Selling his little piece of land was going to make it all possible. Like it or not, he’d do the right thing by Dr Glover, because he had to. But he was still going to be grumpy for a while. He deserved that much.
“I know that look on your face,” Davion said, stepping up to the bar.
“There’s no look on my face.”
“Sure there is.” Davion grinned. “Look in the mirror, see it for yourself. It’s the look that says you’re going to give the property deed to Dr Glover and be nice to your new neighbor.”
“I might be thinking about finishing Stella, and selling her.”
“Ah, but you love that boat too much. You’d never sell her. Not even if you had to sell the both halves of your property instead of just one.”
He was correct in that assumption. That boat was a huge connection to his past, to his grandfather. It was the one thing in his life he’d never part with. “OK, if she’s there when I get home, I’ll talk to her. I’ll give her the deed then tell her to leave me the hell alone. There, does that make you happy? ”
“Or she’ll tell you to leave her the hell alone. She’s a strong woman, Adam. Like my mother. Once they know what they want, they don’t let anything stand in their way, and you’ve been standing in Dr Glover’s way.”
“I’m not even going to get into a conversation with you about strong women, Davion. You know how I feel on that subject.” His ex-wife had been a strong woman and look how that had turned out for him. Now strong women made him run in the opposite direction. He just didn’t have it in him to deal with them any more. Not that there’d really been a woman since … he wasn’t going to think about that discouraging part of his life since there hadn’t been a woman beating a path to his door since he’d settled here permanently.
“Well, the strong lady in question won’t be waiting for you at your house. She’s staying at my mother’s.”
“You asked her to stay here?” He swiped an angry hand through his hair. “Meaning she’s there right now, probably getting ready to waylay me on the way out the door when I get off work tonight.”
Davion grinned. “Probably. But you have it coming.”
“Whose side are you on?”
“I just want everybody to be happy.”
“And what, in all this, is going to make me happy?”
“The medicine you can buy for your clinic. You know it will. And I wouldn’t mind a new otoscope for the clinic to make me a little happier, if that counts for anything.”
“It counts.” Point made. It was hard being grumpy around Davion, even when Adam wanted to be grumpy, because Davion radiated happiness and enthusiasm. He never, ever saw the negative in any situation. “So, I’ll try and be happy. And I’ll even apologize to the lady. But I get the feeling that an apology won’t be enough for her. She’s going to want a pound of my flesh, too.” He looked out the window across from the bar, saw Erin Glover standing on Trinique’s front porch, leaning against the white column, arms folded tightly across her chest. It was breezy, her hair was blowing. Dressed in a gauzy skirt and a tank top, she was … well, unfortunately she was just about the sexiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on. Which was a problem because the last sexy thing he’d got himself tangled up with had taken him for a ride that, even after two years past its legal end, still stung. “And in the meantime, I’m going to wait on customers for the next several hours and make sure you study those medical books I gave you. Jamaica itself may not have a recognized paramedic program, but I’ve got pretty tough standards for my paramedic. If you expect to stay working for me, you’ve got to keep cracking those books.” Actually, that’s what Davion did in every spare minute he had. He studied harder than Adam had ever studied in medical school. Which was why Davion was going to be a great doctor. He was motivated. He had passion. And he was smart.
Davion rolled his eyes, then retreated to the rear corner of Trinique’s, where he had a table set up with all his books and study materials. When he wasn’t working in the clinic, he spent his days and nights studying part of the time and singing the rest of the time. It was his soulful voice that brought in the customers, and it was his soul that would make him a great doctor someday. Adam wanted to be part of that, part of something good, because good hadn’t really touched his life in a long, long time.
For a moment, his attention wandered back to the front porch of Trinique’s cottage, where Erin Glover was still standing, still looking rigid. Then he meandered down to the end of the bar to wait on a customer, trying to forget the image that just didn’t want to let go.
CHAPTER TWO
“IT LOOKS bad. Is Trinique here?”
The man standing in front of Erin was holding a child in his arms. A child with a foot wrapped in a bloody towel. Instantly, Erin wanted to see the wound. “Bring him into the house,” she instructed, pushing open the door.
“We want to see Trinique.”
“I’m sorry, but she’s not here. Davion said she would be gone for a while.”
“Then I have to go see Doc Adam. He’ll know what to do.”
“Is Trinique a doctor?” Erin asked, clearly confused.
“No, ma’am. But she’s been taking care of us for a long time. Before Doc Adam, and since he’s working at the bar today, I didn’t want to bother him.”
“Look, I’m a doctor. I take care of children. Could I have a look at your son’s foot? See what I can do for him?” She wasn’t prepared, really. Didn’t have her medical kit. Hadn’t even come here as a doctor. But a child in need … she couldn’t turn them away.
The man wasn’t convinced, a sentiment that shone clearly on his face. “Doc Adam will do it fine, since Trinique isn’t here. But I appreciate the offer.”
“Doc Adam isn’t being a doctor right now. He’s busy serving beer and rum,” she said, instantly regretting the cutting remark. She didn’t know his circumstances and he certainly didn’t deserve the professional slap. “Look, how about I just take a little look? You bring your boy inside then while I get the wound cleaned up a little, you can go and get Doc Adam.”
That seemed to appease the man, because he brushed right past Erin and ran straight to the daybed in the front room, where he laid his son down. “His name is Tyjon, and I’m Ennis. Ennis Clarke.” He extended a hand to Erin, and shook hard when she took it. “I appreciate your offer. Good afternoon, ma’am Doctor.”
Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. The polite, customary greeting always used when addressing others. It was expected, especially in the more rural areas such as Regina. Her father had told her about this, told her to remember it. “Good afternoon, Mr Clarke. I’ll take very good care of Tyjon.”
Apparently, Ennis Clarke trusted that, because he turned and ran out the door, which gave Erin only a few minutes to assess the boy’s foot before Adam Coulson took over. She didn’t like that idea. But, then, she had no idea what kind of doctor he was. Didn’t even