Gilly still felt guilty about it the next morning, but not enough to ignore her mother’s strange behavior. She called Sydney, who set up a meeting with Dr. Blackwood for noon at the clinic. She hoped by meeting on a Saturday her mother wouldn’t suspect anything.

Simon had agreed to watch Jayden at his place so that if Connie dropped by the house it looked like she’d gone out to run weekend errands and nothing more.

She went through her closet, throwing on a plain white, short-sleeve ribbed top, pairing it with a dark green skirt that had big white and red flowers in the pattern.

She fussed with her hair, eventually twisting it into a tight knot, unfurling a few loose strands to fall around her face.

After loading Jayden’s gear and a few of his favorite toys into the station wagon, the pair headed for Taggert Farms.

Winding through the countryside, Gilly pointed out the coastline to her son. “Look at that, Jayden. Waves! Whitecaps! See the boat way out there in the distance?”

“Waves! Boat! Read the story!” Jayden shouted.

The story he referred to was one Gilly knew by heart. “I’m driving, bud. But I can recite it from memory.” Dutiful mom that she was, she proceeded to deliver the tale about a tugboat captain and his loyal dog.

It kept him entertained until she pulled up in front of Simon’s place. A huge hairy block of energy was the first thing to bound out of the house.

“What is that?” Gilly screeched.

From the porch steps, Simon called to the dog. “That’s Merlin. He’s big but harmless.”

 Gilly eased out of the car and went around to let Jayden free of his car seat. But when she set the toddler down, Merlin almost knocked him over.

“Be careful, Merlin,” Simon cautioned, leaping off the steps to take the pooch by his collar.

“Bear!” Jayden hollered and hid behind his mother’s legs. “Big bear.”

“No, sweetie. It’s a doggie. You like doggies,” Gilly reminded her son.

Simon bent down to Jayden’s level. “I know Merlin looks huge and his face might look like a bear, but he won’t hurt you. I promise.”

“Scared.”

“It’s okay to be scared. But watch.” Simon brought the dog closer to let Merlin lick his own hand. “He’s friendly. He’s not gonna eat you up. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Jayden let go of his mother’s legs and stepped toward the dog. Merlin stuck out his big tongue and slurped the boy’s face.

Jayden scrunched up his nose and giggled. “It tickles.”

“It does, I know.”

“Thanks for this,” Gilly said to Simon as she watched her son relax enough to latch onto Merlin’s fur. “Oh, he’ll love being around your dog. He loves animals, just not big bears. You sure you’re okay to handle two toddlers? By yourself.”

He glanced over at Delaney who was backing down the porch steps on all fours to get to the grass on her own. “I guess we’ll see. I’m counting on them getting along well enough to entertain each other.”

“I brought some of Jayden’s Matchbox cars and his favorite stuffed elephant. If you have any problems, text me and I’ll come right back.”

Simon chuckled and stared at her bare legs. They seemed to go on and on. “You look good, even though I can see you’re not too convinced of my parenting skills.”

“New parent,” she pointed out with a grin. “Which I have to admit gave me pause. On the drive here, I had my reservations. But watching you with Jayden and the dog just now, I think he’s in good hands. At least for a couple of hours. Just remember, Jayden can be a handful at times because he’s a tad hyper.” She quickly added, “But he’s not destructive or anything like that. Need me to pick up anything at the store for dinner tonight?”

“I have it handled. I hope you like grilled steak.”

“Love it. Okay, I’m out of here then. Just let me know if you need anything.”

But she didn’t budge.

Her nervousness made her so damn cute, he wanted to plant a kiss on those lips to make her stop fidgeting. He leaned in and so did she. He took her by the arms, bringing her closer. Their lips met in a smoldering blast of heat. It felt like they’d slammed into the sun.

She blew out a breath and licked her lips. “That was… I really need to go.”

He grinned and let go of her arms. “We’ll finish that later. Now get out of here before you’re late for your meeting.”

Gilly stumbled around the car and fumbled with the door handle.

Simon trailed, then reached around her and opened the door. “Drive safe.”

“Okay.”

She barely remembered backing out and heading down the driveway. This wasn’t like her. She was usually level-headed and in total control. When she reached the highway, she muttered to herself, “This is your fault, Mom. You’ve gotten me all out of sorts.”

