They’d bought her makeup? She didn’t know these women very well, but they’d gone out of their way to ensure she had little comforts? “This is very nice of you.”

“Well, you saved my baby. You also saved my momma’s life. It happened recently enough that I’m still grateful, so bask in the attention, Doc. And there’s also the fact that you’re here. I know I wasn’t easy on you that first day, but I feel better about Gracie’s future knowing that you’re here and you’re going to do everything you can to make sure she stays healthy. If you hadn’t taken over the clinic, we would have to drive an hour to get any kind of care. Thank you.”

The world went watery. No one outside of her siblings had ever done something like this for her. She looked down into the bags. There were jeans and T-shirts, a package of plain white cotton undies and two bras. And there were socks. Fluffy, pink-and-purple unicorn socks.

Nothing designer or flashy. Nothing that said I’m successful.

A whole lot that said someone cares about me.

“We went by the pet section, too. We figure Peanut’s stuff didn’t survive, either,” Hallie explained.

They’d bought food for her dog.

“Hey, the waterworks are starting early,” a deep voice said. Armie. Armie was here and he looked so big and safe.

She threw herself into his arms and wrapped herself around him. “They bought me socks.”

“Does she not like socks, Sheriff?” Hallie asked.

Armie held her close. “I think she likes socks a lot. I bet it’s been a long time since anyone but her siblings tried to take care of her.”

That was wrong. She brought her head up so she could look him in the eyes. “You take care of me.”

The softest look came over his face. “Yes, I do, chérie. It’s all I want to do.”

She pulled away and turned to Hallie, wiping her tears. “Thank you. And please thank everyone who helped. I can’t tell you what it means to me.”

Hallie hugged her. Lila didn’t hug patients. She didn’t do the get-close-to-people thing because people often let her down.

This wasn’t a high-powered ER where the patients would come and go and she would barely remember their names. She would know these people, come to care about these people, and that was so scary to her.

She’d come to this town to hide away, but it was going to force her to change. She’d gone into medicine because it had seemed like the best way out of the poverty of her childhood. It had made her feel smart and strong and powerful. It had been something to conquer.