“Mrs. Colson,” Sherry said.

The receptionist placed her hand over the receiver, but didn’t even glance upward. “I’ll be with you in a minute.” She put the receiver to her ear again and continued, “And dear, dear Sherry. Why, she’s so over-wrought she can hardly—”

Suddenly Mrs. Colson froze, swallowed once, and then looked at Sherry. “Is there anything I can do for you?” she managed, her face flushing crimson.

“Yes,” Sherry said. “You can stop gossiping about me.”

“Oh, I was afraid of that. You’ve got the wrong impression. I never gossip—ask anyone. I have been known to pass on information, but I don’t consider that gossiping.” Abruptly she replaced the receiver.

Sherry scowled at the phone, wondering what the person on the other end was thinking.

“I was only trying to help,” Mrs. Colson insisted. “Donna Jo’s known Cody all his life and—”

“You were speaking to Donna Jo?” Sherry wondered how anyone got any work done in this town.

“Why, yes. Donna Jo’s friends with Cody’s mother, same as I am. She has a vested interest in what happens between you two. So do Mayor Bowie and the sheriff, and we both know those two spend a lot of time over at the Yellow Rose.”

“What’s my schedule like this morning?” Sherry asked wearily.

Mrs. Colson flipped through the pages of the appointment book. “Mrs. O’Leary’s due at ten, but she’s been coming to see Doc for the past three years for the same thing.”

“What’s her problem?”

Mrs. Colson sighed heavily. “Mrs. O’Leary’s over seventy and, well, she wants a nose job. She’s convinced she lost Earl Burrows because her nose was too big, and that was more’n fifty years ago.”

“Didn’t marry someone else?”

“Oh, yes. She married Larry O’Leary, but I don’t think it was a happy union, although she bore him eight sons. Doc says it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard of, a woman getting her nose done at the age of seventy. When she comes in, he asks her to think about it for another six months. She’s been coming back faithfully every six months for three years.”

“If she sees me, I’ll give her a referral. If she’s that set on a new nose, then she should have it.”

“I told Doris you’d feel that way—that’s why I set the appointment up with you,” Mrs. Colson said. She looked pleased with herself. “If you want, I can save Doris the trouble of coming in and give her the name of the referral.”

“All right. I’ll make a few calls and get back to you in a couple of minutes. Am I scheduled to see anyone else?”

“Not until this afternoon.” The receptionist seemed almost gleeful at the news. “You’re free to go for a long drive, if you like.” She looked both ways, then added, “No one would blame you for slipping out for a few hours….”

Sherry wasn’t sure if she was slipping out or flipping out. She made a couple of calls, gave Mrs. Colson the names of three plastic surgeons to pass on to her first patient of the day, then reached for her purse.