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Chapter 73: Not all memories are happy ones
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Diagnosis: Love Chapter 74: Board meeting
DEACON"These board meetings are boring as hell, aren't they?" The woman who was sitting in the chair alongside mine had been shifting subtly toward me for the past twenty minutes. I'd been trying to ignore it-and her-but now she was upping the ante by whispering in my ear. I didn't care to engage in a muttered conversation like we were in junior high, so I only offered her a quick, tight smile and leaned back in my chair, hoping she'd take the hint. The treasurer was giving her report, and I did my best to focus on the numbers. Board meetings were not my favorite part of practicing medicine, but they were a necessary evil-or at least they had been since I'd approached the board about building an oncology wing at St. Agnes almost five years ago. I'd had to convince the board that the wing was needed and possible. I'd had to show that I could spearhead the effort to fund its building and its continuation. Tonight, though, I wasn't sure why I'd been invited-a fancy way of saying c
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 75: Nothing's sacred in your hometown
DEACON"Well, this place is totally adorable." Deanna sat back in her overstuffed chair, steaming mug of cappuccino in her hand, gazing around at the bustling coffee house. "I can't believe I didn't know about it until now." "I can't, either," I chuckled, taking a drink of my own coffee. "Harper Springs isn't that big. Any new business tends to stand out." "Oh, I'm not local." Deanna shook her head and blew on the hot liquid. "I live about forty-five minutes north.""Seriously? That's quite a commute." "I know, believe me." She smiled ruefully. "But the housing market around Harper Springs isn't exactly booming. I didn't want to live in an older apartment above someone's garage, and I'm not ready to buy property yet. I'd like to travel a little before I settle down." Her bright blue eyes rested on me. "I think we have that in common. I get the feeling you're not the kind who wants to stay in one place, either." "Not sure I can say that's true. I own a house here in Harper Spr
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 76: Vegan temptation
EMMA"Pass me the nutritional yeast, please?" I held out my hand to Noah, who frowned as he lifted a box and then put it back on the counter. "Remind me which one that is?" I grinned. "It's the cheesy stuff. In the pouch." "Oh, yeah. Right." He picked up the right one this time and handed it to me. "Here you go." "Thanks." I added a pinch of the yeast to my blender and pushed the button to start it. Noah stood back, his huge arms folded over his equally massive chest. The expression on his face was best classified as skeptical. I gave the blender a couple of extra whirls before I lifted the jar from the base. Taking off the lid, I stuck my finger in to swipe at the side, taking a taste. "Mmmmm. It's good." I dipped again, this time lifting my finger to Noah's mouth. "Here. Taste." He wrinkled his nose, which was adorable beyond words. "You put your finger in our food?""Yes, Noah, I did. Deal with it. It's only you and me eating this-I promise I won't try to package it to
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 77: Dinner on the deck
EMMAWe carried our drinks onto the deck, one of my favorite parts of my cabin. Jenny and Nico had given me a patio set as a house-warming gift; it was second-hand, because they knew my passion for re-purposing, and Jenny had made all new cushions for the two chairs that flanked a re-finished table and for the cozy wicker loveseat.Noah sank onto one side of that small sofa and patted the space next to him. "C'mere. This is the best seat in the house."I hesitated only a beat. I wasn't sure I could trust myself to sit that close to Noah. But he was right; the placement of the loveseat was perfect for watching the sun set over the distant tree line. I could've dragged over one of the single chairs, but that would have made things awkward, since Noah had specifically requested that I sit down next to him.With a deep sigh, I sank down on the loveseat, kicked off my sandals, and propped my feet onto the small wicker table in front of us. Noah grunted softly and stretched out his arm a
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 78: Amends
DEACONThe knock at my office door was soft, but since I'd been waiting for it, I didn't miss the sound. Even if I hadn't expected the woman who was standing just out of my line of vision in the hall, I would have known it was her. There was something about her-I guessed she would have said it was her energy, some mystical force to which I was somehow extra sensitive. Something woo woo like that. Whatever the reason, my chest tightened with anticipation and more than a few nerves. It had been a little over a month since our knock-down, drag-out fight. Although we'd passed in the hospital occasionally, despite our best efforts to avoid each other, we hadn't spoken directly to each other. She wouldn't have been here now if I hadn't specifically sent a message via Mira that it was important. I knew that Emma would never ignore me if our head nurse was aware that I'd asked her to come see me.At the same time, it wasn't lost on me that she hadn't made her way to my office until the las
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 79: The danger of drinking champagne with your ex
DEACONShe took it from me, frowning slightly. "If it's a peace offering, then we should probably share it, right? Because I'm sure there needs to be peace shared on both sides." I considered her words. "I like the idea, but I don't have any champagne flutes in the office-just regular water tumblers. I have no clue why they didn't stock my office with wine glasses and flutes-it's almost like they think doctors shouldn't be drinking during the day." "Party poopers." Emma winked at me. "Break out the tumblers, Deacon. I'm not too precious to enjoy champagne out of any available delivery method. Please . . . you know, in college, we used to chug it right from the bottle.""Now that's what I'd called sacrilege." I stood up to retrieve the tumblers from the shelf alongside my desk. "Champagne is meant to be sipped and savored, not gulped down teenage throats." "Maybe not. But it wasn't exactly Cristal we were drinking them, remember. It wasn't actually champagne-it was some kind of
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 80: Noah speaks
EMMA"You know, I never pictured myself as a farmer." Noah leaned on the shovel he'd been using to turn over soil for me. Lifting the hem of his T-shirt, he mopped at his face, revealing those rippling, impossibly firm abs. I refrained from swallowing my tongue and cleared my throat. "No? Well, you make a pretty damn fine one, even so." Behind the relative safety of my dark, reflective sunglasses, I indulged myself in ogling him. Denying my physical attraction to this man was getting harder and harder. Yeah, that was exactly the right description. Everything was hard: being around Noah and not touching him in ways I knew I shouldn't; ignoring his increasingly suggestive comments; reminding myself why the two of us didn't really make sense . . .And then there was what had happened last week with Deacon. I'd spent several long nights flagellating myself for kissing him. I could blame the champagne-and that was probably part of it, since my inhibitions had been lowered. I could als
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 81: Goats
DEACON"Since when do we have goats on this farm?" I looked up at Gram, who was standing on the porch steps grinning down on me. My ass was in the sparse grass, and five baby goats romped around me, each one vying for my attention. "Blame Emma!" Gram chuckled. "She and Pop got to talking one night, and she told him about how she wanted to eventually have chickens and goats, but she doesn't feel she can handle them on her place yet, since the hospital takes up so much of her time. Next thing I knew, your grandfather was offering to get goats that the two of them can share, with the understanding that we'll house them here, and Emma will participate in their care and support, too." "Huh." I reached out to stroke the bumpy head of one of the babies, and he butted against my hand. "If I were the insecure sort, I'd wonder if maybe Emma was replacing me as your favorite." Gram smiled at me sunnily. "And if you were the smart sort, you wouldn't have let her get away from you, so that w
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