Doctors Orders (Book#1 Hope Ridge)

Chapter Six: Settling In.

A Rochester Construction truck slowly pulled up to my house. I called Mr. Rochester to let him know I'd arrived about an hour ago. While I waited, I entertained myself with sketches of how I wanted to furnish the exterior.

I wanted a dock. I needed a boat. No, I wanted a kayak first. I wanted a charming little porch swing, but also another one in the tree in the backyard. Flowers. I want flowers everywhere.

I made so many plans and sketches. I was eager to get started.

But first I needed to see inside my new home. A warm smile stayed on my face the moment I realized this was my home.

Two men stepped out of the white GMC pick-up truck. One of the men was an older gentleman. This must have been Mr. Rochester. He was a friend of my dad's. Mr. Rochester owns and operates Rochester Construction. It was the largest construction company in the area. They ran construction operations all over the BC province. According to my Dad, they met at a car show twenty years ago. They hated each other instantly over spilled beer. Then they proceeded to start an all-out brawl inside the car show. Once they were removed from the property by security and a police escort, they decided to get a beer together and have been friends since.

Dad had some of the oddest best friend stories. This worked out for me, however. I have a beautiful home and Rochester gave me a break on the fees with a Friends and Family discount. Thank you, Dad!

The older man was shorter than my Dad. He was standing just shy of six feet. His hair was salt and pepper but well-maintained. His hazel eyes spoke of the mischief he must have caused in his younger days. Much like the notorious Car Show brawl.

I smiled and extended my hand as I met them, halfway up the walkway.

"Hey, you must be Mr. Rochester. I'm Ruby Collins and I believe this is my house."

Shaking his head in disbelief right before, he takes my gestured hand and chuckles. "You look just like your mother. Enough of this, Mr. Rochester business, call me Bill. This right here is my son, Sammy." He pauses to gesture to the younger version of himself. I smile.

Stepping forward, Bill's son, Sammy, extended his hand to me. If I didn't know better, I would think Sammy was shy. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruby Collins. You can call me Sam," he pauses and almost seems to panic. "Or Sammy. I am okay with Sammy, too."

Before I could respond, Bill burst out into laughter and slapped his son on the back of his shoulder.

"Boys! No matter how strong, smart, or powerful they may be, they still get tongue-tied around a beautiful lady." Continuing his laugh, Bill ignored his son's obvious red face and headed for the front door of my house. "Suspect you'd like to see inside now, yes?"

Stepping into "my" new home was like stepping into the wardrobe from Narnia. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew it would be life-changing.

The walls were unpainted with wide crown moulding all around.

There was tons of open space. I decided I wanted a grand fireplace with a stacked tile exterior. Bill said he could have a couple of guys rig that up within the week.

I decided to keep the two average-sized rooms downstairs while making the top half of the second floor one giant loft master suite with its own en-suite and small breakfast balcony facing the sunrise every morning. The remaining half of the second floor was all open space overlooking the living room below.

I wanted exposed beams overhead and large windows.

The kitchen was beautifully crafted. With the white shaker cabinets and white and gray marble granite, it was stunning.

Everything I asked, everything I wanted for this house; Rochester made it happen, and it was better than I even imagined. I couldn’t believe how much work was already done.

I planned on making one of the spare bedrooms into my black room for my photography. It was one of the many hobbies I discovered I loved while I waited in limbo to escape from Nate. I planned on continuing that hobby, especially with all this beautiful nature around me.

I already have a memory card full of pictures from my drive up here that I couldn't wait to develop.

After a full walk-through with the Rochesters, I was ready to boot them and start settling into my new life. I didn’t even mind painting it on my own.

"What do you think, Miss Ruby?" absentmindedly, I just kept nodding my head while still looking around.

Chuckling, Bill looked at his son, who was still waiting for me to verbalize my responses. "I think she likes it."

"I think she does. She's rendered speechless."

Registering a conversation happening behind me, I was brought back to the present.

