The Sergeant's Secret Son. Bonnie Gardner

gnawed at her lip, a look of indecision on her face. She looked at Block, then she looked back toward the clinic. “See all those cars in the lot? For every car out here, there are about three people sitting in my waiting room. I’ll be lucky if I get a chance to grab a granola bar between patients today.”

      Block shrugged. “Let me know if you change your mind.” He turned and looked back over his shoulder. “I’ll try to be as quiet as that saw will let me. Once I get the branches cleared away so I can see what I’m doing, maybe the rest of the tree can wait till the weekend.” He waved and strode away.

      Macy watched as he disappeared around the side of the building. Last night he’d seemed almost diabolic as he’d ripped at the shattered trailers in the flickering light of the gas fires and the strobing blue lights of the police cruisers. Today he seemed like a guardian angel and looked like any other guy. If the guy happened to be about six-four and built like a linebacker.

      She managed a wry chuckle. The Alex Blocker she knew was anything but angelic.

      “Dr. Jackson?”

      Macy looked up to see Bettina looking out the clinic door. “Yes?”

      “We have a full waiting room in here. Are you ready for the next patient?”

      “Oh, sure. I’m coming.” With Alex Blocker around, she’d better be on her guard and ready for anything, Macy told herself. She wasn’t sure what she was ready for. The next patient, yeah.

      Alex Blocker? Maybe not.

      BLOCK WORKED at the pine tree, carefully removing one branch at a time until only the main trunk rested on the roof. It had been slow going, but now he was certain that if it shifted, the tree would do no damage to the building.

      Block swiped at his brow again with the soaking-wet bandana. He needed some chow, and he’d bet Macy needed a ration of energy just as much. She’d been up most of the night last night, too, and there was only so far a body could go on little sleep and less food.

      He knew that too well. He’d done it before.

      How could he go and enjoy a big fat burger and fries when she was looking at crackers and a diet soda grabbed on the fly?

      He grinned as an idea popped into his mind. Yeah, that just might work, he thought as he climbed down.

      He did what he could to make himself presentable, then stepped inside the clinic and had a brief conversation with the receptionist. “Great,” he said after they’d finished. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Then he hurried off to lunch.

      MACY DIDN’T know how long it had been, but she came to the realization that she had heard no noises from the roof in quite some time. Had she become so accustomed to the thumping that when it stopped the place seemed eerily quiet? Just how long ago had Alex finished?

      She started to ask Bettina where Alex was, but realized that she’d been so busy that the morning was gone. She looked out into the waiting area, and she still had an inordinate number of patients. No time for stopping now.

      Since she was the only doctor in Lyndonville, she was it. She didn’t get a break until everyone had been seen. She stretched her arms above her head and rolled her neck on her shoulders and forced herself to go to the next exam room and the next patient. Would this day never end?

      Every time she came out of one exam room, she hoped that she would not see a new file in the bracket on the door of the next. But there always seemed to be another file and another patient to be seen.

      She splinted and wrapped a sprained ankle and jotted notes in the file, then wearily moved on to the next exam room.

      Macy was so hungry she could swear she smelled food. Did she dare hope that there was no file in the holder on the door of the next room so that she could grab something to eat?

      No such luck. Another folder. Macy sagged. She rubbed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Then she took the chart down, rapped on the door, and stepped inside.

      Macy stopped short.

      “Have a seat, Doctor,” Alex Blocker said as he gestured toward a feast of burgers and fries and drinks in tall, sweating wax-coated paper cups. “I couldn’t get you to take time for lunch, so I brought it to you.”

      “But…” Macy’s mouth watered at the tantalizing aroma of food. “…I have patients.”

      “Who haven’t been working on their feet as long as you have. How can you help them if you’re starving and dead on your feet?”

      “I—whose file is this?” She held up the manila folder that had been in the rack on the door. “You’re cutting into that patient’s time,” she protested.

      “It’s mine,” Alex said. “I came back to have my knee looked at. It’s a very serious case,” he said solemnly. “It might take a long time to treat,” he explained. “But I think I know what will fix it. Lunch!” He looked as pleased with himself as a cat who’d caught a canary.

      Macy started to say something, then shut her mouth quickly and pressed her hand to her stomach to stop its insistent gurgling.

      “Stop standing there gulping like a guppy and sit down and eat. A serious knee exam can only take so long.” He patted the metal swivel stool by the exam table.

      Slowly, Macy followed his suggestion. “Thank you,” she finally managed, unaccustomed to accepting gifts from anyone, especially Alex Blocker. Though her younger brother, Ty, lived in the next county, she had done it all alone for so long. “I am hungry,” Macy admitted begrudgingly. She reached for a crispy French fry and brought it to her mouth.

      Alex held up his soda cup. “To you, Dr. Jackson. May you live to cure the rest of the day.”

      Macy groaned. “Oh, that was bad, but I get what you mean. And thank you again. This is just what I needed.” She popped the fried potato into her mouth and chewed.

      Alex grinned as he watched Macy eat. “I might not be a good toastmaster, or a good cook, but I’m great at cash-and-carryout.” He chuckled. “Your patients might need you, but I checked with the receptionist first, and she told me that there weren’t any real emergencies waiting out there. So, for right now, I’m the doctor, and my prescription for you is to eat and to put your feet up for at least fifteen minutes.”

      He slid off the stool he’d been sitting on and pushed it over to in front of Macy. What was he up to now? she wondered as she took a bite of burger.

      Alex bent and lifted her feet up off the floor and propped them up on the stool. She started to protest, but Block just told her to shut up and eat. Then he removed her shoes and gave her the best foot rub she’d ever had.

      Macy felt as if she’d died and gone to heaven, and if she had retracted her proposal from last night, she’d be tempted to offer it again.

      But, no. She and Alex had some issues. Some that Alex didn’t even know about. And until they’d settled them, there was no way they could…what?

      Macy had to admit that she’d needed this break, even if she did have a waiting room full of patients. If she’d had the time, she would have crawled onto the exam table and taken a nap, but having an impromptu picnic set up before her was unprofessional enough.

      Even if it had been very welcome.

      Alex sat across from her, arms crossed over his chest, as she ate. He hadn’t said much, just seemed to enjoy watching her eat. She wouldn’t be surprised if he insisted that she “clean her plate” if she tried to leave one morsel uneaten. As it was, she’d been plenty hungry enough to eat it all.

      She popped the last lonely, ketchup-coated fry into her mouth, savoring the salt and tangy condiment on it. Then she blotted her lips with a paper napkin. As she put it on the pile of sandwich wrappings, she breathed a contented sigh. “I didn’t realize how much I needed that.”

      Alex arched an eyebrow, but didn’t say “I told you so,”