We were sitting at the table talking, or rather Dr. Stevens was. He was telling me about cases and the treatments he’d rendered. He’d already offered to let me go with him on the next call for his services.
“She will not be attending patients with you,” Frank said as he entered the room. “She has a job taking care of the boys . . . and now a sick Mrs. Penn.”
I looked over at Frank, surprised that he’d said that. What gave him the right to put his foot down about what I could and couldn’t do?
Dr. Stevens hoisted himself up. “I guess I’ve overstayed my welcome. It was nice chatting with you, Shama. If the officer ever allows you some freedom and you want to . . .”
“Thank you, Doctor, for coming over to check on Mrs. Penn. When should we expect you to return?”
Frank had been very rude. I felt like my mouth must be gaping wide with exasperation, even though I knew it was perfectly and politely closed. Yet, my temper was rising, my blood boiling inside me. How dare Frank more or less forbid me to accompany the doctor out on a case!
The moment the doctor left, I opened my mouth, ready to lambast Frank’s uppity manner. But Frank was already raising his hand for my attention in the traditional stop that all policemen seemed to master.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that without explaining first. It’s just that Doctor Stevens has a reputation for making advances on ladies. Maybe it’s all hearsay and hot wind. I don’t know, but I do know that if you accompanied him alone, it would scar you with the very worst reputation. The town people would think that you . . .” He stopped, not quite knowing how to proceed.
“Oh,” I said. “But I thought Dr. Stevens was sweet on Mrs. Penn. Why would anyone think he’d be interested in me?”
Frank laughed, then shoved into the chair beside me. He picked up my hand and kissed it. “You are too modest. You do know that you’re beautiful, right? You’re vivacious, honest, caring, and . . . everything any man would desire in a woman . . . uh, friend.”
I withdrew my hand, but not with any jerk of displeasure. It was only that Frank’s words made me feel awkward, and, besides, I had dishes to wash. (And there was that kiss he’d given me before he went out to feed Frey. My cheeks still felt hot from that.)
“Did everything go okay with Frey?” I said needing to think about what Frank had said about Dr. Stevens. I certainly didn’t want a repeat of the village mayor’s advances, but it was hard to picture the kindly doctor, who was probably in his seventies, in a role such as that.