Practicing Partners (Maiden’s Bay #2)

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

AUbrIE WOKE UP confused and a little disappointed in herself. Disappointed because she agreed to go out on a date with Garrett, someone she had known for a whole five minutes. On the one hand, she wasn’t here to date, and such personal drama could affect her focus on the practice. On the other hand, she did come here to start a new life. Why couldn’t dating be a part of that?

The confusion hit worse than the disappointment. She should’ve been flattered with Garrett’s compliments, yet Bran’s jealousy stuck in her head. How was she supposed to interpret that? Was it simply her competitive spirit, finding amusement in the fact she was asked out in front of him? Or was it something deeper?

“No matter.” Her breath emanated in the air in a white wisp, the morning greeting her with a bite. She was thankful for the limited exposure as she entered the office. The lights were on, and Edith was busy at her desk.

“Good morning.” Edith looked up over her glasses. “May want to keep that jacket on.” She turned her sights toward Doc Bernie’s door.

Aubrie pulled her halfway-off jacket back on her shoulders. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Good morning!” Doc Bernie clapped loudly. Aubrie was beginning to see it was one of his habits whenever he had news or wanted to guide the discussion. “Special assignment for you today.”

“Something to do with outside, I take it?” Aubrie glanced at Edith for confirmation.

“A house call,” Doc said. “Grace Donchik.”

Edith grabbed a bag behind her desk and a file folder, handing both to Aubrie.

“She’s a patient of mine with a heart condition. I check on her every one to two months. She lives a bit of a ways away, and I don’t feel comfortable having her drive out here on her own.”

Aubrie skimmed through her file. “She lives by herself?”

“She has two sons that visit on and off.”

“Husband passed away last year, poor thing.” Edith shook her head, melancholic eyes behind her glasses.

“Cardiovascular syncope,” Aubrie read. She flipped through the pages, checking out the meds and history. “She’s had several episodes in a short period of time.” She looked up at Doc. “Has she been to a cardiologist?”

Doc let out a long sigh. “Well, Grace isn’t exactly, how do I put this kindly…?”

“She’s doctor averse.” Edith followed up with a strong nod.

“That’s one way to put it.” Doc Bernie opened his hand, wriggling his fingers. Aubrie wondered if the colder air stiffened his joints. “I keep telling her to. I suspect it’s heart valve disease. You’ll hear for yourself, most likely.”

“That’s quite serious.” Aubrie was no cardiologist, but she knew enough to know the severity of the issue.

“Maybe she’ll take to you better than me.”

Aubrie had her share of difficult patients. More so difficult parents of patients. Ones who downplayed their child’s diagnosis, or didn’t believe in the possibilities of modern medicine and how they could be helped. It was frustrating to say the least, but a part of the job.

The front door opened, and Bran breathed into his hands. “Whoo, first real bit of a fall blast out there.”

“Cold front,” Edith said. “It’ll last only a day or two.”

“I don’t know why I bother with a smartphone when you’re around, Edith.” He winked at her, and Edith turned a darker pink than her pale blush.

“Don’t get too comfortable.” Doc Bernie grinned. “You can join Aubrie on the house call.”

“House call? People still do those things?” Bran looked at Aubrie, who could only give him a shrug. “You have a black medicine bag?”

Aubrie waved the red duffel bag in her hand.

“Should we prepare to be ready for bloodletting, too?”

Aubrie chuckled, but Doc Bernie didn’t seem to appreciate the joke, folding his arms, mouth in a straight line.

“I’ll text you the address.” Edith typed on her cell phone, and Aubrie heard the ping from her purse. “Aubrie has the file of the patient. Just a simple check-up on her.”

Aubrie handed the file over to Bran, her fingers grazing his briefly, sending a warmth through her chest. She hesitated, hand held in the air for a second, meeting Bran’s blue eyes.

“Hello? Any other questions, you two?” Doc must’ve asked the question moments ago, but all sound, breathing, had been blocked out of Aubrie’s mind.

She snapped to. “I think we’re good. I can call if there’s anything we need to ask.”

