Robyn Carr - Deep in the Valley

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

One Last Thing

J une stood in the shower a little longer than usual, preoccupied with a conversation she would have later in the day. She was the town doctor in Grace Valley, California, a post she had inherited from her father, Elmer Doc Hudson. Elmer was seventy-two and playing at retirement, which was a polite way of saying he didnt keep hours anymore but he stayed in his daughters business all the time.

The need for another full-time doctor to serve the town was becoming more dire every day. June had already talked to several physicians, and so far there hadnt been a fortuitous match. But today John Stone, M.D., was going to interview. He was forty, had attended Stanford University and UCLA Medical, done his OB-GYN residency at Johns Hopkins, worked for eight years in a prestigious womens clinic, then done a second residency in family medicine. He was made to order for Grace Valley. But was Grace Valley made to order for him?

She tried to picture him, a yuppie from Sausalito. He had probably passed through town while on a wine tasting tour and begun fantasizing about the good life here. The beautiful landscapemountains, valley and oceanseduced more and more transplants from the cities every year. Or perhaps hed been on a family vacation, doing the bed-and-breakfasts up the coast. But no, she thought, maybe a rich friend from San Francisco had a huge summer place nearby, someone who didnt need to eke out a living from the town. John Stone couldnt have been drawn here for golf or sailing; there was nothing so refined as that around. Hiking and camping, maybe, but only for a true woodsman. So whats he doing here? Hed say he was looking for peace and quiet and beauty and safety, all of which were plentiful in Grace Valley. Apple butter, heirloom quilts, unlocked doors, front porches and pies cooling in kitchen windows. Country life. Decency and simplicity.

He probably wanted to get his kids out of the dirty city, away from drugs and crime. How would he react to the news that the Coast Ranges and the Trinity Alps were so full of marijuana growers that army helicopters frequently flew just over the treetops, searching? The regular raids in the deep mountain forests made the simple sport of hiking a dangerous endeavor for the newcomer, since you never knew which camps and trails were controlled by drug farmers. Cannabis remained the largest cash crop in California. It was an uncomfortable reality, and it was just up the road.

As for peace and quiet, June was looking for a little of that herself. Her reason for trying to hire another physician. Obviously.

She turned off the water and began to towel her hair.

June had chosen to practice medicine in the small town she grew up in, knowing the challenge of it, knowing it could be more exciting than a city emergency room. She understood the inconvenience all too wellshe lived itand the sometimes discomfiting intimacy of being close friends with your patients, a thing big-city doctors could afford to avoid. So far all the medical contenders she had spoken to were trying to escape the hard work, long hours, overstimulation and constant demand of their city practices. Each had ultimately decided this wasnt the place for them, for it was a trade-off, one kind of pressure for another, but no less exacting. It took a certain personality to take on the medical needs of a whole town.

The phone rang. She glanced at the clock: 6:15.

That was another thing. There was no such thing as being on call. There was you. Period.

She reached for the phone, but the damn cordless didnt work. Out of juice. Shed forgotten to plug it in again. With a towel wrapped loosely around her, and hair dripping in stringy tendrils to her shoulders, she made a dash for the kitchen phone.

The presence of strangers in the living room caused her to yelp in shocked surprise and dive behind the kitchen counter. Then she slowly rose and peeked over the counter into her small living room as the phone rang on. Had she really seen what she had seen? Four peoplea man, a woman, two teenagersboy and girl. The woman had a horrible scar running down the left side of her face. It took June a second to realize it was an old wound; the family had not come for help with that. They sat on her sofa, nice as you please, not in any way alarmed by her state of undress.

The phone continued to ring as she peered over the counter.

You the doctor? the man finally asked.

Um, yes. That would be me.

By their out-of-date clothing and questionable manners, June assumed they were from the backwoodssubsistence farmers or mountain people. Since Grace Valley sat at the junction of three counties, it was impossible to tell which one they might be from. She didnt recognize these folks; maybe theyd never before sought medical treatment.

Got a problem with the boy, here.

June tightened her towel and reached for the phone. Excuse me, she said to the family. Ill be with you in just a moment. She slid down behind the counter again. Hello? she said into the phone.

Hi there, her father said. I thought Id better call and tell you that some family from back in Shell Mountain stopped George Fuller along the road and asked for directions to your house.