Second Chance at Love(62)
Mrs. Silver, still standing behind the desk at Karen’s side, hitched her chin up in a defiant manner. “She’s just gotten engaged and we’re all happy for her.”
“That’s nice,” Dr. Smith said, digging his heels in. “Now get back to work.”
The room erupted in laughter when Mr. Silver lifted a fragile fist, shaking it at the dentist. Pivoting on his heels, no one saw the corners of his lips twitching up in the beginnings of a smile. Although the Silvers thought they ran the office, he found them beyond adorable and never really minded their pushy dispositions.
“Sorry,” Karen whispered to her coworkers as she called the next patient back to an exam room.
“Don’t worry about it.” Patty whispered back as she too called a patient to the back.
He’ll get over it,” Linda said in her normal voice, waving her boss off.
Karen finished taking an updated history on the patient and thoroughly cleaning her teeth. “Okay, Tiffany, I’m all done. Everything looks good.” She smiled at the nineteen year old. “No new cavities.”
“Whew, thank goodness. I can’t stand getting fillings.”
“Keep flossing, brushing and stay away from the sweets as much as you can and you should be good.”
Tiffany smiled, showing off her sparkling, newly cleaned teeth and gave her the thumbs up sign.
Laughing, Karen returned the gesture. “I’ll let Dr. Smith know I’m done. Sit tight, he’ll be in to say hi in a few minutes.”
Stepping into the hallway, she nearly collided with her boss. “Ooh! Sorry, Dr. Smith.”
Karen wanted to duck and hide from the bushy eyebrows that were furrowed into a slight frown. He was obviously upset with her. First she had a nerve to take a two hour lunch break and then get the waiting room in an uproar. Letting out a sigh, she passed him Tiffany’s chart. “Here you go.” Turning, she headed toward the front desk.
“Karen.”
Now what? She thought to herself as she slowly turned around, taking in a deep breath. She was never taking another extended lunch break. She didn’t care if an angel came down from heaven and offered to cover for her.
“Yes, Dr. Smith?”
The furrowed brows relaxed as his lips curled up in a smile. “Congratulations on your engagement. You deserve to be happy.”
“Thanks, Dr. Smith. I really appreciate it.”
“Good. Now get back to work.”
Giving her boss a mock salute, she teased, “Yes sir!”
The day had gone by quickly Karen mused as she made her way to her car. Inserting the key into lock, she saw a dark, large blurry figure in her periphery. Deftly removing the key, she positioned her pepper spray. Whoever this was creeping up on her was about to get it. Spinning around, she aimed the spray.
The large figure stopped short, the pepper spray aimed directly in his face. “Wait a minute, Miss. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“What do you want?” Karen demanded, her voice loud and forceful.
“Are you Karen Johnston?”
“Yes. Who wants to know?”
Before she could blink he slapped an envelope in the palm of her hand.
“You’ve been served.”
And with that the man pivoted on his heels, leaving Karen to stare after him as she blindly ripped into the envelope. Her cold fingers fumbled to open the document. The color drained from her face as she read the contents.
Karen slouched against her car. “I don’t believe this.”
Dom paced back and forth like a wild, caged animal. He’d been working on the final details of the brownstone project when Karen called, beside herself. Her words were coming out in a jumbled mess; he had to calm her down. “Baby, take a deep breath. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
His deep, soothing voice had calmed her just enough to tell him the details of the letter. Furious, he barked a string of expletives to which Karen responded by bursting into tears. “Oh, baby I’m sorry.”
“Just hurry up and get here,” she tearfully pleaded.
His temper spiked when he pulled up in his truck next to Karen’s car to find her outside in the cold, shaking like a leaf. Jumping out of the truck, he pulled Karen into a tight embrace. He didn’t know if she was shaking from the bitter February chill or from being upset.
“Come on baby, get in the truck. I’ll come back and get your car later.”
Karen nodded in a daze as Dom helped her into the truck. Once inside he adjusted the heat so it was blowing directly on her.
His temper spiked even further when a fat tear rolled unchecked down her check. “Baby don’t¾”