Chapter 1 June #2
“June, what was all that about a letter?” Lucy asked just as her phone rang. “Excuse me,” she said, pulling it out of her pocket and answering it. June watched Lucy’s expression change before she said, “Fine, I’m on my way.”
“Is something wrong?” June’s pulse picked up speed as she immediately thought something had happened to Lacey.
“A guest at the campground is in labor,” Lucy said, already moving toward the door. “They can’t move her, so I have to go there.”
June felt terrible at the relief that flooded her.
Lucy’s phone beeped again. She glanced at the screen and swore under her breath, the sound sharp in the quiet clinic. “And the auto shop is calling again.” She sighed. “They need me to sign the insurance documents for the truck.”
“Oh, okay. Anything I can do for you?” June offered.
“I was planning to stop by on my way to the clinic after getting the mail I left here,” Lucy told her. “But now I can’t.”
June took a step toward her. “I can get them for you.”
Lucy stared, surprised. “Would you?”
June nodded. “Go. Deliver the baby. I’ll get the papers and drop them at your office in the clinic.”
Lucy looked torn, but she was clearly being pulled in three directions. “Do you mind?”
“No,” June said firmly. “Now go.”
Lucy’s shoulders eased slightly. “Thank you, June.” Her gaze flicked toward Judy, who had just hung up the phone. “And thank you for dropping off the mail.”
Judy nodded. “Of course.” Her brow furrowed when she looked at Lucy. “Is there a problem?”
“Lucy has to go deliver a baby at the campground,” June answered for Lucy. “A human baby.”
Judy stepped forward, eyes on Lucy. “Do you need help? I can come. I’ve assisted in a couple of emergency births in rural situations. Not as the delivering physician, obviously, but as support.”
Lucy hesitated for a moment.
“You know,” Lucy said slowly, “maybe that isn’t a bad idea. Would you mind, Judy? It would probably be good to have another set of hands.”
Judy shook her head immediately. “Not at all. Let me get my things.”
Judy and Lucy hurried out, the door closing behind them, leaving June alone in the quiet building.
June stood there for a moment, staring at the lock on the door.
Her mind was going over the past few minutes.
The letter had to be the one in the pink envelope that Judy had mentioned that was now in Lucy’s office.
Which was good because now June had an excuse to go into Lucy’s office to drop off the insurance documents.
With Lucy out on a call, June could get to the letter before Lucy found it.
The front door opened, and June jumped as Harriet walked in with a bright smile, carrying a small handbag and wearing a neat blouse and slacks like someone who had dressed for her first day at work, even though the entire town was in crisis.
“Good morning!” Harriet chirped. “I hope I’m not late.”
June forced a polite smile. “Oh no, of course not.”
Harriet’s smile softened. “I heard about Dr. Peltz. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” June said. “I’m glad you’re here now, as I have to go out. Dr. Vernon is gone for a couple of hours, and as you know, Dr. Peltz is in the hospital.”
Harriet nodded, eyes sympathetic. “I understand. I can answer the phone, take messages, and won’t schedule anything until Dr. Vernon is back.”
“That would be helpful,” June said quickly, because she didn't want to waste time chatting. “If anyone calls with emergencies, take details and tell them someone will call them back. We’re still limited while we’re operating out of a half-renovated building.”
Harriet nodded. “Of course.”
June didn’t wait for further questions. She headed toward the back, where Charlie’s temporary pool had been set up, the makeshift holding facility still smelling faintly of tarps and treated wood and the clean chemical scent of filtration.
Charlie floated calmly, his massive body moving with slow, steady breaths. His eyes were half-lidded, but when June approached, he shifted slightly, as if recognizing her voice or her footsteps.
“Morning, big guy,” June murmured, crouching near the edge. “How are you feeling today?”
Charlie blinked at her with that strange, gentle patience that always made June feel like the animals understood more than humans gave them credit for.
June ran her eyes over the water line, the pump, and the temperature gauge. Everything looked stable.
She let herself breathe for a moment, the quiet here almost soothing.
“Dr. Vernon will be back in an hour or two,” June cooed. “If she’s not back before I get back, I’ll feed you.”
She walked back to the front, gave Harriet a quick nod, and headed out to Carmen’s car.
