“We might as well acknowledge that two single people working in the same office are going to be teased until people realize we’re just friends.”

Noah was surprised she had the guts to say it, but it was true. People had been trying to set him up on dates since the day his wife had died. Beth Brennan was the hot topic of gossip right now, and he would be mentioned in the same breath…for a while.

“Even if we ignore it, they probably won’t stop until one of us starts to see someone,” Beth said ruefully.

“It’ll have to be you,” he said dryly. “My daughter is the only woman in my life.”

Beth sighed very unprofessionally. “I hate to date.”

She looked so genuinely distressed that a chuckle escaped Noah’s lips.

“Hey!” She frowned at his laughter. “That’s going to cost you. Until I find Mr. Right, I might just act as if I don’t mind the teasing. What do you think of that?” she challenged, mischief in her eyes.

She didn’t mind if they were linked together? Noah was in big trouble….

PATT MARR

has a friend who says she reminds him of a car that’s either zooming along in the fast lane or sitting on the shoulder, out of gas. Her family says he’s dead right. At age twenty, she had a B.S. in business education, a handsome, good-hearted husband and a sweet baby girl. Since then, Patt has had a precious baby boy, earned an M.A. in counseling, worked a lifetime as a high school educator, cooked big meals for friends, attended a zillion basketball games where her husband coached and her son played. She has also enjoyed many years of church music, children’s ministries, drama and television production—often working with her grown-up daughter.

During down time, Patt reads romance, eats too many carbs, watches too many movies and sleeps way too little. She’s been blessed with terrific children-in-law, two darling granddaughters, two loving grandsons, many wonderful friends, a great church and a chance to write love stories about people who love God as much as she does.

Promise of Forever
Patt Marr

For I know the plans I have for you.

They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a hope and a future.

—Jeremiah 29:11

Heartfelt appreciation for help with this book goes to my cousin Paul Lawrence, for expert critique; my daughter J. Marr, for endless encouragement; my son and daughter-in-law, Dane and Carla Marr, for providing the prototype of the character, Kendra; and Beth Elwood, R.N., for technical advice.

I dedicate this story to a woman of unshakable faith, my dear friend, Sue Lemmon.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Letter to Reader

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Prologue

Beverly Hills, California—April

For one moment, Dr. Beth Brennan felt as if she soared on invisible wings, floating on the approval of her entire family and the Brennan Medical Clinic staff. Well-wishers thronged about her, congratulating her for finishing her residency and becoming the new clinic pediatrician.

In the next moment, her mother’s manic rage came out of nowhere, and she launched into the most outrageous of all of her tantrums. The room went silent as Deborah Brennan’s illness took center stage.

Everyone here was associated with the clinic in some way. Most of them had been guests in Beth’s parents’ home. They knew her mother as a vibrant, elegant hostess, not this vicious tyrant, but her manic behavior wouldn’t be the family secret anymore.

It shouldn’t have come to this, not with seven doctors in the Brennan family. Not one of them, including Beth, had the guts to stand up to her mother and make her get the help she needed. If they had, there wouldn’t be an audience watching her dad and uncle drag her protesting mother away.

With so many pitying eyes upon her, Beth felt paralyzed. She wanted to leave, but her feet wouldn’t move.

A tall man in blue scrubs—a man about her own age with close-cropped dark hair and intense brown eyes—took her elbow. “Your grandfather sent me to get you, Dr. Brennan.”

Beth was a veteran at fighting her own battles, but, just this once, retreat seemed like a better idea.

They didn’t talk on the way to her grandfather’s office. Another time she would have paid more attention to the man’s chiseled good looks and muscular build. She might have shrugged away from his hand on her elbow and made some joke about knowing the way to her grandfather’s office as well as every inch of this building. But his steadying presence offered the perfect amount of comfort without pity.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Noah,” he answered, opening the door to her grandfather’s office.

“Thank you, Noah,” her grandfather said.

The man nodded and shut the door behind her.

Noah. Sometime, she would thank him.

“Come in, Beth. Sit here beside me.” Her handsome, white-haired grandfather patted the burgundy leather sofa.

She snuggled close, glad they were there for each other. Grandpa had been the anchor in her life, the one person she could always count on.

“How’s my favorite granddaughter?”

His only granddaughter. It was an old joke, but she usually played along. Not today. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

“It wasn’t quite the celebration we’d hoped for, was it, darling?” He leaned his head against hers.

“Did I tell you how nice you look?”

He might have, but today the credit for her looks belonged to Mom.

Normally, Beth washed her low-maintenance short blond hair, applied facial cream with sunblock, gave her eyelashes a dab of mascara, and she was good to go.

Today, her mother had insisted on the whole beauty salon treatment…styled hair, major makeup, painted fingernails, the works. The only thing the professionals left natural was the color of her eyes—a light brown they’d raved about and called dark honey.

She’d looked forward to this day for as long as she could remember. It should have been a happy time.

“I don’t know what it was that made your mother lose control this time, but if it wasn’t one thing, it could have been another.”

That was true. Anything could trigger one of her mother’s episodes. As a child, she’d learned to stay out of the way.

“What’s this?” Grandpa said, pointing to a large red blotch on her sleeve. “Cranberry punch?”

She shrugged. It didn’t matter. The taupe silk suit, the matching pumps, her grandmother’s pearls—they’d all been chosen by her mother as perfect for the day. None of it was Beth’s style. She’d worn it to keep the peace, though a lot of good it had done.

From now on, she would wear what she liked.

“Beth, darling, it was twenty years ago that we walked the building site for the clinic together. Remember?”

Of course she did. “We drew on the ground where your office would be.”

“And where yours would be. You said you were going to be a doctor like Grandpa.”

He loved taking the credit for her career choice, and she loved acknowledging it. “You put the idea in my mind. You gave me the doctor kit and pretended to be my patient.”

“Have you been sorry, darling?”

“Never. I love medicine. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

“It was a thrill for me, getting to introduce you today.” He patted her hand. “Call it an old man’s dream, but I’ve always wanted my children and my grandchildren to practice medicine under one roof.”

“Grandpa, you’ve wanted a medical dynasty,” she teased.

“That is what people say, isn’t it?” he asked with a chuckle.

“And I’m proud to be part of it.”

“People will always talk about us, Beth—sometimes with respect, sometimes with spite. With a family like ours, people look for every flaw. They pounce on a juicy piece of gossip and chew the living daylights out of it. After what happened today, it’s going to be worse. I think it would be better if you weren’t here for a while. The gossips would make your life miserable, and I can’t have that.”

He had to be kidding. “Dealing with gossip is part of our life. It comes and goes. You taught me that.”

He nodded. “And when this latest wave goes, you’ll begin your work here. I won’t have your first memories of working with me tainted by your mother’s mania.”

“You think I can’t handle a little gossip?”

“I’m sure you could handle anything, but I see no reason to test your endurance, not when it’s so easily avoided.”

“What about Keith Crabtree? He’s expecting me to replace him in two weeks.”

“This is Keith’s idea. You know what a private person he’s always been. He came to me, seconds after the hullabaloo. It was his idea to give you a break.”

“A ‘break’?”

“Keith has known you since you were his patient. When you did your internship in peds, he suggested you as his replacement. We want you here, but we know this place. Both of us think a delay is in order.”

She wasn’t going to have any say in this? “How do you explain this ‘break’ to all those people who just heard I was coming aboard?” she asked, standing, the better to pace the room and deal with the ball of anger forming in her stomach.

“We didn’t announce a particular date when you were to join us, so it’s no problem. Take the summer off, love. Come back in a few months, and we’ll get you started off right.”

“And what will people think when Keith doesn’t retire?”

“Nothing. No one knew he planned to retire. Not even his own staff. He wanted to leave without fanfare. The staff thinks you’re starting an office of your own. They’ll merely think you’re taking your time about it.”

“It seems the two of you have this figured out.” Technically, Grandpa was her boss and had the right to make decisions for his staff, but it felt as if he was treating her like a child.

“Beth, don’t be upset. This is for your own good. Now, tell me, where have you dreamed of going—Europe, the Orient, somewhere in the tropics? You can go anywhere. My treat. Make a dream come true.”

She only had one dream, and that was on the third floor of this building.

He stood, pulled her into his arms and patted her back. “It’s going to be fine, Beth.”

She hugged him hard, hoping he would feel how much she loved him…had always loved him.

“Let me know where you want to go. I’ll set it up. I want you to have the best time of your life.” He kept his arm around her as he walked her to the door. “We’ll see you soon.”

He shut the door, and she was alone in the hall.

No, not alone. The tall man in blue scrubs leaned against the wall—not so near the office that he could have heard what went on, but as if he might be waiting. For her? Or was he the next to see Grandpa?