"What-sorry?" I was embarrassed to admit I wasn't listening.

"We were speculating that you probably approve of our work and we should let you be and get acquainted with it. I can have some guys finish this all up within the week if that works for you." Bill smiled as he handed over my house key. There were two keys, so I'd have a spare.

"Here's the keys. I just need you to sign the release form here."

Sammy slips some papers across the counter-top to me, and carefully lays a pen for me to sign with.

Smiling, I thanked them both and signed right away. “I didn’t think it would be done by now. This was so fast. I thought I had a few more weeks.”

"Well, Ruby, our work here is done. We’ll get that fireplace rigged up and the walls painted. I was a little surprised you didn’t want a basement.” I suspect Bill noticed my body tension.

He cleared his throat and gestured Sam towards the front door. “If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call. Your father is a good friend of mine and I promised to look out for ya. So don't be a stranger, kiddo." I rejected Bill's extended hand at his departure and gave them both a big hug.

"Thank you both so much. This is perfect. And I appreciate you saying that, but I want to try and figure things out on my own first. I will camp out until the house is fully completed with your crew this week.”

"You sound just like my daughter." Bill chuckles, shaking his head.

"Well, the offers are there when you need them. Here's our address. My wife and daughter are also available if you need a female companion or advice. Welcome to Hope Ridge, Ruby."

I quickly gave him another hug before I watched them drive away, leaving me with my thoughts, plans, and bubbling excitement about the unknown future ahead of me.

Time to start online shopping and planning the furniture for inside the house.

I spent a few hours and a few thousand dollars ordering a sofa set, bedroom set, and kitchen supplies. I opted for a rush order. It'll be here by the end of the week at the latest, just in time for the last bit of finishing touches to be completed.

After all my furniture shopping and online browsing, I decided it was time to call Dr. Winston before it got too late. There was a three-hour time difference between BC and Ontario. He may already be at work and too busy.

I trained a replacement nurse at the clinic, but I also knew how particular Dr. Winston was when it came to his work.

I wasn't sure how he was doing with the new hire.

The phone barely rang once before I heard Dr. Winston's rough grumbling voice. "What took you so long?" that was how he answered the phone. I smiled.

"Rude!" I chuckled.

"Tell me everything," he demanded. I knew he wasn't being rude, he sounded exhausted actually. Perhaps the new hire wasn't the best fit after all.

After I told him to start to finish from the point of my arrival here in the early morning, I inquired about him.

"You sound exhausted, Dr. Winston. Is everything alright with you?"

He sighs. I could hear him rubbing his face roughly with his hands.

"I have asked you to come to me Tom, Ruby." I felt bad. Not because I called him Dr. Winston and not Tom, but because he sounded almost defeated.

"You sound off. What's wrong?"

" I miss you." I was stunned. My heart constricted in my chest briefly. He made quick to follow after a pause. "This new nurse sucks. She's not you, Ruby. I hate it."

My chest released its tension and I laughed.

"I'm sorry, Tom. I miss you too. Give her a chance, she may surprise you."

I tried to sound as optimistic as possible, but deep down I liked that he didn't want another nurse as his medical sidekick. I've been his right hand on most things work-related for four years. That's history I didn't want some new woman to take away in such a short time.

No. New nurse, not a new woman.

I rolled my eyes at its wandering thoughts. Tom wasn't your man, he was your supervisor.

"I spoke with Bergs, he said he had a good feeling about you. Already turning heads and impressing the big wigs of that small town, Ruby. Certainly not wasting any time moving up in the food chain there, are ya?" his voice was lighter now. I suspected he just needed to vent his displeasure with the new nurse.

Tom could be a massive baby sometimes if he didn't have things his way. I knew how to manage and maneuver around his upsets, but I suspected the others didn't.

