He drew a deep breath as he continued to take in the surrounding terrain. It was one hell of a change from New York City. He was accustomed to having his choice of hospitals, to enjoying the company of an endless stream of physicians in all fields of expertise. Forever promised none of that. As far as he had determined, there was only one hospital in the region, and it was located in a place called Pine Ridge.
Which was why his brother had chosen Forever, Dan thought.
That was Warren. He never thought of himself or what he would miss out on by setting up a general practice in such an out-of-the-way place. All he ever thought about was how he could help. His brother had gone into medicine not for the money, not for the prestige but for the singular reason that he wanted to help his fellow human being, especially the ones who couldn’t afford to help themselves.
And he’d been gone for almost a month.
“You’re already probably a saint by now, making St. Peter feel humble just to be next to you,” Dan murmured under his breath to the brother whose presence he could swear he still sometimes felt.
It was the middle of July and getting beyond hot, but he was in no hurry to drive into the town. He knew places like this existed, but he’d never been able to actually picture one. Hell, if he hadn’t downloaded the latest maps onto his GPS, he doubted his ability to find the place. The whole area looked like an afterthought.
Afterthought.
Maybe that’s what they should have named it, Dan thought. Afterthought instead of Forever.
“You lost, mister?”
The softly spoken question nearly caused Dan to jump out of his skin. When he swung around, not knowing who or what to expect, his heart raced.
He found himself looking at an olive complexioned young man with the blackest hair he’d ever seen. It was peeking out from beneath an actual Stetson. The solemn-faced man wore a tan uniform with a sidearm strapped to his hip.
All in all the man looked as if he might have stepped out of the Old West—had it not been for the fact that the uniform looked clean and pressed. Instead of a horse, a Jeep stood parked in the background.
Dan thought of his own new car. A Jeep would have been a far more practical vehicle. But there had been a hundred details to see to, not to mention Warren’s funeral service, so he’d let the ball drop in this one instance.
Dan found irony curving his mouth in response to the man’s question about whether or not he was lost. He laughed shortly. “More than you can begin to guess, Sheriff.”
“It’s deputy,” the young man corrected him. “Deputy Joe Lone Wolf. And if you tell me where you’re headed, I can get you pointed in the right direction.”
The right direction.
“That’s a matter of opinion,” Dan murmured more to himself than to the man standing beside him. “I’m due in Forever,” he told the man who seemed to have the ability to move more silently than a shadow, “which I’m assuming is that collection of buildings just below us.” He nodded toward the town.
“It is,” Deputy Joe Lone Wolf verified. “Who is it in Forever who’s expecting you?” he asked politely.
Dan took a deep breath and with it, he bid his former life goodbye and placed the life that would have been his present one on temporary hold. This was a promise he was determined to keep if he was ever to have a prayer of redemption.
Maybe, with luck, he wouldn’t have to remain here for the entire nine months. Maybe someone else with Warren’s noble mindset would come along and be dedicated to a place that looked as if it had barely scratched the surface of the twentieth century, much less the twenty-first.
Either a doctor like that, or one who would ultimately wash out in the real world. If the latter came along, the physician would be more than happy to practice in a place like Forever—one that couldn’t afford to be choosy.
“My guess is most likely everybody,” Dan said, answering the deputy’s question about who was waiting to see him.
Joe frowned for a moment, as if far from pleased at the riddle the stranger had tossed at him. And then the light seemed to dawn on him. His somber face took on a whole different expression, softening as it did so. “You must be the new doc.”
The term new doc would suggest that there was an old doc somewhere in this dusty, neglected place, Dan thought. He figured it was too much to hope for, but he asked anyway, “I was told that there were no doctors in Forever.”
“There aren’t,” Joe confirmed. “According to Miss Joan, there was one in Forever once, but he died a long time ago.”
Probably out of boredom, Dan thought, slanting another look at the place he was going to have to call home for the next three-quarters of a year. He kept the observation to himself.
Out loud, he asked, “Miss Joan?”
Joe nodded. “She runs the local diner. Miss Joan’s been around here as long as anyone can remember. There’s nothing worth knowing that Miss Joan doesn’t know.”
A town gossip, Dan thought. He knew the type. Someone to stay clear of.
As braced as he’d ever be, Dan extended his hand out and nodded at the man he guessed was going to be his guide into the heart of this Lilliputian-size village. “I’m Dr. Daniel Davenport.”
“Daniel?” Joe echoed with a slight note of confusion. “They told me your first name was Warren.”
“Warren’s my brother.” He realized he’d used the present tense, making the relationship an active, ongoing one. He hadn’t gotten used to putting Warren into the past just yet. He knew he really didn’t want to.
“Changed his mind and decided that he didn’t want to practice in a small town after all, huh?” Joe guessed, nodding his head. “Can’t say I don’t understand,” he went on before Dan could begin to explain the reason he was standing here instead of Warren. “Well, let’s get you down there,” Joe said, gesturing toward the town. “Got a lot of folks waiting on you.”
Dan looked at the deputy in surprise. Was the man telling him that he had patients lining up already? This was clearly going to be his penance. Not that he didn’t deserve it, Dan silently added. He deserved anything that was thrown at him.
“Exactly what do you mean by ‘waiting on you’?” he asked.
In response, the deputy merely smiled. “You’ll see,” was all he said by way of an explanation.
It was going to be a long nine months, Dan thought as he got into his car and prepared to follow the deputy into Forever.
TINA BLAYNE COULDN’T remember ever seeing the diner this crowded before. There was barely any room in which to maneuver. Maybe she shouldn’t have deliberately left coming to Miss Joan’s diner for last. But then, that was the way she usually worked her way through the day.
Since she had gotten what she gratefully felt was a second chance here in this wonderful, tiny dot-on-the-map town less than a year ago, Tina had applied herself to the business of rebuilding her life and making something of herself so that she was able to provide for her eleven-month-old son, Bobby.
To that end, she’d taken those last three missing credits that allowed her to finally get her undergraduate degree. From there she’d begun work on her accounting degree, taking online classes whenever she could. She had a ways to go yet, but the point was that she was getting there and it felt as if everyone in Forever—not just her older sister, Olivia, and her brother-in-law, Rick, who also just happened to be the sheriff in Forever—was supporting her, cheering her on, pitching in when she needed help.
Why else would so many of the store owners suddenly turn to her to “help” them with their books? She knew that Miss Joan was behind