Hannah's List (Blossom Street #7)(94)

"And I'd like to remind you that I came at my appointment time. Don't tell me you're going to refuse me treatment."

"No." If Harvey was seeking medical help, I'd do everything I could, and that included referring him to a specialist. If necessary, I'd personally escort him to every appointment. I'd come to love this old man as much as Macy did, probably more. I wouldn't turn my back on him the way she had.

"You'd better sit down," he said.

"That bad, huh?" I teased. Because of the chest pains he'd occasionally mentioned, I suspected the problem was with Harvey's heart, although he didn't seem any worse than the day we'd met.

I plugged my stethoscope into my ears. "Let's start by listening to your heart."

"I'm not here about my heart."

"All right," I said, removing the stethoscope. "Why are you here?"

Harvey took a moment to answer. He nailed me to the stool with his piercing gaze, then said, "Macy's back."

I was glad I was sitting down. Still, I couldn't immediately form the words to question him. "When did that happen?" I finally asked.

"Couple of days ago. She doesn't look good, either."

"Oh." I was reluctant to show interest, but at the same time I was curious. I just didn't want Harvey to know it.

The old guy frowned at me, but I wasn't intimidated. I'd learned months ago that he was all growl and no bite.

"She's lost weight and she didn't have any to lose." Lips pinched, he shook his head. "She's nothing but skin and bones."

"I'm sorry to hear that." And I was. "Where did she go?"

"To a friend's place on the other side of the mountains, near Wenatchee."

She'd never mentioned a friend near Wenatchee. I wondered if this person was male or female.

"I told her about you hanging around the place for a month or so."

I'd rather he hadn't; nevertheless, I was curious to know her reaction.

"And?" I asked in a bored voice. I doubt I'd fooled him but my pride demanded the pretense.

"She didn't say anything."

That figured. "I'll bet Sammy was pleased to see her."

"And her him. Those two were glued to each other for a whole day. I don't understand it."

"She rescued him. Sammy owes her. What's there to understand?"

"I wasn't talking about Sammy and Macy," he snapped. "I mean Sammy and those cats of hers. You'd have thought they were best friends. They were all over him and Sammy just stood there, happy as a clam at high tide, letting those blasted cats weave in and around his legs. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Despite my determination not to, I smiled. Everything had felt out of kilter while Macy was away. And now she was back--but it didn't matter. It couldn't matter.

"So?" Harvey said none too gently.

"So, what?"

"Are you going to see her?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"I wasn't the one who ran away."

"That didn't stop you the first week. You practically lived at my house. I can remember a couple of times I had to escort you to the door because it was past my bedtime."

"That was before," I said.

He narrowed his eyes. "Before what?"

"Before--" I looked at him pointedly "--I came to my senses."

Harvey shook his head slowly from side to side. "It seems to me you've lost your senses."

"Macy has a habit of running away whenever she's confronted with anything difficult or boring or unpleasant. I'm not chasing after her, Harvey. If she loves me, she'll come to me."

His frown darkened. "Cut her some slack."

"I did. I gave her a month. Now it's up to her."

He didn't like it, but I could see he wasn't going to argue. I guessed he'd talked to Macy and learned what I already knew. Macy might be full of energy, crackling with life and unexpected ideas, but she was afraid of commitment, afraid of love. If my feelings for her weren't enough to give her the courage to face me, then nothing I said or did would make any difference.

"The two of you are more trouble than you're worth," he said with a disgruntled snort.

"No doubt." I could appreciate that it had taken a great deal for Harvey to make an appointment to see me. He knew that if he'd phoned, it would've been a short conversation. This way, he could see my reaction for himself and gauge how likely it was that his efforts would bring Macy and me back together.

"You want me to examine you?" I didn't wait for an answer. I inserted my stethoscope's earpieces again. "Since you're paying for this appointment, you should make it worth your while."

"You're charging me?" he asked in an outraged voice.

Apparently, he hadn't considered this until now. "It's our policy to charge for office visits, so in a word, yes. I'm charging you. Or Medicare, as the case may be."

"You got to be kidding! No wonder people say no good deed goes unpunished."

I listened to his heart. "Not bad," I told him. There was a strong, steady beat. I listened again, then moved the stethoscope around to his back. "Take a deep breath," I instructed. His lungs, too, sounded fine.