“Good. I’ll see you guys this afternoon.”

“Afternoon?” Bran asked.

“It’s about an hour and a half drive out there. Might as well take your lunch break before coming back to the office.”

Aubrie and Bran met stares again, this time Bran breaking it by heading to the door. “I’ll drive,” he said. “If you’re okay with that.”

“What about looking over her file?”

“You can give me a summary, right?”

Aubrie scoffed but took it in good humor. Other than the fact that the patient probably needed surgery to fix her problem, the visit should be pretty straightforward.

She accompanied Bran on the walk along Pearl Avenue. “Didn’t drive to work?”

“I’m staying at Constance’s. Technically Maiden’s Slumber Inn, but everyone calls it Constance’s. Just up the road.”

They passed Crescent Cafe, the aroma of warm buttery pastries a little too enticing, then past Mariner’s Market on the corner. Aubrie had come to appreciate, in a short amount of time, having everything she needed a short walk away. Texas was known for big everything, which tended to be true. But that meant sprawl as well, and living in the city there felt far from this experience.

She looked across the street, down a little ways at the Campy’s sign. It wasn’t lit this early, but she wondered if they didn’t want to serve breakfast, or kindly didn’t serve breakfast so that other places like Crescent Cafe could take that share of the market. It was the kind of town she could imagine business owners doing such a thing.

Bran turned east onto a side street, and Aubrie followed, the road rising up steeply. “So, you found a place okay?”

“Ah. You ask now that it’s”—he pretend-looked at his wrist with no watch—“three days after you kicked me out of the family apartment?”

She tsked. At first she didn’t feel that bad for claiming her stake in the place—it was where Doc Bernie had assigned her, after all. Where else was she supposed to go? She doubted the job would cover alternative housing costs if she refused the place provided. But after a day or two working with Bran, the guilt escalated. “I’d been meaning to ask.”

“I’m just kidding.” He nudged her elbow with his. “It’s fine. The room is small, but the breakfast is good, and Constance is a sweetheart.”

Aubrie was taken aback.

“What?” Bran asked.

“A sweetheart? It’s just not the way I’ve heard you talk about someone before.”

“Are you jealous I find a woman to be a sweetheart? A woman who may well be in her hundreds, with plenty of years left in her?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Her skin flushed with color and heat. So much that she started to doubt what she said was the truth.

“Well, she is, and maybe you don’t know me well enough to know how I talk about people.” His eyebrows raised as high as his mocking smugness.

“Maybe you’re right.” He most likely was right. She had judged him before knowing him.

“I’ll take that. As good as it’ll get from you.” He smirked and nodded his head to one side. “Over here.”

She recognized his Audi parked in a narrow alleyway next to Maiden’s Slumber Inn. He unlocked it, and she sat in the passenger seat.

“Pretty nice car.” It definitely was a step, or three, above Aubrie’s Accent—Bluetooth device connection, black leather seats. Even the visor had a tech-savvy mirror. All that mattered to her, though, was if a car got her from one place to the next. She knew other doctors who signed new leases every two years on the latest models. It just wasn’t her thing.

“It’s not my dream car. But it’s reliable.”

She was surprised to hear the words. “Is that what matters most to you in a car?”

“Doesn’t that go for everyone?” He looked at her briefly. “I’ll admit, it looks nice, too.”

“There we have it. The truth.”

They both laughed.

They pulled out of the alley parking, Bran’s driving surprisingly cautious. Aubrie connected her phone to the car’s display, and they took off heading north. She had never been this far north in Washington State, let alone the country. It was a bit exciting to be out of the office, even if they didn’t have time to explore.

“That’s not being vain, by the way. Liking nice things. Or wanting nice things.”

Aubrie wondered if she was being too hard on him. Probably. Why did she always jump to the worst conclusion with him? “As long as it doesn’t interfere with the necessities, I guess there’s nothing wrong with that.” If she could afford it, would she buy a car like this? Maybe.

“Is there even a road to get to this place?” Bran zoomed out on the monitor’s map, getting a better look at the destination. “She is a bit of a ways, isn’t she?”

