“You mentioned that, at least a little bit. That’s a big sacrifice to make—leaving a major trauma center for a quiet place like this.”

Abby’s head snapped up. “I don’t think so.”

Flann held up a hand. “Whoa. I’m not saying I don’t agree with it. But there’s no point in pretending you didn’t have to give up something.”

Abby’s first instinct was to argue, or at least tell Flann she had no idea what she was talking about until she was in the same situation. Until she had a child for whom she was completely responsible. A child who needed love and protection. Flann gazed back steadily, no touch of arrogance or superiority in her expression. Just calmly waiting. Abby took a deep breath. “It’s hard to think of it that way. He’s my child. I’d do anything for him.”

“I believe you.” Flann smiled. “My parents are like that too. Especially my mother. I respect you, more than I can say.”

Abby had heard that before, in one form or another, from her own mother, from the parents of some of the teens in Blake’s trans support group, from Presley. Hearing those words from Flann touched her in a way she hadn’t expected—Flann knew what it had taken to get where she was. Flann understood the thrill and the tremendous sense of accomplishment that came with treating critically ill patients in a crisis situation. Abby’s throat tightened, and to her horror, her eyes stung with unshed tears. She brushed a hand across her face. “Well, I must be more tired than I thought.”

Flann took her other hand and squeezed gently. “Long fucking night.”

Abby laughed shakily. “You can say that again. I don’t think I ever thanked you for saving Blake during that storm.”

“No thanks necessary. And I didn’t, really. But I’m glad I was there.”

“God, so am I.” Abby tightened her grip on Flann’s fingers, barely able to picture the horror of what might have happened. “He’s been through so much already. I never dreamed of a natural disaster as our next challenge.”

“Was it bad for him, before you moved?”

“I wish I knew the answer to that. He doesn’t always tell me everything, I don’t think. Partly that’s just being a teenager, and partly probably trying to protect me.”

“He’s his mother’s son,” Flann said softly.

“I know his friends, of course. I’ve known them most of their lives. He went to preschool with them, and then with a couple of them all the way through into high school.”

“Private school?”

Abby nodded.

“It must not have been easy raising him, with you being a resident.”

“My mother lived with us. That made a difference. I had some insurance money from my father’s death, so that helped pay for Blake’s school.”

Flann knew she was pushing, but she wanted to know. Needed to know in some deep way she couldn’t even name. “What about Blake’s father?”

Abby laughed. “David? He’s a nice enough guy, but…I would call him something of a flake. He’s into tech and always looking for the next big wave. He hasn’t caught one yet. He never had enough financial resources to really help out.”

“He’s not in the picture?” Flann’s chest tightened, waiting for the answer.

“He’s never really been in the picture,” Abby said slowly, not taking time to ask herself why she was answering. Why she wanted to answer. “He was my best friend in high school—the two gay kids against the world. We came out together, had our hearts broken at the same time. Presley was my best friend in college, maybe my only real friend. The sorority gave me a kind of community, but I was lonely, I guess. David showed up in the city one night, chasing a job. I wasn’t quite twenty yet, away from home for the first time. It was wonderful to see him and we went out to dinner, had a lot to drink, and ended up back in his hotel room reminiscing. Turns out he was a little lost and lonely too. Somehow…” She shook her head. “God, I don’t even know to this day how it happened. But it happened.”

“Wow. And you never considered—”

“Never. Not from the second I found out. I wanted the baby. David, on the other hand, was running before the sentence was out of my mouth.” Abby shrugged. “That was fine with me. I didn’t expect anything from him, and I’m just as glad things turned out the way they did.”

“Does Blake see him?” For some reason, Flann hated the idea of Blake feeling rejected or hurt because his father wasn’t in his life.

“Oh, sure. David’s always been in and out of his life. I left it up to Blake as he was growing up to decide how much he wanted to see him. It’s been a couple of years since his last visit. David lives out west with his lover now.”

“Blake’s okay about it?”

Abby smiled, hearing the protectiveness and the concern in Flann’s tone. They were still holding hands, and she didn’t want to let go. “He’s good.”

“Does David know about Blake?”

“Blake told him on the phone. David seemed to take it well, but you just never know until you’re really confronted with it. Besides, the next time David sees him, Blake is likely to be a lot different from the child he remembers.”

