LITMIR.BIZ

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a hand on his arm. “Stay here. Let me see what’s going on.”

      His eyes narrowed. “She’s my sister.”

      Which was why she didn’t want him charging in there. He was worried. She got it. But that kind of raw, exposed emotion helped no one.

      No one knew that better than Hollee.

      “Yes, and that’s exactly why I should go in first. You don’t need to upset her.” Or everyone else. Though she left that part unsaid.

      At his brusque nod, she slid into the room, and encountered a chaotic scene. Ava was thrashing around on the bed as two nurses and the attending doctor did their best to quiet her.

      “You need to hold still!”

      “My baby! It’s too early!” The fear in that voice was almost Hollee’s undoing. But she held it in and went to the nurse who was trying to physically hold Ava down.

      “She’s a friend. Let me try.”

      “Okay, but put on a mask, she tested positive for influenza b.”

      Oh, God. Not good. She took the mask the nurse thrust in her hands and pulled on gloves, then she smoothed Ava’s bangs out of the way, not liking the heat that rose in waves from her forehead. The fever explained some of her agitation. “Ava, it’s Hollee. Can you look at me?”

      “Hollee?” Her demeanor changed almost instantly, and she sagged against the bed. “What’s happening?”

      She, Clancy, Jacob and Ava had all been so close back in the day. She and Ava were still friends, but Hollee avoided talking about Clancy. And when Ava had made passing comments about where he’d been currently stationed, Hollee had just smiled and nodded, then changed the subject. Her friend hadn’t mentioned him leaving the military. Of course, her friend had had other things on her mind.

      “The baby’s coming.” Fresh pain speared through Hollee. What she wouldn’t have given to hear those words during her marriage. “You need to let them take you. They’re going to do everything they can for both of you.”

      Tears streaming down her face, Ava nodded. “She’s supposed to be my Christmas Eve baby. Please don’t let anything happen to her.”

      A promise no one could make.

      Hollee stepped back to let the other nurse take over again as an anesthesiologist swept in. “What do we have?”

      “Preterm labor secondary to flu. We need to get her into the OR. Do you want to do the epidural here or there?”

      “There.”

      One of the worst things that could happen to the maternity ward was for the flu to find its way inside these protected hallways.

      As if reading her thoughts, Dr. Latrobe grimaced. “We’ll need to follow protocols for disinfecting the ward. I’ve already called it in.”

      Hollee needed to let Clancy know what was happening. “Does the baby look okay?”

      Latrobe glanced up. “She’s five weeks early, but the baby’s registering some early signs of distress. The sooner we deliver her the better.”

      She took that as her clue to get out of their way. She went back to Ava. “I’ll check in on you as soon as I know which room you’re in. Dr. Latrobe is one of Arlington’s finest, so you’re in great hands.”

      “No! Don’t leave!”

      Fearing Ava was going to start getting agitated again, she said, “Clancy’s outside, and he’s worried sick. I need to let him know what’s going on.”

      “Poor Clancy.” Ava’s face flushed with fever. “He had a thing for...” Her face contorted as a contraction hit.

      Hollee turned to leave while she could. Peeling off her gloves and mask, she pumped a couple of squirts of hand sanitizer before touching the door. She encountered resistance in pushing it open and found Clancy with one hand on the wooden surface as if he’d gotten tired of waiting.

      “You can’t go in there. She has the flu. They’re taking precautions to keep it from spreading.”

      “Damn. I asked her to get her flu shot. I thought she did, but maybe not.”

      Ava had always been the free-spirited, independent one in their group. Even so, she’d been devastated when the baby’s father had decided he couldn’t do the whole parental responsibility thing. As if to prove that fact, he’d found someone else almost immediately after they’d broken up. “You know about the dad.”

      He gave her a searching look before nodding. “Yeah, he made her promises he never intended to keep. He should be ashamed.”

      Had Clancy aimed that jab at himself? They’d shared a kiss that had been pretty hot and heavy, but a week later he’d become someone she hadn’t recognized. All he’d said was that the kiss had been a mistake, showing up with another girl soon afterward. And another one a few weeks after that. It had been a slap in the face and had proved that bad boys did not make good marriage material. Even Jacob had commented on the way Clancy had been acting.

      While she’d still been stinging from Clancy’s rejection, Jacob had asked her out, and she’d accepted. At first it had been a way to get back at him. But slowly, over the course of six months, she’d realized she and Jacob actually had a lot in common and when he’d proposed, she said yes. She’d loved him, but that spark of passion she’d felt for Clancy had never been there.

      At first she’d thought it was because she’d over-romanticized that kiss and the connection she thought they’d shared. That feeling had gotten worse when Jacob seemed to distance himself emotionally. Initially, she’d chalked it up to her imagination. But a year before he died, that apathy had become marked, and her request to start a family as a last-ditch attempt to put things right had been met with a chilly response. She’d been crushed, and a seed of inadequacy had sprouted. First Clancy and then Jacob. Was there something about her that drove away people she cared about?

      All but Ava. They’d remained close, but she’d never felt comfortable sharing her problems with Clancy or Jacob with her. Clancy was her brother. And Jacob...well, he’d been one of Ava’s friends too.

      In the end, Clancy hadn’t even come to their wedding, something that had hurt both her and Jacob.

      The funeral had actually been the first time she’d seen him since getting married. That had been five years ago. It might as well have been a lifetime.

      Ava was whisked out of the room and down the hallway, reminding Hollee what was really important right now—and it certainly wasn’t her melancholy thoughts. Or things she could no longer change.

      Clancy’s face was a tense mask, and she gripped his arm, the warmth of his skin making her realize how cold her own hands had become. Ava had a big team of staff with her, and Clancy had no one right now, and she ached for him. “Come on. Let’s grab a cup of coffee. And then we’ll sit and wait for news.”

      “I want to be in there.”

      “You can’t, Clance. You know that. Ava needs to concentrate and so does her team. And the last thing you need is to carry the virus into one of your surgeries.”

      “Hell, how did I not know she was sick?”

      She smiled. “Are you serious? Ava is one of the strongest people I know. She’s also the most stubborn. ‘Show no weakness’—remember?”

      That had always been the de Oliveira siblings’ motto.

      The flexing of muscles made her realize her fingers were still clutching his upper arm. She released him in a hurry.

      “I can’t believe she didn’t come in sooner.” He dragged a hand through his hair.

      “I’ve been checking on her periodically but, honestly, she probably didn’t even realize she had the flu. We get sick, and we wait it out.

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