“You must have met Harper, then.” Presley’s expression softened, as if the thought of Harper took her somewhere else for a second. “She was headed that way.”

“I did. And Flannery. She wasn’t expecting me. Sorry if I jumped the gun. I wanted to introduce myself to the night shift before they left, and one thing led to another.”

“Ah.” Presley sighed. “Damn it. I’m sorry you walked into that. My fault entirely. Harper and I were away for the weekend, but I should have called Flann to tell her you were on your way.”

“That’s fine. We made our introductions.” Abby didn’t plan on using her friendship with Presley to smooth out bumps with staff, even if—especially since—one of the bumps was with Presley’s family. “We’ll work it out. Transitions are tough on everyone.”

“Flann is a great surgeon and a sweetheart, really,” Presley said. “But you know, she’s a surgeon.”

Abby laughed. “I noticed. Harper seems terrific, by the way.”

“We’ll have to get together so I can gush,” Presley said. “In fact, come to dinner this Saturday. We’re buying the house I’ve been renting, and I’d love for you to see it and meet Harper.”

“I—” Abby could make her own schedule now, and she’d just work Sunday to make up for the weekend day off. And Blake needed to meet people—meet their friends. “All right, yes. Thanks.”

“Good. We didn’t get much chance to catch up on the phone,” Presley said. “I was too busy trying to sell you on this job. How is Blake? And David—do you see him much?”

“We talk pretty regularly, but he and Matt are living in Arizona now. They have a real estate development business out there. Blake has visited a few times but doesn’t really press for more time with David.”

“How did Blake react to the move?”

Abby suppressed the swell of words rising in a rush. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted to talk to someone when she didn’t have to pretend to be totally in control of everything. “About that. I was thrilled when you offered me this job—it’s great to be close to a friend after all these years, and professionally, it’s an amazing opportunity. But another big part of the reason I took the job is Blake. The last year has been hard.”

Presley leaned forward. “What’s happening? Not something medical, I hope?”

“No, not at all.” Abby took a breath. “About a year ago, right before Blake’s fifteenth birthday, Blake explained to me he was quite certain he was not a girl.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Flann finished her colon resection in record time and had at least an hour free before her next case. She waited until her first assistant Glenn had the patient off the table and on the way to recovery before leaving the OR to speak to the family. She pulled on a white lab coat over her green scrubs, ditched her cap and booties in the trash, and after updating the patient’s wife and daughter, took the stairs down to the first floor for a decent cup of coffee from the cafeteria. Sipping as she went, she strode through the main building and down the administrative wing. Carrie was at her desk typing rapidly, a half-eaten bagel on a paper plate by her right hand and her eyes glued to the monitor.

“Hey, beautiful,” Flann said. “How’s your morning?”

Carrie looked up and grinned. “It’s Monday, so it’s hell. How’s yours?”

“The usual dragons to slay.”

“I heard it started out with a trauma.” Carrie’s brow furrowed. “Patient doing okay?”

“As far as I know. Harper picked up the ball and has been keeping an eye on her in the ICU. I’m going to stop by there in just a few minutes.”

“I heard the new ER chief was there too.”

Flann considered her answer. Carrie was smart enough to be running the hospital on her own, and she was a staunch Presley supporter, not that that bothered Flann in the least. She liked Presley—as much as she liked any administrator, on a professional level. Personally, she liked her a whole lot more. Presley was a good match for her sister, and she was happy that Harper was happy, even if she wasn’t exactly certain how she felt about having her almost-twin suddenly part of a couple. That hadn’t ever really happened for them before. They’d both had girlfriends over the years, but neither of them had ever really gotten serious. They were so close in age they’d ended up in the same class in high school and med school, so everything they’d experienced, they’d done as a team. That stopped at the bedroom door, but short of that, they were each other’s best friend and about as tight as two people could be. Now the person she trusted most in the world was about to have someone else to share her life with.

Presley and Carrie were a team too, inside and outside the hospital. Flann couldn’t blame Carrie for fishing for a little insider information about how things had gone with her and Abby Remy. Carrie’d hear soon enough, but not from her. “We bumped into each other just before the code. I already knew her résumé, and she proved she’s got the creds in the ER this morning. Presley made a good call recruiting her.”