But she knew it wasn’t true. Simon Bremmer had a way of making a body feel like they were floating on air. Or maybe gliding right before they fell into bed.

Fanning herself at the thought of the two of them in bed, she rolled the window down for some fresh air and tried to take several deep breaths to bring her feet back down to earth.

She had to have her wits about her when she talked to Dr. Blackwood, not feeling all moony-eyed over the new boy in town.

She arrived at the clinic a few minutes past noon. Sydney greeted her at the door holding a can of Coke in her hand. “Quentin will be with us in a few. He had a compound fracture to deal with at the hospital.”

“Oh, no. Who got hurt?”

“Tandy Gilliam. He fell from the pier onto his boat and cracked a bone in his leg, multiple breaks. Quentin says he’ll be fine, but he’ll probably need a home health care nurse to look in on him now and again until he completely heals.”

“That’s something in short supply around here. San Sebastian has an agency that provides that service, otherwise you’ll have to find one out of Santa Cruz.”

“You and I both know how hard it is to get an RN to travel to Pelican Pointe. If I hadn’t gone to work for Doc Prescott, I would’ve been making the commute somewhere else. Help yourself to a soda,” Sydney offered as she led the way into the breakroom. “There’s plenty in the fridge.”

Beginning to relax, Gilly popped the top on a Cherry Coke and took a seat at the kitchen table. “I’m still pinching myself that I got hired on at the hospital.”

“Same here. I can’t believe I’m back in the ER again.”

“Didn’t you like working for Dr. Blackwood?”

“Honestly? I loved it. But it was nothing like emergency medicine. Don’t tell Quentin but I miss working with him.”

“You still get to…sort of…whenever he’s called to the hospital or there making rounds.”

“It’s not the same thing. But someone has to be in the office to see patients, day in and day out, and that’s Quentin. He’s very good with people, better than any doctor I’ve been around. He just can’t…you know…perform surgery.”

“Which is why we have Dr. Nighthawk here. What happened to Quentin?”

“He took a bullet. One night this crazy guy shot him. It’s the world we live in. Violence is so much a part of society these days. I remember thinking right after he came here what a pompous ass he was.” Her lips curved. “There was a time I didn’t completely trust him. Of course, I was wrong about everything.”

“You didn’t like him at first? Get out.”

“I’m not kidding. I thought his bedside manner was…atrocious.”

“Are you talking about me again?” Quentin asked from the doorway. “I turn my back for five seconds and…”

Sydney lifted her cheek for a kiss. “I’m explaining to Gilly how we got off on the wrong foot.”

Quentin leaned down, obliged with a sweet peck on his wife’s mouth. “This one wanted to run me out of town on a rail. All she needed was the pitchfork, the tar, and the feathers. After I arrived here, I hated this place.”

“But without you we wouldn’t have the hospital. So what changed?” Gilly wanted to know.

“It took time to settle in and find my groove. And then I met Beckham and his terminally ill grandmother. That whole experience taught me that my problems weren’t so huge after all.”

Quentin got out a bottle of water and sat down across from Gilly. “So what’s up with your mom?”

“First off, she can’t know I’m going behind her back like this,” Gilly began. “And I wouldn’t be if I didn’t feel that her behavior is getting so bizarre that it shouldn’t be ignored. She’s been so critical of everything and everybody lately. She’s acting like someone I don’t even know.”

“I’ll be honest. Her sharp tongue is a problem, even more so than when I hired her,” Quentin admitted. “Which might mean that whatever is happening, it’s getting worse.”

Gilly squirmed in her chair. “Is there any way her abrupt change in personality could be triggered by a medical condition? I spent last night searching online for a reasonable explanation but couldn’t find anything other than Alzheimer’s. It doesn’t run in our family, but…who knows.”

Sydney nodded. “Sometimes, in addition to the memory lapses, patients become irritable for no apparent reason. They’re unable to work well with others because they simply can’t get along with anyone around them. Not just coworkers either, but family members seem to get them all riled up even worse. It comes out of the blue, kind of like when they pull inappropriate things out of thin air.”

“Exactly. Her attitude reminds me of the way she behaved after my dad died,” Gilly stated. “I honestly thought there for a while she was headed for a breakdown. But that’s been close to ten years ago. That’s why I thought this heads-up meeting might be a good idea.”

