Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“Good morning, dear girl. How are our patients?” Her uncle gave her a wave and gestured for her to join him.
It had been a rough couple of days. “Better, thanks to you. I think Roman could probably have gone to school today, but I would feel better if he had more rest.”
She moved down the steps and crossed to join her uncle. She set her bag down and took a seat as her uncle poured her a coffee.
“It was just a little bug,” he said, handing her the delicate cup. “I told you it would pass. I don’t expect that you will get it. You have what we physicians like to call Mommy immunity.”
She was glad for it because apparently Ezra didn’t have it. He’d been every bit as sick as Roman. She’d been pushing fluids and bringing down fevers for days. “Well, I’m happy for it. I talked to one of the teachers at the school and it’s going around. She said half the class is out with it. It’s almost certainly where Ezra picked it up, too.”
“He’s a baby.” Uncle Francis passed her the milk and sugar tray. “He needs to build up more fortitude. Are you going into the store?”
“Only if you don’t mind.” Her uncle had many things to do in a day, and he’d put a lot of them off so he could help her. “I need to go through the shipment we got in, and I promised Ezra earlier this week that I would go through some of the security feed.”
“I’m staying home for the rest of the week. I can certainly look in on our patients,” her uncle assured her. “I’ve got some research I would like to do. Is my book in the shipment?”
At least she had something to offer him. “I hope so. Anna told me we got some mail from Germany. If it’s here, I’ll bring it back for you.”
“Why does Ezra want you to go through the tapes? Are you having problems at the shop?”
She shook her head and picked up one of the croissants on the breakfast tray. She filled a small plate with cheese and fruit. “Someone asked about me a few days back. Not by name. I think it’s nothing more than a tourist looking for a date. Ezra’s being overly cautious, so I had Anna save the files from earlier in the week.”
Her uncle had gone all kinds of serious. “Kimberly, you can’t take these things lightly.”
“I’m not. I meant to go in the day after he asked me to, but then we were dealing with two sick boys.” Ezra wasn’t really a baby, but he had needed a bit of nursing to get through the stomach bug he and Roman had picked up. “However, I seriously doubt anyone’s found me after all these years. I’m almost certain they’ve stopped trying.”
He stared at her for a moment. “And that is when they will get you, my darling girl. Perhaps it’s time for you to reach out to Beckett.”
She sat back, her appetite fleeing in a second. “Have you been talking to Ezra?”
“You know I’ve always thought Ezra should face his brother. He’s done much good work in the years since he walked away from his old life. But he can’t fully embrace his new life without facing his brother. He’s merely putting off the inevitable, and you are, too.”
She intended to be entirely stubborn on this front. “There’s nothing inevitable about me seeing Beck again.”
“Are you truly willing to spend the rest of your life in danger? Beck is the one who might be able to help you clear your name. He’s connected to that group, right?”
“McKay-Taggart. He works for them. But if he hasn’t been able to find the information that will exonerate me by now, he likely won’t.” She took a sip of her coffee and put it back down. “He doesn’t owe me anything.”
“I beg to differ, and I suspect your son will, too, one day.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, and you know that,” her uncle replied with a frown. “If you are in danger, then Roman is, too. I don’t want you to have a false sense of security. It’s not easy to live with your guard up. It is inevitable that you will let it down because it’s impossible to live your life constantly in fear. But the way to quell those fears is to be proactive. If you won’t talk to Roman’s father, perhaps we can bring in a lawyer.”
She stood suddenly. “I don’t want to talk about this.” Her life was nice. She didn’t understand why her uncle and Ezra felt the need to try to rattle things now. “If we’re bothering you, Roman and I can move out.”
Her uncle seemed to deflate. “That’s not at all what I want. You and the boy have been the light of my life. I love you, niece. My Rosa and I were not blessed with children, but we were blessed with you. Sometimes when you love someone, you have to risk the relationship in order to save the loved one.”