Harvey’s auto shop was only a short drive away, but June’s mind raced the entire time, wondering what the heck was in that letter.
Harvey looked up as June entered the shop, surprise crossing his face. “Hello, Mrs. Carter. What can I do for you?”
“Hello, Harvey, Dr. Tanner asked me to pick up some insurance paperwork for her,” June told him.
“Oh!” Harvey nodded, wiping his hands with a rag. “Come through to the office, and I’ll get it for you.”
He ushered her into the small office at the back, where the air smelled of coffee, old paper, and motor oil that had seeped into the walls over the decades.
Harvey opened a folder, pulled out documents, and slid them across the desk toward her. “Here you go. She just needs to sign, fill out where I’ve marked some of the boxes with an X, and return them.”
June glanced down at the paperwork and immediately froze.
The name on the insurance paperwork confused her, and her brows shot up. She looked at Harvey. “Did Lucy have an accident in her car?”
Harvey blinked. “No.” He shook his head. “Why?”
June tapped the name with her finger. “Then why is her name on this?”
“Because she is the one who insured the truck that Lacey was driving,” Harvey explained.
“Why is Lucy paying the insurance for Lacey’s truck?” June asked him, completely confused.
Harvey looked at her blankly for a few seconds before smiling. “Oh, don’t you know? The truck that Dr. Peltz drives when she’s here in Sandpiper Shores is Dr. Tanner’s truck.”
June stared at him. “The truck Lacey had an accident in is Lucy’s?”
Harvey continued, unaware that he had just pulled the floor out from under her. “Yes, Dr. Tanner’s husband left it to her. Lacey uses it when she comes to town because she sends her own pickup in for its annual service and repairs at the same time. It’s been the arrangement for years.”
June’s mouth went dry.
“It’s Lucy’s truck,” June repeated, not quite believing the words as she said them.
Harvey nodded. “Yes.”
June felt cold.
Lacey’s accident hadn’t been in Lacey’s truck. It had been in Lucy’s.
June stared at the documents as if they might rearrange themselves into a different reality. It’s not my enemy! Lacey had said to Dean.
She felt ice zing through her veins as June feared she’d been right all along.
June forced herself to keep her voice steady. “Thank you, Harvey.”
He nodded, still looking slightly puzzled. “You okay?”
June swallowed. “Yes. Just… tired.”
Harvey gave her a sympathetic look. “I can imagine. Please send Dr. Peltz my best wishes.”
“I will.” June clutched the folder and left the auto shop, her mind racing so fast it made her feel dizzy as the thought repeated over and over in her mind: It wasn’t Lacey’s truck. It was Lucy’s truck.
Had the letter been addressed to Lucy as well?
June drove to the human clinic as if she were being chased.
She parked crookedly, barely caring, and went inside with quick steps.
The clinic was quiet, the front desk staffed by a nurse who looked up as June stopped in front of her.
“I need to leave something for Dr. Tanner,” June told the woman, who smiled and nodded.
June walked down the corridor to Lucy’s office, her hand reaching for the doorknob with the familiarity of someone who had been in and out of this place for years. But she still felt like she shouldn’t be there as June slipped inside and shut the door behind her.
Lucy’s office was neat in that way only Lucy’s spaces were neat.
And there, on the corner of the desk, sat a stack of mail.
The stack Judy had dropped off.
June’s hands trembled as she set the insurance folder down beside it, making a mental note to take a copy of them before she left.
She stared at the mail for one long moment, reminding herself it was a crime to go through someone else’s mail. But she ignored that warning voice, reached for it, and began flipping through quickly.
Utilities bill.
Medical journal subscription.
Invitation to a charity event.
A letter from the hospital’s admin department.
Then the pale pink envelope.
June froze.
It looked harmless with its pretty color and no return address on the back.
Then she flipped the envelope over, and her heart lurched into her throat as her eyes scanned the typed writing.
The world narrowed to a single line of ink.
Because the letter wasn’t addressed to Lacey at all.
It wasn’t even addressed to Lucy alone, and the other name on the envelope made her feel physically ill as her legs buckled; she flopped into Lucy’s chair, staring at it in disbelief.