Chad knew something was wrong the moment he saw Claire on Monday morning. Her red-rimmed eyes and pink nose gave her away immediately, but there was something more, a dejectedness of spirit.
What had happened to his feisty redhead? Not his, he reminded himself. But whatever bothered her, he needed to know, for his own peace of mind about her and about the patients she was to see that day.
Instead of going to see the first patient as they’d planned, he invited her to join him in the office.
“What’s wrong?” he asked once he’d closed the door.
She sank into the chair behind the desk and rested her hand on the top file in the pile. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.” He wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he wouldn’t take the liberty. Plus, he was the medical chief, and if she wa
