Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Gwen looked around the office of her clinic with a sigh of satisfaction. In only a very short amount of time, she’d gotten the place to look far more polished and professional than it had when she’d arrived. She looked out the window, noting that the early morning sky was a cloudless blue. She told herself firmly that today was going to be a good day.

I’m silly to be nervous, she thought, scolding herself. It’s not like it’s my first day as a doctor.

She had to admit, though, she cared very much about their first official day as an open clinic in Blueberry Bay going well. She wanted to ensure that whatever reputation her clinic earned in the town, it was a good one—ideally, a great one. Her practice had been well spoken of in New Hampshire, so she had plenty of reason to be optimistic. No matter how much she told herself that though, it didn’t make the butterflies in her stomach go away.

She stepped out of her office into the lobby, which she had also spent time redecorating. She’d replaced the photographs hanging on the walls with canvases of beautiful modern art in pastel colors. She’d also put in new chairs for the waiting area —chairs that were more comfortable and also more modern-looking.

“Big day!” Heidi, Gwen’s nurse, walked over to her with a grin. “Are you excited?”

“Yes,” Gwen said, even though it was essentially a lie. She wasn’t excited—eager, maybe. She felt too nervous about things going right to describe her emotions as excited. “Are we all ready?”

“Oh, definitely. We were all ready yesterday. Everything’s sanitized, everything’s well-stocked. We’re all set.” Heidi gave Gwen a cheerful smile, but Gwen could see the young blonde woman’s intelligent eyes glittering with sympathetic perception. She had a feeling that Heidi could see straight through her and she knew exactly how nervous she was.

“Great.” Gwen returned her smile briskly. “What does our schedule today look like?”

Heidi looked at the clipboard she was carrying. “Our first patient is at two o’clock, and we have seven more after that, scattered throughout the afternoon.”

Disappointment flopped in Gwen’s stomach. “So few?” she asked, crossing her arms and lifting her shoulders a little. “Is the schedule always going to be this empty, I wonder?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Heidi hugged her clipboard in a relaxed manner, and Gwen noticed that there were tiny pictures of kittens printed on the fabric of her scrubs. “This is a small town, and you’ve only just arrived. Once word gets out about your practice, people will come more often. I mean, it’s only the first day. Word of mouth hasn’t done anything for you yet.”

“True.” Gwen turned to look out the window onto the sidewalk. People were strolling past, but none of them seemed to be looking at the clinic with any interest. “Maybe we need a bigger sign.”

“How about some flowers along the windowsill?” Heidi suggested. “Or a window box? That might draw people’s attention to the building.”

“That’s a great idea. And we could paint the name of the practice on the window,” Gwen said, her mind racing with excitement as she had the idea. “In white letters. Something elegant but big enough to be noticeable.”

“Sounds great to me!” Heidi smiled cheerfully. She was still only in her mid-twenties, and always seemed to have energy and enthusiasm.

Gwen smiled at her gratefully, but she still felt uncertain about everything. Her body seemed to be humming with restlessness. Painting the name of the practice in the window and going out to buy flowers were great ideas, but she couldn’t do either of them at the moment. She could leave the clinic briefly if she needed to since there were no patients scheduled for hours, but she didn’t want to leave for long or go very far in case there was a walk-in appointment.

“I’m getting coffee,” she announced suddenly. “What would you like?”

“Oh! Sure! Thanks.” Heidi grinned. “How about a Frappuccino?”

“You got it. I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll hold down the fort till you get back,” Heidi said, saluting Gwen playfully.

Gwen smiled, glad that at least one of them was still in high spirits. She grabbed her purse and stepped out the front door of the clinic into the spring sunshine. The wind that day was chilly as usual, but she could feel that the sunlight was warmer than it had been. There was a fragrance of flowers in the air, and she took some deep breaths as she walked along the sidewalks of Blueberry Bay.

She reached her car, which was parked along the street about halfway down the block. She climbed into it, pulling up her GPS on her phone to look for a coffee shop.

“Oh,” she murmured, pleasantly surprised to find that there was one a very short drive away and that it had five stars. “Tidal Wave Coffee, huh?”

She drove to the coffee shop, glad that she could go somewhere close by and not take much time away from the clinic. She felt antsy, and even without patients scheduled for the morning, she wanted to be there. She told herself that she felt that way because they might get a walk-in, but in the back of her mind she knew that she wanted to be there because it felt like the only way to try to control her situation at the moment.

As she drove, she marveled at how small the town was. She turned onto a street that led up to the water, and she could see where the buildings ended and the ocean began. Her previous drives through the town had showed her how small it was in the other directions as well.

All of the shops surrounding her were well cared for and quaint, and the people walking around seemed to be comfortable in their surroundings. There was a homey, wholesome atmosphere about the place—it was the most “small town” small town that she’d ever been to before.

