"Bad," I said.
He crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. "We'll figure it out."
I wanted to believe him. But standing there in the wreckage of my clinic, with reporters outside and clients fleeing, I wasn't sure there was anything left to figure out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Palisade
Two Weeks Later
I arrived at the clinic fifteen minutes early, desperate for some quiet before the day began. Two weeks since the meeting with Principal Davis, where we'd somehow convinced the school to let Casey stay, with conditions. Enhanced security. No media on school property. A private entrance for pickup.
Two weeks of navigating this new normal, where Easton was part of our daily lives, where Casey called him "Dad" without hesitation, where the three of us were figuring out how to be a family despite the media scrutiny.
"Stop overthinking," I muttered to myself while unlocking the clinic door. Today was about work, not dwelling on how complicated everything had become.
I was reviewing patient files when Monique arrived. Her eyebrows rose when she found me already buried in paperwork.
"Early bird gets the… medical charts?" She joked, hanging up her coat.
"Trying to get ahead," I replied, not meeting her eyes. She was too perceptive, and I wasn't ready to discuss the subtle shift in my relationship with Easton.
"Mmmhmm," she hummed. "Nothing to do with a certain hockey player who's been bringing you coffee every morning this week?"
My face flushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course not," she smirked. "Just like you know nothing about the way he looks at you when you're examining patients, or how you both check your phones at the same time."
"Don't you have reception duties to attend to?" I asked pointedly, though there wasn't any real annoyance in my voice.
Monique laughed, heading to her desk. "Just saying, boss. Whatever's happening between you two, it looks good on you."
Is it that obvious?The thought brought a knot of anxiety to my stomach, yet also a smile I couldn't quite suppress. Despite the complications, there was something undeniably right about how things were developing between us.
The morning passed in a blur of appointments. I'd arranged for Casey to come directly to the clinic after school instead of going home, where a few persistent paparazzi still occasionally lurked. She'd been handling the media attention better than I expected, especially since Easton stepped up his involvement in her life. Their relationship had blossomed remarkably quickly, as if they were making up for lost time with an intensity that sometimes took my breath away.
Right before lunch, my phone buzzed with a text from Easton.
Easton:
Still on for dinner tonight? Casey's been talking about making pasta all day.
Me:
Wouldn't miss it. She's coming to the clinic after school.
Easton:
I'll pick you both up at 5. Looking forward to it.
The warmth in those simple words made my chest tighten. We were building something slowly, carefully, but real.
After lunch, the afternoon brought a steady stream of patients. I was finishing notes on my last appointment when the chime of the front door broke the silence, and Casey's happy greeting to Monique echoed through the room.
I smiled, glancing at the clock. Three-thirty on the dot.
"Mom!" she called, bouncing into the treatment room where I was washing my hands. "I got an A on my science project! Ms. Hayes said my presentation on genetics was the best in class!"
