In the Doctor's Arms

by Carol Ross

  “I do. I absolutely say so. Flynn and I are just friends.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  TWO LONG HOSPITAL shifts and one shopping trip later, Flynn parked his SUV behind Bering’s pickup in the driveway at the home of Iris’s parents, Ben and Margaret James. In keeping with Tag and Ally’s inclination for doing this wedding thing their own way, they were opting for a rehearsal brunch rather than a dinner.

  Exhaustion nipped at him, but he rallied. The Jasper Lake excursion might not have worked out like he’d hoped, but he was armed and ready to up his game. Reaching into the back seat, he retrieved two boxes from the Donut Den and a shopping bag of provisions.

  “Never underestimate the power of the flower,” Caleb had advised.

  Doc had chimed in, “Thoughtful gestures, trinkets, baubles—the more thought-filled, the better.”

  Iris and Hazel were outside on the covered porch that fronted the large, green-with-white-trim arts-and-crafts-style two-story home. Perfect. Flynn climbed the stairs, simultaneously savoring the sight of Iris and trying not to stare.

  “Good morning, ladies.”

  “Good morning.” Iris smiled at him from where she sat in one of the comfy chairs that Margaret had arranged on the porch. Flynn felt that increasingly familiar lightness seep into him. The first thing he always wanted to do after coming off a long or difficult stint at the hospital was to see Iris. If that wasn’t possible, he made do with a text or phone call. She always made whatever good thing had happened seem better and whatever bad thing seem not so bad. It was a little addictive.

  Hazel said, “Hey, Flynn, how are you?”

  There was a resemblance between all the James sisters, but interestingly Iris and Hazel didn’t look as much alike as their older sisters, Shay and Hannah. Iris had the lightest shade of brown hair in the family—almost-blonde, she called it. She was tall, but with narrow shoulders and a petite build—willowy, where her sisters had curvier, more athletic frames.

  Their hazel-green eye color was the only noticeable similarity, but the shape was different. If someone didn’t already know, they’d never guess Iris and Hazel were part of triplets, which, he supposed, was a small part of the reason he didn’t think of Iris as “one of the James triplets,” like people often did. Mostly, though, it was because Iris was unique in so many other ways.

  “Good. Hazel, you look great, by the way. I didn’t get a chance to tell you the other day, but clearly, the Himalayas agreed with you.”

  “Why, thank you, Flynn. I think I could spend the rest of my life there.”

  “Because, let me get this right, ‘it only seems fitting to lay bare your soul among the clouds atop the highest peaks on earth?’”

  Hazel’s jaw dropped for a split second before she snapped it shut. A sputter of laughter followed. “Yes, that’s it exactly. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard myself quoted back to me. Well done.”

  Flynn gave her a nod. “I enjoy following your adventures.” He handed over one of the bright pink boxes. “I brought pastries for brunch. I seem to recall you sharing Iris’s fondness for huckleberry scones back in the day.”

  “Flynn, you’re officially my new favorite person. Wait... Did Iris tell you that I’ve been fantasizing about these for weeks?”

  “Uh, no. Iris and I used to study at the Donut Den occasionally back in high school and she would buy them and always get an extra one for you. And a maple-chocolate bar for Seth. There’s a few of those in there, too.”

  “I can’t believe you remember that.”

  “I have a good memory.” For anything Iris-related, he’d discovered.

  “Maybe. Or...” Casting a suspicious glance at Iris, she asked, “Iris, did you tell him about the scones? You know I can tell when you’re lying.”

  Iris shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t recall mentioning it. Besides, why would I tell him that?”

  “Exactly! Ha!” she cried triumphantly, before turning a sweet smile on him. “Not that it would lessen the positive impact of your gesture in the least if she had, Flynn, it’s just that Iris and I were discussing something a few days ago, and, believe it or not, these scones prove my point.” She opened the box. “So, double thanks from me.”

  “You’re welcome.” At Iris’s eye roll he added, “I think?”

  “Oh, definitely,” Hazel said around a mouthful of scone. “Don’t mind her. You know how she gets when she’s not right.”