It seems like a nice place , she thought, glancing at the library as she passed it. It seems like the people here care about this place a lot.

But it was so small. What if it was too small for her? What if all of her workdays were like this, with hardly anything to do? She felt she would be unhappy without enough work. She worked hard—she always had. She was great at applying herself to challenges and overcoming them. If that went out of her life—if her job suddenly became easy—wouldn’t she become unbearably bored?

She thought about how her ex-boyfriend, Ron, would laugh if he saw her there in such a small town. He’d probably say it was the size of a shoe box—she’d heard him talk about small towns that way before. She could just picture the slightly condescending smirk on his face as he questioned her choices. She squared her shoulders as she drove, determined to not be bothered by what she knew he would be thinking, but the truth was that she was also doubting her choice to come to Blueberry Bay. What if it had been a mistake?

She took a deep breath, telling herself firmly that she came there for a reason. She’d needed a change of pace and she knew that the town could use another doctor. She was determined to run her clinic in Blueberry Bay with the same professionalism that she would have had for any other clinic.

In another minute, she arrived at her destination. She parked outside of Tidal Wave Coffee, taking note of what a cute place it was—she couldn’t help feeling a little charmed by it. She got out of her car and went inside, where she was immediately greeted by the rich, earthy aroma of coffee.

She inhaled the smell eagerly and stepped up to the counter to order. There was a man standing behind it who looked as though he’d just come out of the ocean. His wavy, long dark hair looked as though it was still drying after coming into contact with salty waves. He gave her a big smile even though they were total strangers. “Hi. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Gwen said curtly. “I’d like a Frappuccino and an americano. Both larges, please.”

“You got it.” He smiled at her again and began to start on the drinks. Gwen noted that business was apparently slow for everyone that morning—although there were a few people sitting at tables in the open area behind her, there was no one waiting in line after her. The man with the wavy dark hair moved at a reasonable pace, but she wished he would put a little more speed into it. Just because he wasn’t in a rush didn’t mean that she wasn’t, she thought with a squirm of frustration.

The man seemed to notice the way she was pressing her lips together, but instead of speeding up, he started to talk to her again.

“I’m Michael O’Neil, the owner of the coffee shop,” he said, his lips curving slightly, almost as if he found her impatience amusing.

“Gwen Dunaway,” she said briskly, offering a polite but unenthusiastic smile.

“Are you new in town?” he asked, smiling as he worked on the Frappuccino. “I don’t remember seeing you around before.”

“I am new in town.” Privately she wondered if there were so few people in the town that he knew everyone. That didn’t bode well for her. “I just arrived a few days ago. I’m a doctor, I just opened up a private practice not far from here.”

“Oh, that’s great! Glad to hear it. We could use another doctor here in Blueberry Bay.” He grinned at her. “Welcome to our community. Have you gotten a chance to see much of Blueberry Bay yet? It’s a great town.”

“I’m sure it is.” She smiled, inwardly willing him to move a little faster so she could get back to her clinic sooner.

“You should check out the Beyond the Sea dinner cruise as soon as it opens for the summer season. It’s run by my fiancée, Caitlin Lewis. It’s really spectacular—a gorgeous ship and incredible food. You’ll love it—people say it’s one of the wonders of Blueberry Bay.” He grinned, clearly proud beyond measure of this Caitlin Lewis who was his fiancée. For a moment Gwen wondered what it would be like to be in a relationship like that—with someone who thought the world of her. Her stomach fluttered a little as she wondered if she would ever have someone like that in her life.

She smiled politely. “It sounds very nice,” she said. Privately, however, she was dismissing his invitation. She felt confident she wouldn’t be checking out the cruise—she couldn’t remember when the last time was that she’d done something simply for pleasure. She usually spent her evenings seeing patients or doing research. And just then she was still getting settled into her new place, which was taking up a great deal of her time outside of work. Her life in New Hampshire had centered around her hardworking, driven attitude, and she didn’t see herself starting to take time for leisure just because she’d moved to a new place.

“The weather out here is great,” Michael continued cheerfully as he started to make the americano. “I know it’s a little chilly now, but as soon as it’s fully spring out here, you’re going to love it. Next time you come here, you should sit outside and enjoy the patio seating. It’s a great place to read a book, or just sit and think for a while.”

“Maybe,” she said, smiling briskly again. Internally, though, she was brushing his suggestion aside again. She didn’t have time to sit and soak up the small-town atmosphere. If she was going to read a book, she would rather read it at her desk or in her apartment where she could concentrate properly and take adequate notes.

“Here you are,” he said, flashing a cheerful grin as he handed her the drinks. “Anything else I can get you?”

