Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Allison

I had put on a brave face before heading to work, kissing Jackson and telling him that everything would be fine. And really, I believed it would be. Mike had proven to be a terrible person, but that didn’t make him violent. Plus, I knew the sheriff had stationed two deputies outside the clinic—an honor that made me feel guilty, honestly, since he was understaffed as it was. But guilt or no guilt, I couldn’t just hide out and leave my patients hanging.

My relationship with Jackson had made me fully invested in staying in Rosemary Mountain, and I knew if I couldn’t get this clinic in the black, I wouldn’t have a job here for long. Funding the clinic meant billing for appointments. Every day mattered.

“Good morning, Beverly!” I called out when I walked through the clinic doors.

“Good morning, Dr. Bell,” she said, her tone guarded.

“How does our schedule look today?”

This time, she smiled. “You’ve got a full patient load. Eighteen on the schedule.”

“Eighteen?” My eyes widened. “That’s more than double my usual here.”

“I called a few patients who were, um, overdue for appointments and got them on the schedule,” she explained, her guilty expression betraying her. “We have a full docket all week.”

I took a breath. “Excellent.” I smiled, deciding to take it as a win instead of focusing on the past.

If Beverly actually started scheduling patients and Danny started logging accurate vitals, this clinic might have a shot.

“Where’s Danny?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t seen him yet.

Beverly frowned. “Must be running late. I’ll try to call him.”

“Thanks,” I said, glancing up as the front door opened. My first patients were already arriving at 8:15—something unheard of since I’d started here. I ducked out, letting Beverly start checking people in, while I congratulated myself on our progress.

After a long day, where all eighteen patients showed—but my nurse didn’t, leaving me to do all the intakes myself—I felt exhausted but happy. It was the kind of day I had imagined when I first took the job. I felt like I had actually helped some people, and happily, I hadn’t had a single patient demand narcotics.

On top of that, Mike hadn’t pulled anything else, and I was starting to think maybe we had blown the whole thing out of proportion.

I was packing up my things for the day when Beverly knocked on my office door.

“Come in,” I called out while tucking a medical book into my bag so I could review a protocol later.

“I’m about to leave, but I was wondering if you wanted me to stay for your meeting?” She let the words hang in the air.

“What meeting?” I frowned.

“With Dr. Johnson. Remember? You asked me to schedule a meeting with him about the medication-assisted drug treatment program. I put it on your calendar—and told you about it—last Friday. It’s scheduled for six tonight.”

“Oh my goodness.” She had told me. I had just been too busy enjoying the flowers I’d assumed were from Jackson to actually pay attention to what she was saying. “I remember now.” I glanced at my phone. “Oh man. It’s too late to cancel, isn’t it?”

“I could try,” she offered.

I groaned. “No, that wouldn’t make a very good impression, would it? After all, I’m the one who asked for his help applying for this grant. It’s fine. I was just looking forward to getting home.” More like looking forward to getting home to Jackson. I knew he had gotten called out to a case though and would likely be working late anyway.

“Okay,” she said. She was hesitant, like there was something she wanted to say. “So do you want me to hang around for it, or…”

I realized she was worried I’d make her stay late for the meeting, which was above and beyond the call of duty. “No, no,” I said, waving her off. “It’s fine. Go on home and enjoy your evening.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t put you out like that.”

“Okay. Well, goodnight, then.” She still looked hesitant.

“Goodnight, Beverly. See you tomorrow. And great work on the schedule this week!”

She gave me a faint smile, then closed the door and left.

With Beverly gone, I felt oddly unnerved about being alone at the clinic. I shot Jackson a quick text, letting him know I had a meeting I had forgotten about and would be working later than normal. Then I peeked outside the front window. The two deputies were still stationed out front.

“Everything’s fine,” I said, feeling jarred by the sound of my own voice in the empty building.

I had fifteen minutes before Dr. Johnson was scheduled to arrive. It only took five to pull the files I had prepped with my ideas for the program, so I killed time by playing on my cell phone.

My call log showed five missed calls from Mama from over the weekend, and I toyed with the idea of calling her back. But I just wasn’t ready for another conversation with her. Not when she seemed intent on souring everything I was building for myself here. So I played solitaire instead, distracting myself from the anxiety building within me.

Dr. Johnson arrived with precise punctuality, knocking on the clinic doors at exactly 6:00. I unlocked them for him and waved to the deputies on the street, letting them know he was okay. Then I locked the door behind him and invited him into my office.

He walked in and looked around before taking the seat across from my desk.

“It’s good to see you here,” he said, a proud smile on his face. “I think you’re exactly what this clinic needed. Fresh blood. New ideas. Everything worked out, didn’t it?”

“It did,” I said, smiling warmly. “Thanks to you. I really appreciate your vote of confidence. I know I wouldn’t have gotten this job without you.”

He bowed his head, accepting my thanks.

“Now,” I said, pulling out the files I had prepared. “Here’s what I’m thinking about for the program.”

He took the file from me, thumbed through it briefly, then set it aside. “I assure you, you’ll have the hospital’s full support in setting it up however you wish,” he said. “But that’s not really why I’m here.”

