Free Small Town Doctor by Marissa Dobson Page A

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been here and this would have never happened, but then again… she’d have never happened. She’s the light of my life.” She looked past him to Abbi.
    “She’s worth it all, isn’t she?” He smirked. “You’ve got an amazing little girl, and as I told you before you have nothing to worry about. She’s got to be the calmest child I’ve met, no temper hiding under the surface.”
    “Are you sure?”
    He nodded. “We spoke while you were getting ready, and I can see it in how she acts. You have nothing to worry about.”
    “What a relief.” She let out a sigh. “I guess that means I don’t have an excuse for hiding in the mountains any longer.”
    “I never said you had to leave your home, just come into town sometimes. Let Abbi play with the other children.” He ran his hand up her back. “Though it would seem as if you already agreed to come back to town since you offered to visit Gioven while he’s staying in Clearwater.”
    “He’s running from what he saw while he was deployed. I can’t help him with that, but maybe I can use my experiences to help him get away from the booze. I thought about turning to the bottle myself to help ease the nightmares of what happened. What saved me was I found out I was pregnant. I couldn’t drown my sorrows in booze and hurt an innocent child. He doesn’t have that but he needs help, more help than I can give him.”
    “Jordan mentioned he’s been trying to get him to see a therapist to help him through the PTSD, but Gioven refuses. He seems to like you, maybe you can convince him.”
    “I’ll try. He seems like a nice guy who just lost his way.”
    “Unfortunately, many of our military men and woman who come back from deployments suffer with some degree of PTSD. Many of them go untreated, either because of shame, embarrassment, or they just don’t understand the options available for them.”
    “I’ll see what I can do for him.”
    He decided this was as good as time as any to broach the subject that had been on his mind since the parking lot excitement. “Earlier you deflected his advances by telling him there was someone else. Were you being truthful, or using it as a way to sidestep his advances without hurting him?”
    “I just met you…but I feel this connection to you. Maybe it’s because I’ve been alone for so long, or maybe it’s because last night I got to know you better than I’ve know anyone my whole life. Either way I’m willing to explore it. I just ask that you have patience with me.”
    “I will as long as you don’t shut me out.” He kissed the top of her forehead. “Since I think we’ll be seeing quite a bit of each other, you should explain to Abbi she can call me James. I don’t want to hear Doctor Macis all the time while I’m off duty.”
    He couldn’t believe how the last two days had turned out. He’d gone from a medical call he wasn’t sure about, to finding a woman he was beginning to fall for—not to mention a little girl he was very fond of. It wouldn’t be long before Abbi had him wrapped around her little finger; the adorable little blonde was hard to say no to.
    I’m a goner for sure.
    * * *
    Night had settled over the sleepy town as they made the final climb toward the mountain home. Ella sat there feeling quite happy with herself. She had made it through a full day in town, faced her fears of On the Rocks, helped a man, confronted Doris, and made progress with James. It had been a day of challenges, but in the end everything worked out better than she could have hoped. She could pat herself on the back for how many challenges she had overcome in such a short time. Now she didn’t want it to end. She didn’t want to see him drive away from them. Would he come back? Or had their brief encounter been a fluke?
    “Ella, there’s a silver SUV in the driveway. Do you know them or do you want me to turn around?”
    “Shit.” She leaned forward in the seat to get a better