“No, that’s it, thanks,” she said. She felt impatient to bolt out the door and go back to her clinic. She hated the idea of someone showing up and being told, “Sorry, the doctor is out getting coffee.” It would make a terrible first impression.

“See you again soon!” he called cheerfully as she stepped out the door, and she smiled back politely.

She glanced at her watch as she hurried back to her car, holding the cups of coffee. They smelled incredible, and she was glad she’d gone on the errand even though it had lasted longer than she’d wanted it to.

Once she was back inside her car, she took a sip of her drink and her eyebrows lifted in surprise. It was the best coffee she’d ever had.

Hmm, she thought. I guess Blueberry Bay has its perks.

She started to pull out into the road just as a truck was backing out of a parking spot across the street. The truck was filled with lumber, some of which was jutting out beyond the back of the truck bed. The driver of the truck clearly didn’t see her and was moving with an unreasonable speed.

She slammed her hand on her car horn and the truck stopped just in time. She realized that her heart was in her throat, and she pulled back over onto the side of the road to catch her breath and wait for her heart rate to go down. Even though there had been no accident, she knew it wasn’t safe to drive when her emotions were high.

She put her car into park and took a deep breath. She glanced over at the truck, expecting it to just hurry on its way—but she was surprised to see that the driver had also pulled over onto the side of the road. She watched as a man wearing a black leather jacket hopped out of the truck and hurried across the road toward her.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. The man stepped up to her window, smiling and waving. She noticed how kind his eyes looked.

“Hi,” he said, as she rolled down the window. “I’m so sorry about that.”

She blinked, surprised that he’d gotten out of his car rather than simply waving an apology to her and driving off. Everyone in Blueberry Bay seemed to be unusually friendly, she thought.

“Well, no harm no foul,” she said. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say—she felt that he should have been more careful, but she didn’t feel comfortable reprimanding a stranger. Especially such a kind, friendly stranger.

“I guess I’m a little too excited to get all this lumber over to Little Clams. I forgot to check where I was going.”

Gwen wondered what Little Clams was—probably some kind of specialty grocery store—but she didn’t want to ask questions. She had coffee to get to Heidi and a clinic to run.

“I accept your apology,” she said, realizing that she sounded a little cool, but she didn’t know what else to say or how to say it. After an awkward pause in which he was still smiling at her, she nodded stiffly.

He held his hand out to her. “I’m Isaiah Dunlap. I’m here making renovations to Little Clams.”

She nodded again, blinking a little bit. She didn’t know what to say—she couldn’t very well say “Welcome to Blueberry Bay” when she’d just arrived herself.

“You must be new around here too,” he said, grinning at her.

Her eyebrows lifted. She was surprised that he’d guessed that.

He must be a perceptive person , she thought—and she noted that behind his almost goofy grin, his eyes gleamed with intelligence.

“Yes, I am. I’m the new doctor in town.”

“That explains it,” he said, his expression slightly mischievous.

“Explains what?” she asked slowly. She thought in a flash of the coffee and Heidi waiting at the clinic that she wanted to get back to—but she felt herself getting drawn into the conversation. She wanted to know what this man was thinking, and why his eyes were glinting like that.

“The people here in Blueberry Bay have an easygoing attitude that you don’t seem to have,” he said, still grinning.

She had to stop her jaw from dropping. She couldn’t believe he would just come right out and say something so forward. He said it in such a friendly way that she couldn’t be particularly offended, but she still felt shocked. It was as if he’d taken regular social conventions and turned them upside down, making her question herself.

“I’m here to do my job, not to have an easy time,” she said curtly. “Speaking of which, I need to get back to my clinic. It was nice to meet you.”

She nodded at him one more time, and he stepped back, still smiling a little. He waved to her as she pulled her car back onto the road and started to drive back toward the clinic.

She squared her shoulders as she drove, starting to question the way other people perceived her for the first time in many years. What had Isaiah Dunlap seen in her that made him say what he did?

He’d never stopped smiling, so whatever he thought of her, it couldn’t be too bad, she reflected. But had she behaved in a way that she shouldn’t have?

She thought back over their interaction, realizing that she could have been a little friendlier—but he’d almost hit her car! She could have been downright rude to him, and she hadn’t been.

She realized that people in Blueberry Bay must be especially friendly and laid-back, if he was surprised by her curt response under the circumstances.

She arrived back at the clinic and made her way inside, trying to stop thinking about Isaiah Dunlap. She gave Heidi her coffee and the two of them sat down in the waiting room together. Heidi gushed excitedly over how good the coffee tasted, and how excited she was to experience more of Blueberry Bay. Gwen nodded as she listened, thinking to herself that she needed some work to do—she was still feeling restless and jittery. She felt impatient to do something constructive. And, she had to admit, she was finding it hard to not think about Isaiah and wonder what he thought of her.