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Yikes. Based on their initial encounters, Tag would not approve. Ally was almost relieved that Hannah hadn’t taken her up on her offer. Almost, because, she reminded herself, she didn’t care what he thought of her. At least today’s excursion would give her a chance to apologize before encountering him in a social setting.
A small smile played on Flynn’s lips. “You know, most women in this town wouldn’t consider it such a hardship to spend the afternoon with him.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, he’s generally considered the one to catch around here.”
“The one to catch?” She repeated the statement flatly.
“Rankins’s most eligible bachelor.”
What did that mean? That he was some kind of player or that he wasn’t? “Huh. Well, I’m not most women, am I?”
Flynn barked out a laugh. “That you are not. I gotta get going. Promise me you’ll make nice with Tag James?”
“I promise I’ll…try.”
* * *
TAG WAS SURPRISED when he arrived at the hospital to find that the patient wasn’t ready for transport. His inclination was to seek out Dr. Ramsey, although he knew the task now fell under Ally Mowak’s job description.
With flashbacks of their last meeting flickering uncomfortably before him, he headed to Ally’s office only to find that she wasn’t in.
Tag gritted his teeth as he realized they’d never had that meeting with Dr. Ramsey. He’d headed back to the office that day and asked his assistant, Ivy, to schedule it. But that same evening Ivy had received word that her dad had died, and Tag had immediately given her as much time off as she needed to fly home to Nebraska to be with her mom, assuring her that all tasks would be taken care of in her absence.
Was it too much to hope for that someone other than Ally was assisting with the transport today? Dr. Ramsey or one of the other doctors sometimes accompanied patients, and he knew of at least two nurses who were trained to travel. He went to the nurses’ station on the first floor—they always seemed to know everything—and asked about Flynn and Ally.
“They’re both with patients,” Marlena, one of the nurses, told him a moment later after making a call. “But Nicki wants to know if you’re aware that you’re more than an hour early for your transport?”
“I thought the pickup was scheduled for one.”
“She was afraid of that. She says she called your office this morning to reschedule but got your machine.”
“Ah.” Tag nodded. That would explain it. He hadn’t gone into the office this morning. And probably none of his crew had bothered to check the messages. He couldn’t blame them; that wasn’t their job and he hadn’t asked them to. He made a mental note to give Ivy a raise immediately upon her return and headed to the cafeteria to grab a coffee.
On his way out, he ran into his friend Laurel Davidson, the owner of the town’s newspaper, the Rankins Press.
“Laurel, hey, what are you doing here? Chasing a story?”
“Possibly. I have a line on a human-interest piece. What are you up to?”
“Killing time because of a scheduling snafu. Ivy is gone, and my office is bordering on chaos.”
“Speaking of chaos, I am looking for the new hospital liaison, Ally Mowak. You know her, right?”
Tag set his features to bland. “Met her. Briefly.”
Laurel’s brows jumped high onto her forehead. “And…?”
His answer was a little frown and a shrug to match.
Clearly not fooled, not that she ever was, she said, “You can cool the closemouthed, cagey act. I know you flew her cousin in from Jasper Lake after the grizzly bear attack. Tell me what you know, what you think.”
“About what? I don’t know anything. It was pretty intense, Laurel. The patient was her cousin, and we didn’t spend much time chitchatting.” Why did he sound defensive? Tag wasn’t about to mention the controversy Ally had caused with the use of the clay, although he knew gossip had already flown around the hospital like a foot fungus in a dirty locker room. Heck, he’d heard it being discussed at the Cozy Caribou the day before.
Meaning Laurel already knew, which must have something to do with her being here. Her doubt-filled expression seemed to strengthen his deduction.
