Free Count on Me (Bayview Heights Trilogy) by Kathryn Shay Page B

hard. She wore a simple white ribbed shirt and beige skirt. Tall and lanky, she would have been nondescript if it wasn’t for her penetrating dark blue eyes. With typical teenage bravado, she flipped her hair back off her shoulder. “I won’t have any trouble getting into college.”
    “Every bit helps. You’ve applied to Georgetown.”
    She nodded.
    “I went there.”
    Her face fell. He was sorry to hit below the belt, but a lot was at stake here. And sometimes the cure was worse, initially, than the disease.
    “I also picked you to work with me because I can tell you don’t like me and I thought it would help if you got to know me.”
    “I don’t want to get to know you.”
    He glanced out the window. His daughter had interned him well in teenage girlhood. He faced Erica squarely with his best doctor gaze. “I hurt someone you love, Erica, and I regret it more than I can say. If I could change that, I’d do so in a second. But since I can’t, I’d like to keep Ms. Caufield from getting hurt further.” He waved his hand around the clinic. “This is a terrible situation to put her in. I want to be able to count on you to make it as easy as possible for her.”
    Bingo! The teenage bravado faded. The child surfaced.
    And the love. Did Zoe have any idea how much these kids loved her?
    How much he did?
     I have some things to say to you, Zoe. Important things. Your fortieth birthday is the perfect time.
    He’d been ready to tell her he loved her, had loved her for a long time. And wanted to marry her. God, how had he gone so wrong?
    Erica sank back into the chair and flipped the pages of her notebook. Then she raised troubled eyes to his. “You think I can help her with this?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “I won’t ever like you.”
    He was surprised at the little zing of pain that caused. “I don’t expect you to. But if you stay here, you’ll have to work at getting along with me.”
    “For Ms. Caufield.”
    “Yes.”
    She stood. “I’ll try.”
    He held out his hand. “Truce?”
    The girl stared at it with a faint flash of disgust on her face. “Sure.” She shook his hand. “Let’s go find Ms. Caufield.” But she didn’t move. “If you ever...do anything to her, hurt her again, you’ll have to deal with me.”
    Kurt should have felt like laughing; he outweighed the girl by at least fifty pounds. He was older, wiser, had dealt with junkies and hoodlums for years in his city clinic.
    But he wasn’t amused. Instead, he was very sad.
    “I won’t hurt her, Erica. I promise.”
    She snorted.
    Rightly so. His promises weren’t worth much these days.
    Sighing, he followed her out; later he’d bury himself in work.
    o0o
    DR. LOUISE SHEFFIELD was a motherly looking woman with a perky smile and animated eyes. Julia liked her on sight. And Mr. McKenna, hunk track coach, was cool—he’d come to see all her plays. She was damn lucky to have them and not Dr. Lansing.
     He seems sad.
    The thought came out of nowhere. Julia, who read faces like they were maps to the soul, had recognized the suffering on his.
     Good , Erica would say. She was probably right.
    “Here’s a list of duties you’ll perform, Julia. Of course, we need to be careful about what you do and have access to for confidentiality reasons, but Ms. Caufield assures us you’re reliable and discreet.”
    Julia scanned the list. Help the secretary/receptionist answer phones, tidy the outer office and patient waiting area, make coffee, clean up, maybe do some filing and scheduling. “This is easy.”
    Mr. McKenna leaned forward, his blue eyes kind. “At school, you’ll be helping me run some groups. The one I’m planning now, Teen Choices, will include role-playing, which I was hoping you could organize.”
     I’m an expert at role-playing . “Sounds terrific. Have people signed up?”
    “Yes.”
    Dr. Sheffield continued, “We’re happy to have you working with us, Julia, and we hope this experience will benefit you in making