He dropped the clothes he held and opened the bag. The sandwich, apple, and cookie inside made his stomach growl. Josh grabbed the fat turkey sandwich and took a big bite. “Thanks.” As he chewed he studied the bill. It was for a thousand dollars. “I assume you take credit cards?”
“In your case we don’t. Cash or debit only. ATM’s in the lobby. If it’s a debit, we’ll transfer it to Megan’s account. And put some damn pants on, will you?”
Nope. She was the one busting into his room uninvited. “I’ll be happy to transfer any amount of money you want into Megan’s account, but not until I’ve seen her and Haley. Where are they?” He’d collected full pay the last three years he’d been hidden away. Added to the money he’d never had time to spend, he had plenty that he intended to share with them.
Casey crossed her arms. “Megan’s gone for the day. She said to text her with whatever it is you want. And you have a few other bills to settle as well. Stop by the clinic and then the sheriff’s office on your way out of town.”
He took another bite of his sandwich. “I’ll go settle up with the others, but I’m not checking out yet.” The games were getting old. “What’s it going to take to let me see them, Casey?”
“You’ll not see her again unless she wants to see you. Don’t make me get the sheriff to evict you, Granger. It’s past checkout time.” She turned and walked out the door.
Josh finished his lunch, and then attempted to shower without getting the bandage wet. It was after one by the time he ventured out to Main Street. He found his truck at the end of Megan’s grandmother’s drive where he’d left it, complete with a parking ticket sticking out from under the windshield wiper. It was also for a thousand dollars and was to be paid at the sheriff’s department in cash or a debit to Megan. Laughing at the ridiculous amount, he climbed into his truck.
Were they punishing him for not paying child support? He couldn’t blame them for that. He’d wanted to send something but couldn’t risk a money trail to Megan. He’d make it up to them.
Josh cranked the engine and headed toward the clinic.
He found a parking space in a large lot behind the two-story brick building. After beeping the locks on his truck, he started for the rear entrance. The sound of a helicopter approaching grew increasingly louder. When the wind from the blades became gale force, Josh looked up to see a chopper hovering not twelve feet over his head. Megan’s brother Ben was behind the controls with a big smile on his face.
The smartass.
Finally the chopper veered away and landed on the far end of the parking lot. Ben was the man he wanted to see, so he waited until the doctor got out and grabbed his bag.
Ben was still smirking as he got closer. “How’s the arm today, Granger?”
“Fine. I’m here to settle my bill.”
“Come on in. Haven’t gotten around to printing it up yet. Have some patients in the hospital over in Denver.”
Josh followed behind as they weaved their way back to Ben’s office. Ben held out a hand toward a side chair. “Something to drink? Coffee, water?”
“Water. Thanks.” Of all the Anderson siblings, Ben seemed the most reasonable.
Maybe Ben was the key to figuring out how to get to Megan. “A helicopter probably comes in handy for making rounds in Denver, huh?”
“Yep. It saves time. We all learned to fly right after we learned to drive.” Ben popped open the door to a mini-fridge and tossed a cold bottle of water Josh’s way before he started tapping keys on the computer. “Has Meg ever taken you up? I’ll deny it if you tell her I said this, but she’s the best pilot of all of us. Except for Zeke, maybe.”
Megan could fly a helicopter? How the hell hadn’t he known that? “No. We never got the chance, I guess.” But he’d spent more hours than he could count behind the stick himself.
“Too busy running out the door and leaving her in a lurch, huh?” Ben slid a bill across the desk. It was for four thousand dollars. “Cash or we can transfer it—”
“Yeah, I know. To Megan’s account.”
“Shitty thing to do to my sister, Granger. We won’t let you take Haley.”
He wasn’t getting anywhere, so he stood to leave. “I’m not here to take Haley. I’m here to try to make up for my past mistakes. Thanks for patching me up.”
Ben called out as Josh headed for the door. “Have your arm checked out tomorrow or the next day for infection. My brother is waiting for you at the sheriff’s office in Town Hall. If you see an even bigger old guy with a scowl, that’s probably my dad. Run!”