“Did you see the weather report this morning?”
“No, why?”
He shrugged. “I think it’s going to storm.”
“Full moon is coming. I bet that’s it.”
At those words, his stomach did a flip. Without fail, a full moon brought out the crazies. His office would be, no doubt, full of people who think they’re dying, been bitten by some deadly bug, struck by lightning or worse yet… in labor.
“How many women are pregnant in town?”
“Just one, she’s due in four months.”
Four months was something Danny could accept. Still, knowing that a full moon was about to appear left him feeling uneasy.
“Did you hear about Java Hut?” Martha asked.
He shook his head and smiled at his assistant. “No, I look to you and my mother for all my gossip.”
Martha grinned right back. “Someone from the “city” bought it.”
“The “city”?” he asked, using the same air quotes as Martha did. “Any city in particular?”
“As in New York. Do you know what that means?”
“That they’re looking for a simpler life?” he hedged.
This was not the right answer according to Martha’s frantic head shaking. “They’re taking over. The next thing you know, they’ll buy up every storefront on the boardwalk and turn it into a fashion mall. I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford Tory Burch.”
“Who’s Tory Burch? Is that who bought the Hut?”
Martha’s hands went up in the air and her head fell back in dramatic fashion. “Do you not know anything?”
Danny shook his head. “Not unless you tell me.”
“Tory Burch is a fashionista. She’s a designer.”
“And now she’s living in Gray?”
“What? No. I don’t know. What I’m saying is the new buyers are likely going to take over and put in some high-end store that none of us can afford. Keep up, will ya!”
“Right, sorry. So, this not Tory Burch named person bought the Java Hut, who is from New York City. Do they have a name?”
“Franklin something or other.” The name didn’t mean anything to Danny, not that it would. He wasn’t joking when he told Martha he depended on her and his mother to fill him in.
“Well, let’s hope Franklin doesn’t burn himself making coffee. I hate for that to be how we make his acquaintance.”
Martha turned and smiled. “Franklin is her last name, and from what I gathered, she’s single.” Her eyebrows shot up. “So, I’m hoping she does burn herself because you’d get a chance to be her knight in shining armor.”
He leaned over Martha and shook his head. “Every time someone comes in here, I save them. That doesn’t mean I want to date them.”
She patted her boss’s cheek. “I’m going to find you a good woman, Doc. One who can keep up with you and keep you on your toes. Just you wait and see.”
Before he could respond, the door chimed and in walked his first patient. The young Jimbo Brown, who was a pudgy ten-year-old accused of being the town bully. He was carrying his arm in a sling, with his father looking rather upset.
“Oh boy,” Danny muttered. He knew his morning wasn’t going to start off quietly.
3