“You are too,” Wren shot back, her tone sharp and unyielding. “I knew this would happen. We had a deal. Everything is ready to roll forward, and now you’re backing down.”
Maybe just one little, tiny listen. Evie turned around and tiptoed back.
“I know you, Charlie,” Wren said. “I’ve warned you about this before, back in med school. You’re sooo close. But if you wobble now, you’ll never pass the boards.”
Evie heard Charlie let out a heavy sigh, then say, “All I said was that I’d like to finish out my residency here. I just don’t want to jeopardize what we have.”
“Look.” Wren’s voice softened just a bit. “I can see that you love it here. And it’s obvious this place loves you back. Or rather, she does.”
Evie’s heart skipped a beat. She? She clasped a hand on her chest.Me?
Was Evie that obvious? Did everyone know how she felt about Charlie? Leaning closer, she strained to hear more, her pulse quickening.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Wren said. “There’s too much at stake. Think of how this could help us! We’ve been through too much together to let it go now. You can’t afford to let yourself get distracted.”
“That’s not what I meantat all,” Charlie said, his voice dropping slightly. “Evie and I are just friends. Pals, really. That’s all. She’s been a big help to me.” He let out a small, forced laugh. “And you know better than anyone that I need all the help I can get.”
Evie froze. Her throat closed off, her chest tightened up.Just friends? Pals?
So that’s all she was to Charlie? Just a big help. Just a stupidly naive big help. She felt her heart freezing over, with icy tendrils creeping toward its core. Her foolish hopes, that tiny glimmer she’d been holding on to, believing that she and Charlie were meant for each other, shattered into razor-edged shards.
Darcy had called it out. She should’ve listened to her. Evie should never have allowed herself to be in this position of pathetichopefulness. Charlie didn’t care about her the way she cared about him. What an idiot she was, letting herself believe there might be something more between them. He’d already chosen Wren.
She blinked away the tears that pricked her eyes, refusing to let them fall. Not now. Not here. She wiped her hands across her face and made herself breathe normally.
She hurried back up the stairs, her head spinning. Wren and Charlie would figure out Dok was looking for them when they heard the car horn honk impatiently.
Evie left a Post-it note on Dok’s office that she had an errand to run in town so she’d scooter home by herself. Right now, she needed to be anywhere but here, before the tears finally broke free.
Minutes later, as she scootered down the tree-lined road, she could already feel that familiar heaviness settle in, like dark clouds gathering overhead. She knew it well—the aching emptiness of second place. It was how she’d been raised. Mission work was always more important to her parents than anything or anyone else, including their own daughter. How could Evie compete with God? She couldn’t. It was impossible.
And it felt nearly as impossible to compete with Wren.
Dok sat behind her desk, wondering what this meeting was about. The day had ended early with the last patient canceling his appointment, so Dok had offered to give Charlie and Wren and Evie a ride back to Windmill Farm. Evie left on her own to head into town, Charlie had scootered off to Windmill Farm, and only Wren remained. Instead of accepting a ride home from Dok, she asked for a private meeting.
“So, you’ve got my full attention.” Dok glanced at her watch. “For exactly five minutes.”
Wren took a deep breath. “When we were clearing out thebasement to remodel, I found these old patient files.” She patted some folders on her lap. “And I took them to Windmill Farm.”
Dok gave her alook. “You took files from the office?”
“Yes. Old files. They were all part of Dr. Max Finegold’s practice. Nothing was current.”
“Still, I’m surprised that you would take them off-site without asking me first.”
“Well, no doubt you will recall that you said the basement was full of junk. You gave Charlie the all clear to renovate it. Everything in the basement had to go somewhere.”
“Wren, those files are confidential.” Or were, anyway. Or should’ve been. Dok grimaced. Why hadn’t she shredded them? She’d meant to.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about. I’ve been going through them, and I’ve uncovered something troubling.”
Dok’s eyebrows furrowed. “Troubling? Like what?”
“During a specific period from 1975 to 1976, I found files of three Amish women who were treated with a new medication in a clinical trial by a pharmaceutical company named Pharmogen.” Wren paused and glanced at Dok. “From the look on your face, I see that you’re familiar with Pharmogen.”
“Of course. Their rep comes through quite regularly.”
“He does. In fact, I’ve met him a few times. Quite a chatty guy.”
