. She didn’t know if he separated the personal from the professional and couldn’t take the chance that he didn’t. She’d been a little too open during their lunch, not that she’d revealed anything she shouldn’t have. She wasn’t a guarded person by nature. But she didn’t know what Neil might use against her, against other personnel, against the hospital.

He looked at her as if sensing her apprehension. “Isobel, I’m not going to attack you,” Neil said quietly.

“Of course, you aren’t. I mean, I didn’t think you would.”

“As soon as you sat in that chair, your shoulders squared, your chin came up and you looked at me as if I were the enemy. I’m not.”

But his saying it didn’t make it so.

He sighed. “Let’s start with something easy.”

She didn’t comment.

“You mentioned Anna Wilder works for Northeastern HealthCare. Has that caused a rift in the Wilder family?”

“You’d have to ask the Wilders.” Peter had come to her last month in confidence to talk over the situation. She was afraid she hadn’t been much help. Peter, David and Ella were on one side and Anna on the other. Every conversation they had seemed to push them further apart.

“I will talk to the Wilders,” Neil assured her. “But I just wondered if Peter, David and Ella are really all on the same side. They might portray a united front, but could one of them want to help their sister? Could one of them be feeding information to my office?”

This wasn’t the kind of questioning Isobel had expected. She’d thought he’d be asking about dollars and cents and patient charges.

Considering his question, she answered honestly, “I think it’s highly unlikely. Peter, Ella and David are very straight-forward in what they believe and they’ve all been vocal in how they feel about the takeover.”

“But it’s possible one of them could be sympathetic to Anna?”

She thought about her strong relationship with her sister, Debbie, and her brother, Jacob, and remembered what Ella had told her about the bonds between her and her adopted sister, Anna, when they were small. “I suppose it’s possible.”

Neil looked thoughtful and glanced down at the legal pad where Isobel could see a list of scratchings. She couldn’t make out most of the writing, but her name was clearly printed at the top.

“I understand no one objected when Peter Wilder temporarily took over the position of chief of staff.” Neil was fishing again. “Was anyone surprised when Peter didn’t keep the position? Were you surprised?”

“Actually, I wasn’t sure what Peter would do. I mean, I knew patient care was important to him. He’s the epitome of a caring doctor. Yet maintaining his father’s legacy was important, too. So I imagine the decision he made wasn’t easy. In the end, I guess he did what he knew would make himself happy, and that was taking care of patients. Why are you so interested in the Wilders?”

“Because they’re involved in everything—the running of the hospital, interaction with patients, the board, as well as their connection to the takeover. I imagine a family like that is not only respected but can make enemies just by being who they are. If, as you believe, the allegations my office is investigating have no merit, I have to look for other reasons why anyone would want me to give them credence.”

Could someone be feeding false information to the state Attorney General’s Office because he or she had a grudge against the Wilders? That was possible, Isobel surmised.

“Tell me about David Wilder. Why did he return to Walnut River?”

Isobel leaned forward and accused, “That’s another one of those questions you already know the answer to.”

A small smile played across Neil’s lips and she couldn’t seem to move her gaze from them.

“Indulge me,” Neil suggested once again.

“David’s a renowned plastic surgeon. He came back to Walnut River to help a little girl who needed reconstructive work done.”

“Not because of the takeover attempt?”

“I don’t think so. But I don’t know for sure. He probably knew about it but he was here to help Courtney’s little girl.”

“Courtney Albright who works in the gift shop?”

“Yes.”

“But she and David Wilder are now engaged.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know if his airfare was charged to a hospital account?”

“I don’t know. But if it was, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that, would there? After all, if he was asked to come as a consultant—”

The beeping of Isobel’s cell phone in her purse interrupted them. “I need to check that,” she said. “It might be my father. With him at home alone—”

“Go ahead.” Neil didn’t look impatient or even annoyed, and that surprised her. Didn’t he want to get this questioning over and done with as much as she did?

She opened her phone, saw her sister’s number on the screen and became alarmed. What if something had happened to their dad?

“Debbie, what’s wrong? Is Dad okay?”

“Sorry to scare you, Iz. Dad’s okay as far as I know, but I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Chad had an away game and his bus broke down on the way home.”

