She blushed, smiled, and fumbled over her words. “Of—of course. Follow me.”
“We better be quick,” I advised Stan.
“Are you kidding? She’s going to want to spend all the time she can with him, not to mention the other nurses who rush to him once they get a look at him.”
Okay, now my jealous bone kicked in and I almost went after them if it were not for Stan getting back to the conversation.
“We were all med students with limited funds, except for one, and he was engaged to be married and was over the moon about his future wife. She was gorgeous, still is, so he had no interest in Deanna. Besides, your aunt warned us that Deanna was underage and all of us spotted her for what she was. We weren’t about to risk our careers.” Stan scrunched his face as he rubbed his head.
“You’ve had enough. You rest. We’ll talk again,” I said.
“No,” he said. “An ache, that’s all, and I have plenty of time to rest once you leave.”
He didn’t give me a chance to argue, he went right on talking.
“Deanna stopped by our campsite that weekend. She was dressed to the nines, as they used to say, and happy. She wanted to brag. She told us she had met the most wonderful man and he was taking her away from this dull town and she was going to live a life of luxury. She claimed his dad owned a construction company in New York City and that he was sent here to work for Strathmore Builders for a few months and scout the area to see about establishing a branch here in Willow Lake. She told us not to mention it to anyone that it was a secret.”
“So, she was dating someone who worked for Strathmore Builders at that time,” I said and shook my head. “Probably a drifter filling her head with lies to get what he wanted from her. Sounds like they were made for each other.”
“I do recall her saying over and over how handsome he was, that girls couldn’t keep their eyes off him, but that he chose her, and he belonged to her and her alone. She was a superficial young girl who cared for nothing but herself. I never gave her another thought through the years or even recalled her when working on the unidentified bones. She was nothing more than a blip in my memory.”
“At least she was a blip in yours, I don’t recall her at all,” my dad said, entering the room.
“She avoided police officers since they had found her the few times she ran away, from what she told us. Now that I recall her saying that, I also remember that she didn’t worry about the Willow Lake police since she claimed to have a good friend who could fix things there if needed.”
My dad and I exchanged glances, our thoughts definitely on Mayor Barrett.
“That’s enough now,” the nurse ordered, her cheeks still flushed but back in command of her patient. “Mr. Richards really needs to rest.”
“We’ll speak again, Stan,” my dad said. “You’re in the best place you can be with this snowstorm coming.”
“That he is, Sheriff,” the nurse agreed as she fussed with Stan’s pillow to make him more comfortable. “All our nurses our arriving prepared to bunk here throughout the storm so our patients get the best of care, and the ER will be fully staffed since we all know there will be plenty of idiots who believe they can drive in a blizzard.”
“By the way, Sheriff, please tell your wife she has my vote,” the nurse said. “I’m new to Willow Lake but your wife is a gem here at the hospital, reading to the sick children, doing crafts with those who are able to, and the staff can’t resist her baked goods. She will make a wonderful mayor.”
“Thank you,” my dad said and shook his head once we left the room. “Do you know how many times I hear that a day? I never realized the impression your mom has made on this town, Pepper.”
“Mom’s family has always been well known. After all, her mom’s family dates back to Ignatius Willow, the founder of the town,” I reminded.
“True, but your mom is in a class all her own, just like your aunt Effie… and you.” My dad smiled. “Looks like you’re going to have to have a daughter to carry on the tradition so I can sit back and enjoy seeing her put you through what you put me through.”
I grinned myself. “Just think, Dad, she could turn out to be Grandpa’s little girl and you’ll get to go through it all again.”
My dad’s mouth dropped open for a moment before recovering from shock, then he was quick to say, “I’d never survive another you.”