“I barely know Maiden’s Bay and almost nothing up this way.”

“I almost forgot you’re not from here.”

“Is that a good thing? Like, I fit in well here?”

“Depends on what you think of the local folk.” He grinned, then turned his focus back on the road. They crested the northern curve of hill that closed off Maiden’s Bay from the rest of the world. Bran followed the directions, turning east. The landscape changed from a few rough hills to rolling greenery. She had heard the rain helped Seattle stay green, with some of the best flowering displays in spring. This area didn’t look too far off from what she pictured, the road cutting through forests of hemlock and firs, cedars and pines, but without any city in sight.

“They’re good people, for the most part,” Bran said. “Locals.”

Aubrie nodded.

“I say for the most part because, well, my dad wasn’t the best at being a dad, if you know what I mean. But I can’t blame that on the town. I guess we’ll know for sure soon enough. He’s moving down to Florida. That was that big thing he had to tell me on my first day with you and Doc at the clinic.”

“So, that’s why you were late.”

“Yeah. In typical Dad fashion, not only could he not get back in time for Doc’s birthday party, but he had to cut into my work time to tell me the news.”

“Well, despite how it was delivered, I’m sure it was big news for your family.”

“Big news for anyone in town, really. It’s not a frequent occurrence to lose people that grew up in Maiden’s Bay, especially ones still with family there.”

“Do you understand why that is? I mean, I haven’t been here but a minute, but even I can see the benefit of a small community.”

Bran looked at her, a warm smile growing. “I’m starting to understand better.”

The look set off a fire in her, and she did what she could to quell the flame.

Diversion.

“It is pretty isolated out here. I’m getting to understand why Missus Donchik sees Doc Bernie.”

“Not a whole lot of medical care to speak of out here. Actually, the hospital I work for, Seattle University Hospital, has started an initiative to open up clinics in these smaller communities.” His face turned… different. As if the fact he just shared upset him in some way.

“That seems like it could be good. Then again, if patients like Missus Donchik aren’t willing to listen to people like Doc Bernie, they may not take well to professionals coming from Seattle.”

“Yeah.” He said it faintly, as if his stomach turned sour and he wasn’t feeling well.

They were the last words spoken until they pulled into a long, narrow dirt road leading through farmland. A two-story white house sat far back on the property, a matching white fence lining both sides of the road all the way back.

“Oh, shoot. I guess I should’ve asked for the summary of our patient. Missus…?”

“Donchik. Grace Donchik.”

“Grace. Okay.”

“She’s shown signs of cardiac syncope, with several fainting spells. Doc has tried a series of medications to help prevent recurring episodes. Currently, she’s on a beta blocker.”

“Any cause found?”

Aubrie shook her head. “From what Doc said, I don’t think she’s seen a cardiologist.”

“Jesus.” Bran stared off ahead, as if his thoughts went well past the dashboard. “I know she’s out here, but some of the world’s best cardiologists are right there in Seattle.”

Aubrie shrugged. “Doc was hoping maybe we could convince her to be seen? But it sounds like an uphill battle.”

“Yeah, I know the type.”

“So, you have them in the trauma unit as well?”

Bran turned to her, slowing the car. “Are you kidding? On one end, we get the patients who think we can literally attach any body part back on to perfection. On the other end are patients who don’t want us to touch a goddamn thing. Never mind having their chest impaled with a javelin.”

The picture in her head sucked the breath out of her. “Man. A simple yes would’ve sufficed.” She chuckled but also wondered if that happened for real, and if so, how the heck did it happen?

Bran pressed on the brakes, and Aubrie jolted forward, bracing the dashboard.

“What was that for?” She looked at him, his stare focused on something ahead.

“Grab the medical bag. Quick.”

Aubrie turned her eyes to the front of the car. A young man was running toward them, arms flailing in the air for their attention.

She looked back at Bran, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

“Looks like Missus Donchik won’t need convincing.”

Aubrie’s hand gripped a strap of the red duffel bag tight as she bolted out of the car.