Hope Sanders emptied a box of cotton balls into a large glass jar on the counter. She used a clean rag to wipe down the exam table and the medical instruments on a tray nearby, then peeked out the window. It was another dry, hot summer’s day in Nowhere, Texas. Ever since she and her sisters had been shipped to Nowhere from New York several years earlier, she had loved the steady Texas climate. She would have loved to go for a walk, but she had plenty of work that would keep her inside as the assistant to Dr. Iris Harvey.

Hope’s adoptive family and Dr. Harvey were longtime friends. Edna Petunia, the eccentric old woman who had opened her home to Hope and her fellow orphans, had worked for the doctor when she was still Iris Sullivan of Seattle. Edna Petunia and Iris had traveled together from Seattle to Texas because as a woman, Iris was unable to practice medicine in Seattle. Surprisingly, both of them had found love right here in Nowhere. Edna Petunia met and married a man she found in the woods, Cletus Sanders, who turned out to be a wealthy homeowner. Although she and Cletus were both advanced in years, Edna Petunia had always longed for a house full of bastard orphans. When the housing plans for Hope and her sisters fell through, Edna Petunia and Cletus agreed to take them in as their adoptive children. Iris, on the other hand, had met Francis Harvey at work. He was initially skeptical of a woman doctor, but she proved herself to be more than worthy of the town’s medical needs. Francis had been widowed years earlier and was raising three daughters on his own, so meeting Iris had been a godsend. They’d been married within the year and now had even more children of their own.

Although Dr. Harvey was a married woman, there was so much demand in Nowhere for a medical doctor that she still worked. Edna Petunia was no longer able to help Dr. Harvey because her household duties were too great. Although she no longer had all fifteen orphans at home—eight of them had married off and begun families of their own—she had many responsibilities maintaining Cletus’s enormous home, which he’d inherited from his wealthy parents. Since Edna Petunia had stopped working, several of the orphans had taken turns stepping in to fill her shoes with Dr. Harvey.

Hope enjoyed her work at the doctor’s office. Almost everyone in town came to see the doctor eventually. She had tried working in the mercantile, which was owned by her sister Ruby and brother-in-law Lewis. But that hadn’t been a good match for Hope’s temperament. Hope always said exactly what was on her mind. Ruby and Lewis had a saying that the customer was always right, but Hope disagreed, and she was direct when she felt that a customer was wrong. That arrangement had been short-lived.

Hope had also tried to work at the local school, assisting the elementary teacher. That job had not been a good fit for Hope’s spirited attitude, either. She often felt like the teacher did not know what she was doing, and Hope would tell her that.

Though Edna Petunia and Cletus had enough money that none of the girls needed to work for wages, they strongly believed in the value of hard work and never wanted the girls to be idle. As a family, they decided Hope would help Edna Petunia out around the house. That had worked for a while, but both women were incredibly blunt. Soon, the huge house just wasn’t big enough for the both of them.

That was how Hope had ended up helping out at Dr. Harvey’s. To her surprise, Hope found that she loved her new job. Medical care was difficult, and there was no time for flowery language or false cheer. It was important to Dr. Harvey and her patients that Hope be direct and forthcoming, two things that came naturally to her.

Hope heard the front door creak open, and she looked at the clock in the small examination room in surprise. It was barely twelve o’clock, and the next patient wasn’t scheduled until one o’clock. She had planned to eat her lunch after she finished cleaning the exam room, but that was going to have to wait. Annoyed, she went out to the front room of Dr. Harvey’s office.

A striking man in a suit stood over Hope’s desk, staring at her notebook.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Hope put her hands on her hips.

The man straightened up and offered a hand. He was even more handsome when he was staring right at her. He had white, evenly-spaced teeth and warm, friendly eyes. “I’m Stephen Bennett, Dr. Harvey’s nephew.”

Hope eyed his hand suspiciously for a moment. Dr. Harvey hadn’t mentioned anything about a nephew coming to visit. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to train under Dr. Harvey. She said the town could use another doctor, and I need to complete my medical training.” Stephen held up the medical bag he was carrying.

Hope was skeptical. “Dr. Harvey didn’t mention anything to me. You’ll need to wait outside until she’s back.”

Stephen looked surprised at Hope’s harsh tone. “She told me to meet her here when I got to town. I’m going to stay with her and her family, but she said it would be easier to meet her here.”

Hope opened the door and gestured to the porch of the small medical office. “That’s fine, but you’ll need to wait outside.”

“I have the letter from my aunt somewhere in here!” Stephen set his bag down on the desk and began riffling through it. “Please, I’ve just arrived here from Seattle.”

