Page 92 of Finding Jack
“All right, but I’m out of here. I better not see you back in here before Monday.”
“You won’t,” I promised. I picked up my phone as she shut the door behind her. I had an important call to make, and I couldn’t help smiling as I tapped in the Portland area code.
Chapter 33
I slung my suitcase into the trunk of the rental car at the Portland International Airport and settled into the driver’s seat, but I hesitated before starting the engine. I took a calming breath. Once I put this car in gear, I would be on the road to Jack.
He didn’t know it yet. Sean had offered to pick me up from the airport when I called him to tell him I was surprising Jack and that I needed directions to the clinic. But I wanted my own transportation so that…
Well, so that I could leave the second I wanted to if things didn’t go right.
I slid the key into the ignition and took one more deep breath before turning it. Time to do this.
My phone guided me to Highway 26, and I settled in for the drive.Focus on the journey, I told myself. I tried to pay attention to the pleasing contrast of modern buildings against the lush Portland greenery, but my attention kept jumping ahead to my destination. What would happen when I got there? How would Jack react?
My lips quirked as I replayed Ranée’s prediction when I told her why I needed a ride to the airport. “Yes, girl! You are Princess Charming. He’s going to swoon when he sees you.”
I tried to focus on the Oregon scenery again, but it was useless. I spent the next hour imagining all the ways this could go wrong or really, really right until I wasn’t sure which one had twisted my stomach into an impossible knot by the time I signaled for the exit in Featherton.
Sean told me that Jack took lunch every day around 1:00. That was an hour from now. I drove to the only motel in town, checked in, and freshened up my makeup and hair. And then there was no more stalling. It was time to find Jack.
I found the clinic without any trouble. It was a block off the main street in a low, squat building, but it was covered in new siding and bore a neat little sign reading, “Featherton Health Clinic.” I opened the door to a small waiting room. There was no one at the receptionist desk but a sign scrawled in marker read, “Ring bell if you need the doctor,” next to a silver call bell.
The only other occupant was an elderly woman sitting in the corner. She had a pile of knitting in her lap, but she wasn’t doing anything with it. She smiled at me and massaged her hand absent-mindedly. Maybe that was why she wasn’t knitting. “Dr. Hazlett said he’s running a little behind, but isn’t he always?”
I made a sound that suggested I sympathized.
“Anyway, he’s been back there awhile, so he should be out soon. I just need a steroid injection, so I’m sure he’ll be with you in no time.”
“I’m not in a rush,” I assured her. It was the truest thing I’d ever said. Now that I was here, I could see how insane my plan was. I should have told him I was coming, not shown up at his place of work. Or better yet, not come at all. What was I thinking?
I needed to get the heck out of here and at least call to let him know I was in town, so we could decide when and how to meet up. I was halfway out of my chair when the door leading back to the treatment rooms opened.
“—fill this over at the Sandy pharmacy and you’ll be—” He caught sight of me and stopped talking.
I offered a tentative smile while I drank in the sight of him. He wore gray jeans that were almost dressy enough to look like business slacks, and a button down blue shirt but with no tie, open at the collar.
He looked delicious.
Um, perfect. I meant he looked perfect.
“Doctor?” The middle-aged woman at his side stared at him expectantly.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, yes, get this filled and you should be good as new in a couple of days.”
She coughed into the crook of her arm, thanked him, and left. Jack leaned against the doorframe. “Hi,” he said quietly.
“Hi.” I gave him a tiny wave. His voice was as warm as it had always sounded over the phone and FaceTime but richer, somehow.
A smile had started working on the corner of his mouth. “Mrs. Castille, I’ll take care of you in just a minute. I’ve had an urgent case come in.”
She tilted her head and studied me. “You do look feverish, honey. Your color is high. Go right ahead.”
If my cheeks hadn’t been hot before, they were flaming now. Jack didn’t even try to hide his grin. “This way, Miss Riker.”
He led me to a room that was bare of anything except for a desk and his medical license hanging on the wall. There weren’t any photos or personal effects. He pulled a couple of chairs to the same side of the desk and waved me into one before taking the other.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he said.