Pushing off the wall, his serious face softened as he said, “Are you okay?”

She must not look it, or he wouldn’t have asked. But she wasn’t going to share her heartache with a stranger, especially not one who seemed to have everything going for him, and her own life had just fallen apart.

Tall and lean, he moved toward her with the effortless strength of an athlete, but it was his eyes that drew her to him. Intelligence shone from those brown eyes, and dark eyebrows winged across his masculine brow. There was a small scar across his cheekbone and another across his angular jaw. His nose had been quite perfect before it was broken. None of the flaws were new, nor did they take away from his good looks.

If he was aware of his appeal, she couldn’t tell it, and if she were better at trusting good-looking men, she would believe what his eyes seemed to say—that his concern was genuine, and it was all for her.

“Am I okay?” she repeated. She would be. She had to believe that. “Yes, and thanks for asking. I’m on my way out.” That was true in more ways than one.

“Can I walk you to your car?” he said, his voice naturally deep.

“Have you been waiting for me?” Why would he do that? “Did my grandfather ask you to do that, too?”

“Yes, I’ve been waiting, and no, he didn’t ask me.”

“Why did you?”

He shrugged as if he wasn’t sure and looked away.

“I could use the company,” she said. If being with him was as comforting now as it had been, she definitely could.

They walked in silence, passing staring groups. Some would have stopped her, but not with this guy beside her. He had a forbidding look that kept them at bay. What was his name?

She pointed out her car, a congratulatory gift from her parents, though her mother would have been the one to choose it. Beth thought the tan-gray color was blah. Her mother said taupe was classy and Beth had no taste.

“Nice car,” he said quietly.

He probably meant “expensive car.” The luxury convertible wasn’t her style, but then, she had no taste.

He watched her settle behind the wheel, the way a pro bodyguard would. Meeting him was the only good thing in this horrible day.

“Drive carefully,” he said, his face full of concern.

“I want to thank you…” She searched for his name again and came up blank. “I don’t know when I’ll have another chance.”

He smiled, and her heart seemed to turn over.

“I work here, Dr. Brennan. We’ll see each other soon.”

It wasn’t the Brennan way to confide family affairs, but she couldn’t help saying, “No, I won’t be returning, not any time in the foreseeable future.”

He looked shocked. “You’re not leaving because…?” He stopped as if it wasn’t his business and he’d over-stepped by saying what he had.

“Actually, I’m a little confused about the reason I’m leaving. I just know I am.” She smiled so she wouldn’t cry.

“But you’ll be back.”

She couldn’t confirm that, and she couldn’t let this gorgeous guy see her break down. It was better to drive away with some of her pride intact.

Chapter One

New York, New York—September, seventeen months later

Autumn in New York City was Beth’s favorite time of year. It was only her second season here, but it seemed as if the leaves were falling earlier. She crunched through a clump on the sidewalk, walking back to work after lunch.

Because it was her birthday, she’d just split a delicious mile-high pastrami sandwich with a friend and indulged in her very own piece of chocolate-ripple cheesecake. With each lush, creamy bite, she’d told herself it wasn’t so bad, turning thirty.

Her lunch buddy was a doctor who volunteered part-time at Manhattan Free Clinic. Beth volunteered there, too, but full-time. As long as she was careful with her grandmother’s trust-fund money, she could afford to work without pay.

She loved working at the clinic, mostly because they were so glad to have her. No one hinted that she was on the staff because she was somebody’s relative. No one suggested that she might not be able to handle the job.

She’d come here at her brother Ry’s suggestion. He knew about Manhattan Free Clinic from his years working as a New York City paramedic. Since she hadn’t known how long it would take for her to find a new dream, she hadn’t wanted to sign a contract anywhere.

The work was a hybrid of ER medicine and private family practice. If and when she decided to leave, she would be taking more experience than she would have gained working the same amount of time at Brennan Medical Clinic.

Home was a tiny apartment on the Upper East Side, close enough to Central Park for her daily run. She’d wanted to live near the clinic in lower Manhattan, but her brother said she would appreciate a quiet neighborhood to go home to.

He’d been right. The city was a noisy place, with millions of people on the move. The infinite variety of sights and sounds had been a culture shock, but she’d grown to love it all. If it weren’t for missing Ry and Meg, Beth could stay here indefinitely.

Her cell phone rang, and the caller ID said Ry was about to wish her a happy birthday.

“Ry!” she said, answering with a smile. “I was just thinking about you.”

“How’s the birthday girl?”

“Lovin’ New York, missin’ you and Meg.”

“How did you like my present this morning?”

“Very much!” she said, laughing. “Thank you!”

A trio of his buddies had shown up at the clinic to sing “Happy Birthday.” The best-looking one asked her to dinner tonight and begged her to go since Ry was footing the bill. She’d thought, why not? It wasn’t as if she’d met anyone who mattered, and she didn’t want to be alone on her thirtieth birthday.

“They called after they’d seen you,” Ry said, laughing. “Your date for the night thanked me. He said you were the most attractive doc he’d ever seen.”

“It must have been my yellow sneakers. They draw men like flies.” She caught a glimpse of herself in a store window. Her yellow sneakers, blue scrubs and navy hoody sweatshirt with the New York Yankees logo made quite the fashion statement.

Her new hair cut was cool, though. The uneven blond length was more of a frame for her face than a style. The stylist had said he only gave this cut to pretty women with fine features, but he’d also said she should have permanent, tattooed eyeliner and lipstick. That wouldn’t be happening. She just wasn’t that trendy.

“Have you heard from the rest of the family?”

“Not yet. Grandpa will call. Dad might, but I don’t expect to hear from Mom.”

“It’s not just you, Beth. Since she moved in with Aunt Jackie, she’s shut herself off from the rest of the family,” he said comfortingly.

“I ask myself, how could the things that happened on one day tear Mom apart from her family so drastically?”

Ry cleared his throat. “You’re not going to like this, but I ask myself that every time I place a call to you a continent away.”

That stung. “I talk to Grandpa. He calls, I call him.” She’d gotten over her hurt feelings long ago.

“What do you tell Grandpa about coming back and working at the clinic?”

“That I’m still looking for a new dream.”

“What’s wrong with the old one?” he said, reproof in his voice.

Reproof? From the family rebel? “Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? You don’t plan to work at the clinic when you get your M.D.”

“Right, but I never wanted to. You always did.”

“Give me that phone.” That was Meg’s voice in the background. “You don’t nag a person on her birthday.”

Beth grinned. Her favorite brother and her lifelong best friend made a great pair.

“Beth, don’t mind him,” Meg said, just as sassy as ever. “I wish you were here so we could celebrate your birthday at the beach, like we used to do.”

They ended the call as Beth neared the clinic. A chilly breeze blew through her hair, and she thought about home. It would be summer-hot there and very dry. The leaves wouldn’t change color until close to Thanksgiving, and, if it had been a very dry year, they would just go brown. Here, the trees were a glorious riot of red, orange and gold.

She’d learned to love the changing seasons. Each one made her more aware of her Creator. She’d been a brand-new Christian when she’d arrived a year ago last spring, but she’d studied the Word and knew Him much better now. He’d become her friend, someone she could talk to any time, any place—even now on the streets of New York.

Father God, it’s my birthday. You’ve given me the best presents anyone could have—a relationship with You, satisfying work, good health, friends—everything, actually, but a man of my own…and a baby!

I’m ready for them, Lord—the man and the baby! I’m more than ready. I won’t say I’m desperate, because no self-respecting woman admits that, but I can’t fool You. You know my heart.

Beth’s last patient of the day was a tough eleven-year-old kid with a long gash on his arm. She sutured the wound while the boy’s mother paced the small examining room and complained that he was nothing but a gangbanger, just like his brother.

The woman reminded Beth of her own mother—far less cultured, but just as hateful. In moments like these, it was hard to remember that a Christian prayed first and reacted second. The instinct to stand up for this boy was strong, but God could do more for him than she ever could.

Father, you know the need. Help this child and his family. Please silence this woman’s words. If you want help from me, I’m your willing servant.

The boy threw his mom a cocky smile. It might have been sheer bravado, but his mother threw up her hands and stormed out of the room.

Wow! If that was an answer to prayer, it came with the speed of light.

“So, tell me, Stevie, how did you get this cut?” Beth said, praying again, this time for words that might make a difference in the boy’s life.

“Me and my brother was practicing fighting.”

“With real knives? Isn’t that kind of dangerous?”

“My brother says you gotta keep it real if you’re gonna be ready when somebody comes at you with the real thing.”