“I’m not surprised. Your suit is all wrinkled.” Hope was matter-of-fact.

Stephen broke out into a grin. He hadn’t expected this beautiful woman to be so blunt.

“Outside,” Hope repeated.

Stephen closed his bag, sighed, and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He marched outside and sat down on one of the rickety wooden chairs Dr. Harvey kept outside so people could wait for their relatives while they went through delicate appointments or procedures.

Hope tried to focus on her duties inside, but she found herself distracted by the gentleman on the porch. Nowhere was a small town, and she knew all the young men who lived there quite well. She wasn’t sure if she could trust this new man, but she was certain he was right about one thing. He was new to Nowhere. Hope knew that Dr. Harvey and Edna Petunia had both lived in Seattle before moving to Nowhere, so the man may have been telling the truth. But she preferred to wait until Dr. Harvey was back so she could be certain.

She didn’t have to wait long. She heard Dr. Harvey talking to Stephen on the porch and decided to open the door again to find out if the handsome stranger was telling the truth.

Dr. Harvey put a hand on Stephen’s back. “Hope, I’d like you to meet my nephew, Dr. Stephen Bennett.”

“Pleased to meet you, Hope." Stephen extended his hand to her once again, staring deep into her eyes.

Hope accepted his hand this time. She felt a jolt as soon as his warm hand touched hers. “Nice to meet you, too.” She turned to her employer. “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”

“I’m sorry, Hope. With the children and preparing for the big church dinner and how busy I’ve been around here, it slipped my mind. I should have told you I was taking on an apprentice.” Dr. Harvey looked at Hope apologetically.

Hope smiled. “It’s not a problem, Dr. Harvey. I understand. It has been busy, and I’m sure it will be nice to have an extra set of hands to help around here.”

“Thank you, Hope. I appreciate everything you do around here. Without Hope, there’s no way I’d be able to see as many patients as I see in a day, Stephen.” Dr. Harvey gestured for Stephen to follow her inside. Hope held the door open for the others, then walked inside as well.

“There’s not much space in here, but we make do with what we have. You and Hope will have to share a desk. Most of the time, you’ll be in the exam room shadowing me, then soon start seeing patients on your own.” Dr. Harvey pointed to the various areas around the small building.

Stephen nodded in Hope’s direction. “I supposed we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, then.”

“Just try not to get in my way,” Hope told him calmly. “I’m very busy.”

Stephen suppressed the urge to laugh loudly. This woman was so honest and direct she was almost rude, yet he could tell her intentions weren’t mean-spirited. She also was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He found himself wishing that he could take her out for a picnic or to a restaurant for dinner.

Dr. Harvey smiled. She could see sparks flying between her nephew and her assistant. She hoped that they would find a way to work together without driving each other—or her—crazy. Though she hadn’t admitted it to anyone, Hope was the best assistant she’d had since Edna Petunia. Though the older woman had many odd behaviors and was highly unpredictable, she was a loyal and steadfast assistant. Each one of Dr. Harvey’s patients knew Edna Petunia’s heart was in the right place. The same was true with Hope. She could be a little abrupt at times, but everyone knew that she was doing her best to be helpful to the busy small-town doctor.

Dr. Harvey went into her small office at the back of the building before her afternoon appointments. It was the size of a small closet, but it was where she did her reading and paperwork at the end of the day.

Stephen looked unsure of what to do.

“You can sit over there. You’ll be out of the way.” Hope pointed to a small stool in the corner. Stephen gratefully walked over to it and took a seat. He pulled a book out of his bag and began to read.

A few minutes before one o’clock, Mr. William Parsons entered the office. “Hello, Hope!” Mr. Parsons called. He had started to see Dr. Harvey when she first arrived in Nowhere due to his terrible headaches. He sometimes was too sick to get out of bed, which had been devastating to his small farm and his family. Now he saw Dr. Harvey once a month and she was able to treat his headaches so he was able to work daily on his farm.

“Hello, Mr. Parsons.” Hope didn’t bat an eye. “You’re behind in your payments.”

Stephen looked up from his book and frowned.

“It’s been a slow year at the farm. I have part of what I owe Dr. Harvey now, and I’ll bring the rest next month,” Mr. Parsons explained.

“You said that last month,” Hope pointed out.

“I know, and Dr. Harvey has been so good to me and my family. Please understand, I’m not trying to take advantage. I’ll have the money by next month—no matter what,” Mr. Parsons said, glancing at Stephen warily. He wasn’t sure who the unfamiliar man was, or why he was watching everything that went on in the office.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I’m sure whatever payment schedule you work out will be just fine with my aunt. I’m Dr. Stephen Bennett, and I’ll be apprenticing with Dr. Harvey.” Stephen offered Mr. Parsons his hand, and the older man shook it heartily.

