Hollis jerked and opened her eyes, peering blearily in Annie’s direction.

“Hey,” Hollis whispered, her voice rusty. She looked around, her confused expression rapidly clearing. She snapped to attention and sat upright. “Annie, hey.” She rubbed her face. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Annie said, laughing softly. “How’s your neck?”

Hollis winced and rubbed her neck. “Broken, I think. Thanks for waking me up before I was permanently damaged.”

“I hated to do it, but I was a little worried about you.”

Annie’s words sent an unexpected surge of pleasure through Hollis’s chest. She spent her life caring for others and rarely needed and never sought the comfort of others. Her work kept her busy enough to banish the occasional ache of loneliness, but it was nice that Annie was worried about her. She smiled at the gorgeous child by Annie’s side, the green eyes that matched her mother’s large and curious behind the lenses of her glasses. “Hi. I’m Hollis.”

“I’m Callie,” the child announced. “You have scrubs like my mommy’s. Are you a midwife like her?”

Hollis laughed, the mantle of fatigue falling from her shoulders. She caught Annie’s expression of horror and grinned even more. “Well, sort of. I do take care of women who are going to have babies, like your mom.”

“Did you have baby call last night?”

“I did.” Hollis glanced at Annie.

“Sorry,” Annie muttered.

“No problem.” Hollis gestured to the bench beside her. “You want to sit?”

“What do you think, Cal? You want to play some more?”

“Can I go back to the swings?”

“I don’t think so, honey, it’s too far and I won’t be able to see you over there.”

Callie looked around and her face lit up. “There’s Mike. Can I play with Mike?”

“Yes, as long as you stay with Mike and his mother. All right?”

“All right.” Callie dashed away and Annie watched her go until she reached Mike and Robin. Robin looked in her direction and waved. Annie waved back, calling, “Thank you.”

“She’s adorable,” Hollis said.

Annie sat and stretched her legs into a patch of sunlight. The heat on her legs trailed up, settling in her middle, and the restless feeling slipped away. “I’m prejudiced, of course, but she is.”

“She looks like you.”

Annie laughed. “You know the way to a mother’s heart.”

“I’m being serious.”

“She’s the best thing in my life.”

Hollis nodded. “I can certainly understand that.”

“She was so small when she was—well, you know that, don’t you.”

“I remember. A little over four pounds.”

“God,” Annie said, “you really do have an amazing memory.” Her gaze found Callie, followed her as she ran with Mike.

Annie’s pensive expression bordered on sadness and Hollis wondered what memory she’d triggered. “What is it?”

“The first time I saw her, she was in an incubator in the NICU. She had a funny little hat to help keep her warm, a pulse ox taped to her tiny chest, and an IV in her leg. I had to ask one of the nurses if I could hold her.”

“I’m sorry that you didn’t get a chance to see her right after she was born,” Hollis said. “It took her just a second to take her first breath. As soon as I suctioned her, she opened her eyes and took a great big breath. She was beautiful then too.”

Annie turned from Callie to meet Hollis’s gaze. “I’m glad you remember.” She looked away again. “She had some neonatal jaundice and her lungs were a little immature. They think the prolonged oxygen may have contributed to her visual problems. A small price to pay.”

Hollis’s stomach tightened but she kept her voice even. Preemies often had side effects from the delivery or the supportive therapy. Not her fault, but she felt the responsibility weigh heavily on her all the same. “She’s okay with the glasses, though?”

“Yes, she’s nearsighted, but the eye docs don’t think there’ll be any long-term problems other than that.”

“I’m glad.”

“She never complains. Nothing stops her, and that’s all that matters.” Annie straightened. “Did you work all night?”

Hollis was coming to recognize the tough set to Annie’s shoulders as a sign Annie was putting aside whatever bothered her. Her admiration for Annie grew—she hadn’t folded when many faced with even lesser obstacles would have. She didn’t imagine Annie needed her to say so, but she wanted to. Instead she said, “I was up most of the night. One of my mothers developed a postpartum infection. Rare, but we still see it. The baby’s fine.”

“And mom?”

“Much better this morning. I didn’t want to leave until the infectious disease people had seen her and we’d gotten her squared away on an antibiotic regimen.”

“That’s going the extra mile.”

Hollis shrugged. “Something like that, you can’t take it lightly.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Too much coffee to contemplate.” Hollis rubbed her stomach, the acid burn reminding her she hadn’t slept in almost two days.