  “I do.” He flashed Hazel a knowing grin. “Surly. Is Seth around?”

  “No, I don’t,” Iris countered irritably.

  Flynn and Hazel shared a laugh.

  Hazel answered his question. “Seth is inside.”

  “Good. He mentioned that he and Bering were taking Gareth and Reagan up the Opal River for some fly-fishing. I tied a few flies for them to try.”

  Hazel swiveled toward Iris again, her expression poised with unspoken approval.

  Iris gave her a quick glare, then said to him, “They will love that.”

  Pulling a bouquet of flowers from the bag, he said, “These are for your mom.” Then he produced the other bunch and handed them to Iris. “And these are for you.” The lilies were nestled in a duck-shaped vase. He hoped she caught the reference.

  “You brought me flowers?” Her cheeks tinged pink as she inspected the blossoms.

  “Lilies,” Hazel said accusingly, “are your favorite.”

  “Lilies,” Iris echoed gently, “are my favorite. Flynn...” Soft eyes went velvety green as they latched onto his.

  Flynn felt a surge of triumph. He made a silent promise to buy Doc and Caleb dinner ASAP.

  “Yeah, I, uh, thought about irises but that seemed so obvious. And when we were picking out Ally’s wedding flowers you mentioned lilies were your favorite. And ducks are my favorite bird, so...”

  Hazel made a noise that sounded like a chuckle but immediately covered it with a cough. Then she gave Iris another look Flynn couldn’t decipher but suspected had to do with him.

  Iris ignored her. “They’re—” She stopped in midthought as Flynn slipped the coffee mug from her other hand. He took a sip and leaned against the railing.

  “Oh, boy,” Hazel said and blew out a breath. “Wow.”

  “Shut it, Hazel.”

  “What?” Flynn asked.

  Hazel smiled serenely. “I think she means gorgeous. Is that what you were going to say, Iris?”

  “Did I miss something?” Flynn asked, recalling how the triplets often seemed to speak their own special language.

  “No, you didn’t,” Iris said. “Please ignore my sister, who has been alone and out of touch with polite society for several months.” Burying her face in the petals, she added, “I was going to say beautiful. They’re beautiful. And the vase is...perfect.” Then she brought up her gaze, where it latched onto his, and the raw sentiment there had him thinking that Doc and Caleb might deserve more than dinner. Possibly a new fishing boat was in order.

  Iris added, “Thank you, Flynn. You’ve already made my day and it hasn’t even started yet.”

  “You’re very welcome.” Affection and satisfaction combined nicely inside of him and left him grinning stupidly. But he didn’t care. Finally, progress. Opening the other box, he removed a pastry, broke it in half and then offered a portion to Iris. “Split this with me? I want to make sure I have enough room for your mom’s egg casserole.”

  Hazel choked on her scone.

  * * *

  INTERESTING FEELING, IRIS THOUGHT, as she perused the inquiries she’d already received for the position of Copper Crossing’s office manager. The juxtaposition between looking for a job and trying to hire someone for a job was a little weird. She had a lesson with Cricket later, so she’d come in early to meet with one of the applicants.

  “You really don’t need to be here today,” Tag told her a few minu
tes later, when he surprised her with his arrival.

  Iris lounged at her desk, stockinged feet propped up as she reviewed the paltry application from poor Ashley Frye.

  “Yeah, look who’s talking. You’re the one getting married tomorrow. Surely, you have better things to do.” Like leaving her and Cricket time for these clandestine flying lessons. “I’m meeting with a potential employee. Get out of here and go chill with Ally before all the chaos begins.”

  “I wish. Just here to pick up a few things. Today is Ally’s last shift at the hospital before the wedding.” Tag looked at his watch. “I’m picking her up after I leave here and heading over to the inn. Shay and Emily want us to look at the decorations. You sure you don’t want me to stick around?”

  “Positive. Honestly, I have very little hope for this applicant. She has a meager work history, next to no experience, no post-high-school education, no bookkeeping or accounting skills. No personality, if her response to ‘Tell me why you’d like to work here’ is any indication. I’ll let you judge. It says, ‘Airplanes are amazing and useful.’”

