Owen sat up straight and nodded. “I take good care of him, too.”
She chuckled a bit. “I bet you do.”
A deep voice behind her said, “He definitely does.”
April turned to see Cal standing behind her. She stood and put her thermometer back in its case. “He looks good. I still have to take his blood pressure, but that’s just routine. I’d say he’s well out of the woods. Just finish his course of antibiotics, and he’ll be good as new.”
Cal smiled at her. “Thank you so much. It means a lot that you were willing to come down here for me.”
She pulled the blood pressure cuff out of her bag. “Not a problem at all. I enjoy house calls. Plus, you looked kind of uncomfortable at the clinic.”
His cheeks reddened for a second, confirming that April had hit upon the truth. “I don’t get into town often,” he admitted.
“Well, that’s OK,” April said. “Who would want to get away from a paradise like this? I get it. It’s really beautiful here.”
He warmed to her so much more after she complimented his home. His expression made it obvious. She could tell he aimed for a relatively flat expression most of the time. He didn’t like to expose his own emotions, but they crept out anyway. “Thanks,” was all he said, but the twinkle in his eye said so much more. He was so pleased by her compliment that she had to wonder.
“Did you build this yourself?” she asked, taking a gamble that it was true.
He nodded.
“That’s amazing!”
Cal appeared to be beside himself with pride. He didn’t seem to have anything to say in response, but his pleasure at hearing her appreciation for his home did not escape her notice.
Before April could think of something else to say to break the silence, Owen chimed in. “If you like it so much, you should stay for lunch.”
April’s mouth dropped open at the same time as Cal’s. Neither one of them had expected the invitation, apparently. Cal was the first to respond. “Oh, I’m sure Nurse April has a busy day ahead of her. We shouldn’t keep her here.”
Owen applied a top-tier pout. “But I want her to stay.”
Of course, the smart thing to do would be to accept Cal’s offered out and head home as soon as possible. That made the mostsense, after all. It would be the most adult thing to do, the most responsible thing. But much to her mother’s chagrin, April had always had a mischievous side. Even as a child, she’d do things to stir the pot, just to see what happened. It was a type of curiosity that she’d never quite grown out of. And this situation was one she was deeply, deeply curious about.
“Oh, I think I can spare an afternoon for lunch.” She turned and grinned at Cal, who looked suddenly horrified.
“Really?” Owen leapt out of bed. “Yay! Dad, she said she wants lunch. You have to make it for her now. You have to let her stay.”
Cal sighed and his shoulders dropped in resignation. “I suppose I do.”
April bit her lower lip and held in her glee. Owen didn’t bother hiding anything. He ran circles around both her and Cal, chanting, “We have a lunch guest! We have a lunch guest! We have a lunch guest!” in a singsong tone.
“I’ll make sandwiches,” Cal said. The defeat in his voice was obvious, but underneath it was something else, too. He looked secretly pleased. April loved all of it. “Do you have any allergies I should know about?” he asked her.
She shook her head. Then, she asked, “Can I help?”
“You can help by keeping an eye on Owen,” Cal said. He was terse, but she got the impression that had more to do with him losing the little competition he was having with his son than it did with April sticking around for lunch.
“No problem,” she said. April made Owen sit down so she could take his blood pressure. The boy was wiggly and squirmy, butApril didn’t mind. He was happy, and that was the best medicine she could think of. “Your blood pressure looks perfect,” she said.
“I know,” Owen said. He seemed proud of his blood pressure, which gave April a reason to chuckle. She finished up her examination with a little difficulty. Owen had too much energy for a kid who had been as sick as he was a few short days ago.
Cal was in his kitchen, putting together sandwiches for them. April watched him for a minute while his back was turned. He had so much strength in his arms and shoulders. That was obvious every time he moved. She tried to ignore how much she wanted to touch him. Clearly, she was touch-starved considering her nonexistent love life. She should focus on the relationship between father and son. That had been part of why her boss had given her the go-ahead for a house call, after all. He was concerned for the boy and wanted someone to verify that the living conditions were acceptable. April was pleased that she would be able to return with a glowing report. She’d never met a more well-adjusted child, in fact.
When Cal was finished making lunch, he set the table and pulled a chair up for April. “Hope you like venison,” he said.
“I’ve never really had it,” April said. “Do you um… hunt?”
Cal nodded. “Not too often. There are only two of us after all, and we do have a good freezer.”