“Is he taking hormones?”

“Yes, for about six months.” Abby realized Flann was the first person other than her mother and parents in the support group with whom she’d discussed any of the details of Blake’s transition. Talking about it with someone she trusted helped make all the changes feel less foreign. “I keep looking for changes. There are some, but he still looks baby-faced to me.”

“A lot of boys do at that age.” Flann smiled. “Is it hard, watching him change?”

Abby wanted to say no. Part of her thought she should. Slowly, she nodded. “Sometimes. I think back and remember Blake as a child, trying to see what I missed, trying to pick out the moment when he knew and I should have. I can’t. I feel guilty.”

“You’re amazing,” Flann said softly. “Blake is so fucking lucky.”

Abby grimaced. “I don’t feel amazing. Sometimes I feel completely inadequate. A couple of the friends I told you about shut him out, hurt him. I can’t tell you how much I want to shake every single person who hurts him or might hurt him. And I can’t and I don’t know how to keep it from happening again.”

“Blake seems like a pretty strong, together kid. He’ll be okay. He’ll get some bumps, and it’s got to be damn scary. But he’s got you. That’s probably the single most important thing he needs.”

“I hope so. I hope he and Margie get to be good friends. She’s the kind of friend he needs.”

Flann grinned. “Margie? She’s a freaking Amazon.”

“From what I can tell, all the Rivers siblings are Amazons.”

“You should meet my mother.”

Abby laughed. “Oh, now there’s a line I didn’t expect to hear from you.” As soon as she said it, she flushed. Flann might think she was flirting.

Flann didn’t laugh. “You know what? I think that’s a great idea.” She pulled out her phone, punched in a number, and waited. “Mama? Where are you?…Have you heard from Dad and Harper?…Uh-huh. If everything stays quiet, maybe an hour or two…Uh-huh. Hold on.” Flann held up the phone. “Here’s Blake.”

“What?” Abby took the phone. “Blake? Are you okay? Where—?”

“I’m great. Everything’s cool. Margie’s mom is here. Are you coming home soon?”

Abby hesitated. “I don’t know, honey. I can’t leave until some other doctors show up. Maybe.”

“Hold on.”

Abby frowned. Now what?

“Dr. Remy, this is Ida Rivers.”

Abby sat up straight and released Flann’s hand. Ida Rivers’s voice was kissed with a hint of the South that did nothing to make it any less commanding.

“Hello, Mrs. Rivers. This is Abby Remy.”

“Nobody can work around the clock without food. You’re ten minutes from the house. I can have breakfast ready for you and the rest of the family by the time you get here.”

“Um.” Abby glanced at Flann, who was grinning slightly maniacally. She shot her a glare. “Well, I…”

“I’m tracking down my husband and the rest of my children now. Seven o’clock. You can go back to work after that if needed.”

“If at all possible, of course.”

“That will be just fine. See you at seven.”

Abby held the phone out to Flann. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Makes sense. Cafeteria is probably not going to open for a while. And it doesn’t take much longer to get to Presley’s than it does to chase down food in town.”

“I suppose we could all use a break and some food. If it’s quiet.”

“I’ll check on the postop patients, and you can get the ER sorted.”

Abby knew when she’d been beaten. “You should let me change the dressing before we leave.”

“Good enough. I’ll meet you down here as soon as I’m finished upstairs.”

Abby stood. “I’ll round up Presley and Carrie.” She paused. “What about Glenn? She’s been up all night.”

Glenn was practically part of the family. Flann would have mentioned inviting her herself in another minute. “Sure.”

“Great.” Abby jumped up and hurried for the door. “I’ll find her.”

“Great,” Flann muttered, ignoring the quick spurt of jealousy. “Terrific.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Call me if you need me, Angie,” Flann said, clipping the postop order sheet to the front of the patient’s chart. The computer network was iffy with the power outages, and she didn’t want to chance the orders being lost. She’d never really given up the habit of writing notes by hand anyhow. She’d watched her father do it when she’d followed him around as a kid, and the mystique of pulling charts from their racks and delving into the mysteries within still lingered. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

The recovery room nurse, who usually covered the ICU, nodded. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t gotten in last night, Flann.”