  “Well, they are,” Tag said with a trace of a smile. “Why are you interviewing her then?”

  “I’m not. She’s dropping off a résumé and I agreed to test her. If she passes—” Iris gave her brow a dubious scrunch “—then I’ll interview her. I agreed to test her because she’s enthusiastic and local, and I’d like to give her a chance.” Iris glanced back down at the paper. “She moved away and now she’s back. I suspect a recent divorce because there’s this big chunk of time where there’s no work history at all. I’m guessing she hasn’t applied for very many jobs in her life and only has a rough idea of how to go about it.”

  “Hmm. That’s really nice of you.”

  “We’ll see. If she can pass the test, I’ll have a good idea whether she can do this job. I’m not as concerned about education and experience as I am...mettle. You know what I mean? You have to be good under pressure. You have to understand how difficult a pilot’s job is, especially here in Alaska and—”

  The door swung open and a woman walked in. Plump, overdressed and clutching her designer handbag like a life preserver, she reeked of trying-too-hard. Iris felt vindicated. She really was good at reading between the lines, so to speak. That is, until Iris recognized the woman, and the blood in her veins turned to ice water.

  Thankfully, the woman zeroed in on Tag because Iris was pretty sure the look on her own face would be a dead giveaway to the shock and loathing invading Iris’s nervous system. The barely qualified Ashley Frye was Ashley Eller?

  “Hi, Tag,” Ashley said.

  A smiling Tag said, “Hey, Ashley, I heard you were back in town.”

  Iris had not heard that. But then again, she wasn’t exactly tuned in to the local grapevine. Did Flynn know? She doubted he’d care, since they’d broken up in the middle of his senior year. They weren’t exactly star-crossed lovers. That gave Iris little comfort, though. Her issues with Ashley had way more to do with Ashley herself than they did with Flynn.

  “Yeah, just moved back about a week ago. Congratulations on your wedding.”

  “Thank you,” Tag said.

  “My parents have nothing but the most wonderful things to say about your fiancée, Ally. She helped my nana so much when she was in the hospital.”

  “That’s nice, I’ll pass that on. She’ll be thrilled to hear it.”

  “Tomorrow, right? Todd Jessup invited me as his plus-one. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.”

  More small talk ensued regarding Ashley’s family and Ally’s job as hospital liaison, but Iris could barely hear past the buzzing in her head. Great. Todd and Ashley would both be at the wedding. She already knew that Faith Monroe and Lorna Howell, Ashley’s best friends from school, were going to be there. This just kept getting better and better. She couldn’t even escape her past at her own brother’s wedding.

  Iris willed herself to get it together, and she was ready when Ashley turned her sugary beam of a smile toward her.

  Then it was Ashley’s turn to react. Like syrup in hot water, her expression melted from eager friendliness to astonishment to what looked like concern.

  Ashley stammered, “I-Iris?”

  Resisting the urge to glare, she coolly replied, “Yep. It’s me, Iris.”

  Ashley had been the one to give Iris the nickname “Stick” back in middle school. On the surface, the moniker didn’t sound all that bad, except Iris knew Ashley and her friends shortened it from “Ugly Stick.” They used to shove sticks through the vent into her locker, along with insulting notes. The taunts and mind games continued in high school, where Ashley turned passive-aggressive bullying into an art form.

  “It’s Dr. James now. Can you believe that? My little sister is a doctor.” As if Iris didn’t already think Tag was the coolest brother in the world, he added, “But then, I’m sure you’re not surprised since you two went to school together.”

  Ashley’s smile wavered but she held on to it like the cheerleader captain she’d been. “Wow. Congratulations. No, I don’t think anyone would be surprised by that. You, um, you look different. Really, really different.”

  “So do you,” Iris gushed a little too sweetly, and immediately felt a twinge of guilt. Her nemesis, Flynn’s ex-girlfriend, the once curvaceous beauty queen, and Rankins High all-around “it girl” had changed quite a bit, too. Heavy makeup couldn’t cover the dark circles under her eyes or the fact that her once porcelain-perfect complexion had turned ruddy.