Isobel’s nephew Chad was sixteen and hoping to get a baseball scholarship to college. Since his mom and dad had divorced two years ago, he’d become more quiet, more withdrawn. He obviously missed his father who had moved to the Midwest to take a better job and start a new life. Chad was a big help with his younger brother and sister but sometimes Isobel thought Debbie’s older son felt he had to take his dad’s place, and that could be a burden for a sixteen-year-old.

“What do you need?”

“Can you come over and watch Meg and Johnny while I go get Chad? I wouldn’t lay this on you but I can’t find anybody else.”

Isobel’s niece was six and her nephew was four. “I can come over but I’m in a meeting right now and I’ll have to stop and pick up Dad first. He’s been alone so much lately, I hate to have him spend the evening at the house by himself.”

“Isobel.” Neil’s voice cut into her conversation with her sister.

“Hold on a minute, Debbie.”

“What’s going on?” Neil asked.

Succinctly she told him.

“I have a few more questions for you but they aren’t as important as helping your sister. Why don’t I go pick up your father and bring him to wherever you need him to be?”

Isobel was stunned. “Are you serious? Why would you want to help?”

“Maybe because I’m a stranger in town and I have nothing else to do.”

Sure, Neil might just want to fill his time, but she saw a kindness in him she hadn’t seen in a man for a long while. Should she accept his offer? What would he expect in return?

“Isobel?” her sister called to her from the phone.

“What?”

“The boys are standing by the side of the road and I really want to get there as soon as I can. Can you cut your meeting short?”

Isobel’s gaze met Neil’s. She wasn’t sure what she saw there. Curiosity? Interest? Desire? Was her imagination tricking her into thinking this man might be interested in her? She didn’t even want his interest, did she?

Yet being closed in this office with him, inhaling the musky scent of his cologne, appreciating the baritone of his voice as well as his desire to get to the truth, she had to admit she did want to get to know him better, in spite of the consequences or the risk.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” she asked him.

He nodded. “I’m sure. I can have all this packed up in three minutes. Tell your sister you’ll be there as soon as you can.”

As Isobel did just that, she wondered if she was making a terrible mistake.

Neil gave Isobel’s sister’s kitchen a quick study as he pushed open the screen door for John Suarez and juggled two pizza boxes.

A little girl came running to meet the older man, her dark-brown pigtails flying. She looked to be about the age of a first-grader.

“Grandpa, Grandpa. Will you play dominoes with us? Aunt Iz said I should ask.”

Aunt Iz? Neil had to smile as he followed her father inside the cheery kitchen with its purple-pansy and yellow-gingham theme.

A little boy in jeans and a Spider-Man T-shirt added, “Will you play with us? Will you play with us?” to his sister’s question.

Neil leaned close to Isobel. “Aunt Iz?”

“Only my family uses that nickname, so don’t get any ideas.”

He inhaled the honeysuckle scent surrounding her and right away noticed her change of clothes to jeans and a powder-blue T-shirt with a sleeping cat on the front. Printed under the white feline, the print said Don’t wake me unless there’s an emergency.

When she spied him reading her T-shirt, she explained, “I always keep a duffel bag in my car with a change. It comes in handy.” Monitoring what her niece and nephew were doing, she warned gently, “Don’t pull on Grandpa’s arm.”

“I smell pizza,” the little boy said and came over to stand in front of Neil. “Who are you?”

Neil hadn’t been around children much, but he appreciated forthrightness in anyone. He crouched down to the little boy’s level, pizza boxes and all. “I’m Neil Kane. I’m working at the hospital right now with your aunt, and I brought supper.”

The supper part of the explanation intrigued Isobel’s nephew most. “Mom only lets us order pizza one time a week.” He held up his index finger and stared at the boxes with longing. “I like pepperoni. Did you bring pepperoni?”

Neil laughed and stood. “Yes, I did. Your grandfather said that was your favorite.”

“Can we eat now?” the boy pushed.

Isobel ruffled her nephew’s hair. “Why don’t you tell Mr. Kane your name first.”

“My name is Johnny, after Grandpa.” He pointed to his sister. “And her name is Meg. Now can we eat?”

“You get the napkins. I’ll get the silverware. Neil, can you set those on the table?”

Isobel was a manager, no doubt about that.

After they were all seated at the table and Isobel’s father had rolled his pizza so he could eat it one-handed, she asked him, “How did physical therapy go today?”

“They’re trying to turn me into a muscle man. I just want to be able to use my arm again.”

