“Thanks, Todd. You too.”
When he was gone, she took a minute to sit and recover. Unless she was greatly mistaken, and she could be—her romantic radar wasn’t the best—Officer Smith had been sending out some signals. On Saturday night he’d been rather protective of her too, she remembered. She didn’t know him well, but they’d met on several occasions …
“Charlie? Exam room one is waiting.” Robin appeared in the doorway with a smile. “Can’t blame you for needing to sit down, though. Todd Smith in uniform is…” She stopped talking and merely made the motion of fanning herself.
Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t let Josh hear you talking like that.”
“I suppose we shouldn’t let on that we call him Dr. Hottie then?”
Charlie nearly choked. “Oh my God. He’d die.”
With a cheeky grin, Robin disappeared and Charlie made her way to the exam room, grabbing the chart off the door. Enough fun—it was time to get back to work.
Chapter Six
Charlie wished this wasn’t the first time she’d had to give a police statement, but she’d done her share during her ER rotation. Then there was the time she’d stopped at a gas station for a pint of ice cream and had found herself in the middle of a domestic dispute. As the boyfriend had come charging across the parking lot, the cashier had locked the outside door. Charlie hadn’t thought twice. She’d taken the girl into the storage closet and locked them in until police arrived, spending several minutes trying to calm the girl down.
Her parents had been livid that she’d inserted herself into a potentially dangerous situation. That had been the day that she’d realized that she simply did not think the same way as her mother and father did and she’d known exactly what she was going to do. She asked herself why she’d become a doctor and the answer had been clear—she’d done it to help people. That was the marker of her success—not acclaim or status or money. She didn’t give a rat’s ass about becoming chief of anything or top of her field. Prestige meant nothing to her. She’d been around it her whole life and found it to be an empty ambition. And so she’d stood up for herself for the first time ever, put her foot down, and found herself part of a small practice here in Jewell Cove. No regrets. Not one.
Now here she was again, in the middle of a situation that wasn’t her doing, sitting, waiting. Drinking terrible police station coffee while the baby sat in his car seat, his bright eyes open and staring at a colorful toy bar she’d bought during a very necessary trip to shop for the necessities like clothing and a proper snowsuit. An additional surprise had been Josh’s sister, Sarah, who had arrived at the office with baby items from when she’d had her children, like a playpen with a thick pad at the bottom that Charlie could use as a makeshift crib.
Absently she checked her e-mail on her phone—nothing major other than a couple of e-bills that required payment and a few newsletters she’d read later. She picked up a magazine and flipped through it, but nothing really grabbed her interest. She was about to resort to a game of spider solitaire when the office door opened and she looked up.
And saw Dave.
She was immediately transported to two days earlier, sitting on her floor and kissing him. Her face had to be turning red even as she tried a friendly smile. The look he gave her was sweet, as if they shared a secret, and she melted a little bit. Why was it he could turn her to mush with just an expression?
“Good morning, Dr. Yang,” he said easily. “I guess you’re here for the same reason I am.”
“I guess so.” She pushed on the arms of the chair and stood. Her heels increased her height by a few inches, but she was still a good five inches or more shorter than he was. She tugged at her black skirt, brushed her hands over the fabric.
“Dr. Yang? Come on in.” The officer on duty called her into the office and she picked up the car seat. She was starting to get used to the weight of it.
“It’s good to see you, Dave.”
She moved to pass him and he caught her arm. “How about an early lunch when you’re done?” He leaned close, his words soft. “I don’t have to be at work until one.”
“Me either,” she confessed, and then wondered why she’d been so quick to answer. Hadn’t she decided yesterday that it was better to just let things go? Besides, he’d been the one to say talk soon and then hadn’t texted again … Clearly it was much easier to put him off with a text message than it was face-to-face.
“So we’re on? You can fill me in on how this little guy is doing.” He peered down into the seat, a goofy smile on his face.
She hesitated. It was just lunch, after all. Perfectly platonic and public, right? And she did have to eat before doing her stint as the walk-in doctor this afternoon.
“The Tuesday special at Breezes is meatloaf and mashed potatoes,” he urged.