you’re practically a city girl now, aren’t you.”
She gave a soft laugh. If that were true, her office would be in Asheville or Charlotte instead of downtown Clear Springs. No, she had too many good memories here, too many good friends, to ever want to leave the small town she called home.
Her thoughts turned to the two friends she’d miss the most if she ever left Clear Springs for good. Not that she saw them that much anyway. Joshua and Kyle stayed on the go…or they had. The pair had taken to life in the military like she’d taken to medicine. The incident in Egypt proved they ate, drank, and breathed guns and violence, thriving on the dangerous missions that took them from home for weeks, often months, at a time. The few times she’d tried talking them into giving up such hazardous careers, they’d both laughed at her. Well, neither one was laughing now. She hadn’t seen either man since that horrible night they’d all barely escaped with their lives.
“Heard anything from Kyle?”
Farrah didn’t answer the sheriff right away, wondering how he knew what direction her thoughts had taken. Was she that transparent? Walking down the hall, she glanced into the treatment room she and Penwell had just left, noticing in approval that her assistant, Mary, had already cleaned up and readied it for their next patient. She entered her office at the end of the hall and sat at her desk before answering. “No, but I heard from Joshua. Kyle left the VA hospital in DC and is supposedly on his way home.” She forced a smile before looking away from Penwell’s sharp gaze. Kyle had left all right, as in walked out without saying a word to anyone. Stubborn man! That wouldn’t have worried her, except he hadn’t said anything to Joshua either. Nothing except for a two word note left on his hospital bed that said, “Going home.”
When Joshua had called that morning to ask her to keep an eye open for Kyle, she’d heard the pain in his voice. Those two were like brothers. Arm-in-arm, they’d grown up doing everything together, their lives following the same path. Same hobbies, same classes in school, same branch of the military. Which was the problem, wasn’t it? With Kyle’s discharge due to his injury, he and Joshua were traveling separate roads for the first time in their lives. Hard not to wonder if Kyle’s road would bring him home for good.
****
It wasn’t until Farrah locked up her clinic for the night that she recalled she couldn’t go straight home. Not that she was about to complain. She always drove up the mountain every Wednesday to check on Joshua’s house when he was away. Usually her visits involved nothing more than a walk through the multi-level home to check for broken windows or leaking faucets, followed by a quick dusting of the furniture. Hardly an arduous task, but it did have its perks.
She slipped into her car, started the engine, and flipped the A/C to high. The weather for the past several weeks had been hot and dry. Rain was scarce this summer, the lack of moisture crisping grass and trees and causing the temperatures to hover on the edge of triple digits. Just thinking of Joshua’s spring-fed pool caused Farrah to shiver with anticipation.
Half an hour later, she pulled to a stop in the small front yard of a quaint little cabin. She braced herself before opening the door and stepping out of the relatively cool car. Heat engulfed her. Despite the sun having set more than an hour ago, it was still uncomfortable. Sweat beaded her skin before she’d taken a dozen steps. Blotting her brow on her sleeve, Farrah forced herself to stick to her routine. She walked the exterior of the cabin first before heading to the steps carved into the cliff at the back. The luring gurgle of flowing water drew her down. She took the steps carefully, not wanting to risk a fall so close to her goal. As soon as her feet touched the wide stone balcony, she headed for the center point which overlooked the
She gave a soft laugh. If that were true, her office would be in Asheville or Charlotte instead of downtown Clear Springs. No, she had too many good memories here, too many good friends, to ever want to leave the small town she called home.
Her thoughts turned to the two friends she’d miss the most if she ever left Clear Springs for good. Not that she saw them that much anyway. Joshua and Kyle stayed on the go…or they had. The pair had taken to life in the military like she’d taken to medicine. The incident in Egypt proved they ate, drank, and breathed guns and violence, thriving on the dangerous missions that took them from home for weeks, often months, at a time. The few times she’d tried talking them into giving up such hazardous careers, they’d both laughed at her. Well, neither one was laughing now. She hadn’t seen either man since that horrible night they’d all barely escaped with their lives.
“Heard anything from Kyle?”
Farrah didn’t answer the sheriff right away, wondering how he knew what direction her thoughts had taken. Was she that transparent? Walking down the hall, she glanced into the treatment room she and Penwell had just left, noticing in approval that her assistant, Mary, had already cleaned up and readied it for their next patient. She entered her office at the end of the hall and sat at her desk before answering. “No, but I heard from Joshua. Kyle left the VA hospital in DC and is supposedly on his way home.” She forced a smile before looking away from Penwell’s sharp gaze. Kyle had left all right, as in walked out without saying a word to anyone. Stubborn man! That wouldn’t have worried her, except he hadn’t said anything to Joshua either. Nothing except for a two word note left on his hospital bed that said, “Going home.”
When Joshua had called that morning to ask her to keep an eye open for Kyle, she’d heard the pain in his voice. Those two were like brothers. Arm-in-arm, they’d grown up doing everything together, their lives following the same path. Same hobbies, same classes in school, same branch of the military. Which was the problem, wasn’t it? With Kyle’s discharge due to his injury, he and Joshua were traveling separate roads for the first time in their lives. Hard not to wonder if Kyle’s road would bring him home for good.
****
It wasn’t until Farrah locked up her clinic for the night that she recalled she couldn’t go straight home. Not that she was about to complain. She always drove up the mountain every Wednesday to check on Joshua’s house when he was away. Usually her visits involved nothing more than a walk through the multi-level home to check for broken windows or leaking faucets, followed by a quick dusting of the furniture. Hardly an arduous task, but it did have its perks.
She slipped into her car, started the engine, and flipped the A/C to high. The weather for the past several weeks had been hot and dry. Rain was scarce this summer, the lack of moisture crisping grass and trees and causing the temperatures to hover on the edge of triple digits. Just thinking of Joshua’s spring-fed pool caused Farrah to shiver with anticipation.
Half an hour later, she pulled to a stop in the small front yard of a quaint little cabin. She braced herself before opening the door and stepping out of the relatively cool car. Heat engulfed her. Despite the sun having set more than an hour ago, it was still uncomfortable. Sweat beaded her skin before she’d taken a dozen steps. Blotting her brow on her sleeve, Farrah forced herself to stick to her routine. She walked the exterior of the cabin first before heading to the steps carved into the cliff at the back. The luring gurgle of flowing water drew her down. She took the steps carefully, not wanting to risk a fall so close to her goal. As soon as her feet touched the wide stone balcony, she headed for the center point which overlooked the
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