Royal Pains : Sick Rich (9781101559536) Read Online Free Page A

“Let’s use those so you’ll get paid.”
    â€œHow can I turn that down?” Ralph stood. He looked at his bandaged hand and then at me. “Thanks, Doc.”
    Ralph left the break room.
    â€œHow’s the health fair going?” Rachel asked.
    â€œGreat,” Evan said. “We have all the sponsors lined up and all but two of the booths sold. Tell your dad thanks for ponying up for one of them.”
    â€œYou guys are going to have a booth there?” I asked.
    â€œWe’ll be there promoting our sports nut line.”
    â€œSports nut line?”
    Rachel laughed. “It was actually my idea but Dad jumped on it as soon as I told him. It’s really called our Sports Enthusiast Edition. We configure vans and SUVs for various sports. We have one for skiers, one for surfers, scuba divers, and even soccer moms.”
    â€œWhat exactly do you do?” I asked.
    â€œYou saw the surfer one outside. And we just finished one for a scuba diving group. We created a custom top rack to hold an inflatable boat and racks in the back compartment for storing the tanks and other equipment. We even mounted an air compressor for refilling the tanks.”
    â€œClever.”
    â€œThank you. We can change out the roof racks so that the buyer can carry everything from canoes to skis. And we can configure the rear storage area to accommodate almost anything. Dozens of baseball bats and balls, surfboards, cross-country skis, you name it.”
    â€œSounds like it’s been successful.”
    Rachel nodded. “Amazingly so. We’ve been doing it for a year and at last count we’d sold twenty-three units.”
    â€œMaybe you’ll sell some more at the health fair,” Evan said.
    â€œThat’s the hope.”
    Rachel led us back into the parking lot, where Divya and I climbed into the HankMed van. Evan stood at the open driver’s-side door.
    â€œWe still on for lunch later this week?” Rachel asked.
    â€œAbsolutely. Any day better than another for you?”
    â€œMy dance card is fairly open.”
    Evan climbed into the van.
    â€œCall me later and we’ll decide,” Rachel said.
    â€œCool.”
    Rachel pushed the door shut, turned, and headed back inside.
    â€œHmmm,” I said as Evan pulled out of the lot and merged with traffic.
    â€œWhat?” he asked.
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œWe’re just friends.”
    â€œThat’s what I thought.”
    â€œNo, really.”

Chapter 3
    â€œHe’s in his room,” Rosemary Moxley said. “Where he always is.”
    Rosemary had been a HankMed patient for at least a year. She had called, saying that her son, Kevin, was acting odd. Odd how? Moody, isolated, angry. Sounded like a typical teenager to me, but the worry in her voice was real. Rosemary was not the worrying type, so if she had concerns about her son so did I.
    After leaving Fleming’s Custom Shop, we had swung by Shadow Pond and dropped Evan off so he could head to his sponsor appointments. We then picked up coffee at Jill’s favorite spot and detoured by the high school to take it to her. “Grateful” doesn’t do her reaction justice. Rosemary’s call came while we were talking with Jill.
    We now sat at a rectangular wooden table in Rosemary’s breakfast nook, a spacious and open area adjacent to the kitchen. Through the windows I saw a tree-shaded pool, a half dozen leaves floating on its surface. Slanted rays of morning sunlight dappled the surrounding deck.
    â€œWhat exactly has been going on?” I asked.
    She dabbed her tear-reddened eyes with a napkin that she then wadded in her hand. “It all started last year. I know you remember when my husband died.”
    I did. Rosemary took it hard. Depression mixed with anxiety and the sleep deprivation that invariably accompanies that combination. It had been rocky, but she’d weathered it with the help of the right medication