“Doctor.” The return of her voice brought with it the reappearance of her poise and aplomb. Her chin came up with the forced determination not to let him know how nervous she was. She handed him her business card.

“I realized I forgot to put my work number on the form,” she said by way of explanation.

He removed the card from her stiff fingers, read it casually, and nodded before sticking it inside the folder. “Your chart states that the last time you saw a physician was at age fourteen.” He grimaced; whatever was bothering her now must be traumatic for her to seek medical help. In the last ten years he’d seen everything, and now a list of possibilities ran through his mind, most of them unpleasant.

“I had an ear infection.” Marjorie pointed to her right ear while her heart beat double time. She was literally shaking. She couldn’t understand why she was reacting this way. Certainly this doctor didn’t frighten her. His demeanor inspired confidence, not fear.

“You’re experiencing pain in your right side?”

“That’s correct,” Marjorie said, and her voice wobbled as she jabbered on witlessly. “I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about…probably one of those common female problems. No doubt it will go away in a couple days.”

“How long has it been bothering you?”

“A few days…maybe longer,” she admitted reluctantly.

His thick brows contracted into a single dark line. “Fever?”

Marjorie nodded. “But not high. It seems to be worse at night.”

“Nausea? Dizziness?”

Again Marjorie answered with a nod.

“How has your back felt?”

“Sore.” She wondered how he knew that. “Is that bad?” she asked hurriedly. “I mean, I can suffer with the best of them…In fact, I have a high tolerance for pain, and if you tell me it’ll simply go away, I’m sure I can get through it.”

“There’s no need for you to do any suffering. Go ahead and lie back.” He gave her his hand to guide her into a reclining position.

His hand curved around her fingers, and Marjorie’s grip was surprisingly tight. What the others had said was true: Dr. Sam did inspire faith. She only wished he would stop looking at her as though she were a pathetic, scared doe caught in a hunter’s sights.

“There’s no need to be nervous,” he said softly. “I promise not to bite.”

“It’s not your teeth that bother me.”

He smiled again and stepped closer to the table to stand at her side. “Are you always such a wit?”

“Only when I’m forced to introduce myself to a strange man when I’m in the nude.”