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This entire production was as orchestrated as the Chicago Symphony. He shot Neil a quick text to see why he hadn’t been able to take Nana to her appointment and his brother had no idea what he was talking about. Neil was a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one of them. He made excuses, passed blame and flat out argued when he was in the wrong but he never lied about it.
She’d made this appointment knowing that Eliza was back in town and for some reason she’d wanted him, not Neil, to see her. That made no sense. She’d been Neil’s girlfriend, not his. He tried to puzzle out what could possibly be her motivation. He was missing something and if there was one thing that his analytical brain hated, it was that.
He mentally ran through the facts as he knew them. From the small talk that Nana had made with Martha, he learned that Dr. Lewis had taken an early retirement, on his wife’s insistence and the first person on his list of potential successors had been Eliza. He’d called and offered her the practice and she’d accepted.
Today was her first day and Nana was her first patient. What Nana had declared as fate, he called meddling. The question was why. Why had Nana gone to such lengths to make sure she was the first patient and he was with her? Why had Eliza agreed to take over the practice when she had a thriving business with her husband in Oklahoma?
He’d kept tabs on her. Information was out there and he had the ability to access it. He didn’t make a habit of using his talent for personal reasons, in fact she was the one and only person he’d ever used them on. Which was how he knew that up until two weeks ago—which was the last time he’d “checked up” on her—she was married, living in Oklahoma City, and her practice was steadily growing.
So why was she here? Had she moved back home without her husband? Were they going to be long distance? Or was he here with her? Was he going to be subjected to seeing her with another man? Again?
He wished he was back at his computer. With a few keystrokes he was sure he could uncover exactly what was going on.
Eliza stepped into the room and she wore the smile that if it was the last thing he saw, he’d die a happy man. Not like the one that she’d forced up at the front desk, this one was real. This one was sincere. This one was Ellie. He wished it was directed at him, but her attention was focused on his grandma.
“Hi, I heard you were feeling a little anxious.”
“I am,” Nana lied through her teeth.
“Well, I have someone I think might help with that.”
I’m the one that is “helping” with that.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Farmer.”
His replacement was not what he’d expected. It walked on four legs and had a tongue that looked like it didn’t stop.
“Oh my goodness! Aren’t you a handsome boy?!” Nana exclaimed as Farmer greeted her, but then made his way to Nate and sat beside him.
A wrinkle appeared above Eliza’s perfect nose as she tilted her head to the side. “Farmer. Come.”
The dog obeyed and she told him to sit and stay by Nana, which he also obeyed. But his eyes were locked on Nate. Both women petted Farmer’s head as Eliza explained, “Farmer is a certified service companion that works as a dental therapy dog, he helps patients that have anxiety during procedures. I’ve been using him at my practice in Oklahoma. He’s made a huge difference in patient experiences.”
“I can see how. Who wouldn’t love this face?” Nana lifted Farmer’s chin and kissed him on the top of the head. The dog accepted the affection happily, his tail wagged on the linoleum floor, but he kept Nate in his sights.
“Well, it looks like someone has a fan.” Nana noticed the dog’s laser lock on him and motioned towards the corner Nate was posted in.
“That’s so weird.” Eliza slowly shook her head in disbelief. The ponytail that her hair was pulled up into swung behind her and under the fluorescent lighting he could see the blonde and red highlights in it. She sighed as she lifted her hands and explained, “He’s trained to gravitate towards the person who’s feeling anxious or fearful. So I’m not sure why he’s so fixated on Mr. Joe Cool.”
His lips pulled at the corners at the name that she’d teased him with when they were lab partners. Several times she’d grown frustrated when an assignment or experiment that they’d worked on hadn’t resulted exactly how they’d hypothesized and he’d always stayed calm. At the time she’d said this was “as irritating as an itch you can’t scratch.” So, she’d started referring to him as Mr. Joe Cool in retaliation.
Her arm waved in his direction animatedly. She always moved her arms and hands when she was making a point. “I mean look at him. If he were any calmer I’d have to put a mirror under his nose to make sure he was still alive.”
At that remark his lips turned up in a wide smile. Eliza had always done that. Made him smile.
“I don’t know…” Nana lifted her left eyebrow as she shot him a look as if to say she had his number. “Looks can be deceiving.”
He shot it right back at her. “Yes. They can.”
“Okay, clearly I’m missing something.” Eliza’s eyes darted between him and his grandma before she shook her head again, this time faster before inhaling deeply, and just like that she was back in business mode. “Anyway, the x-rays look good but since you felt some wiggling, I’m just going to go ahead and reinforce the crown. Would you like Farmer to stay during the procedure?”
“Yes.” Nana nodded as she pet the golden retriever’s head. “I think he is very helpful. Aren’t you, handsome boy?”
As Eliza washed her hands and relayed instructions to Martha about what she would need Nana shot another glance his way, this one was lit with mischief. She was definitely up to something. The only thing he’d been able to come up with so far was that Nana wanted Eliza to be a part of their family so much that since it hadn’t worked out with Neil, he was second runner-up. It was kind of a stretch that was only supported by Nana’s comment earlier about Eliza being family.
His mind was trying to find anything that would solve the mystery but he couldn’t focus. He wasn’t being obvious, because he knew that he had an audience, but out of the corner of his eye he watched as Eliza worked. He was happy when he’d caught a glimpse of tiny brown dots sprinkled on her nose. They were faded, or she was covering them with makeup, but they were there. He didn’t like the shadow of dark circles beneath her eyes, though. It meant she was stressed or working too hard, or both. It killed him not knowing which and not being able to take care of her.
He’d known that he missed her. Known that he’d never truly gotten over his feelings for her, but now that he’d seen her again he wasn’t sure how he’d made it through the past years without her. Being around her suddenly felt as essential as oxygen to him. She was like sunshine, bright and warm, a necessity of life. It honestly felt like he’d spent years in darkness and now he was in the light.
She worked quickly and efficiently as she chatted with his grandma. When she pulled off her rubber gloves, indicating the procedure was done, it felt like a punch in his gut.
He’d gone so long without light, without air, he didn’t want to leave her so soon.
He was careful to keep his emotionless mask firmly in place, but apparently Farmer picked up on his reaction because the dog whined and then trotted over to join him in the corner. This time, Nate bent down to pet him. He’d always loved dogs and Farmer was one of the best, that much was evident in just the short time he’d spent with him.
As Martha continued to clean up around them, Eliza stood from the stool she’d been sitting on and hurried towards the door. “Okay, well it was nice seeing you both again.” She smiled as she spoke. “Make sure to call me if you have any more problems with that crown.”
And then she was gone. And so was Farmer, who followed her out of the exam room. He stared at the doorway that she’d just inhabited and just like the doorway, his chest felt empty. Hollow. Bare.
It was a feeling that he’d have to get used to, because as much as he wished things were different, he needed to keep his distance from Eliza Young. He’d sealed the fate of their relationship on her eighteenth birthday and since he couldn’t change the past, he needed to do the right thing in the future.
