Page 5 of Darla's Christmas Knight
She wanted it all.
The husband, the babies,andthe fulfilling job.
An image ofhimpopped into her mind.
Blond, blue-eyed, fair-skinned.
He’d captured her heart, then stomped all over it, leaving her shattered.
She shook off the old memory and turned her attention back to the patient list. The morning flew by and a few minutes after her last patient left, she finally took a break. She fixed a croissant with sliced beef and pickles, added a muffin to the plate, grabbed a soda from the fridge, and made her way to the small garden on the side of the building. Despite the heat, she loved taking her breaks outside. She slowed, noticing a figure hunched over the table beneath the sprawling oak tree. The woman — adolescentreally, as she couldn’t be more than sixteen — jerked and cast a panicked look toward the veranda steps when Darla approached.
The girl made to get up, but Darla stretched out her hand, concerned at the obvious signs of distress on her face. “You don’t have to leave, honey, but if you want to be alone, I can go and eat inside.” She tried to place the girl’s face, knowing she’d seen her around town.
Eyes downcast, the girl bit her lip, fiddling with the long sleeves of her top. “It’s okay,” she mumbled. “You can stay.”
Darla pulled out the wrought iron chair and sat, placing her plate and drink on the table. The girl gave the food a brief look. And swallowed audibly, losing some of the color on her face. Darla narrowed her eyes and glanced toward the girl’s midriff, but it was concealed behind the table. And she recalled where she’d seen the girl before. “You’re one of the Garcia granddaughters,” she said, referring to the family who owned the local grocery store.
Wide-eyed, the girl stared at her. For a moment Darla figured she’d up and rush away, but then her shoulders sagged, and she whispered, “Inez.”
“Nice to meet you, Inez. I’m Darla.”
Inez broke eye contact and nodded. Her, “I know,” was barely audible.
Hmm. Darla pushed her plate forward, testing her suspicion. “Would you like to share my lunch, Inez?”
The girl blanched, slapping her hand over her mouth. Darla quickly pulled her plate away and offered her the soda in its place. “Ginger ale. It’ll settle your nausea.”
A deep flush stained the young face. “You know?” Her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her pretty brown eyes.
“I guessed.” Darla waited until Inez took a sip from the straw. “How far along are you?’
She placed the can down. “Almost five months.” Anotherwhisper, eyes down, tears flowing, fingers fidgeting. “It was only … once,” she added.
Oh, honey. Once is all it takes.“Was it consensual?”
A small nod.
“How old are you, Inez?”
“Seventeen.”
“Have you seen a doctor?”
Inez shook her head.
“Do your parents know?”
Her head jerked up. “No!” Inez swallowed again and swatted at the tears running down her cheeks. “They’re going to besoangry.”
“Does the father know?’
“Yes.”
“And how old is he?”
“Eighteen.”
A mere kid himself.