I knew immediately I had made a mistake. “Then why are you here?”

He stared at me a moment, then smiled. “You look so much like your mother. It’s shocking, really. You didn’t always. As a child, I thought you resembled your father more, but with every year that passed, you looked more like her. Then she took you away. And somehow, with her as your only influence, you seem to have transformed even more into her likeness.”

A new question formed. “Dr. Johnson. How well did you know my mother?”

He smiled again. “Intimately.”

I felt my face flush. “Are you… Are you my…” I couldn’t even bring myself to ask the question.

He cocked his head, giving me a strange look. “Am I your what?”

I swallowed hard. “My biological father?”

Shock appeared in his eyes. Then he softened and laughed. “Goodness, no. Though I suppose I can understand why you’d jump to that conclusion.”

I sank back in my chair, relieved. “Dr. Johnson, I wish you’d get to the point. You’re not here to talk about my program, and you’re not here to tell me you’re my father. Please don’t tell me you’re here to rehash an affair with my mother.”

He shook his head. “Of course not. We have much more to discuss than that.”

“What do we need to discuss?” Fear began to rise. I had no logical reason to be afraid of Dr. Johnson, who had always been kind to me. But I also knew that a kind exterior could hide a predator’s heart, and everything in my body was telling me to run.

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “This,” he said, holding it up. But he didn’t pass it to me. He cocked his head again. “Did you know that I’m not only responsible for getting you this job, but I got you into the residency program in Memphis as well?”

I was taken aback. “No. No, I didn’t.”

He nodded. “I’ve been watching you for a long time, Allison. It’s been hard waiting for you. But I understand the need to pursue a vocation, and I admit, I was delighted you chose medicine. So I’ve waited patiently. And now, here you are.”

“Yes…” I forced myself to act calm.

“I must say, you’re more beautiful in person than I ever imagined. You were worth the wait. But…” he frowned. “I was very disappointed that you didn’t wait for me, too. That’s why I got a bit angry Saturday and left that mess at your house.”

My hands began to shake. “That was you?”

“It was out of character,” he admitted. “And I realized after that my reaction wasn’t fair to you. After all, you didn’t know about our agreement. I apologize for overreacting. I hope you’ll forgive me the way I decided to forgive you.”

“What agreement?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

He smiled. “The one that made you mine.” He tossed the paper he was holding onto my desk.

I picked it up with trembling fingers, not knowing what to expect.

But nothing would have prepared me for what I read.

It was a letter from my father. A signed letter promising me to Dr. Johnson in exchange for the release of his gambling debts.

Horror flooded my body as I read the words. When I was finished, I dropped it like a hot coal onto the desk.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not property, and this document is meaningless.”

Dr. Johnson just smiled. “No. You’re right of course. Legally speaking, it means nothing. But you owe me, Allison, just the same.”

“I don’t owe you anything.” My voice trembled.

“Allison, your father owed me a great deal of money. An astonishing amount, actually.” Dr. Johnson actually chuckled. “He was as bad at poker as he was at everything else in life. It was quite easy to force him into debts he could never pay.”

“That has nothing to do with me.”

“Oh, but it does,” he said. “Because originally, I agreed to let your mother pay off those debts. It was an arrangement I was very pleased with, actually. She was a very beautiful woman, and the arrangement was quite pleasing. Until she got pregnant and lost the baby, then refused to continue on.”

I flashed back to her miscarriage, the one where she hadn’t gotten out of bed for three days—the shame on her face, Fiona’s sadness. How after that, she’d stopped getting dressed up and working nights like she had before.

My heart sank, because I knew it was true.

“Again,” I said, my voice shaking. “That has nothing to do with me. I was not my father’s property, this is not even legal, and I owe you nothing.”

“Did you forget how I got you this job? Or your residency? You do owe me.” He shook his head in disappointment. “Oh, Allison. Your family wouldn’t even have made it if not for me. Who do you think made sure your mother had money for groceries every week? Or that the light bill got paid when your father pissed away everything on gin?”

I couldn’t speak.

“After your mother refused to keep up her end of the bargain, your father and I spoke. I offered to let you fulfill it instead. Not until you were eighteen, of course,” he said, holding his hands up in defense. “Though I admit, I did wonder—even imagine—what it would be like to be with someone so…innocent.” His eyes flickered with desire before he frowned again. “I think that’s why I got so angry Saturday. I always imagined you’d stay innocent for me. I can’t help but feel disappointed that you didn’t.”

My stomach shuddered as my body went cold.

“You should have always been mine,” he continued, his voice hardening. “It was all arranged. Then, when your mother found out, she did the unthinkable. She disappeared with you.”

There are monsters in Rosemary Mountain. Mama’s words came back to me, and suddenly it all made sense. Why she had left, why she had been devastated by my taking this job, and why she wanted me back in Memphis—away from Dr. Johnson.

“I don’t know what you thought you’d accomplish by telling me any of this,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. “I have no intention of becoming your mistress in order to pay off my father’s old debts.”

“You don’t understand. Debt or no debt, you’re mine, Allison,” he said softly. “You always have been. And one way or another, I intend on having you.”

He pulled out a syringe and moved toward me.