Dr. Winston was a hard doctor to work under if you didn't know how to interpret him right. Many of the other staff thought him cold and unapproachable, but that wasn't the Dr. Winston I knew. He was passionate about his work. He took his role as a medical provider seriously and didn't accept careless mistakes in the

workplace. I respected that. Too many doctors pushed through patients too quickly, especially at walk-in clinics. It was heartbreaking at times, seeing people who needed help but were treated like an inconvenience instead.

I hoped Dr. Berg's held the same passion that Dr. Winston did within the clinic.

After talking for just over an hour, I let Tom go on the promise I would call tomorrow. When I ended the call, I ran out and got a medium Canadian pizza, and quickly drove back to the house.

I set up my sleeping bag inside the living room and ate the delicious pizza straight from the box while I curled into the sleeping bag watching a movie on my laptop. I knew I was supposed to sleep in the tent but I decided I would leave before the workers arrived, instead.

Tomorrow I need to set up my Telus. I needed the internet.

*ping*

Tom: Are you asleep?

Me: ??

Tom: are you unsure if you're asleep? Lol

Me: Hilarious! What's up?

Tom: You?

I rolled my eyes and smiled.

Me: Yeah, I'm up.

Tom: Why are you still awake?

I paused and shook my head. Sometimes he was the oddest man.

Me: Some jerk woke me up.

Tom: what an asshole.

Me: Agreed! Why are you up? It's nearly two a.m. for you there.

Tom: I can't sleep.

Me: Why? Is something bothering you?

Tom: Lots of things are bothering me.

Me: Oh? Want to talk about it?

Tom: No, it's late. I don't need to go into that level of whining at this hour of the day.

Me: Oh thank goodness.

Me: JK lol

I followed it up with a tongue-out emoji and a winky face. Sometimes my and Tom's banter was too much fun to ignore.

Tom: Now who's the ass?

Me: *shrug emoji*

Tom: What are you doing over there?

Me: Just finished watching The Princess Bride and put my leftover pizza in the fridge for a healthy snack tomorrow.

Tom: What kind? Is the local food any good there?

Me: My usual- Canadian. Ruth's Diner is fantastic. Ruth is the owner and she is also fantastic. Uniquely herself. So far, I've tried the breakfast selection and now their deliciously thick-crusted pizza. It was way too good. I almost finished the whole thing by myself. Lol

Tom: For someone so small, it surprises me every time, just how much you can eat.

Me: Hey, my mum is a chef. She made me and my dad this way. It's all her fault. Lol

Tom: Sure it is.

Me: It is. *pouty emoji*

I like how lighthearted our conversations have become these last few months.

Not too many people knew or saw this side of Tom.

In addition to our developed banter, he was also getting closer to my dad. They bonded over their love of vintage cars.

For Tom, it was classic pickups. My dad was all about muscle cars. Either way, they often chatted about this or that related to anything mechanical.

Tom says "As a doctor, I must appreciate mechanics. Your dad is a vintage car hero. We patch hearts, he patches nostalgia. It’s pretty much the same thing."

I rolled my eyes every time because my dad would puff out his chest with pride every time.

Me: So, what are you doing?

Tom: Lol. Wouldn't you like to know!

Me: Duh! Of course, I do. It's after midnight and you're texting me. What are you doing? Bored?

Tom: Lonely. Bored. Insomnia due to the panic of going into the office with those idiots who can't set up a simple medical examination room. Take your pick.

Me: Give it time. They'll get it. You've just been spoiled by my sheer awesomeness.

Tom: And your obvious modesty.

Me: Yup. Lol

There was a pause. A long pause between messages. I could see Tom was typing and then stopped. It happened a few times. I wondered what he was struggling to say. I put my phone down during the pause and did quick work to clean my mess up.

*ping*

Tom: I should let you go to sleep. I'll chat with you tomorrow.

I froze. This man was hot and cold. Sighing I responded.

Me: Okay. Goodnight, Tom.

I followed it with a smiley emoji.

Tom: Goodnight, Ruby.

I put my phone down, turned off the laptop, and crawled back into my sleeping bag.

Things were settling in nicely. I am excited about the adventure tomorrow brings.