What a philosophy! She would make sure he saw the staff social worker before he got out of here. Not only was it her duty to report a wound like this, somebody should think of this kid’s safety.

“Am I gonna have a scar?” He sounded hopeful.

“Not unless you want one. I’m good at this.” She hadn’t been much older than Stevie when her grandfather had begun teaching her suturing techniques.

“Scars are kind of cool,” the boy said, watching her work. “You’re kind of cool, too, even if you smell like baby puke.”

“You don’t like my perfume?”

He grinned at her little joke.

“I was about to change into fresh scrubs when you came in here, bleeding all over the place.”

“Is that my blood on your shoes?”

“Probably.”

“How come you wear yellow shoes?”

“They make me happy.”

“Aren’t you mad that I got blood on ’em? It made my mom real mad when I got blood on her towel.”

She smiled, hoping he would see the love of Jesus in her eyes. That’s what she was here for. “Do I look mad?”

He smiled back. “No, you look pretty. I think I could go for you.”

Maybe she’d overdone the smile.

“I dig blond chicks, even if you are kind of old.”

Stevie needed a little work on his pickup lines.

“You’ve got pretty eyes.”

That was better.

“I never seen anybody with that eye color. They’re kind of gold or brown or somethin’. And you got long eyelashes. Are you seeing anybody?”

Kids hated when they were treated like kids. If she could hang in here and talk to him as if he were an adult, there might be an opening to talk about Jesus. “I’m still single, Stevie. How about you?”

“I’m not with anybody either. You wanna go out some time, Doc?”

There it was. “I might if we went to church. You wanna take me to church?”

“Nah. I mean, like on a real date, like a movie.”

“Sorry, but I can’t go on real dates with my patients.”

“Oh, sure. I understand.”

“But the invitation to church still holds.” She described the store-front church near the clinic and their cool program for kids.

“I might try it some time,” Stevie said, maybe to please. “You know, you’re a really good doctor. The best I’ve ever seen.”

One of the male volunteers popped his head in. “Doctor, we’re having your surprise birthday party in the lounge now. Can I finish up with this patient, and can you go act surprised?”

She glanced at Stevie, caught his quick look of disappointment and said, “Would you mind bringing a couple of pieces of cake in here?”

“No problem.”

“Stevie, I want you to talk to our social worker for a few minutes, and then we’ll have cake together. Okay?”

“No way! I ain’t seeing no social worker.” Stevie scooted off the table, fast as a wink. She grabbed for him as he bolted for the door, but he was gone.

It was the end of the day before Beth made it to the staff lounge to sit down. She didn’t mind that she was alone or that cake crumbs were all that was left of her party. It was good to have a quiet spot to check her voice mail before heading home.

She plopped down on the secondhand sofa, put her feet on the rickety coffee table and found the message she’d hoped for. Grandpa had called.

She called him back, and he answered quickly, as if he’d been waiting. “Happy birthday, darling.”

“Thank you, Grandpa. What are you doing this fine autumn day?”

“Looking at flight schedules. If you’re not ever going to come home, I’m coming to see you.”

Beth’s heart skipped a beat. She would love that.

“I thought I’d like to see the fall colors along the Hudson River. I haven’t been to New York in decades.”

She couldn’t believe it. “This is great, Grandpa! We’ll have to see the sights and do all the tourist things.”

“Maybe not all,” he said chuckling. “I’m not much of a walker anymore.”

Despite the age-related quaver in his voice, he sounded so vital and strong that she forgot his body wasn’t.

“I miss you, Beth. I’ll never forgive myself for the decision that made you go so far away.”

They had talked this to death, but once again she said, “If you were wrong, I was just as wrong to get offended. I’ve been at such peace here, that it must have been the right thing. Maybe I wasn’t ready to work at BMC; maybe I needed this time away to learn what makes me happy. For sure, I tried too hard to please Mom, Dad, you, the whole family.”

“Trying to please is part of life, but it can’t be your life. Now that you know what makes you happy, can you be happy back here?”

“At the clinic?”

“You don’t have to work at BMC. There are free clinics in the L.A. area if that’s your passion or if it’s too much for you to work with the family.”

Too much for her? Running a peds office at Brennan Medical would be a piece of cake compared to her work at a free clinic.

“What would it take to get you back, Beth?”

If she hadn’t found a new dream in all this time, was it God’s plan for her to go back? Could she work there?

“You belong here, darling.”

She didn’t believe that anymore. How could she convince him? “Grandpa, you’ve brought together some of the brightest, most experienced doctors in L.A. They’ve earned the right to practice in an exclusive group, and they value BMC’s prestigious address. My chief credential is that I’m your granddaughter, and I could care less that our patients are rich or famous. I don’t belong there!”

“You’re the future, Beth. Of course you belong.”

“I would only be a disappointment to you, or, worse, an embarrassment.”

“Never!”

“Not even if I wore a frog on my head?”

A loud guffaw had her pulling the phone from her ear. “I believe that’s my traditional New Year’s Eve hat.”

It was. “But I wear funny hats in the office any time I want to, not just like the family does on New Year’s Eve. I collect yellow sneakers in different styles and wear a pair every day. I’m rather eccentric, Grandpa, and I love it. In New York, nobody notices, but, if gossip about the family was an issue for you a year and a half ago, think what it would be like if I were there now.”

There was such silence that Beth thought they’d lost their phone connection.

“Grandpa…?”

“I’m here. I’m thinking.”

Maybe she’d finally made her point. Shouldn’t that make her feel better than she did? She hated arguing with Grandpa.

“Beth, the last time we talked, I said I’d like to fly you home, first class, and I would have a brand-new car waiting for you. Do you remember what you said?”

“I said if material things mattered, I wouldn’t be working as a volunteer at a free clinic.” She felt almost as insulted now, repeating the words, as she had, saying them the first time. She was above taking a bribe.

“Well, what if I said the car that would be waiting for you could be one of those new VW convertibles?”

“A Beetle?” She loved those fun little cars.

“It could be yellow to match your shoes. Imagine it, Beth. Your yellow VW parked in the physicians’ lot, surrounded by every luxury car on the market. It would stand out like a dandelion in an arrangement of roses and announce to the world that the clinic’s new pediatrician was a person who thought for herself and knew what she wanted. What do you think?”

She thought she needed a tissue. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She had just one thing left to say.

“I’m coming home, Grandpa.”

Noah McKnight admired his daughter’s drawing of Brennan Medical Clinic one last time before taking it to work. At the top was her trademark rainbow and Welcome Dr. Brennan, printed in crayon. For a second-grader who’d just turned seven, Kendi had produced a masterpiece, or at least he thought so.

“Daddy, do you think Dr. Brennan will like my welcome sign?”

“Like it? Kendi, she’ll love it!” He lifted her high and kissed her forehead, loving the feel of her long blond hair swishing against his face.

He lowered her to the counter stool so she could supervise. Carefully, he rolled her drawing into a cylinder, making sure it would travel unwrinkled. If he didn’t do the job right, she would tell him about it.

She sat on her knees, leaning over the counter, keeping a watchful eye. Her beautiful hair swung down, covering part of her face.

“You did a nice job of brushing your hair,” he said. A compliment might soften his daughter’s strong will.

“I know,” she said, matter-of-factly. She took being beautiful for granted, just as she took being tall for her age and right-handed.

“How about wearing one of those new barrettes?”

“No,” she said, shaking that blond mane.

“They’re yellow.”

“I love yellow!” she said with a sunny smile.

Like he didn’t know that? “I could French braid your hair.” He was getting better at it.

But she just shook her head, closing the discussion as only she could. Kendi never sassed or was hateful, but she had decided opinions on how most things should be, and there wasn’t a wishy-washy bone in her body. If her mother had been that strong, they might still be a family of three.

“Do you think Dr. Brennan will like the rainbow?”

“She’ll love the rainbow.”

“How do you know that, Daddy?”

“Dr. Brennan is a pediatrician, just like your pediatrician, Dr. Marsha. You know how much Dr. Marsha likes the things you make for her.”

“Yep, she does. And Dr. Crabtree liked his goodbye picture.”

“Yep,” he agreed, though he wasn’t that sure. In the two years Noah had worked as Keith Crabtree’s office nurse, the man had rarely shown enthusiasm or genuine interest in others. It was his reputation for thoroughness, not his personality, that kept his patient roster full.

“Is Dr. Brennan pretty, Daddy?”

“Does that matter?”

“Nope, but is she?”

“I only met her once, and it was a long time ago.” A year and a half was a long time, measured by Kendi’s standards. They’d buried her mother six months before that.

