Chapter 125

Nicholas's office was busy. Hope had no idea what to expect having never visited an office for medicine before. She pushed open the door to find a woman comforting a crying child, an older man cradling his arm, and a woman with a bulging belly all sitting in chairs while someone in the back of the space shouted as if he was being tortured. Part of her wanted to back right out the door, but a friendly smile from a woman behind a desk caught her eye, and Hope knew she couldn't leave.

"You must be Miss Tucker!" the middle-aged woman with jet black hair and sun kissed skin proclaimed. Hope thought her accent sounded peculiar, like perhaps she was from much further south. "It's lovely to meet you. I'm Lluvia, Dr. Howard's nurse." She offered a slender hand, and Hope took it.

"Yes, I am Miss Tucker. It's nice to meet you as well." She glanced around the waiting room and thought she should come back some other time. "I don't want to inconvenience Doc, though. He seems awfully busy."