CHAPTER ONE
Callie Blum updated a new patient’s online chart with focused efficiency. The screaming and squealing currently radiating from the waiting area right beside her was routine. Working in a pediatrician’s office had taught her the value of tuning everything else out more than any other occupation she’d ever held.
“Danny, stop pulling your sister’s hair,” came the stern reprimand of the boy’s mom. It echoed even over the constant bawling of at least two other small children. One of them, a boy of around three, had been tugging at his ear so much that the skin had turned a bright red, Callie figured he must have an earache.
She was sure Tim would deal with it. Tim, her brother, and the attending pediatrician who ran his practice out of this small-town office, had shared the place with another pediatrician when he’d first left his residency program. But after the elder pediatrician disclosed his intent to retire eight years ago, Tim welcomed the chance to buy out the lease.
A high-pitched squeal shrieked out over the rest of the insanity at ear-splitting levels, so Callie reached into her left-hand drawer, retrieved a couple of her secret weapons, and slid out from behind the counter. Catching the eyes of the pair of parents who looked like they were at their wit’s end to discreetly show them what she held, she then stepped forward after receiving two all too grateful nods.
“Hmm, I wonder if any children around here would like some animal crackers?” she asked in a singsong voice.
Once she spoke the magic word—her last word—the miserable little ones clammed right up, their damp eyes zeroing in on the favorite treats. In her palm, she held small bags of the cookies known to all children. Two chubby ruby-colored fists stretched out toward her, and she offered a bag of treats to each child as if giving them the keys to the kingdom.
The parents of the toddlers were quick to unwrap the crackers, and quiet reigned. Beautiful, blissful quiet. It might not last, but Callie knew to appreciate it while it did.
The boy, Charlie, finished his way too fast and started crying all over again, but luckily for everyone involved, he was the one called back next by Erika, the only registered nurse onsite. Julie, the LPN, was off in another exam room probably taking one of the other patient’s temperatures or something.
They had quite the full house today.
The morning continued more peacefully, especially when the other child—who thankfully didn’t begin to weep due to taking longer with her sucker—was called back. For a few precious minutes there was a lull where Callie promptly finished out the rest of the new charts. She still had the remainder of her to-do list to complete, but even checking one item off felt good.
She believed in celebrating every small achievement she could.
When the door swung open and a glacial breeze from outside blasted in, Callie braced herself for yet another outburst of a sick kid. It was cold and flu season right now—as Tim loved to remind her—which meant staying busy from open to close with all things sniffly, sneezy, sore throaty, or upset tummy-related.
Yet the only sound she ended up hearing was the heavy footsteps of a tall and strapping man. She twisted around to watch him cross the waiting area and stride right past her station. He didn’t check in with her or pause long enough to ask her a question. He didn’t even bother to gaze in her general direction.
His stare simply… bypassed her.
But her stare didn’t bypass him. Her eyes were glued to this guy with his broad shoulders and intense and broody darkness. One other child who’d been delightfully silent since coming in had been by the playcenter in the middle of the room, but as the man stormed in, the girl scampered out of his way as if afraid he’d step on her like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk .
Callie didn’t know whether said giant felt ill, was typically grouchy, or if he simply had a face that looked like he was on the edge of anger and annoyance every minute. Before she could even thing about it, she labeled him RAF in him mind. Resting Angry Face seemed to suit him for now. But she couldn’t deny how attractive he was. She stood to her feet behind the desk, and while his midnight blue eyes finally washed over her, she felt a shiver that gave her goosebumps all over.
“Can I help you?” She managed to make her mouth form real, actual syllables although it was difficult. The man seemed to generate his own gravity like a huge planet swinging into her orbit.
Still, his attention didn’t linger on her for long.
“I’m here for Tim.” That was it. All he said. He provided no further explanation.
Not exactly chatty, this guy.
“He’s with a patient at the moment. Is there something I can assist you with?”
“Give this to him?” Only then did Callie detect the toy in his hand, one about a foot long and maybe half again as high. It was a metal tractor. Her nephew Brian’s metal tractor. The green and black one that had been handed down to him from her father, Brian’s grandpa.
The man handed it over, and the second their fingers touched, hers tingled.
What had this guy done? Dragged his feet on the carpet on the way in? This was usually how she felt after being zapped with static electricity.
“How did you get this?” she blurted before she could think better of it. She was just so stunned by Mr. Resting Angry Face having possession of her nephew’s belongings. That and the effect he had on her.
“Needed fixed. So, I fixed it.” And with that cryptic statement, the man did an abrupt about-face. He abandoned the office as if he couldn’t wait to get out of there. One second he’d been there, and the next, gone.
Poof .
She felt so dazed by RAF’s sudden arrival and departure that it took her a minute to pick up on the conversation behind her. The extremely unpleasant conversation behind her.
“Dr. Blum? Are you even listening to me?” Erika hissed at her brother. “I’ve asked you to sign off on those prescription orders five times this week. If we get behind, people will run out of their medications and?—”
Only then did Tim peek up at Erika. He’d been fully zeroed in on his computer monitor. Tunnel vision. Callie recognized it. As someone who’d grown up in the same house and was familiar with his habits and personality, she knew it only too well.
“Nurse, would you allow me one minute to finish reading up on this condition?” he barked at her. “This diagnosis is far more important that whatever you’re rambling on about.”