He remembered Beth Brennan better than he admitted, though. When she was introduced as Dr. Crabtree’s replacement, she’d been radiant, happy and so attractive that he’d wondered what it was going to be like working in the close quarters of their office.

Later, when he’d walked with her to her grandfather’s office, and, later still, to her car, he hadn’t been thinking how she looked, just how she must feel. Ragged emotion showed on her face, and he’d wished he could help.

“Does Dr. Brennan like little girls?”

“Sure. And little boys, too.”

“Is Dr. Brennan married?”

“I don’t know.” She hadn’t been when she’d first planned to take Crabtree’s place, but she could be now.

“Well, if she’s not, maybe Dr. Brennan could be your girlfriend.”

Whoa! Where did that come from? He hadn’t had a girlfriend since he’d met Kendi’s mother, and he didn’t want one now. “No, Kendra, Dr. Brennan can’t be my girlfriend.”

“You called me Kendra.”

“That’s your name.”

“Yeah, but you never call me Kendra unless you’re kind of mad at me.”

Did he really do that? “But I love your name. Mommy gave it to you.”

“Why can’t Dr. Brennan be your girlfriend?”

“Because she’s my boss.”

“Why can’t she be your girlfriend and your boss?”

“It’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

Okay, he was thirty; she was seven. He should be able to end a conversation. Before Merrilee died, he could have. As the only one left to love Kendi, it was difficult to be hard on her, even a little bit.

He leaned across the counter and tweaked her nose playfully. “Remember when Justin was your boyfriend?”

“Dad-dee! William is my boyfriend!”

“I know. Was Justin mad when you started liking William?”

Kendi giggled. “Yep. He wouldn’t talk to me for a whole day.”

“That’s the way it is with grown-ups, too. If Dr. Beth was my girlfriend, and I got a new girlfriend, she might get mad, and I would have to find a new job.”

“I like new jobs.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t always like new jobs when you’re a grown-up.”

“Why?” Her big blue-violet eyes were glued to his.

Usually, he tried to break things down so she could understand, but this lesson could wait. He knew just the thing to make those eyes glaze with indifference.

“Kendi, when you have to find a new job, you lose your seniority, your retirement benefits, the relationship you’ve developed with colleagues and the opportunity to continue working in an environment you initially chose. You have to begin the job search all over again—networking with former coworkers about openings, interviewing potential employers, assessing whether this work is a good fit for your skills and temperament. You might never find a position you like as well.”

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Kendra?”

“Can we have hot dogs for dinner?”

Chapter Two

Beverly Hills, California—October, one month later

There it was, the ultimate trophy: a parking space of her own. The flat piece of metal read Dr. E. Brennan, which meant the sign maker didn’t know she was Beth, not Elizabeth, but that didn’t matter—not when she’d spent a year and a half depending on the New York subway system, taxis and her own two feet to get around.

Beth wheeled her new yellow Beetle convertible into the space between two luxury cars. Grandpa had been right. Compared to the other vehicles in the BMC physicians’ parking area, her VW stood out like a happy child at a convention of bankers. It didn’t fit in any more than she did, but they were both here to stay.

It had been humbling to see how willingly Grandpa had agreed to the changes she’d wanted in her office, and he hadn’t been exaggerating about Keith Crabtree wanting to leave without fanfare.

She’d met with Keith after hours in his office and worked out the transition, but she hadn’t greeted the staff she would inherit. The receptionist—a young woman in her early twenties—was new to her. One of Keith’s nurses had been there when Beth was a child and a patient herself. Her other nurse was a widower who’d begun working at BMC when he’d needed better hours to raise his daughter alone.

When Keith mentioned his name, Noah McKnight, Beth couldn’t put a face with the name, but she sincerely hoped the man had a good sense of humor. She hadn’t realized there was anyone named Noah on her staff when she chose the theme of her new office decor. It was such an odd coincidence that she’d considered changing the theme, but it was exactly what she wanted, and her decorator had already placed custom orders.

Grandpa said if Noah had a problem with it, they would transfer him to another doctor’s office. Beth hoped it didn’t come to that. No one should lose his job or have his life rearranged because she was here.

High overhead, huge palm fronds swished in the warm fall breeze. The sky was California-blue without a cloud in sight. Beth raised her face to the sun and told herself this was the beginning of a great new life.

The people inside that classy glass-and-stucco building might scoff at the latest Brennan grandchild coming aboard, but she was well-trained, hard-working, resourceful and unafraid. Nothing could ruffle her composure. Nothing could make her doubt herself.

Or could it?

She must be more nervous than she wanted to admit, but was it any wonder? The Brennan family reputation was a heavy load to bear. There were people inside who would love to see her fall on her face, and that was not just paranoia talking.

She tossed her car keys into her tote bag and slung the tote over her shoulder. From the car’s back seat, she gathered up a floral arrangement, two big gift bags and a smaller one. Arriving this early, she hoped to have her gifts on the desks of her staff when they arrived.

Stepping briskly, she headed toward the front entrance, as nervous as an intern on her first day. Today she would be working without a net, with no attending physician to consult and no colleague close by. In her office, she was on her own as never before.

On her own? That was old Beth thinking. She knew better than that. She could pray anytime.

Lord, I need you today.

It wasn’t much of a prayer, but a flood of confidence swept over her, surprising her with its immediacy and power. Before she was a Christian, she might have called it mind over matter or something equally indefinable, but she knew better now. The effect of faith on the human body was real.

Noah McKnight jogged from the employee parking lot toward the BMC staff entrance and took the back stairs, two at a time, hurrying to reach the office and get his daughter’s sign pinned to the bulletin board before Beth Brennan arrived. This time his daughter’s artwork would get the appreciation it deserved.

He rounded the landing and started up the next flight, grateful for this chance to stretch his legs. He’d been a nurse before Kendi was born, but he’d only been a health nut since Merrilee had died and he’d realized he was all Kendi had. If something happened to him, what would become of her?

When he thought of his baby being raised in a foster home, it felt like there was a giant claw in his stomach. He knew there were good people who raised kids for the state, and he’d known some, but he’d taken off on his own as soon as he could. Merrilee’s foster situation hadn’t been much better.

If there was a God, he would get to raise Kendi himself, but he hadn’t seen much reason to count on help from above. Merrilee had, and look where it got her.

Sometimes he missed the feeling that God was in control. If he were still a praying man, he would pray that things would go better today than he feared they would. Keith Crabtree’s sudden departure had been a shock to the staff, but a terrible blow to Mona Fitz, the senior nurse in the office. The doc and Mona worked together for over thirty years.

They’d all known Keith would be gone, but not for good. A couple of weeks before, he’d said he was taking the first week in October to go fishing. That wasn’t unusual. Keith often went fishing.

When Keith gave them all the same week off—with pay—Noah should have realized something was up. Keith had called it an early Christmas gift, but he’d never made such a generous gesture.

On that last day, Keith’s face had been void of emotion when he told them he’d just seen his last patient…ever. Beth Brennan was back in town and would be his replacement. He shook their hands and was gone.

Mona fell apart, sobbing and threatening retribution against the Brennans and their “spoiled princess” for forcing Keith out of a job. She wouldn’t be consoled by Vanessa, their young receptionist, or listen to reason from himself. The Brennans weren’t to blame because Keith wanted to retire. Anyone could see he’d lost his zest for the job.

This past week, Noah had spent a lot of time worrying about Mona’s attitude and whether Beth Brennan would know her stuff. Had she gotten her position because of her name? Would she be a powder puff and let Mona run the show, or would the two of them lock horns and he’d have to referee?

In all this time, would Beth have changed as much as he had? He’d worked through the stages of grieving, and it seemed like he had his sense of humor back.

Thinking, worrying, wondering what Mona would do today, Noah opened the stairwell door and stopped in his tracks. Stepping out of the elevator was Dr. Beth Brennan. Would she remember him?

The new doc smiled as if seeing him just made her day. It was no doubt mere friendliness, but Noah’s heart rate picked up as if it were more. Of course, he had also just run up a double flight of stairs.

“You’re Noah, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t think you would remember me.” He was unreasonably pleased that she had.

“Remember you?” A frown crossed her pretty face.

“We met…” If she didn’t remember, maybe he shouldn’t remind her of that bad day. “It was a while ago.”

“But I usually have a very good memory for names and faces.” She studied his face intently.

“Don’t worry about it. We barely met. But how did you know my name?” He sounded like a single guy talking to a single woman. That wasn’t like him. He never thought of himself as single.

“The scrubs,” she answered, glancing at his work attire. “Since you’re in scrubs, and I’ve learned that BMC only has one male nurse, you must be Noah.”