Sydney finished her Coke and got up to throw the can in the recycle bin. “I once had a woman come into the ER right after having a stroke. Miraculously, it hadn’t affected her speech. But because she couldn’t move her right arm, she got so frustrated she started cursing. These horrible things came rolling out of her mouth. Her kids were horrified at her language.”

Quentin sipped his drink. “What Sydney’s trying to say is that sometimes when the brain is getting mixed signals, it reacts with difficulties in hand-eye coordination, odd gaits, and even strange behavior. I didn’t want to mention this but last week, Connie had trouble getting up out of a chair. And she almost tipped over while taking a patient’s blood pressure. Is it possible to coax her into having a full physical?”

“That’s what I’m hoping for. I’m also hoping you’ll give me some time to talk her into it before you fire her.”

“You think I’d do that? Her job is safe…for now.”

“Well, she isn’t exactly racking up brownie points for good behavior, now is she? You need to know that up to now she’s always had a stellar run as one of the best nurses at San Sebastian General,” Gilly declared. “She excelled on the pediatric ward. I know because I heard heartwarming stories from the staff. They were always coming up to me with things she’d done above and beyond her job that were nothing like this. I just want a chance to understand why this is happening. If it’s medical, that is.”

“Then persuade her to go in for a complete physical.”

“I will. There’s something else you need to know, though.” Gilly cleared her throat. “She’s turned away a few patients because they didn’t have insurance.”

Quentin traded looks with Sydney, but it was Quentin’s face that tightened with disappointment and pure anger. “That’s not good. Do you know which ones?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t. My mother has lived here a long time, so she’d know the names of the people she sent away. I could ask.”

“Please do that. Doc Prescott and I didn’t have a whole lot in common, but one thing we agreed on was that treating people took precedence over their ability to pay. The hospital’s named for a woman who didn’t have a lot of money. There’s a reason we decided to go with that.”

“I understand. But you need to know this simply isn’t like my mom to do something so cruel.”

“I’ll take your word for it. As long as she agrees to go in for a checkup, I’ll maintain a positive outlook on her continued employment. You have to understand where I’m coming from, rudeness is one thing; turning away patients is something I won’t abide.”

“Nor would I,” Gilly said with relief. “I’ll make the appointment myself.”

“How will you get her in without telling her about this conversation?” Sydney asked.

“I don’t know. But I have a couple of days to figure it out.”

Gilly stewed on it after she left until her head spun with different ways to approach her mom. She’d always been good at meeting a problem head on. But could she really talk her stubborn mother into going in to see the doctor without having a big fight about it?

To hell with it, she thought as she walked down the street to the house where she’d grown up. Connie’s mid-century ranch sat in the middle of the block. Its tidy lawn, still green and wet from the sprinkler, showed off a thick St. Augustine carpet that badly needed mowing. The well-tended flower beds, laden with purple hydrangeas, blue foxglove, and deep violet pansies guarded each side of the porch like a troop of soldiers. A tall, enormous valley oak that had stood for decades extended over the entrance, its branches providing a canopy of summer green.

Her dad had always taken pride in his lawn, ripping out the tiniest weeds lest it take root and infect his yard. She remembered following him around with the mower or raking and picking up leaves right up through Christmas when he would string lights around the eaves. Those fond memories of happier times morphed back into the reason she was here.

Ordinarily she’d just open the front door and walk in, but since she was on the outs with the woman on the other side of the door, she politely rang the bell.

Connie inched the door back. “Are you here to apologize?”

“Sure,” Gilly said if it would get her inside where she could reason with her mother.

The house still had the original parquet oak flooring in the living room and the gold and white laminate in the kitchen. There were bookshelves lining one wall with trinkets and photographs from decades back.

“Well?” Connie prompted, arms crossed. “Where’s my apology?”

“Mom, do you realize that you’re sitting on a keg of dynamite if Dr. Blackwood finds out you’ve turned away patients?”

“I’m looking out for his best interests.”

“I doubt he’d agree with that. Do you remember when Doc Prescott helped people even if they didn’t have insurance?”

“Doc Prescott was a fool.”

