Bride Sews with Love in Needles, California by Erica Vetsch

Author:Erica Vetsch [VETSCH, ERICA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-62029-556-4
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Doc washed his hands and wiped them on the roller towel beside the sink. One last patient waited in his front parlor before he could escape to the river for a little sunset fishing. A small practice might not be very exciting out here in the California desert, but it sure gave him plenty of time to stalk record-breaking pikeminnows.

“Miss?”

The pretty blond perched on the edge of one of his wingchairs jumped. One of the girls from the hotel. He remembered seeing her in the dining room. Wedgewood blue eyes fringed with pale lashes met his. Her pale pink dress hung on her slight frame.

“Won’t you come in?” He studied her as she rose and entered the examination room. Slight, pale, with dark smudges under those pretty eyes. She had the bone structure of a bird, and her skin was so translucent he could see the blue lines of her veins on the backs of her hands and at her temples.

He motioned toward the chair beside his desk and took his own seat, leaning back, propping his elbows on the arms of his chair, and steepling his fingers under his nose. “What brings you in to see me today?”

She swallowed, staring at her hands in her lap. A single tear splashed onto her thumb. “I don’t know where to start,” she whispered.

“How about we start with your name?”

“Natalie Daviot.”

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” He smiled, but she didn’t look up. “And how old are you, Natalie?”

“Twenty-two.”

Older than she looked. He’d have wagered she wasn’t a day over seventeen.

“Are you feeling ill, Miss Daviot?”

The cuff of her dress seemed to fascinate her. She plucked at the lace edging, smoothing it and scrunching it by turns. “I’m just so tired. I thought I’d pick up once I got used to the work, but I’m dragging around like a hound dog’s chew toy.”

Doc scratched the word fatigue on his notepad. “You’re a Harvey Girl at the hotel, correct?”

“Yes.”

“For how long now?”

“Almost three months.”

“From what I’ve seen, Harvey Girls work very hard. Lots of time on your feet and lots of lifting and carrying. Fatigue after all those long shifts is natural. Any other symptoms?”

She shook her head. “I had a little stomach bug a few weeks ago that hung on for a while, but that’s gone now.”

Sitting on the very edge of the chair, she looked ready to take wing at any moment. And she had yet to meet his eyes since coming into the exam room. Her slender shoulders bowed, and she wore an unmistakable air of guilt. He began putting all the pieces together and formed a preliminary diagnosis.

“I’m going to have to ask you some fairly pointed and personal questions, I’m afraid, if we’re going to figure out what’s going on with you.”

She took a deep breath as if fortifying herself. “Doctor, I’m afraid I know what it might be, but I really don’t want it to be.” This time her chin came up and she blinked, sending a fresh pair of tears tracking down her cheeks.

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