Playing Doctor by Cathy Yardley

Author:Cathy Yardley [Yardley, Cathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cathy Yardley
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Cressida was still riding the high of walking through the redwood forest, circled by Noah’s strong arm. It had felt like heaven, once she’d gotten over her initial nerves. Somehow, being with Noah helped her feel safer, or at least distracted her from the anxieties and questions that would otherwise crop up. It wasn’t a cure, not by any stretch, she acknowledged. But it was a nice thing to find, and it had been a great morning.

They’d taken about an hour or so, had lunch, and now they were back on the road, headed to the 5 freeway and back towards Los Angeles, and from there the Mojave. That’s when she decided to share with him her research.

“I’m ninety-nine percent positive it’s the hot spring,” she said to him from the passenger seat, as trees and lush green scenery moved past the windows. “It’s called Minerva’s – that’s the Roman for Athena. It’s right by the Rainbow Basin, which is like the Stones of Artifice in the Wastelands.”

“That’s fucking brilliant,” Noah said, which made her practically glow with happiness. “So you think it’ll be on the property?”

“I doubt it,” she said. “Unless he cut some sort of deal with the property owners, I can’t imagine they’d be happy with people tramping around and digging things up.”

“There will probably be people doing that anyway, if anybody else figures out your clue,” Noah said, then grinned. “Of course, we’ll have found it before anybody else has any idea. They’ll still be spelunking in Colorado.”

“Or tromping around in the Badlands,” she said, shaking her head. “I have had so many people from the boards email me this week, asking me for ‘just a small hint.’ And some of the people know about my agoraphobia, and had the gall to say it wasn’t like I was going to do anything with my clue, so why not tell them?”

His jaw dropped open. “No shit. Someone really said that to you?”

“Daryll357,” she said.

“Well, Daryll’s a dick.”

She snickered. “Yeah. He’s gotten two warnings from the board moderators for some of his comments. I’m surprised he hasn’t been kicked off yet.” She stretched out in the chair. “I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed. Thanks for today, Noah.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said. “And it wasn’t that big a deal.”

“For me it was,” she said. “I haven’t been outside like that since I was, oh, ten years old, I’d say.”

“The phobia started at ten?”

“The anxiety started way before then,” she said, wanting him to understand just how monumental their excursion was for her. “I was the kid that was afraid of the dark, that always heard noises outside. I was scared of everything, it seemed like. My Mom got so impatient with me about it.” She sighed.

“So what happened when you turned ten?” he asked.

She paused, startled. Then she swallowed. “Well, that’s when I entered the foster care system,” she hedged, before calling herself out for her cowardice. “Because my parents died.”

“Your parents died?” Noah sounded shocked.

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