“Dr. Lindsey!” Sherry cried, chasing after him. He was already outside and on the sidewalk. “I’m not staying! I’m on my way to Houston to meet a friend.” She scrambled down the steps so fast she nearly stumbled.

Doc didn’t seem to hear her. The mayor, too, had suddenly developed a hearing problem.

Doc tossed his fishing pole into the bed of his truck and climbed into the front seat.

“I can’t stay!” she shouted. “I’m not supposed to start work for another two weeks. I’ve made other plans!”

“Seems to me you’re here now,” Doc said. “Might as well stay. Good to have you on the team. I’ll see you…” The roar of the engine drowned out his last words.

Sherry stood on the lawn, her heart pounding as she watched him drive away. Frowning, she clenched her fists at her sides. Neither man had taken the trouble to listen to her; they just assumed she would willingly forgo her plans. But darn it, she wasn’t going to be railroaded by some hick mayor and a doctor who obviously spent more time sleeping and fishing than practicing medicine.

“I can’t stay,” she said, as annoyed with herself as she was with the mayor. This was what she got for being so curious.

“But you can’t leave now,” Mayor Bowie insisted. “Doc won’t be back for a week. Besides, he’s never been real good with time—a week could turn out to be ten days or more.”

She pushed a stray lock of shiny brown hair off her forehead, and her blue eyes blazed. “That’s unfortunate, because I’m meeting my friend in Houston and I can’t be late.” That wasn’t entirely true but she didn’t intend to start work until the agreed-upon date. On top of that, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something not quite right about the situation here in Pepper.

“If you could stay the week, we’d all be mighty grateful,” the mayor was saying.

“I’m sorry but no,” Sherry told him emphatically, heading back down the street toward her car.

The mayor dogged her heels. “I’m sure your friend wouldn’t mind. Why don’t you phone and ask her? The city will pay for the call.”

Great, Sherry thought, there were even perks. “No, thanks,” she said firmly.

The mayor continued to plead. “I feel bad about this,” he said. “But a week, why, only seven days, and Doc hasn’t had time off in months.”

Sherry kept walking, refusing to let him work on her sympathies. He seemed to have forgotten about the possibility of Doc’s absence lasting as long as ten days, too.

“You have to understand,” he went on, “that with Doc away there isn’t anyone within miles for medical emergencies.”

Sherry stopped and turned to glare at him. “It’s too bad the pair of you didn’t think of that sooner. I told you when you introduced yourself that I was on my way to Houston. My contract doesn’t start for two weeks.”

“I know.” He removed his hat and looked at her imploringly. “Surely a week isn’t too much to ask.”