“Oh my God, you too?” Mari groaned jokingly. “Glenn mentioned you pitched. I don’t play. I hope you’ll overlook that.”

Carrie squeezed her hand. “That’s okay, you’re forgiven. After all, you’re family.”

Chapter Thirteen

Glenn’s shift had been over for an hour, but they’d gotten hit with the late-afternoon rush that happened sometimes in the summer when everyone was reluctant to interrupt their vacation or poolside relaxation to deal with the irritating cough or persistent pain or low-grade fever that had been plaguing them all day. She didn’t mind working late, and today she had a good excuse. She would have hung around anyhow to interact with the new staff and to see how her students did on a night rotation. Sometimes, the different kinds of cases that showed up when the sun started to go down could be a challenge. Fewer consultants were readily available, and often, the first one to evaluate the patient made more critical decisions out of necessity. Great training, but overwhelming at times for a newbie. She’d just finished signing off on her last patient when she got the text from Flann to meet her in the cafeteria. She passed Abby and Mari, who also had stayed late without being asked, on her way out.

“Staff meeting tonight,” Abby called.

Glenn slowed and turned. “Yeah. Planning to be there. Flann just gave me a page, so I’m going to meet her first.”

Abby laughed. “If she’s trying to get you back in the OR already, tell her no.”

Glenn grinned, her gaze flicking to Mari, who smiled as if enjoying the banter. “I’ll do my best to resist.”

“You do that,” Abby ordered.

Glenn sent Mari a questioning look. “Going to the meeting?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

“See you.” Glenn strode through the busy halls, puzzling over Mari. She’d been aware of her all day, even when they weren’t actually engaged. She knew where she was, like a little homing beacon in her head blinking in the background, which hadn’t happened since she’d been deployed. Then she knew where everyone in her unit was every minute, acutely aware she might be called upon at any second to take care of an unexpected injury. She didn’t have any reason to be that tuned in to Mari’s presence—she wasn’t worried about Mari settling in to the ER routine, she’d done that the first day, and she wasn’t concerned about Mari’s clinical abilities. Mari had been right—she was well trained and lacked the usual fresh-out-of-training dangerous tendency to make snap judgments. She was confident but careful, the perfect combination as far as Glenn was concerned. Given all that, she had no reason to be any more conscious of Mari than any of the other new staff throughout the day, but she was. That alone should have felt strange and unfamiliar, but even more unsettling was she found herself thinking throughout the day about when she’d have a chance to talk to her or maybe grab another meal again. Something else that had never happened to her before. Irritated, Glenn shrugged the tangle of thoughts aside. Since when had she wasted time studying her own navel—she had work to do after all, and Flann was waiting.

The coffee urn was warm and the coffee smelled new when she poured herself a cup. Flann and Harper, who she hadn’t expected, were already ensconced at their usual table in the back corner, Flann in scrubs and Harper in her typical button-down-collar shirt and khaki pants. Glenn dropped into the free chair at the table and nodded to her friends. “What’s up?”

Harper nodded a greeting and shot Flann a questioning look. “You called us here, so it’s your show. Is there some kind of problem?”

Flann looked uncharacteristically uneasy for an instant, and Glenn finally pegged her expression—not uneasy, shy. Huh. That couldn’t be right. Even in the midst of a FUBAR, Flann Rivers was never anything except exuberantly confident. So what could be worse than an effed-up beyond all repair situation? Harper studied her sister with the same slightly curious expression as Glenn.

“Well, the thing is,” Flann said, “I wanted to tell the two of you together that Abby and I are going to get married.” She glanced at Harper. “A few weeks after you and Presley, so, you know, it doesn’t steal your thunder.”

Harper laughed. “Jeez, you think that’s going to matter to us? Congratulations, but what took you so long?”

Flann grinned a little sheepishly. “I wanted to go for it this weekend, but Abby says no.”

“She’s right—but not because of us,” Harper said. “Your wedding should be an event all on its own, not a hurry-up thing, with all the bells and whistles. And don’t let her convince you small is fine. Once in a lifetime, Flann—give her a day to remember.”

“Right. Got it. Big and splashy.”

Harper laughed. “There you go. Perfect.”

“That’s great, Flann,” Glenn said, not at all surprised that her good friend wanted to formalize her relationship with Abby. Flann had always been a player, but she’d never fallen before. And when she did, like everything else in her life, she went all the way. “Anything you need, let me know.”

Flann cleared her throat. “Well, actually, that’s why I wanted to tell the two of you together.”

Harper’s brows drew down and she studied Flann intently. “What’s bugging you?”

Flann took a breath. “I want Glenn to stand up with me, and I thought—”

“Hey,” Glenn said quickly, “I’m totally honored, but you know, Harp’s your sister and—”

“No, Glenn,” Harper cut in, “I think you’re exactly the right person. I love you, Flann, and you know damn well I’ll always be there, but Glenn…she’s really the only one who can actually put up with you on a daily basis.”

Flann barked a laugh, and Glenn smothered a smile.

“She’s earned it,” Harper said.

“Here’s the deal.” Flann ran a hand through her hair, her gaze cutting from Harper to Glenn. “There’s a lot of things I’ve done in the last few years I don’t think I could’ve done without Glenn, but Harp has shown me the road for most of my life.”

