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Chapter One
Shelby Duncan unpacked the last box of equipment she’d shipped from Minnesota in her new office in Scranton. The office was small, but she didn’t care. It would work beautifully for her practice. It was hard to believe she’d finally finished her fellowship and was a board-certified doctor.
When she’d left this town for college over ten years before, she’d been certain she’d never come back, but her mother’s best friend’s health was failing, and her mother was sure it was because she had a horrible doctor.
Shelby had tried not to give in and move back to Scranton, but if her “Aunt Lydia” was having that much trouble, she needed to be there. Besides, her eldest sister Angela had just had twins, and she wanted to be part of their lives, which meant living back in Scranton.
Two of her old high school friends had become nurses while she was gone, and she had hired both to work with her in her brand-new practice. Both had children, something Shelby truly hoped was on the horizon for her, so that they would split a full day of work. It would be the best of both worlds. They were even sharing a babysitter.
Shelby had gone into family practice, and she was glad she had. She wasn’t sure she’d be quite so happy about it on Monday when she opened for the first day, but it was just Saturday, and there was nothing to be unhappy about.
Except babies of course. She was going to be too old for children in a few years, and she didn’t want to have to resort to freezing her eggs.
She put the supplies into a cabinet in one of the exam rooms, and stood up, putting her hand at the small of her back. Unpacking boxes didn’t do her sciatica any favors.
She moved to the front desk to make certain all the forms were in the correct slots. One of her older sisters, Rachel, was going to be her receptionist. Hopefully, she’d last. Rachel wasn’t known for sticking to one job for long. She was too flighty in Shelby’s opinion.
As soon as she’d finished all that, she made her way to the house where she’d grown up. She was living there for a month or two as she got her practice off the ground, but then she was getting her own place. She had her own room, but she felt as if she was twelve again, living at home.
Her mother still wanted to know where she would be at all times, which was truly demoralizing. She was a doctor, who had lived on her own for more than ten years, and she was having to answer to her mother about where she was going and when.
Shelby drove home in the old beat up Ford she’d bought just before she’d graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Medical School. It worked well enough, but she certainly hoped she could afford something nicer soon.
When she got home, her mother called out to her. “Did you get your office set up?”
Shelby wandered into the kitchen where her mother was fixing supper. “I got the exam rooms set up. I’ll be working on my office between patients. The insurance companies are sending people my way.”
“And I’m bringing your Aunt Lydia in at ten.”
“Don’t you want me to just find a doctor for her? I feel strange about treating her.”
“No, I don’t want you to just find another doctor for her. What are you thinking? I don’t trust any of them. What do they have invested in getting her well? You know her and have your whole life. I know you love her like I do.”
“All right, Mom.” Shelby had a very hard time saying no to her mother about anything. She’d been a single mom for most of Shelby’s childhood, and though she’d since married again, she still felt as if she owed her the world.
“And I found something on the internet today,” Mom said. “I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I want you to think about it. Just go to this web address.” She pushed a piece of paper at Shelby. “Go look now.”
Shelby had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for, but she went into her room, where she kept her laptop. Glancing down at the paper, she typed in the web address. “Matchrimony? What the heck is that?”
As she looked over the website, she understood. There was a psychologist with a PhD in New York City who matched people, not introducing them until they were at the altar. That actually didn’t sound like a terrible idea to Shelby. She pursed her lips and picked up her phone to call, knowing if she waited, there was no way she’d ever get up the courage.
“This is Dr. Lachele.”
Shelby took a deep breath. “Dr. Lachele. My name is Shelby Duncan and I’m a doctor in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I grew up here, but I moved away for school over a decade ago, and now I’m back to practice medicine. I want children.”
“Well, you called the right person! What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Taking a day off from setting up my new practice. What areyoudoing tomorrow?”
“I’m driving to Scranton to meet with Dr. Shelby Duncan. I require a full day of psychological testing before I’ll match you with someone. Clear your schedule.”
“Let me give you my mother’s address. I’m staying with her for the next month or two.” Shelby rattled off the address. “It’ll probably be better if we don’t do the testing here.”
“No, I agree with you there. I’ll leave early in the morning, and then spend the night in Scranton tomorrow night. We’ll use my hotel room, and I’ll learn everything about you.”
“I’m an open book,” Shelby responded, and it was the truth. More than a decade of her life had been devoted to becoming a doctor, and she didn’t have any skeletons in the closet. Well, not unless you looked all the way back to high school, and then it wasn’t really a skeleton. Just her high school sweetheart who had decided to stay in Scranton when she’d gone to NYU for pre-med.
Who could consider something that ancient a skeleton? While she still thought of Nathan on a daily basis, she was certain she was just ancient history for him.
