Page 23 of Fight or Flight

Can you come over? It’s important. Dogs are fine.

Was she overreacting? Probably. No, she wasn’t. This was too much to be just a coincidence.

You okay, kiddo?Doc texted back.

No, she wasn’t, though she didn’t want to text those exact words to him.

A problem I need to discuss.

Hearing the market delivery vehicle pull up, both dogs began to bark, running to the doors she’d left open earlier. She followed them, waiting behind the door while the delivery boy put her bags outside. “Good dogs,” she heard him say. It must be Royce, their favorite friend from the market. Katherine knew he was the owner’s son, and her dogs seemed to like him, since he usually had a treat for them. Hopefully he didn’t share her shopping list with the community events webpage. Most likely his mother was the culprit, as she was a huge gossip hound, according to Doc Baker.

When Katherine heard Royce’s car pull away, she brought the bags into the kitchen and removed the two disposable cell phones. She wanted it done before Doc Baker arrived, fearing he’d question her about them. For now, she didn’t want him to know she’d gone this far. Feeling calmer, she would fill Doc in on the basic details and hear his thoughts before deciding whether to phone Karrie. She stuffed the rest of her order and the disposable cell phones inside the pantry.

For the third time in one day, she heard Doc’s old Ford truck wind its way up the drive. His office was nearby; he’d told her that when they first met. Sam and Sophie did their usual pouncing out the door to greet their true best friend.

Following the dogs inside, he called out, “K, it’s me.”

“In here,” she said. On a whim, she took a good bottle of wine from the refrigerator and two glasses from the cupboard.

“No coffee? This must be heavy duty,” Doc said, sitting at the bar.

“You okay with a glass of Chablis?”

“I’d love a couple of glasses, but one will do. I gotta drive home.”

“Of course.” Katherine hadn’t considered that, as she could get smashed and never have to worry about driving home. Not that she got drunk very often but, sadly, she could whenever she chose to.

“I know what I’m about to tell you is going to sound crazy,” she told him, while uncorking the bottle of wine. If he’d thought her crazy before, what she was about to tell him would convince him he was right. In all fairness, Doc had never even insinuated anything about her mental status other than this morning, when he asked her if she would consider talking to his friend.

“Listen, kiddo—I’ve heard crazy and crazy. Not much surprises me these days,” he said.

Katherine poured half a glass for him and one for herself. She sat beside him and took a sip of wine before she began her story. “Promise me what I’m about to tell you will remain between us?”

He nodded. “I’m not one for carrying tales, K.”

She knew that but needed it said anyway. “I trust you. I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t. You know my pseudonym, right?”

Grinning, he said, “My granddaughter has read every one of your books, so to answer your question, yes, of course, I do.”

Katherine raked a hand through her tangled mass of hair. “I didn’t know you had a granddaughter.” She didn’t know if he was married, single, divorced, or widowed.

“She’s fifteen, going on thirty.”

He didn’t offer more details of his family life, so she didn’t pry. “It seems many girls are like that these days.” That knowledge came from her research and from her interactions on the fan page. She hoped Doc’s granddaughter didn’t cuss as most girls online did.

“So, why’d you drag me away from suturing a cat’s ear?” Doc asked.

Katherine laughed. “I didn’t mean to take you away from work, though since I did, I’d better explain why.” She took another sip of wine and said, “My parents weren’t around much when I was young. They traveled the world together and had little time for a small child. I had plenty of nannies and housekeepers to care for me, plus a private tutor.” She traced her finger along the stem of her wineglass. “My family was very wealthy,” Katherine told him. “They left their fortune and their business to me. I used some of the money to purchase this place.”

Doc laughed. “I wouldn’t dare ask what this set you back, but go on,” he encouraged.

“Six point four million,” she said. “A lot for just one person, but I had my reasons for wanting land and privacy.”

“I won’t ask what those six point four million reasons were,” he said, chuckling.

“Thank you,” she said, then continued. “I was sent to boarding school in Spain when I was twelve. It was awful, as I’d never been to a real school. Up until then, I’d had a private tutor at home. Needless to say, after graduating, I left Spain and all the bad memories behind. Went to college in Boston, got my master’s degree, and a job. I worked atThe Boston Globefor a few years.” And then there was Adam. She would keep that time of her life to herself. Doc didn’t need to know, as it wasn’t relevant to her current situation.

“I’m impressed,” he said.

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