“So you’re okay about handing off control of the ER to her?”

Flann laughed. “You think I’m okay about handing off control to anybody over anything?”

Carrie colored. “I wouldn’t have said so, no.”

“Bingo.” Flann tossed her coffee cup into the trash. “Let’s just say the two of us have agreed to coexist. Give us a little time to work out the ground rules.”

“That sounds fair.” Carrie smiled again, revealing a tiny gap between her front teeth.

Flann noticed, not for the first time, she was beyond cute—she was also smart and sexy and a great softball pitcher. She could give as good as she got with verbal jibes on the field, feisty and flirty in a non-gamey way. Flann had a feeling she’d be feisty and fun in bed too. She’d been thinking about asking her out since the first time she’d seen her, but she usually tried to stay clear of entanglements at the hospital, mostly because the place was a gossip mill and anything anybody did was fair game for lunchtime conversation, especially if it involved one of the doctors. Plus there was the added complication of Presley about to be her sister-in-law. If things got messy—not that she’d let things go that far—she didn’t want her family involved.

For some reason she couldn’t quite decipher, those reasons didn’t seem particularly important just now. Since news of the hospital changing ownership, Presley arriving, Harper falling head-over-heels, and now Abby Remy moving in on the ER, her world was just slightly off-kilter. Since she couldn’t do a damn thing to change any of it, she needed a diversion, and some downtime with a cute, sexy, smart woman was just what the doctor ordered. Thinking about a night with Carrie would definitely take her mind off the morning’s meeting with Abby.

Abigail Remy unsettled her, something that rarely ever happened. Every time she replayed their first encounter, which she’d been doing pretty much constantly except for the ninety minutes she’d been scrubbed in the OR, she got sideswiped with a weird mix of irritation and intrigue. She didn’t usually obsess over a woman, and this one was completely not her type—too serious, too controlling, and not in the least susceptible to being charmed. Abby’s immunity to being charmed wouldn’t have been annoying at all if Flann hadn’t had the persistent, irrational, inexplicable urge to do just that. And there she was, getting sidetracked by images of Abby’s cool, composed, admittedly beautiful face again. Flann pushed the image aside and leaned a hip on Carrie’s desk. She turned the paper plate with her index finger, spinning the bagel with it. “What do you say we go out after a game some night.”

“We always go out after the games,” Carrie said. “Beer and pizza. It’s tradition.”

Flann shook her head. “I don’t mean with the rest of the team. I mean you and me. We can grab a quick shower at my place and drive down to the city. Have a late dinner in a real restaurant. You know, the kind where they use cloth napkins and serve the food on dishes instead of paper plates.”

Carrie stilled. “You mean, like a date.”

“That would be the general definition, yes.” Flann stopped the spinning plate and moved her hand a few inches until it touched Carrie’s.

“I need to think about it.” Carrie slowly moved her hand away.

Flann straightened. “Is your schedule full all summer?”

“Not quite yet,” Carrie said slowly. “I’m just not sure it would be a good idea.”

“It would be a great idea. You know we’re a good combination.” Flann leaned in again, just a little. Carrie’d been looking at her with interest for a while too. She didn’t mistake those kinds of signals. “I know you feel it, same as I do.”

“Maybe,” Carrie said quietly. “But we’re a pretty good combination right now.”

“And we’d only get better. Why don’t you think about it and let me know. The offer is open.”

“I…I’ll call you.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Abby rounded the corner and stopped abruptly, her gaze traveling from Flann, perched on Carrie’s desk, to Carrie.

“Oh, sorry,” Abby said quickly. She hurriedly handed several papers to Carrie. “They told me in personnel that Presley needed to sign these. I thought I’d just walk them back.”

Carrie straightened and took the forms. “Of course. I’ll see that they’re completed and get them down there before lunch.”

“Thanks.” Abby turned to Flann. “Nicole Fisher—that’s the patient from the motorcycle accident—is stable. Neurosurg should be reviewing her repeat CT about now. I’ll give you a call when they’re done.”

“I’ll be up in a few.”

“Of course.” Abby glanced from Flann to Carrie again, her face smooth and cool. “I’ll see you there, then.”