That was him all right. Around here, he was one of a kind. Some men might have liked that, but not him. If the regular hours of this job weren’t better for Kendi, he would be back, doing the job he loved in a hospital ER.

“I’ve lived in scrubs for so long,” she said, “that it seems strange to show up for work in street clothes.”

Just then he noticed what she was wearing, right down to the yellow sneakers that matched her yellow shirt. Her khaki pants fit just right, and her only jewelry was a practical watch. There was nothing about the doc that shouted “spoiled princess.”

If Mona had anything to complain about, it would be how young Beth Brennan looked. Without her long lab coat, no one would believe she was the doctor.

“I’m Beth Brennan, in case you’re as bad at remembering names as I am,” she said, setting down a couple of gift bags and extending her hand. “We’ll be working together.”

“I know,” he said, surprised at how his shortness of breath lingered on. He hadn’t realized he was this out of shape. “Can I carry those bags for you, Dr. Brennan?” he asked, trying to sound natural.

“Thank you, but, please, call me Beth.”

Walking side by side toward the office, he noticed that the top of her head was level with his chin, though the length of her stride matched his. Just guessing, he would say she ran or jogged regularly. Whatever she did to workout was working just fine. She was in great shape.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re part of my staff, Noah,” she said with a secretive smile. “Without you, our office just wouldn’t be complete.”

Oh, no. Here he was, ready to like and respect Beth Brennan, and she had to come on to him? That stuff started soon after Merrilee’s death, and it still turned him off.

They rounded a corner, and their lobby came into sight. Noah stopped dead. A week ago the lobby had looked as impersonal as every other waiting area in the clinic. The only way a person would have known it was a pediatrician’s office was the presence of a little table-and-chair set and some kiddy magazines.

This morning, sunshine poured in on a child-friendly play area with pairs of elephants, tigers and zebras as chairs for the kids. Bright-colored fish darted about in a big aquarium, and on the wall was a really cute mural of Noah’s ark and a big rainbow.

Okay, he got it, and he owed the doc an apology for jumping to the wrong conclusion. Grinning, he said, “I take it I’m to play the part of Noah.”

“For the record,” she said, looking anxious, “the decorator had placed custom orders before I realized I had a Noah on my staff. I hope you don’t mind.”

Her earnest explanation said a lot. Only a really good person would care about such a little thing. “How can I mind? It’s not like I had to build the ark. How did you get all this done so fast?”

“Obviously, I had a lot of help. Do you like it?”

She shouldn’t have had to ask. “Of course I like it! It’s great!” Kendi would love it, especially that rainbow.

“There’s more,” Beth said, her face happy with anticipation as she unlocked the door to the office.

Noah braced himself for disaster. If she’d changed Mona’s kingdom as much as she’d changed the lobby, Mona would have a fit.

But the front office was exactly as they’d left it. He almost sighed in relief.

Her soft laugh said she’d caught that. “I thought I’d better leave the front office alone.”

“Good call.” That was twice that she’d shown she cared about how others felt. How could Mona find fault with that?

“There are other changes, though.” Beth set the flowers on the counter. He set the bags there, too, and followed her down the hall.

Opening the doors of the three exam rooms, she flipped on the lights for him to see that each room had received a quick facelift. Caricatures of a pair of happy monkeys covered the back wall of Exam Room One. Room Two hosted a pair of silly zebras, and Three had a pair of giraffes with such goofy expressions he had to laugh.

“Good! You’re laughing,” she said, sounding relieved.

“This is just…great!” He couldn’t help being impressed. Beth Brennan had known what she wanted in her new practice and wasted no time putting it into motion.

She walked over to a brand-new stand-alone cabinet and opened it, the better for him to see inside.

The shelves were stocked with an assortment of the silliest hats and headgear he’d ever seen. They looked adult size. “Are these for Mona and me to wear?” he asked, knowing Mona Fitz would burn the place down before she learned how to have fun.

“Actually, the hats are for me, but I might share. I got the idea from our family’s New Year’s Eve parties where everyone wears a crazy hat.”

He’d heard about those hats, and he’d been invited to the Brennans’ New Year’s Eve party the last two years. If Merrilee had been alive, they would have gone.

Beth chose a shiny red beret with a coiled wire toy attached to the top. “What do you think?” she asked, moving her head so the toy sprang wildly from side to side. “Do you think this will distract a little kid?”

It would certainly distract him, and she wouldn’t even have to wear the hat. Man, the doc was cute. She didn’t seem to be wearing any makeup, but she was so naturally pretty with those caramel-colored eyes, straight little nose and truly terrific smile, that makeup sure wasn’t necessary.

“You know how difficult it is to examine kids when they’re frightened,” she said. “If we’re having fun, I’ll get to do my job and they won’t dread coming here. At least that’s the plan.”

“It ought to work.” If anyone could pull that off, she would be the one, and if Beth knew medicine as well as she knew kids, she was going to be great.

She took the hat off and ran her hand through her sun-streaked hair as if it didn’t particularly matter how it fell. He couldn’t imagine many women—or men—risking a hair style that casual, but on her, it looked great.

“What did you want to be when you were a little boy?” she asked. “Choose a hat, and you’re halfway there.”

He was halfway there already, at least when it came to feeling at ease with his new boss. He’d assumed that she would be intelligent, kind, caring, as most peds docs were, but it was her joy of life that drew him in. He’d felt like smiling from the moment they met.

He picked up a diamond tiara with a plume of feathers attached. “My daughter would love this.”

“Is she one of our patients?”

“Not yet.” But she would be. Kendi needed this doc’s sense of fun as badly as he did himself.

“Anytime she comes in, she can wear it, but she might surprise you. We girls don’t always want to be royalty. I would have picked this one when I was little.” She chose a football helmet and plunked it on her head.

“You liked to play football?” he asked, thinking how different that was from his little girl.

“Not as much as other sports, but I wanted my mother to think I was as headstrong and out of control as my brother, who did play.”

“Trey Brennan, out of control?” That was an image impossible to conceive.

Laughter burst from her. “Not Trey! He would never do anything my mother disapproved of! Golf and tennis were his games. It was my brother Ry who played football.”

Noah had forgotten that she had another brother. Ry Brennan, the family rebel, had been introduced at Beth’s reception nearly two years ago.

“I take it that you know Trey,” she said dryly.

Noah couldn’t stand the guy, but he probably ought to keep his opinion of her brother to himself. “When Dr. Crabtree needed a neurological consult, he used a doctor more familiar with peds patients.”

“Good! Our kids deserve somebody who’s nice.”

That was calling it like it was.

“Do you know my uncles?”

“Not well.” Why be candid when it could only hurt her feelings? Her womanizing uncle, Dr. Charles Brennan, was an excellent cardiologist, but the female staff had no respect for him. Her uncle Al was a brilliant orthopedic surgeon, but a patronizing, sarcastic know-it-all, as unlikable as her brother Trey.

“How about my grandfather? Do you know him?”

He knew the senior Brennan better than he was supposed to admit, so he said, “Everyone knows the chief! Your grandfather’s amazing. He makes a point of knowing all of the staff. He asks about their kids and their grandkids. You can tell he suffers a lot with his arthritis, but he makes it to the office every day. He’s the best.”

That brought a glow to Beth’s face. “He’s a hard man to say no to. He can talk me into anything.”

She wasn’t the only one. When the chief called last week and asked Noah to keep an eye on Mona, it hadn’t felt right, going behind Beth’s back even if her grandfather did have her best interest at heart, and there was genuine cause for concern.

“How about my dad? Do you know him?”

“Only because I was an ER nurse at Cedar Hills Hospital before I came here. The general consensus is that your dad can do no wrong. He’s very dedicated to his patients.”

“He is, isn’t he? Poor Trey—as James Thomas Brennan III, he’s had a lot to live up to.”

That could be part of Trey’s problem, but it had to be more than that.

“Do you know my cousin Collin?”

He nodded, smiling. “He’s engaged to a nurse friend from Cedar Hills.”

“I’m supposed to be a bridesmaid at their wedding, but I haven’t met the bride yet.”

“You’ll like Glenda. She’s great.”

“Collin’s not much like his dad, you know,” she said cautiously.

So she knew about her uncle Charlie’s flirtations. It couldn’t be easy for her, coming back to L.A. where so many people thought they knew her because they knew her family.

“Which is Mona’s desk?” she asked, leading the way to the front office and picking up the flowers. “In the interest of a peaceful transition, I brought these for her.”

The flowers were arranged in a container shaped like a dove. Noah smiled as he pointed out Mona’s desk. It looked as if the doc had done her homework and knew what she might expect from Mona.

