Gracie didn’t even ask about my leg, she thought as she got in behind the wheel and started up the engine. She could just see the woman racing to get her phone out of her purse and start making calls. The cell phone towers were probably already heating up with the hot gossip.

She had barely made it back to the bunkhouse when her phone rang again. “This is Dr. O’Dell,” she answered as she turned off the engine and answered the call, hoping the whole time that it was Cody and not Gracie.

“Well, hello, Dr. O’Dell,” a familiar voice said.

“Rodney?” she asked.

“In the flesh, and a little less than four hours north of you,” he chuckled.

“Is everything all right?” she asked her old boss. “How’s the crew up there in Oklahoma City? Have y’all thawed out from the snowstorm?”

“Crew is fine and send their love,” Rodney said.

When she heard that word, she immediately thought of Cody.

“We had to close things down for two days because we lost power, but we’re up and running now,” he answered. “And everything is great. I just got a huge promotion. I had two offers—my choice of going to Australia to run a clinic over there or moving to Las Vegas to open up a brand-new one.”

“Congratulations,” Stevie said. “Which one are you taking?”

“Las Vegas!” he said. “I don’t want to live in Australia. Which brings me to why I called. I don’t know how things are going in Texas, but the clinic here in Oklahoma City needs a supervisor if you want to come back to this area. Or since I didn’t want the position in Australia, that one is open also. Would you be interested in either one?”

“Oh, my!” A vision of her house came to mind. Other than the promise of a few dates and a hamburger with Cody, there was nothing for her in Honey Grove anymore. “That’s a lot to think about.”

“I’m leaving in a week, and the folks in Australia said they’ll need an answer in a week,” Rodney said.

“They’d hire me without an interview or…” she started.

“When I turned them down,” he butted in before she could finish, “they asked if I could recommend someone else, and I immediately thought of you. With your mother gone and no other family to keep you anchored, that would be a perfect job for you. I remember you saying that you wanted to travel, so I told them all about you, and they are very, very interested. They said they’d hold off posting the job until you talk to them.”

“But…” Stevie stammered.

“But you can also step into my position here at the clinic. As you know it’s more paperwork, more responsibility, and headaches, but a lot more money. Will you at least think about both jobs?”