Free A Daughter's Perfect Secret by Kimberly Van Meter Page A

minute?”
    He stopped, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” she assured him, but her expression remained pensive. “Can you tell me what this health exam is all about? Last night at the meeting, I was told all newcomers have to undergo a series of tests.”
    “It’s just a standard battery, nothing to be alarmed about,” he said. “It’s more of a precautionary measure.”
    “Precautionary against what?”
    Such an innocent question, one he had no answer for without revealing his own fears and suspicions. Tread carefully, his mind whispered, but there seemed true apprehension in her eyes. “I’d like to say you don’t have to do them—by law, no one can make you do anything—but if you’re interested in becoming a permanent resident of Cold Plains, you’ll find an easier go of it if you’ve been cleared by the clinic.”
    “Isn’t that discriminatory?” she asked.
    Extremely. He shrugged. “It’s the Cold Plains way.”
    A flash of distaste rippled over her expression and made him wonder, not for the first time, where her loyalties lived.
    “I could go with you,” he suggested. “I have to swing by the clinic myself.”
    “What are you going for?” she asked.
    He smirked at her seeming inquisitive nature and answered with a shrug. “I’m checking into some volunteer positions. I’ve heard the clinic is short staffed and I want to help.”
    “You’re so busy with the practice. You think you’ll have time to volunteer?” she asked, mildly incredulous. “Do you have something against enjoying a private life?”
    A private life… Even before Abby’s bombshell, he’d eschewed lazy Sundays at the lake for board meetings, operational committees and conferences sandwiched between shifts at the hospital. He couldn’t remember what it felt like to let his mind rest. Now his focus had changed, but his drive hadn’t. “I like to stay busy,” he said. “And I like to feel needed. Helping others is a good way to remind yourself of your blessings. Someone always has it worse than you.”
    Darcy’s expression faltered as if she’d realized her statement had smacked of selfishness, and she bit her lip. That single action, something she’d probably done a hundred times and he’d never noticed, drew his attention and held it for an inordinate slice of time. Why had she come to Cold Plains? What was the real reason? Little by little, she gave off signs and signals that she wasn’t the usual newcomer, yet she professed to be enamored with the Cold Plains lifestyle.
    “I don’t like needles,” she confessed, embarrassed. “I mean, I really don’t like needles. As in I’m a bit phobic. Is there a time limit for these tests?” she joked.
    “No, you can do them whenever you like. May I ask why you’re afraid of needles?”
    “Aren’t you afraid of anything?”
    Not finding Devin in time. Getting found out by Samuel before I get the answers I need… Yeah, he knew a thing or two about fear. “I don’t particularly like birds.”
    She did a double take. “Birds? As in, tweet-tweet?”
    He chuckled. “Yeah. Dirty menaces.”
    At that, she laughed, revealing a beautiful smile that knocked him back a bit. “You know, birds are everywhere,” she said.
    “Welcome to my life. Aren’t you glad you’re only afraid of needles?”
    “That does put things in perspective.”
    “Happy to help. You didn’t say why you were afraid of needles.”
    Her expression turned wistful. “No, I didn’t.” She drew a deep breath and said, “Well, I guess it’s because of my mom. She recently died of cancer, and the doctors were always poking her for one reason or another. She started to run out of places where they could poke her because her veins were collapsing and her body was covered in bruises. Every time I see a needle, I get sick to my stomach. It’s hard to deal with, the memories of what she went through. So I guess, if I had to pinpoint the origin, that would be it.”
    “I’m