Read Online The Good Doctor by Karen Rose Smith - Free Book Online Page A

doing and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all. He wanted to wring her beautiful neck.
    Lily moved closer to Ryan’s other side as if protecting her property.
    Tired of the whole scenario, Jason spun on his heel before he did something he’d regret, and left the ballroom. He strode right out of the hotel. He didn’t walk far, just enough to bring his boiling temperature down to a simmer. Staring out into the parking lot, he searched for his cigarettes, pulled out a pack with a lighter and ignited one of them. Then he inhaled deeply, trying to turn his anger and jealousy into something manageable, something more productive.
    The gleam in Lily’s eye as she’d watched Melissa had been as sharp as a dagger. Instead of reacting to his own jealousy, he should concentrate on Lily’s and figure out how to use it to bring the Fortune family down.
    Â 
    Saturday morning Violet waited in her car for Ryan a short distance from the access road that led to the Double Crown. When his large blue-and-silver crew cab truck pulled into view, she followed him to Peter’s. As prearranged, she parked curbside in front of Peter’s house in her nondescript rental car.
    Obviously watching for them, Peter opened the garage, and Ryan pulled his truck inside. She joined them there.
    Five minutes later, they were riding in Peter’s SUV toward Houston, Ryan in the passenger seat. Worried about Ryan, she tried to make polite conversation for a while. Finally it dwindled away into silence, and Peter switched on the satellite radio. No commercials, no talk, just smooth jazz. There had been awkwardness between her and Peter since their kiss last night that not even anxiety over Ryan could diminish.
    When they arrived at the Houston hospital, Peter knew exactly where to go. They didn’t stop in registration but rather went to a doctor’s office on the second floor. The brass plate on the door read Dr. Frank Grimaldi.
    Once inside, a pretty blond receptionist looked up at them. After Peter gave his name, she didn’t ask any more questions, just took a sheaf of papers from inside a file folder.
    â€œDr. Grimaldi will be with you shortly. Please have a seat.”
    The waiting room was decorated with comfortable cushioned furniture, a coffee table with the latest magazines, and low lighting. She and Peter sat, exchanged a glance much too full of everything that had happened the night before, and watched Ryan pace. Thankfully, a few minutes later, Dr. Grimaldi appeared.
    After an enthusiastic handshake with Peter, a less energetic one for Violet, he turned to Ryan, shook his hand and assured him, “We intend to keep your identity a secret. You don’t have to worry. Medicine is becoming more about ID numbers than names, anyway. Since you’re paying cash, confidentiality will be absolutely assured.”
    â€œWhat happens first?” Ryan asked.
    â€œI have you scheduled for an MRI in half an hour. I’d like you to come inside to one of the examination rooms and change into a hospital gown. I’ll do a preliminary exam, then my receptionist will wheel you down to radiology.”
    Doffing his Stetson, Ryan ran his hand through his hair. “Let’s get this over with. I want to know the verdict.”
    â€œYou won’t have the verdict until later this afternoon, right, Frank?” Peter asked.
    â€œThat’s right. The MRI will take about an hour, maybe longer if we use dye, and I suggest you all get some lunch afterward and try to relax. I’ll meet you back here at four.”
    â€œAre you going to wait here for me?” Ryan asked Violet.
    â€œYes. I’ll try to catch up on the latest fads, gossip and miracle cures in the magazines.”
    â€œGood,” Ryan said with a smile. “I might need one of those miracle cures.”
    Giving Ryan a hug, Violet didn’t know what to say. She was hoping for the best and didn’t even want to