“You’re kidding? Jack Prescott was a former chief resident of emergency medicine in one of San Francisco’s busiest ERs. He might’ve been a lot of things, but he was no fool. He cared about people. Same goes for Quentin Blackwood.”

“What are you saying, Gilly? Because you’re beginning to get on my last nerve.”

Gilly noticed her mother’s hand start to shake. “Mom, have you noticed other changes lately? Not just the blowups and the anger, but differences in how you’re able to do things?”

“Right now, I’m upset with you and you’re giving me a major headache.”

“Then go see a doctor. When’s the last time you had a physical?”

“I had my mammogram last October.”

“No, I mean a thorough checkup.”

“Oh, two years back or so. Why?”

“Because I want you to go in and see Dr. Nighthawk.”

“What? Why? He’s a surgeon.”

“Because everyone your age needs a once-a-year physical.”

“I don’t have time for that.”

“You either make time this Wednesday or I tell Dr. Blackwood that you’ve turned away patients.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.” To prove it, she went to the seventy-ish olive-green phone hanging on the kitchen wall and picked up the receiver. She used the ancient rotary to dial the first three digits. “Do I continue, or will you agree to go in for a checkup this Wednesday?”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Connie moaned, letting out a huge sigh. “I suppose. What have you done with Jayden?”

Gilly dropped the receiver into place and coolly thought up a lie. “He’s on a playdate with Nate Cody.”

“That’s nice. I suppose he needs to make more little friends. Want a cup of coffee? I made a fresh pot before you got here.”

And just like that, thought Gilly, her mother seemed to have morphed into her normal self again. “Sure. I could use the caffeine.”

“Are you still going out with that Simon person?”

Gilly gritted her teeth. Normal hadn’t lasted for long. “Yes, Mom, I’m still having dinner tonight with Simon at his place. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Figures. Losers are the only men you seem to attract.”

Her jaw unclenched enough to spout off what was really on her mind. “Forget the coffee. I’m sorry you have such a low opinion of your own daughter. I’m done with trying to convince you something’s wrong. Just listen to yourself.”

Connie slid into a kitchen chair. “I’m a bundle of nerves these days. I can’t seem to focus on anything but my anger. I’m always on edge.”

“What it is about Simon that gets you so peeved?”

“He has such an arrogant look about him. I don’t like it. And he should never be allowed to raise that kid by himself. He’s ill-equipped.”

 Gilly had heard enough and got to her feet. “You know, Mom, some people might say the same thing about me, a single mother, never been married with a little boy who just wants some attention. I’ve never known you to be so judgmental. But I’m beginning to see you’re slowly becoming such a bitter person I don’t even recognize.” With that, she marched out the front door and down the street.

She was still fuming when she texted Simon. On my way to pick up Jayden. How is he?

He’s fine. Why not just plan to stay and I’ll fix us an early dinner?

Sounds great. See you both soon.

Once she got back to her own car, she tried to calm down enough to drive. She needed a better mood, an attitude adjustment.

As she backed out of the driveway, she wondered when her mother had turned into such an angry person willing to judge so easily? When had it happened? Since March, things had been going along so well for both of them. When exactly had her mother started exhibiting this back-biting, bitter personality?

As she took a shortcut toward Taggert Farms, she thought back over the past few months. She was able to pinpoint a day not too long ago when her mother had taken a tumble right outside the drug store and hit her elbow on the concrete, even scratched up a knee. Had she taken a hit to the head as well and no one noticed?

Gilly had a bad feeling she already knew the answer and would have to remember to tell Dr. Nighthawk about the fall. Which meant maybe she’d been too rough on her mother. She decided to turn around and try to make amends.

But when she reached Connie’s house, there stood her mother standing in the front yard with a broom, swatting the branches of the big oak tree.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

“I can’t get these bats to leave me alone.”

“What?” Gilly took a step closer. “What bats?” She stood beneath the tree and searched for anything that looked like a bat. She didn’t see so much as a crow or blackbird. But the next thing out of her mother’s mouth told her there was cause for alarm.

“Those black things up in the tree. See? They keep flying around and scaring Blossom.”

“Our orange tabby that died two years ago? Mom, stop.” Gilly caught the broom handle and stopped Connie’s whacking motion. “It’s okay, Mom. There are no bats bothering Blossom. Let’s get you back inside.”