  Ashley’s gaze bounced around, but never quite met Iris’s. If Iris didn’t know better, she’d think the woman was on the verge of tears. She couldn’t help but wonder what had stolen Rankins High’s most-likely-to-make-it-in-Hollywood’s confidence?

  “What can I help you with, Ashley? Are you going to be shipping something? Do you need to arrange a transport?”

  Uncertainty flickered across her expression before she finally managed a few seconds of solid eye contact. “No. Um...I’m here about the job.” She blinked away again.

  Iris glanced down at the application on her desk. Yep, Ashley Frye was Ashley Eller, and she was here to apply for the job. Iris couldn’t help it, she wanted to laugh. And possibly even dance around and clap. Somehow, she managed to remain composed even as she made a vow—never again would she discount the unabashed power of karma.

  “I see. How...interesting.”

  “Um, Faith told me Tag was hiring a new office person. She filled out the application for me. I—I didn’t realize you were working here.”

  “It’s a little more complicated than office person.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course, I’m sure it is. You’re doing the hiring?”

  “Yes, I am doing the hiring and the training. What a small world this is, huh?”

  “Um, yeah, that’s for sure. Here’s my résumé.”

  Iris took it and set it on her desk. “Follow me and I’ll show you where you can take the test.” Was it wrong to test her when there was no way Iris would ever consider her for the job? Maybe. And she’d certainly gain some satisfaction from “filing” her application exactly where it belonged.

  CHAPTER SIX

  SHAY HAD DESIGNATED three hotel rooms for the wedding party and family members—one for the ladies, another for the guys and the bride had her own. Iris was the last one out of the ladies’ room, and, after a check on a remarkably unruffled Ally, whom she left visiting with her grandfather, Abe, she headed out into the hall. A window overlooked the courtyard and provided a bird’s-eye view of the ultraefficient Faraway Inn staff bustling about with last-minute tasks.

  Towering, tree-covered mountains glowed against a mind-bogglingly blue sky in the distance. Overhead, the sun was a perfect pale yellow fuzzy-edged ball. Not too bright and not too dim, the soft light would be perfect for the photos that photographer Ginger Weil was already
busy snapping away. Iris couldn’t imagine a more perfect day for a wedding.

  She spotted her sister Shay, owner and manager of the Faraway Inn, unmistakably in charge and rocking her baby bump in a pastel-colored flower-print dress. Hannah joined her, they laughed together, then parted ways to finalize the already-perfect details. Ivory linens decorated the round tables situated around the courtyard. Bouquets of wildflowers and herbs tucked into pale green vintage bottles adorned the center of each table. The DJ was setting up at the far end beside a portable dance floor. Lilah from the Donut Den held a frosting tube, and was fussing around the dessert bar.

  Bering, Cricket and Seth, looking tall and handsome in their tuxes, were already greeting guests. Tag knew everyone in town and pretty much everyone had been invited. Summer schedules filled up months in advance in Alaska, which meant the Faraway Inn had been booked every weekend in the summer. Undaunted, Tag and Ally had planned the ceremony for the hotel’s least busy day of the week, a Wednesday evening.

  Despite the short notice and the midweek designation, the RSVP list was remarkable. Townsfolk were coming out in droves to see Rankins’s most eligible bachelor finally part with his title. The devotion and loyalty her big brother enjoyed in this town was well-deserved. He’d spent his life doing things for others. Family, friends, neighbors, their pets, wildlife—anyone or anything who needed help, Tag was there. And even though Ally hadn’t been in Rankins long, she had her share of fans, too. They deserved this day.

  Meaning Iris could get through the requisite hours of socializing, smiling and making small talk with many of the people who’d spent her formative years mocking and bullying her. She would do that for her brother and for Ally.

  Smoothing the skirt of her freshly pressed bridesmaid dress, she squeezed her eyes shut, inhaled a deep breath and reminded herself of all the ways she was different than she’d been back in high school—educated, successful and, if not exactly glamorous, then at least put together. And confident, something she had no trouble being when she wasn’t about to stare down the worst of her past.