Chapter Ten
Hayden
A couple of hours later, we pulled up to the clinic. Being in my hometown with Kory was better than I’d imagined. At the airport, I’d shown her around the hangar. One thing I loved about Kory was that she was truly interested in what I said. Most girls I’d dated had only been interested on the surface. They’d said they wanted to know, but they actually didn’t.
I looked over at her as she took in the clinic. “What an amazing achievement. It’s inspiring to see what Alexa has accomplished.”
“It is.”
Until Alexa had brought Hollis here and opened the clinic, Skagway had been without a doctor. Airlifting to another town for a medical emergency was expensive. Traveling by vehicle or ferry took too long. I loved it here, but we were isolated.
She stared at the front of the clinic. “It must be amazing to feel this sort of accomplishment.” She paused for a second before speaking again. “I want to start something from the ground up.”
“What is that?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out. But I want that feeling.”
I reached over to touch her hand. “Then you’ll find a way to get it.”
She looked to where our hands touched before turning to me. “I will. And I can’t wait for that day.”
We got out of my truck, and I noticed Devney’s car was there, too. I’d forgotten that Alexa had mentioned she was going to be the afternoon receptionist. In the morning she was the music teacher at the high school. Due to our town’s size, Skagway didn’t need a full-time music teacher. To make ends meet, Devney taught piano privately. She was reserved, very quiet. Always had been. From what Alexa had told me, Devney’s mom had fallen ill with cancer, and she needed as much money as possible to help pay for treatments.
I hated that for Devney. It had to be hard with her mom living in Washington.
Hollis stepped onto the front porch and ran his fingers through his hair. Something was under his skin. Or I imagined it was someone. A music teacher named Devney, perhaps?
I called out, “How’s it going?”
“Fantastic. Great. Amazing.” The sarcasm dripped from his voice as he ran his hand through his blond hair again and scrubbed his face. He stopped when he noticed Kory and put a smile on his face. “You must be Kory. I’m Hollis Fritz.”
“Hey, it’s nice to meet you, too. You have a lovely clinic.”
“Thanks.” Hollis extended his hand. “Welcome to Skagway, where everyone knows what’s going on in your life.” He chuckled. “I’m originally from New York, so the change has been a little drastic.”
Kory smiled. “I get it. I’m from Seattle. When I came to Ketchikan, it was definitely an adjustment. But I think there’s something to be said for the change.”
I froze at her words. I’d thought we weren’t mentioning where Kory was from.
“I would agree.”
Then Kory’s eyes widened. “Oh! I’m not sure if Alexa told you, but I’d like to focus on the fact that I lived in Ketchikan and not mention anything about Seattle or Washington.”
“She filled me in. No worries.”
That sent a surge of relief through me, and I saw Kory’s shoulders relax. “Thanks.”
Hollis looked at me, and the agitation underneath the surface was clear in the grim set of his mouth. For the first time since I’d known Hollis, he seemed stressed. Normally, he was an easygoing person.
Sometimes it helped just to step away. “Hollis, why don’t you and I go get the girls some lunch?”
He sighed. “I have a patient in about forty-five minutes. I don’t think I have time.”
Yeah, things moved a little slower here. It would take us at least an hour to get lunch. Everyone knew everyone here, which caused the Red Onion to be a social stop.
Hell, I couldn’t believe I was going to suggest this. “Why don’t we go to, umm… Starbucks. That’s fast. Coffees for the ladies.”
The people of Skagway rarely went into the Starbucks. Skagway was a regular stop for cruise ships. Tourists frequently visited the local diamond store when they docked, which was where the Starbucks was located.
Kory looked delighted. “There’s a Starbucks here? My day just got better.”
“Finally! Someone who gets me. I just need to let Alexa know.”
We walked into the clinic. The place looked brand new. After Alexa had arrived back into town, Drake had called us to ask if we could help. It had been in bad shape, but we got it fixed up in no time.
Devney sat at the receptionist’s desk. Her face lit up when Hollis walked into the room.
Alexa said, “Oh, Kory! You’re here. You have to meet Devney. She’s the school’s music teacher and has agreed to help us at the clinic in the afternoons.”
Devney walked over and extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“I thought it would be fun to do a girls’ night out,” Alexa said.
Devney adjusted her glasses with a smile. “That would be wonderful.”
“Ow! Dammit.”
We turned. It looked like Hollis had managed to walk into the side table against the wall. I fought back a chuckle, and Alexa gave me a wink. So, this was the drama she’d been dealing with earlier; Hollis obviously had a thing for Devney. And by the looks of it, the feeling was mutual.
“Hollis, are you okay?” Devney asked.
“Uh… yeah. Let me get my phone.”
Devney said, “I’m going to check on the lasagna, if that’s okay.”
Alexa nodded. “Of course.”
They left the room, and Alexa bumped Kory’s shoulder. “Something is going on between those two. Hollis is denying it, but they are H-O-T for each other.” She giggled. “Poor Hollis. He’s going to end up black and blue if he can’t get it together. He nearly choked himself to death with his stethoscope the other day.”
I shook my head, not touching that with a ten-foot pole.
Kory smiled. “I think it’s cute.”
Time to change the subject. “We were going to take Hollis to get Starbucks. The man looks like he could use it.”
“He does. Do you want to stay with us, Kory? We’re about to eat lunch. I made a lasagna last night, and Devney brought a salad.”
“I’d love that. Let me get my purse from the truck before Hayden leaves.”
With a smile, Kory walked out to the truck. She was a natural fit in this town. When the door shut, I lowered my voice. “I wanted to thank you for earlier. Are you sure you want to let us have the place rent-free?”
Alexa gave me a kind smile and put her hand on my shoulder. “If you’re with her, that means she’s a decent person. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have thrown in your forever bachelor card. And it honestly does help me.”
I brought her in for a quick hug. “Thanks. If there’s ever anything you need, I’m here for you, little sis. Have you guys set a date?”
She sighed. “Not yet. Hopefully soon. I’m not sure if I want a spring wedding or not. Of course, Drake wants a winter wedding. And then, do we keep it small or invite the entire town? Or do we wait longer? I just don’t know.”
There seemed to be something else brewing in that mind of hers. If it were up to my brother, he’d have married Alexa the day he proposed. With winter upon us, he wanted to be married sooner rather than later. Before I could say anything further, Hollis walked back into the room without Devney.
“Are we ready?” Hollis looked beyond frazzled.
“Yes, what do you girls want?”
Kory came back into the clinic. “I’d love a grande caramel Frappuccino with a shot of espresso and regular whipped cream.”
“A what?”
Hollis patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I got this. Let me teach you the ways, young Starbucker.”
Starbucker?
Alexa snapped her fingers as if something had just occurred to her and pointed to several boxes against the wall. “Your mom dropped those by. The quilting circle brought all sort of non-perishable food for you and Kory. I think they wanted to swing by, but I suggested they drop it off here.”
This town was damn amazing.
Kory looked at the box, gratitude clear on her face. “Wow, that was so thoughtful and generous. Is there someone I can send a thank-you to?”
“Just the quilting circle. You can give it to Hayden’s mom.”
“Perfect.”
Devney walked back into the room. “It’s almost ready.”
“Kory is joining us for lunch,” Alexa said while she straightened a few files.
“Wonderful. It’ll give us a chance to talk. Alexa has spoken so highly of you,” Devney said.
It was time for us to go. If Hollis had to be in the room with Devney for long, he might hurt himself again. I walked toward the door. “Let’s head out to get the coffee.”