“Oh, thank you, Dr. Bennett. Pleasure to meet you. This means a lot.” Mr. Parsons looked tickled.

Hope glared at Stephen, but didn’t say anything. She turned to Mr. Parsons. “I’ll let Dr. Harvey know you’re here.” She walked to the back of the office and knocked lightly on Dr. Harvey’s office. “Mr. Parsons is here.”

“Thanks, Hope!” Dr. Harvey called. She walked out to the front room area and greeted Mr. Parsons warmly. “So good to see you, William. I see you’ve met my nephew, Stephen. He’ll be helping me…and who knows, one day he may take over this practice.”

“Hello, Dr. Harvey. If he’s half the doctor you are, the town of Nowhere is very lucky to have him,” Mr. Parsons said. Dr. Harvey pushed open the door to the exam room and went inside. Mr. Parsons and Stephen followed her.

Hope exhaled in frustration once the door was shut. Stephen Bennett had no business talking to a patient about a payment schedule. He had no clue what he was talking about. He had been in town for less than an hour! She was going to have to watch out for that man.

Hope busied herself with filing Dr. Harvey’s paperwork and preparing a few letters Dr. Harvey had dictated. She sealed each envelope, wrote out the correct addresses, and placed a stamp in the corners of the envelopes.

When she had finished all of the paperwork, she got a broom and dustpan out of the tiny closet near the front of the office and began to clean up. There was only one more patient for the day, and they were scheduled to arrive at four o’clock. She tidied the office, wiping all the surfaces down with a rag, then wringing it out in the small field behind the building.

After Mr. Parsons left, Dr. Harvey took Stephen back into her office until the next patient arrived. On the hour, a worried young mother, Mrs. Laura Green, showed up. She held a crying baby in her arms.

“Hello, Mrs. Green. I’ll let the doctor know you’re here,” Hope told the woman. She felt sorry for Mrs. Green, who seemed like she hadn’t slept in days. As she started to walk toward the back, Stephen came out of Dr. Harvey’s office and greeted Mrs. Green.

“I’m Dr. Bennett. I’ll be assisting Dr. Harvey. Let’s get you into the exam room.” Stephen put a hand on Mrs. Green’s back reassuringly. Mrs. Green looked a little confused, but she followed him into the exam room, and Hope heard Dr. Harvey come out of her office a little while later and enter the exam room.

Twenty minutes later, Mrs. Green walked out of the office with an expression of relief on her face. The baby had finally stopped crying. Dr. Harvey and Stephen waved goodbye to Mrs. Green from the porch.

When Dr. Harvey came back into the office, she looked at the clock on the wall. “Oh, no. I need to stop by the mercantile before I go home today. I’m going to leave early. Stephen, please clean up the exam room. Hope will show you how to lock up the office. I’ll send Francis to pick you up here at the end of the day.”

Stephen nodded. Hope frowned. She didn’t want to have to babysit Stephen Bennett. It was true that he was a grown man, but Hope knew he would have a lot of questions that would end up annoying her.

Sure enough, no sooner had Dr. Harvey walked out of the office than Stephen asked Hope where the cleaning supplies were.

“In there.” Hope pointed to the small closet. “I have some billing to take care of.” Hope pulled out Dr. Harvey’s ledger and began to write in it. Stephen disappeared into the exam room.

A few minutes, he came back out to the front room. “Hope, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Sure.” Hope looked up from her ledger.

“Earlier today, it seemed like you were more concerned with Mr. Parsons’ payment than his health,” Stephen began, seeming a bit unsure of himself.

Hope found herself growing angry. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just that I think it would be better if we could all focus on our patients’ health and not make a big deal about their financial situations.” Stephen looked down at the cloth he held in his hands.

“I handle all the accounts and billing. If people don’t pay their bills, Dr. Harvey won’t get what she’s due. And neither will you or I. Is that what you want?” Hope pointed out.

“That’s not what I’m trying to say.” Stephen sounded even more uncomfortable. “It was just a suggestion to maybe, well, try to be a little nicer.”

Hope took a deep breath. She could not believe the nerve of this man. He barely even knew her or the practice. “I take direction from Dr. Harvey and Dr. Harvey only.”

Stephen nodded. “Yes, of course. I shouldn’t have said anything. I just felt badly for Mr. Parsons, and I wanted to say something on his behalf.”

Hope wanted to add that Mr. Parsons was almost always late on his payments, but she didn’t see the point. Stephen Bennett had already made up his mind about her. What he didn’t realize was she had already made up her mind about him, too.