Page 16 of Tumbleweed Temptation
“I want to know you again.”
She knew her jaw dropped and he must have seen the shock in her eyes, because he turned red and looked down at his to-go container.
“You know. I mean. Since I’m home. And you’re here. I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you mean,” she said, taking pity on him, though God help her, she had no idea at all.
*****
AUSTIN WAS PRETTY SUREhe saw every person in a two hundred mile radius of Broken Wheel over the next week and a half. He’d tried to schedule just one an hour but Melissa had a hard time saying no to the people who walked in, so he tried to squeeze them in between scheduled patients, but that meant he quickly got behind and couldn't catch up. He put a sign on the door advising that they weren’t taking walk-ins, but people ignored it.
He had to call Melissa back to his office before she went home for her lunch break.
“Melissa, you’re going to have to send them away when they just show up. There’s no way we can see everyone in one day.” She had to realize it.
“I know, and I tell them they need to make an appointment, but they ask if they can’t just wait, so I figure as long as they know they probably won’t be seen, it’s okay for them to wait.”
“Melissa, we don't have enough room in the waiting area for that. And a lot of these people haven't been to the doctor in a while, so I have to get a lot of history. That’s why we scheduled everyone the way we did, remember?”
“Sure, but there’s space between, sometimes, where you’re doing paperwork and you could be seeing them.”
“Right, but then I go over time with them, and the next person gets in late to their appointment. I know you’re trying to be nice, but you’re going to have to be more strict. If they absolutely won’t leave, we’ll see them at the end of the day.”
“I can’t stay late. My mother-in-law already told me she doesn’t want to watch the kids after five.”
“I get that, and I'm sure after a few weeks, things will even out, but here at the beginning, we're going to need to follow the schedule pretty strictly, or you’ll end up staying after five.”
Tears filled her eyes, but she nodded. “I’ll do my best. It’s just hard for me to say no, you know?”
“Just keep in mind they’re the ones asking you to change the rules for them, not the other way around. They know the expectations, so if they get mad that they can’t talk you into making an exception, that’s on them, not on you.”
She squared her shoulders and nodded. “I know you’re right. It’s just hard for me.”
“Well, I need you to try harder, or we’re going to spend a lot of time stressed out. They’ve waited this long. If it was really something urgent, they could have gone to San Angelo to a doctor there, right?”
“That’s true, I guess.”
“Their responsibility, not ours. So stick to your guns and make it easier on both of us.”
He probably should have known she couldn't stick to it for more than a day, and apparently over the weekend, she forgot his directive. When he found himself working through lunch for the second day in a row, he called her back in.
“Melissa, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, I know you said you didn't want this but I am just not very good at telling people no.”
He drew in a deep breath. He didn't want to let her go. They had only been working together a week, but he had to trust that she could do this job.
“Put them on the schedule. Make an appointment for them. No one is to wait unless they have an appointment today, got it?”
Tears filled her eyes as she nodded, and she returned to her desk.
Man, he hated being a boss. He didn't become a doctor to be someone’s boss. An office manager would be nice, but he didn't think there was money in the budget for that. He would just have to hope Melissa would toughen up.
*****
THE CALL FROM BECKthe following Friday night shouldn’t have surprised Austin. The last time he’d seen Lacey, she’d been looking pretty uncomfortable, and while her original due date had been for Halloween, now that she knew she was having twins, the original due date wasn't very likely.
Good thing he’d talked himself out of going to The Wheel House again and had been upstairs studying up on gout, since it looked like that was what Mrs. Drexler suffered from. He came down the stairs to open the door as Beck guided Lacey in. Austin saw strain around her mouth and eyes, but he couldn't tell if her expression was caused by pain or worry. He led the way to the exam room and reached to help her get on the exam table.