“And I have this for Vanessa…”

It was a candy dish, shaped like a pair of kangaroos, their pouches full of candy. Beth placed it on the front desk. Vanessa did have a sweet tooth. How had Beth known that? Since she was batting two for two and there were a couple of gift bags remaining, he wondered what she might have for him.

“And for Noah…” The big bag held a long white box, the kind that long-stemmed roses came in.

Roses? For him?

But the “flowers” were big chocolate chip cookies attached to long green wires sprouting leaves. “Have you ever had a cookie bouquet?” she asked.

“No, this is a first,” he said, pleased with his gift. “My daughter’s going to love these.”

“I saw her picture on your desk when I was moving in. I thought she would like these even if you’re not a cookie kind of guy.”

Now, that was the way to his heart. A kindness to his little girl topped anything Beth could have given him. “Chocolate chip cookies are her favorite, but she’ll think these are too pretty to eat.”

“I know!” Beth said with that soft laugh he was getting to know. “That’s why I got these.” She handed over the smaller bag which held a commercial brand of chocolate cookies with icing. “These are for eating until the novelty of the others wears off.”

Three for three. She couldn’t do better than that. “I have something for you, too,” he said, unrolling his daughter’s sign.

“Oh, Noah!” Her voice rose in delight.

For a second, he thought his new boss might cry.

“Your daughter made this, didn’t she? And she signed her name, Kendra McKnight. We need to put this up for everyone to see.”

He couldn’t have asked for a better reaction. “I wanted to have it up before you got here.”

“Her drawing really looks like the clinic. How old is your daughter?”

“She just turned seven.”

“So, she just started second grade?”

He nodded. “She loves school.”

“It’s very advanced artwork for a child so young,” she said with that truly knockout smile, taking the picture to the bulletin board and placing it in the center.

A piercing screech came from the lobby. Noah took a deep breath and geared up for the storm. Hurricane Mona had arrived, and there was no telling the damage she’d do.

Chapter Three

Beth squared her shoulders and prepared for the blast of anger about to walk through the door. As Grandpa had said, getting along with Mona Fitz would be as challenging as getting along with Beth’s own mother, but Beth could walk on eggshells in her sleep.

“Beth Brennan, you’ve turned this place into a zoo.”

“Good morning, Mona,” Beth said, as pleasantly as rushing adrenaline would allow. Her body might react to Mona’s wild accusations, but her mind would stay clear.

Judging from Mona’s flushed face, Beth would say the woman’s blood pressure was stroke-high. She’d hate for her first patient to be her own nurse.

“Good morning, Mona,” Noah echoed, going to his desk as if this were just another day.

“I suppose you think this is just fine and dandy,” Mona said as she brushed by him to her own desk.

“Take another look,” he teased. “Notice the pairs? It’s Noah’s ark.”

“Ark, smark,” Mona said, her face puckered angrily. “It’s not appropriate for a professional office.”

“I like it,” Noah said, the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “But then I get to play the part of Noah. Be nice, and you can be Mrs. Noah—either my wife or my mom.”

Beth couldn’t believe it. A smile crept over the woman’s lips. Grandpa’d said he thought Mona might have a soft spot for Noah. If she did, who could blame her? Noah seemed to be as nice as he was good-looking. Even better, he didn’t seem to know it.

If he’d been this nice when they met, why couldn’t she remember him? Guys this great weren’t forgettable.

Mona shoved her purse into the bottom drawer of her desk and noticed her flowers.

Beth was counting on those flowers. What woman could resist something that lovely, to say nothing of the sweet dove container?

“Achoo!” Mona sneezed, not once but again. Grabbing a tissue, she held it to her nose. “Noah, get those flowers out of here.” Another sneeze punctuated her complaint.

Beth bit her lip, trying not to laugh. A child could have faked sneezes better than that.

“Your office?” Noah muttered, barely suppressing a grin as he walked by her with the flowers.

She nodded. Perfect. It would keep Mona out.

“All better?” she asked as Mona’s sneezing ended miraculously. “Are you taking something for that allergy, or can I prescribe something?”

“No, you can not!” Mona pointedly ignored Beth.

“Oh, wow!” Someone in the lobby liked the ark.

Beth opened the door and saw a beautiful dark-haired young woman with absolute delight in her sparkling eyes.

“Would you look at the aquarium! And all the little fish! And the darling animal chairs for the kids! This is unbelievable! Hey, Noah! You have an ark out here!”

Noah joined her, wearing a big matching grin. “Kendi’s going to love this, isn’t she, Vanessa?”

“Oh, she will. All the kids will!”

The glowing approval was a boost after Mona’s reaction.

“Hi, Dr. Brennan. I’m Vanessa Taylor, as you’ve probably figured out, and I’m so happy you’re here.”

How nice that her patients’ first impression would be this lovely young woman’s smile. “Hi, Vanessa. Please call me Beth.”

“Really?” Vanessa looked as if she’d been offered a raise. “But what if I forget around the patients? Maybe I should call you Dr. B or something?”

“Pfft!” The sound was comically incongruous coming from an impeccably groomed woman. Mona’s manicured nails matched the rose color on her thin lips and the flowers of her smock. There wasn’t a hint of gray in her upswept black hair, and her pants, shirt and shoes were very white.

“A man of Dr. Crabtree’s stature didn’t require a nickname,” she said with a sniff.

But the Brennan kids had given him one anyway. Dr. Crabby had seemed perfect back then. When Beth knew him as an adult and realized he was just shy, she’d felt bad about that.

“Let’s go with Beth or Dr. Beth,” she told Vanessa.

“Got it!” Vanessa said, heading for her desk. She spotted the kangaroo candy dish and stopped. “Look at this! It is so cute. Thank you, Dr. Beth.”

Beth nodded, feeling exceptionally good about how things were going. “Let’s all get settled, then we’ll take a little tour and go over a couple of new procedures.”

Mona swung around. “A tour?” Her shrill voice could have stripped paint from a wall. “I hardly need a tour! I was here in this office, taking your temperature, before you knew how to count, Beth Brennan.”

“You were, weren’t you?” Beth struggled to be cordial when every instinct said her grandfather was right and Mona Fitz should go.

“Dr. Crabtree took good care of all you little Brennans, though a lot of thanks it got him.”

Beth wasn’t sure what that meant, but, trying again to be nice, she said, “It must seem strange that most of us are doctors here now.”

“It isn’t strange at all! Or it wasn’t until today. Your brother and your cousin know how to fit in. They haven’t created an eyesore like that mess outside.”

This disrespect had to end. No one should have to work in unpleasant conditions. “Mona, do our patients and their parents still call you by your first name?”

“Of course! My name hasn’t changed.”

“With respect for your many years on the job, I think it’s time you were called Ms. Fitz.”

Clearly, Vanessa and Noah hadn’t heard Mona called that or thought how the two syllables sounded together. To their credit, neither cracked a smile, though Vanessa rushed to the restroom and Noah checked on a lab report.

“My name is Mona!” the woman said, her voice quivering with rage.

“Are you sure?” Beth said doubtfully. “It’s important to treat everyone with respect, don’t you think?”

Whew! If looks could kill, she’d be dead. Mona’s glare was so piercing that Beth had the urge to check for entry wounds, but Mona turned abruptly to her desk.

Beth took a deep breath and walked down the hall to her office, almost skipping. That had gone better than she’d expected, even though she had prayed it would. There was nothing that the Lord and she couldn’t handle.

Grandpa’d said there was no way she could handle Mona. Ha! Nothing fired Beth’s determination like being told what she couldn’t do. They would get along fine.

Beth opened the door to her office and paused to see if it still felt as if she were trespassing there. Missing were Keith’s books, personal items and diplomas, but everything else was as he’d left it, everything but the flowers she’d intended for Mona.

Noah had placed them on the massive mahogany desk. Beth leaned down and sniffed their lovely fragrance. What a shame that Mona couldn’t have enjoyed them as a sweet reminder of all that was good and pleasant in this world.

Sitting in Keith’s big office chair, Beth swiveled slowly, taking in the view of the clinic’s lush grounds, the empty bookshelves, the armchairs in front of her desk, the monstrous mahogany desk and the credenza behind her. She would feel more at home when her diplomas were on the wall and the furnishings were her own. There’d been so much to do, her office had been her last priority.

Lord, thank you for what I have, and help me do this job right. I don’t want to let Grandpa down.

“Dr. Beth.” Noah stood at the open door, holding two more floral arrangements. “Where would you like these?”

The flowers were extraordinary, but the guy holding them took her breath away. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen her share of good-looking men, but something about Noah McKnight stirred her senses. She gestured toward the credenza behind her. “How about there?”

“Looks like a good spot.”

