Page 10 of Tumbleweed Temptation
She caught his hand and looked up at him. “It is a happy day, Austin. We’re so glad you’re back. We want to, well, we want to make sure you’re happy here.”
His gaze drifted to the people filling their plates at the table nearby. He recognized nearly everyone, but only a few people had approached him to welcome him back.
He refused to call this place home. This place was a means to an end and nothing more.
*****
AUSTIN REALLY DIDN't know how to handle scheduling appointments with receptionists. So he put it off, until he could figure out what questions to ask, what kind of system they’d need to know.
He should have expected the town council to show up at his door one week to the day he’d arrived.
Mr. Davila led the way, beside him a woman Austin didn't recognize, who introduced herself as Marianne Skyler.
But Austin’s attention went immediately to Vic McKay.
Vic McKay, his mother’s biggest accuser after the accident that took Claudia McKay’s life, Vic’s daughter, along with Austin’s mother and Ms. Tippler’s daughter. Mr. McKay had proclaimed loudly that Eva Driscoll was to blame, that she had driven into the low water crossing against warnings, that she had put everyone’s life at risk.
Eva hadn’t been around to dispute the fact, though Lacey Davila had done her best to defend her.
But McKay had insisted Austin’s mom was at fault for the death of his daughter.
And now he was standing in Austin’s doorway.
Austin supposed he had to let them in, since the town council paid for this place, right? So he stood back, silently, and motioned them to enter.
“What can I do for you?”
“We’re wondering when you’re going to be in operation,” Mr. Davila said. “We have people eager to get seen, and you’ve been here a week already.”
“You’ve had plenty of time to get settled in,” Mr. McKay said. “Plenty of time, especially since Poppy and Sofia did your decorating and stocked your kitchen for you. What can you possibly be waiting for?” He looked around the living room. “Not like you’ve been making this place your own.”
Austin squared his shoulders. “There’s more to moving into a doctor’s office than getting pictures on the walls. I need a receptionist, I need to do paperwork for insurance and Medicare, for veterans.”
“Could you hire someone to help you do that?” Marianne asked quietly.
“Ma’am, I’m learning to do it myself. Then I’d have to explain it to someone. So, no.”
“I just feel like you could maybe use the assistance of a receptionist, but I can see where that would be overwhelming. Look, I’m retired, I know a lot of people in this town. I wouldn't want to hire anyone for you, because I know you need to see how the two of you would fit, how you would work together. But I’d be more than happy to come and sit with you and help you interview them. I’d even schedule them for you, if that would help.”
He looked at the earnest blonde woman, mid-fifties, probably. Man, he didn't want to admit to them, in front of Mr. McKay especially, that he could use the help, but he was overwhelmed, and since he’d graduated, he hadn’t handled that all too well. He would have thought he would get used to the pressure in med school, but now that he was out, well, he had let his brain relax.
Finally he nodded. “That would be great, actually. I’ve had a lot of people calling and I don't really know anyone.”
Marianne smiled. “That’s okay, because I know everyone. There are some you don't want anywhere near a confidential file, if you know what I mean.”
He did indeed know.
“I’ll get those numbers from you and set it up.”
“Regardless of whether or not you hire someone, I want you seeing patients by the end of the week,” Mr. McKay said, opening the door. “This is where you pay the piper.”
Austin swallowed his bitterness at Mr. McKay’s attitude. The older man was right. The town held all the cards. Nothing here belonged to him. Not his apartment, not his office, not his education. Everything belonged to Broken Wheel, until he paid off his indentured servitude.
He ground his back teeth and nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Marianne patted his arm. “Why don't I get those names, get everyone scheduled, starting first thing in the morning?”
