Page 24 of Clara Knows Best

Warm light came from somewhere down the long, carpeted hallway. He followed it to a spacious kitchen. The first rays of sun spilled in through towering windows and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air.

Clara was standing at the little round table trimming stems and poking flowers into vases. A five-gallon bucket packed full of pink, red, and white roses stood on the floor beside her. A second bucket contained tulips, baby’s breath, and a lot of greens.

She looked good, he thought. Not at all traumatized.

Everyone he worked with in Austin, regardless of rank or station, wore scrubs, but Clara Wilder’s idea of professional attire was more along the lines of Audrey Hepburn or a vintage Barbie doll: a soft black pullover with a neckline that reminded him for some reason of Paris, tucked into a white, calf-length skirt that looked like it had been wrapped around her and tied ina giant bow at her hip. Her earrings looked like strands of tiny diamonds tied like shoelace bows.

She made a very pretty picture with her roses, and after the night he’d had in the OR, she was quite literally a sight for sore eyes. “’Morning.”

She was surprised but not startled by the sound of his voice, smiled at him like she was glad to see him, and answered cheerfully in kind.

“This place is…kind of amazing.”

“It was built in 1909 by an oil baron, for the actress he was in love with,” she told him. “I don’t think she ever lived here, though. Coffee?”

“In a while,” he answered, raising the cup he’d bought on his way in. He’d forgone Dunkin’ in favor of a bakery called Daily Bread that boasted the best coffee in town, and so far he wasn’t regretting it. “They must have spent a fortune renovating this place. Your mom and Dr. Pike.”

“I think they did,” she admitted. “The Colonel kind of spearheaded it. It took months and months.”

“How many exam rooms are there?”

“Four. Would you like a tour?”

“No, that’s okay. What’s upstairs?”

She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Areallynice bachelor pad.” He must have looked some kind of way, because she was quick to add, “I’m kidding. Trust me, if there were a fancy apartment up there, I’d be living in it. She mentioned renting space to a dentist or therapist someday, but it doesn’t even have drywall yet.”

He would have to take a look upstairs at some point during the week to make sure Dr. Wilder didn’t actually have a luxurious apartment up her sleeve.

“You really think she did all this to manipulate you into moving here?” Clara asked him.

He looked swiftly at her, certain that she had read his mind. “Yeah.”

“Maybe she just wants to give you something nice.”

“That day at the Rickles farm, you asked if I’d guessed why she guilt-tripped me into coming here. This wasn’t what you meant?”

She shook her head. “I thought she just wanted to see you and was using the practice as an excuse.”

Jesse didn’t think it stopped there. When he’d received a call from a retirement-aged GP asking him to visit her small-town practice, it had seemed a little too pat. Yes, his upbringing had made him far too suspicious, but he knew that his benefactress was a chess player.

First, she’d cut him off completely for a few years to make him nice and desperate. Now she was going to offer him a ticket back into the family—for a price. And she’d disclose the details when she was good and ready.

Clara, he thought, appeared sincere. Which just meant she wasn’t in her mother’s confidence. Just like she probably hadn’t known six years ago that Dr. Wilder’s little story about Jesse being mad at them because his dad was dying was just that: a story.

“Want to put money on it?” he asked her.

She frowned and shook her head again.

“Smart girl.”

There was a long moment of silence. The sardonic words hung in the air, and Jesse was reminded that Clarahadbeen smart on Sunday when she’d helped him at the accident scene. He’d been lucky to have her there, in fact.

“Hey, we sewed that guy’s leg back on,” he told her. She deserved to know. “I think he’s going to be all right.”

“Good,” she said, and smiled at him before turning her attention back to her flower arranging.

“Thanks for your help,” he added. “I know it was pretty gnarly for a rookie, but I was glad you were there.”

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