Callie held her breath. Tim hadn’t just cut his only RN off mid-thought, he’d acted like he didn’t value what she had to say in the first place. Glancing at the clock, Callie thanked her lucky stars that it’d turned a quarter past noon.
“Who’s hungry? I was thinking about ordering Doordash from The Sip ‘N Shop,” she piped up, a smile plastered to her face.
The Sip ‘N Shop was known for their “broasted” chicken, where they broiled and roasted a whole fryer, and they also had these fantastic deli sandwiches. But it was the recent addition of Doordash to their tiny corner of the world that had Callie feeling so much gratitude. Without them, there would be no delivery in this town whatsoever.
Zero. Zilch. Nada.
That was the reality of living in such a locale as Rocky Ridge. Little mountain towns two hours outside of Billings, Montana hadn’t had the convenience of such things until Doordash set up shop less than three years before. Prior to that, it basically had been like the Dark Ages.
Callie had even teased Tim about it, saying he might as well dig out a cassette player to play music or watch a movie on a VCR.
But she couldn’t afford to tease him now. Instead, she had to distract him. Distract both him and Erika before he said something else stupid, and the registered nurse became so fed up she up and quit.
“Get me my usual,” Tim mumbled at Callie. “With extra honey mustard. Last time they were skimpy with the honey mustard.”
That restaurant wasn’t skimpy with anything, but all Callie did was nod at her brother placatingly.
“And you, Erika?” Subtly, she wrapped an arm around the nurse’s shoulders and led her away from her irascible sibling. “The special is ham and Swiss today.”
The RN had configured her mouth into such a severe line that no lips were visible, but she let Callie guide her away from her employer without a fuss.
“Why won’t he listen to me? It’s not like I’m filling his time with busy work,” Erika complained as soon as they were out of earshot. Not that it mattered that much. When Tim entered his deep concentration bubble, there could be a bone-rattling earthquake and he’d wave it off as nothing.
“That’s just his way. I find it’s easiest to address issues at the end of the day when he’s no longer pressed with handling patients directly,” Callie did her best to explain. Erika had only been there for the past few days after working at a different doctor’s office. She was amazing, but Tim had been such a bonehead that he hadn’t taken the time to appreciate her properly.
Callie wasn’t sure he knew how to appreciate any employee properly. Her brother wasn’t a people person. In fact, the only people he did well with were those who hadn’t reached adulthood yet. With them, he was the very epitome of understanding.
With everyone else outside of his loved ones, not so much.
But he was her brother, and she loved him. Or that was what Callie kept telling herself, anyway.
Forty-five minutes later, she’d accepted the delivery and passed out the food. She’d timed it just right. The office closed from 1PM to 2PM every day for lunch, which meant they all could take a much-deserved break. Erika always left the building to eat, which since Callie had wanted to make her a friend, she didn’t normally like. Right now, however, it was a godsend.
“You have to change tactics when it comes to Erika, Timothy,” Callie told him in no uncertain terms. The deal she’d made with him a month ago when agreeing to come work for him was that she’d show him nothing but respect in front of the rest of the staff and of course patients and their families. But their LPN had stepped out too, so no one else was around to hear them right now.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Callie, she interrupted me.”
“She has every right to interrupt you when she has a question or concern.”
“But she didn’t have that. All she had was something to nag me over. And the only person who gets to nag me is Amanda.”
Amanda, Callie’s sister-in-law, was the saint who’d married him more than a decade back. Even more impressive was that she’d bore him his brood of Brian, who was eight, Sallie, who was six, and Kimmie, who was four—Callie’s nephew and nieces—while remaining as patient and kind as ever.
“We were fortunate enough to convince her to take us on. The least you can do is be considerate enough that she’ll stay. And you do need to sign off on those prescriptions.” It was a calculated risk to mention the topic that had put his hackles up, but she was on Erika’s side with this one. Not that she’d ever admit that out loud. Family loyalty had to count for something.
“Fine. Whatever. I’ll do it if you give me your cookie.”
“Who said I ordered a cookie?” she asked him, and he tossed her a look. He knew her well. The Sip ‘N Shop had homemade peanut butter cookies every weekday, and she hadn’t managed to deny herself one yet. Also, Callie knew better than to not negotiate while having the upper hand. “Half my cookie.”
“Done.”
She brought over the tractor Mr. RAF had left. “Also, who’s the dude who had Grandpa’s tractor?”
That tractor was precious to the male side of the Blum family.
“Oh, that was Zeke Knight.”
“You’re best buddy?”
“The same,” he said, a mouth full of turkey and cheddar. And honey mustard. So much so that he had to wipe his mouth with a napkin before it dripped all over his white coat.
“So, what’s he like?”
Tim yanked his gaze off his lunch to glare at her. “Cauliflower, don’t you dare?”
She glared right back. He knew she detested that nickname. “Don’t I dare what?”
“Moon over him.”
“Ummph,” she huffed out, appalled.
“Nope. I know that look. But Zeke, he’s not for you. He’s not your type.”
“Not my type?” she challenged him.
“He’s not someone you should date. He’s basically your polar opposite, so you’d probably hate one another.”
She stifled her protest. It would only confirm her brother’s already valid suspicions. Callie had to play this closer to her chest to not tip him off. She couldn’t deny, though, that her brother’s objections only made the guy that much more fascinating to her. She’d always been like that. Forbidden fruit tended to be the sweetest and most delectable.
So, her new goal became to go behind Tim’s back and figure out more about his best friend.