“Can I tempt you with a cranberry scone?”

“You could tempt me with the paper bag at this point.”

Laughing, Annie extracted the scone along with a napkin and handed it to Hollis. “Here. You need this more than I do.”

“Thanks, want to share?”

Annie’s lips parted, her quick smile soft and sensuous. “Just a little piece.”

Hollis paused, the scone cradled in her palm. Annie’s eyes had a faint ring of golden brown around the deep green irises. Sunlight flickered through the trees behind her head and her golden hair glowed. The sounds of children’s laughter filtered into her awareness, and she was carried back to a time when the world was fresh and new and filled with possibility. She ached with the memory of long-ago innocence. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

Annie took the piece of scone Hollis broke off and nibbled on it. “You should eat the rest of that before I do.”

“Oh.” Hollis grinned and bit into the scone, instantly moaning with pleasure. “You got this from Principato’s, didn’t you?”

“From the grocer at the corner of Morris. They got it from Principato’s.”

“Good to know,” Hollis said around another bite. “Fabulous.”

“Mom!” Callie raced up with a blond boy right behind her. “We’re going to Mike’s tomorrow, right?”

“We are.” Annie smiled up at Robin. “Hi. Robin, this is Hollis Monroe.”

“Hi.” Robin held out her hand to Hollis. “We’ve met, but you probably don’t remember me. I’m Robin Henderson, Linda O’Malley’s wife. She’s a nurse at PMC.”

“Of course. I know Linda,” Hollis said. “Good to see you again.”

Robin pointed across the park to the side opposite Hollis’s house. “We’re just over there on School House. We’re having a neighborhood thing tomorrow about one. You’re invited—just follow the noise.”

“Uh.” Hollis floundered. A neighborhood thing was so far out of her comfort zone, her instant response was to make up an excuse.

Robin must have read her discomfort and added, “Having an escort under three feet in height is not a requirement.”

Hollis laughed and glanced at Annie and Callie, both of whom were watching her. Annie had said they were going. She’d know someone, at least. She was probably imagining that Annie seemed anxious for her answer. “Okay. Sure, that sounds great. Thanks.”

“Great. See you then.” Robin tugged Mike’s striped T-shirt sleeve. “Let’s go home and make Mommy some tea. What do you say?”

“’Kay.”

“We ought to go too.” Annie stood and took Callie’s hand. “You should try sleeping at home and not on the bench, Hollis.”

“I will. Thanks for the scone.”

Annie smiled. “Anytime. See you tomorrow.”

“Have a great day,” Hollis said, watching Annie walk away with Robin and the kids. She couldn’t believe she’d just agreed to go to a neighborhood barbecue, and knowing why didn’t make it any less crazy. Annie was going to be there, and she wanted to see her again.

Chapter Eight

The phone rang and Annie checked the clock. She rarely had unexpected calls—she had no family who might suddenly decide to get in touch, no close friends who might ring with an impromptu invitation to go out, and no romantic pursuers who might call for a date. When her phone rang, it was always business. Eight thirty. Callie had been in bed a little while, and she’d just made a bowl of popcorn and picked out a book to read. Saturday night and she had big plans.

“Hello?”

“Annie,” Cindy Caprood said apologetically, “I know you’re off this weekend, but Donna Drake just called and she’s in labor. So is Felicia Simmons.”

“It’s got to be the full moon. They’re both a week early. I’ll find a sitter and head over to Donna’s.”

“I’d try to get there if Felicia moves along, but I know Donna’s really counting on you being there.”

“That’s okay. Your time will come.”

Cindy laughed. “Oh, don’t I know it, and it’ll be three in the morning.”

“Would you mind calling her back and telling her I’ll be there as soon as I can? They know what to do, and if she’s in early stages, she’s got plenty of time.”

“From the sounds of it, she’s not moving that quickly. I’ll make sure she calls me if anything changes before you get there.”

“Thanks.”

Annie rang off and sorted through her list of possibles for emergency childcare. Everyone who helped at short notice was part of her group. JoAnn and Andrea were both on call, so Suzanne was probably her best bet. Even better, she lived around the corner. She called, and Suz answered on the third ring.

“Suz? It’s Annie. I’ve got an emergency.”

“No problem. Bring her by. She can stay as long as you need.”

“There’s a good chance it’ll be all night. It’s Donna Drake, and even if she delivers before morning, I’ll need to stay until I’m sure she and the baby are both settled.”