Show Me Your Lips (Fleckney Fields Series, Book 3)

Limited Prospects

Frank entered the surgery first and held the door open for the man. When Lauren stepped in after them, the waiting room of the surgery looked like a paused frame from a telly show.

Snezha, the nurse, was frozen next to the front desk, a stack of papers in her hands, her eyes widened and fixed on the biker.

Mr. Tomlin, the florist, had stopped dead in the door of one of the consulting rooms, his eyes darting between the members of their small company.

And finally, Dr. Alan Fenton, one of two local GPs, was writing something, bent over the counter; and his bright green gaze was on them as well.

"We've got a patient for you," Frank said with an awkward chuckle. "Mr. Hinchcliffe here, well, you see, he tripped in the garage and hurt his arm. And he's—" Frank seemed to hesitate.

"Hard of hearing," Lauren jumped in. "He's deaf. And it was all my fault!"

"It's your fault that he's deaf," Fenton repeated and shifted his focus onto the biker.

Lauren gave the doctor a glare. "No, of course not!"

She saw the nurse shift closer to her spot - where the panic button was hidden under the counter. More so, the one called Hinch seemed to have noticed as well; and his shoulders rose tensely.

And then another door opened; and Dr. Viola Holyoake, Lauren's family doctor, appeared out of the back of the clinic. That caught the biker's attention as well, but for quite a different reason. The woman was a stunning redhead; with the body of a ballet dancer. She recreationally taught salsa and tango classes; dressed like a fashion model; and was married to one of the big cheeses of the county, who fathered her healthy, academically gifted triplets. On top of it, she was famous for having saved the lives of at least three locals injured in various accidents, including a smash-up caused by a snowstorm; and having apprehended an international crew of burglars. There wasn't a single person in Fleckney who didn't have a massive crush on her and/or wished they were her.

"Viola, our new patient is deaf," Fenton said and pointed at the biker with a posh fountain pen.

"Good afternoon," Dr. Holyoake greeted them and smiled pleasantly.

She put down the folder she was holding, approached them, and signed something to the biker. She had elegant, long-fingered hands; and several massive diamonds glittered on her fingers.

The biker let go of his injured arm and slowly signed back at her. His movements definitely were less confident.

"Please go in," the doctor said softly and made an inviting gesture towards a corridor with a door marked 'Digital Imaging and Consultation Rooms 3 & 4.'

She signed some more, slower now; and the man exhaled, seemingly in relief; took one of his bags from Frank; and eagerly marched down the hallway. Who wouldn't?

"Snezha, could you please bring me the admission forms to room 4?" Dr. Holyoake said and followed the biker.

A minute later Snezha disappeared in the same direction. Lauren heavily slumped into a surprisingly comfortable chair. Frank hovered above, throwing anxious looks towards the X-ray room.

Mr. Tomlin was - obviously, completely unnecessarily - lingering in the waiting room. Fenton threw him a sardonic look, smirked, and resumed his scribbling.

Snezha returned to the front and sat down at her computer. She moved the mouse around but then cleared her throat and addressed her colleague, "Dr. Fenton, do you think it's—"

"Yes, Snezha?" the doctor asked, his voice amused.

"Is it alright to leave Dr. Holyoake alone with him?" Snezha's cheeks coloured with slight embarrassment. "He's— Well, you know..."