She watched him, impressed with the easy way he moved and the conscientiousness with which he placed the flowers, turning them to show them off to best advantage. Some guys would have plunked them down any which way. Either he had an artistic flair or he liked things done right.

“Is that okay?” He gestured toward the flowers.

“It’s perfect, but…”

“What?” Instant concern covered his face.

The look on his face seemed so familiar. She had to have seen it before. “I just wondered if you could drop the formality and just call me Beth.”

“The first name is important to you, isn’t it?” he said with a quick smile that deepened faint laugh lines around his eyes.

He hadn’t always been the serious guy Keith Crabtree had described. “I do like first names,” she said. “They seem more…friendly.”

“And you want to be friends?” he said, his eyes narrowed as if he didn’t quite believe it.

“Well, sure. And a friend would sit down for a minute.” She tapped her desktop. “Keith had our morning patients rescheduled. We aren’t seeing anyone until after lunch.”

He sat on the edge of her desktop, balancing himself with one hand, not crowding her space, but close enough that she noticed his tanned muscular arm. And the rest of him, too. Blue scrubs had never looked better on anybody, and she’d seen a lot of blue scrubs.

“Not all doctors are friendly with staff,” he said.

She couldn’t argue that. The older generation of physicians had their hierarchy of propriety, which some of her peer group still valued, but not her. “I think of us as a team—you, Mona, Vanessa and me.”

“Mona? Not Ms. Fitz?”

She bent her head, not wanting him to see her pleasure in winning one tiny battle. “She’s Mona…for now.”

“For the record,” he said, “that’s the first time I’ve seen anyone shut Mona down.”

“Really? I’m not usually known for my great assertiveness, but you’ve been around doctors. You know how we can pull out the sharp comment to get what we want, stat.”

He laughed, showing off those laugh lines again. “You just showed who was the boss. Mona’s not used to that.”

“I don’t really want to be ‘the boss.’ Like I said, we’re a team, and we’ll find a way to get along. Mona’s a fixture here, and she’s a first-rate nurse, or Keith Crabtree wouldn’t have kept her on all these years.”

Noah’s eyes drifted, exactly as a person’s might if he knew something more than he planned to share.

“Noah?” She wouldn’t let him get away with that. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He spoke slowly, as if he were choosing his words carefully. “Keith Crabtree was a very private person. I worked with him for two years and didn’t know what he did in his spare time…other than fish. I didn’t know what his wife was like, how long they’d been married before she died or anything about their baby.”

“What baby?”

“Exactly. On the credenza behind you, there was a picture of a baby who died from SIDS. I caught Mona holding the picture once, and I could tell the child was special to her—maybe because she was the baby’s godmother, or because she felt so bad for Keith. They worked together a long time.”

“I just knew Keith as my pediatrician and Mona as his nurse,” Beth said. “I don’t remember that he, his wife or Mona ever came to our family’s New Year’s Eve parties, though I’m sure they were invited. Everyone at the clinic is. I missed the party last year, being in New York, but I was there the year before. I don’t remember seeing you. Did I miss meeting you then?”

“I wasn’t there.”

“Not a party person?”

“My wife was the party person, not me,” he said quietly. “She died the preceding October.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. That was two years ago. My daughter and I are doing fine.” But his eyes said he remembered the pain.

She’d seen him look that way.

It all came back to her—things she remembered and the one thing she hadn’t. “I just remembered when we met.”

He looked at her, his eyes as intense as they’d been that terrible day.

“Isn’t the mind amazing? I remembered how proud Grandpa was, introducing me as the seventh Brennan to join the clinic. I’ve relived Mom’s mental meltdown many, many times. But I forgot you.”

“That’s understandable,” he said solemnly.

“But I felt so grateful when you came to my rescue. I was too upset to tell you that or what a comfort you were.”

“You had a lot going on that day.”

“The worst day of my life.” Tears weren’t far away. They hadn’t been that day either.

“Are you okay?” he asked, as he had that day.

She remembered. It was in the hallway after Grandpa told her he didn’t want her around for a while. “You asked the same thing then.”

“And you said you were, but I knew you weren’t.”

“You could tell?”

He nodded, a rueful smile on his lips. “For months after Merrilee died, I told people I was okay when I wasn’t. Sometimes we can’t talk about what hurts.”

“Does it still hurt, Noah?”

“Well, I’m talking about it, so it must be better,” he said with a smile that lifted one corner of his mouth. “When Kendi seemed to miss her mother less, that helped me.”

“Does your family help with your daughter?”

“Neither Merrilee or I had family.”

“None?”

Noah dreaded the full-blown sympathy that was sure to come if Beth asked many questions about his background. He would try the short version first and hope it would be enough for today.

“No family,” he confirmed. “It’s just my daughter and me. Kendi’s babysitter, Harlene, lives next door, and she’s like family.”

For a second, Beth studied him as if she were trying to diagnose a major disease. She was an intelligent woman or she wouldn’t have an M.D. As any bright person would, she would figure the odds of both of Kendi’s parents having no family and wonder about it.

“Noah…”

Here it came. A question he wouldn’t want to answer.

“Would you care to adopt Trey?”

He laughed, just a little, then a lot. The unexpected offer, delivered so seriously, was great. He was going to love working with Beth. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Let me know if you change your mind. But if you take him, you’ve got to keep him.”

What a cool sense of humor. He was still smiling. “Who are your flowers from?”

She took the card from the vase of orchids and palm foliage. “This one is from my brother Ry.”

She handed the card to him and he read out loud, “‘Be strong. Be courageous. Don’t be afraid of them for the Lord your God will be with you.’ Afraid of who? The patients…or Mona?”

She grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Mona did scare all of us kids, but Ry’s scripture probably includes the BMC staff. I’ve known a lot of these people since I was a kid, and I’ve even babysat for some of their kids. Don’t be surprised if you hear somebody call me Bethie.”

“Will you mind?”

“Not unless it’s Mona.”

That made him smile. He was already having more fun than he’d ever had working for Keith.

He watched her read the card from the arrangement of yellow roses. It must have been more sentimental because she dabbed a tear from her eye.

“This one is from Ry’s wife. Meg was my best friend all the years we were growing up. Her family was closer to Ry and me than our own. The people we choose to love often mean more to us than the family we’re born into, especially the people who share our faith.”

So, Beth Brennan was a religious person. That would make Vanessa happy. She went to church all the time.

“I’ve only been a Christian a couple of years, but I know there’s power in prayer,” she said with conviction.

Faith? Prayer? This would be a good time to go back up front. He slid off the desk.

“Noah, do you believe in prayer?”

He’d stayed too long.

“You don’t have to answer that,” she said quickly. “I shouldn’t have asked, not in a place of business.”

“No, it’s okay.” It wasn’t in him to discourage another’s faith, even if he no longer shared it.

“I’m praying for a way to be friends with Mona.”

“Knee pads,” he said without thinking.

“What?” She looked startled.

“You’re gonna need ’em if you’re praying for that.”

The corners of Beth’s mouth tilted upward in the cutest smile. “You’re probably right. It could take a while.”

He hadn’t noticed that particular smile before. The patients were going to love that smile.

She opened her closet and retrieved one of several crisp white lab coats embroidered with Beth Brennan, M.D. Slipping into one, she hooked her stethoscope around her neck and eyed the flowers from her brother and his wife.

“I hate to leave all these beautiful flowers back here. What do you think? Should we share these with our patients in the lobby? Or would Mona’s allergy flare up?”

“There’s a big vase of red roses there now, and they’re not bothering Mona at all.”

“Let me guess. They’re from my grandfather.”

He nodded, grinning at her quick assessment. “I believe the card did say that. Mona read the card and put the flowers on the counter for everyone to see.”

“Good for her.”

That comment knocked him out. As hateful as Mona had been, it said a lot that Beth wasn’t nursing a grudge. She was better than he was, to move on that fast. The gossips around here were going to be so disappointed, with nothing to complain about Beth.

“Bad news,” Mona said as Beth and Noah reached the front office. “Our computers are down.”

Vanessa looked worried. “I’m sorry, Dr. Beth. I’ve called technical support, but they can’t get here until this afternoon.”

“I’m sure we’ll survive,” Beth said. Her laptop was loaded with data they needed for the day.

“Why don’t you call your grandfather,” Mona said. “He could pull rank and get tech support here quicker.”

If that were true—and it might be—didn’t Mona realize that one call could leave her unemployed? The only thing saving Mona’s job was Beth and her need to show God’s love.

“Not having the computers won’t be a big inconvenience this morning,” she said pleasantly. “We won’t be seeing patients right away.”