Glenn glanced at Harper. On the day her last tour had ended, she’d sworn she’d go lone wolf, that she’d never let anyone close enough to lose a piece of herself if anything happened to them. She didn’t want to be responsible for anyone’s well-being again, in any way. But in the three years she’d spent by Flann’s side, working together, struggling together, sometimes losing together, she’d broken her own promise to herself. Flann was her best friend, and whatever she needed, whenever she needed it, Glenn would be there for her. “Whatever you want, I’m good with it.”

“Totally,” Harper said.

Flann blew out a breath. “So you two will both stand up with me?”

“For sure.” Harper grinned at Glenn. “We’re good, right?”

“Absolutely,” Glenn said.

“Thanks,” Flann said. “That was harder than waiting for Abby to say yes.”

“Which took, what, all of a second?” Harper teased.

“About that, yeah,” Flann said with her usual cocky flair.

“Does Blake know yet?” Harper asked.

“No, Abby and I are gonna tell him after I tell Mom and Dad.”

“Once Margie knows,” Harper said, “he’ll know. You know the two of them share everything, so you probably need to make it simultaneous.”

“Right.” Flann shook her head, smiling wryly. “I sort of wonder what’s going on with those two, but I don’t actually know how to ask.”

“Does it matter?” Harper asked.

“Only because I don’t want to see either one of them get hurt.”

“You can’t protect them from falling in or out of love,” Harper said. “Most everybody gets their heart broken at that age. Hell, I did regularly.”

Glenn hadn’t, but she’d never had a girlfriend in high school, or after that, either. She’d had hookups. She had natural urges, after all, and being in the kind of stressful day-to-day environment where life was pretty much on an hour-to-hour basis, the need to connect just to feel you had a little bit of a grip on life was even more urgent. But since she’d been back, there hadn’t been anyone.

“It’s never easy,” Flann agreed, “but I know Blake is already taking flak about being trans and Margie along with him. I just want to make sure no matter what, they’re okay.”

“We’ll all look out for them,” Glenn said quietly.

“Yeah,” Harper said, “but we have to let them tell us what they want us to know, if and when there’s anything to tell.”

Flann rubbed her face. “This parenting business is really tough. And I got one half-grown-up already.”

“Hey,” Harper said, “why don’t you and Abby do the announcement thing on Sunday at family dinner. Then we’ll all be there.” She glanced at Glenn. “And you too, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Perfect.” Harper dusted her hands. “That way everybody gets it at once, problem solved.”

Flann nodded. “Sounds good to me. Abby can decide if we should tell Blake first.”

“I suppose we better head to the staff meeting,” Harper said, grinning. “Presley will not be happy if I’m late.”

Glenn stood, wondering if she’d be in time to grab a seat with Mari.

*

The staff meeting was the first Mari had ever attended, since she’d had no reason to think much about the actual running of a hospital during her training. This one surprised her. The meeting started exactly on time, for one thing. She’d been watching for Glenn and saw her slip in just a few seconds before half past seven with Flannery Rivers and another woman who looked very much like Flannery except for her opposite coloring. She must be the other Dr. Rivers—Harper. When Glenn and Flann took seats, Harper went on to the front of the room and joined an elegant-looking blonde in a bottle-green suit at the narrow podium. Mari didn’t need anyone to tell her this was Presley Worth. She exuded authority simply by the way she scanned the room with a combination of command and camaraderie.

The CEO was as impressive as everyone had made her out to be. Presley quickly and concisely brought everyone up to date with the various plans for expansion of the physical hospital as well as the new ER residency and other training programs under way. A ripple of excitement moved through the audience, and something else that Mari recognized after a while…hope. She’d known that everyone had lived under the threat of the hospital closing for quite some time, but she hadn’t appreciated how important the hospital was to so many people in the community. Not just because a significant percentage worked there, but because the institution represented a huge piece of the history of the town. Even though there had to be newcomers like Mari, she bet the majority of those crowding into the dome-ceilinged, wood-paneled auditorium had been born there, or their parents had been.

Strangely, she didn’t feel like an outsider. She hadn’t expected to feel so comfortable in such a small-town environment after growing up in one of the biggest cities in the world, but she did. Just by virtue of being part of the hospital, she had become part of the community. By the time the meeting was over, she felt even more a part of her new world. The homesickness and sadness drifted a little more into the background with each passing day.

As she made her way outside an hour later, she heard her name and turned to see Glenn coming after her with quick, sure strides. Mari waited, a swift surge of anticipation coursing through her.

“Hi,” Glenn said. “Walking home?”

“Yes.”

“Mind company?”

“Of course not,” Mari said quickly, “although you don’t need to feel you have to. It’s perfectly safe.” She laughed. “Not even a hint of rain.”

“I know, but I’ve been cooped up all day and I’d like to stretch my legs, unless you want to be alone.” Glenn shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and, for the first time ever, appeared less than absolutely confident.

“No, I don’t,” Mari said quietly. “I’d love the company.”

“What did you think of the meeting?” Glenn asked as they started down the winding hillside. Cars streamed past them, the staff heading home after the meeting.

“It certainly sounds like it’s a busy time around here,” Mari said. “An exciting one too.”

“A lot of change all at once. Somehow, Presley has convinced everyone that she can work miracles, and I think she probably can.”

“I’m convinced, and I’ve only heard her speak once,” Mari said. “I could feel the sense of purpose everyone had, as if everyone counted. She made everyone feel essential.”

“Everyone is,” Glenn said. “Speaking of essential, are you sure you’re not up for trying a little friendly softb—”

“Trust me. Very sure.” Mari laughed. “But I will come cheer as promised.”

“Good enough. We can head over after work tomorrow—maybe grab something to eat first if you want.”