“You’re doing exercises with repetitions now?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Isobel’s dad studied his grandchildren happily munching their pizza and then turned to Isobel and Neil. “This was a good idea, Iz.”

“It was Neil’s,” she admitted, looking up at him, a slight flush on her cheeks.

Was she feeling the heat, too? Had she been fantasizing about a kiss between them? Maybe more?

As if maybe, just maybe, the same thoughts were running through her mind, she broke eye contact and concentrated on cutting her pizza into little pieces.

“Do you always eat it like that?” Neil asked her.

“I’m only having one piece and it will stretch it out.”

“My daughter believes she needs to lose weight,” John explained. “What do you think, Neil?”

“Dad!” Isobel protested, sounding horrified he’d bring up the subject at the table.

“I think Isobel’s perfect the way she is,” Neil said, meaning it.

John Suarez cocked his head and with a twinkle in his eye, asked, “How long are you going to be in Walnut River?”

“As long as it takes to finish my investigation. Probably about three weeks.”

“That’s a shame. Do you think you’ll ever consider settling down some day?”

“Dad!” Isobel protested again.

“I don’t know, Mr. Suarez. I’ve been doing this job for a long time. Traveling is a big part of it.”

“Life changes. Needs change,” Isobel’s dad advised sagely. “Have you ever been serious about someone? Just wanted to be where they were?”

This time when Neil glanced at Isobel, she didn’t protest, she just looked mortified. She murmured, “Dad doesn’t respect boundaries.”

“Boundaries, schmoundaries,” her dad muttered. “Maybe it’s a question you’ve wanted to ask him and didn’t have the guts.”

Isobel looked as if she wanted to throw her napkin at her father. But instead, she put it in her lap, her lips tight together. She was probably biting her tongue.

Meg and Johnny seemed oblivious to the conversation as they stole pieces of pepperoni from each other’s slices of pizza.

Neil knew he could joke off the question. However, if Isobel had wanted to ask it and was too shy to, he might as well give her the answer. “I was married once, but traveling was hard on the relationship.”

“That’s why you split?” John pressed.

“Not entirely. But it was a major stumbling block. My ex- wife and I were naive to think we would stay close when we were miles apart most of the week.”

Isobel’s father finished another roll of pizza and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Naive… Or maybe the two of you didn’t want to be close.”

“All right, Dad.” Isobel stood. “Meg, Johnny, if you’re finished playing with each other’s pizza, why don’t you wash up? We could set out the dominoes on the coffee table and we’ll all play a game.” She looked at Neil. “Unless you need to leave.”

He was still trying to digest the fact that Isobel’s father had gotten to the bottom of the problem with his marriage with such clarity. “No, I don’t have to leave yet.” Then he turned to John. “How long were you married?”

“When Brenna died, we’d been married forty-one years. We weren’t apart even one night, not even when she had our babies. I remember they tried to keep me out of the labor room with Isobel, but I wouldn’t let them. I told them Brenna was my wife and I was staying. When she got sick—” He shook his head as if the memories hurt him deeply to remember. “I stayed in that hospital room every night. My doctor got me special permission because he understood. When you love someone, you walk through hell for them. Getting a crick in my neck sleeping on one of those hospital chairs was nothing compared to the comfort of holding her hand.” He sighed. “But I don’t think young people understand that kind of love anymore.”

“You and Mom had something special. Jacob, Deb and I knew that,” Isobel remarked in a quiet voice.

“Then why can’t the three of you find it?” her father demanded. “Jacob runs off here and there as if he’s searching for something and he doesn’t even know what it is. Debbie…Debbie divorced her husband after his affair. They didn’t even try to work it out.”

“Dad, you don’t know—”

“What else Ron did to her,” he finished as if he’d heard it all before. “Maybe I don’t. She won’t talk about it with me. And then there’s you. You work, work, work. I think that’s the reason you and Tim broke up, though you’ll never tell me the truth about that, either.”

The tension and strain of having dirty laundry shaken out in front of Neil made Isobel’s body taut. Beside her, Neil could feel it. Then she took a very big breath, seemed to somehow relax her muscles, and said to her father without any anger at all, “I know you must have a good reason for wanting to talk about all this in front of Neil, but it’s making me uncomfortable and it’s probably making him uncomfortable, too. Can we just relax the rest of the night? Play a little dominoes and talk about anything that isn’t serious?”