“I still have some paint touch-ups to finish tonight.” Charlie shrugged modestly, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “But it’s been a fun project.”
Dok raised an eyebrow. “I heard from Fern that you’ve beenhelping her out around the farm. You’re pretty handy, aren’t you?”
“I like fixing things. Learned a lot from my dad.”
Dok tilted her head, curious. “Do you like fixing people as much as you like fixing things?”
“I think so.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Only time will tell ... and passing the boards.”
Not exactly a vote of confidence.
An hour later, Dok sat at the dinner table with Matt. The table was set with a large casserole pan of steaming lasagna, a fresh garden salad, and a round loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread. “You just won’t believe it when you see it,” she said, tearing off a piece of bread to dip into olive oil. “Charlie did a fantastic job. Not only with carpentry skill but also with how he used the space. It’s so much bigger than it seemed. To think I’ve been sitting on that basement all this time, never giving it a thought. I feel almost embarrassed by it.”
Matt nodded thoughtfully as he scooped a large serving of lasagna onto their plates. “I’ve been telling you to expand that building for years.”
Yeah,sure,but you never thought of usingthe basement.Dok held that thought back.
“Sounds like Charlie brought a lot to the project,” Matt said, passing the salad to her.
“He’s a very good guy,” Dok said, dipping another piece of bread in olive oil.
“But ...?” Matt said, sensing more to her thoughts.
Dok glanced at him. “No but. He’s a truly great guy.”
“What about as a doctor?”
She looked down at the pool of olive oil, noting that the color reminded her of the yellow paint in the new exam room. “Yet to be seen.”
“So, then, you’re ready to get started.”
Dok looked up. “What?”
“Now that the basement is finished, you can officially kick off the residency program. Isn’t that what you promised Charlie and Wren?”
Dok felt her stomach tighten. She had conveniently shoved that promise to the back of her mind, never thinking Charlie would finish so quickly. “I might have mentioned something along those lines...”
“Ruth, you’ve got a golden opportunity here. In fact, it seems to me like you’ve got your potential partner right under your nose, to train just the way you want him trained.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Charlie?”
“Yep. I have a good feeling about him.”
She sighed, her shoulders slumping a little. “It’s not that simple, Matt.”
Matt leaned back, eyeing her with curiosity. “Okay. Enlighten me.”
“Charlie’s a great guy—no doubt about it. But Wren ... she’s the one who shows real promise.”
Matt raised a bushy eyebrow. “How so?”
“She’s more knowledgeable, decisive, quick. She’s just ... super smart. And guess what? I found out the reason Wren didn’t match on Match Day was because she had wanted the most competitive surgical residencies in the entire country. She didn’t get chosen.”
“She told you that?”
“No. Charlie did. And he didn’t match because ... well, for just what I’d thought. Bottom of his graduating class.”
“Isn’t Wren the one who poisoned your patients with her coffee?”