Mona snorted. “Your first patient is scheduled minutes from now. This office sees patients from nine to five, and it’s almost nine. Too bad we won’t have time for your little tour, Dr. Beth.”

Beth looked at Noah to check his reaction. His arms were folded, and his steady gaze asked if he should jump in and set Mona straight.

That he waited, instead of doing it, made Beth like him even more. “Actually, Mona, it was Dr. Crabtree’s suggestion that we take time for staff orientation. Our morning patients have been rescheduled. He was wonderfully cooperative in the transition.”

Mona sniffed, somewhat mollified. “Dr. Crabtree is the consummate professional.”

“He certainly is,” Beth agreed, going for a conciliatory tone. “Now, let’s begin by going over the procedures we’ll use as a team.”

Noah wheeled his office chair around to face her and whipped out a notepad and pen. Vanessa also prepared to take notes. Mona drummed her nails on her desk and glanced nervously at the lobby window as if a patient might show up and catch them unprepared.

“When I talked to Dr. Crabtree,” Beth began, “he was very happy with the way you three worked together. I see no need to change the procedures you’re familiar with. If we need to make adjustments along the way, we will. For now, I’ll do most of the adjusting.”

Mona looked surprised. She stared at Beth as if she had to replay the words to make sure she’d heard right.

“Vanessa, in addition to your regular tasks, I want you to take pictures of each patient.” Beth pulled a camera from her pocket and handed it to the young woman.

“I have one almost like this! I love to take pictures. This will be so cool, Dr. Beth! Do the pictures go in the patients’ folders or up on a wall?”

“The folders. It will help all of us put a face to the name if we need to later.”

“How do you want to handle call-ins during office hours?” Mona asked, as if she hoped to put Beth on the spot.

It might be Beth’s first day at BMC, but she’d grown up with her family talking shop. She knew her job here.

“It depends,” she answered, adopting the no-nonsense manner she used when treating seriously ill patients. Maybe that would put Mona at ease. “If Vanessa takes the call, and it’s about more than scheduling, she turns the phone over to you or Noah. The two of you will determine whether I need to get on the phone, return the call or head for the hospital.”

“In other words, just the way we did with Dr. Crabtree,” Noah said dryly.

“How are you going to handle your after-hours’ calls?” Mona asked, ignoring him, but again as if she hoped to catch Beth off guard.

“You three can call me anytime.” She handed them a card, listing her phone numbers. “For the patients, again, it depends on the situation. The service will refer some calls to my group, and page me on others.”

“Wow, that’s just the way Dr. Crabtree did it, too,” Vanessa teased.

“We still should verify the procedures,” Mona said defensively.

“Yes, we should,” Beth agreed, partly because it was true, but also in an effort to get on Mona’s good side, if there was one. “If we’re all on the same page, our patients can receive the highest standard of care.”

“Once they get past the lobby,” Mona sniped.

Enough was enough. Lord, help me get this right.

“Mona, you don’t like the lobby. We’ve heard that, and we don’t need to hear it again. The lobby stays like it is. Let’s move on.”

Mona’s nostrils flared, and she looked about as angry as a person could be, but she seemed to get the message and didn’t respond.

Good. That had gone well. “Now, are we ready for our tour?”

Chapter Four

When Beth opened the door to Exam Room One, the group’s reaction was as expected. Vanessa just adored the monkeys. Mona was just appalled. Noah folded his arms and seemed to enjoy the show.

After they’d visited Rooms Two and Three, Vanessa couldn’t stop smiling, Mona’s mouth had that now-familiar lemon-sucking pucker and Noah leaned against the examining table, looking great in his blue scrubs.

Worried and disapproving, Mona said, “Some of our patients are very ill, Beth. How do you expect to handle them in this environment?”

“It doesn’t hurt a child to smile.” Beth wondered when Mona had last attended a continuing-education class. “Laughter is good for everyone. Our patients are kids, even the older ones. The sicker they are, the more they need a pleasant distraction.” To drive home her point, she opened the hat cabinet.

Mona gasped, and Vanessa laughed out loud.

“Try one on,” Beth said, modeling her red satin beret topped with the coiled-wire toy. Vanessa reached for the feathered tiara. Noah chose a cowboy hat with a miniature horse on top.

Mona looked at them as if they’d lost their minds. “I am not wearing anything that ridiculous,” she said firmly, glaring at the hats as if they were snakes.

“This may be your one and only chance,” Beth teased. “The hats are for me to wear, not you…well, unless it’s your birthday or you’ve brought treats for the office.”

Mona threw up her hands. “The parents will think you’re ridiculous, Beth Brennan!”

“Well, let’s hope so!” Beth had occasionally worn her silly hats around patients since her residency and never encountered anyone who thought they kept her from doing her job. “Playing the clown isn’t for everyone, Mona, but I like it. Well, I do as long as I don’t have to wear one of those round red noses. They’re just not comfortable.”

Noah and Vanessa laughed as she intended, but Mona rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

Vanessa stopped her. “Mona, take a picture of us.”

“I don’t know how.”

“It’s easy. You can do it.” Vanessa showed her and positioned Beth and herself on either side of Noah.

Posing for the picture, Beth’s smile came easily. This was a beginning. Antiseptic, impersonal care was out and gentle, loving fun was in.

“I don’t know if I did it right,” Mona complained, shoving the camera back at Vanessa. “Taking pictures is not my job.” She fairly flew out of the room.

“Well, it is my job,” Vanessa said, “and I need the practice. Let me get a picture of the two of you.”

Standing this close to Noah, Beth caught the faint scent of his soap or aftershave, a fragrance she liked very much. She looked up at him and realized he was looking at her as if he really liked what he saw.

Maybe it was the hat.

“Got it,” Vanessa said, taking the picture. “That was great! Now one more. Dr. Beth, you pretend to be the doctor.”

“‘Pretend?’” Beth teased.

Giggling, Vanessa said, “You be the doctor and, Noah, you be the patient. Dr. Beth, listen to Noah’s heart with your stethoscope. That will make a cute picture.”

“I vote for a tongue depressor,” Noah said, grabbing one from a jar on the counter behind him. “Doctor Beth can check my tonsils.” He wasn’t about to let her listen to his racing heart. Standing there beside her, he’d felt like a kid with a crush on the pretty girl at school.

Vanessa agreed and moved them into the pose she wanted.

Noah went along, opening his mouth wide and saying Ah. Could he have felt any sillier?

“Good job,” Beth said, completing her exam, giving him one of her knockout smiles and a pat on his shoulder, as if he were one of her patients.

But he liked that pat and wouldn’t have minded another. The cowboy hat must have rolled back the years.

“On your way out, cowboy, you can choose between a sticker or a lollipop,” Beth said.

“Stickers? Oh, that’s new!” Vanessa exclaimed. “We haven’t had anything but the lollipops before.”

Noah smiled at her enthusiasm and wondered if the combined goodwill of the three of them could help Mona with her outlook on life.

“You know,” Vanessa said, looking at the pictures on the digital camera, “you two look great together. Are you seeing anyone, Dr. Beth? Noah isn’t.”

“Vanessa!” both of them said as a duet.

“Okay, okay! It was just a suggestion.” She grinned, shelved her tiara and scooted out of the room.

Noah put his hat away. Beth put hers away. Talk about an awkward moment.

Doctor-nurse romances were as old as medicine itself, but Noah had never been part of that and wouldn’t be now, despite this edgy anticipation he felt around Beth. Had he ever felt this aware of Merrilee when they’d first met? Had he noticed things like how pretty Merrilee’s smile was or that her eyes were the shade of dark honey?

Blue! Merrilee’s eyes were blue. He waited for guilt to punch him in the gut, but he only felt guilty that it didn’t. “Vanessa kids around a lot,” he said to reassure Beth that he hadn’t taken their young receptionist seriously.

Beth nodded and spoke with her crisp professional tone. “We might as well acknowledge that two single people working in the same office are going to be teased until people realize we’re just friends.”

He was surprised she had the guts to say it, but it was true. People had been trying to set him up almost from the day Merrilee died. Beth Brennan was the hot topic of gossip right now, and he would be mentioned in the same breath that she was…for a while.

“Even if we ignore it, they probably won’t stop until one of us starts to see someone,” Beth said ruefully.

“It’ll have to be you,” he said dryly. “My daughter is the only woman in my life.”

Beth sighed very unprofessionally. “I hate to date.”

She looked so genuinely disgusted that a chuckle escaped. Even disgusted, she looked adorable. His new boss would have no trouble finding someone to date.

“Hey!” She frowned at his laughter. “That’s going to cost you. Until I find Mr. Right, I might just act as if I don’t mind the teasing. What do you think of that?” she challenged, mischief in her eyes.

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