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I had no idea why I asked that—since she obviously had to know Lucy—or why I paused on Lucy’s name as if I’d forgotten it. I hadn’t. I was just so incredibly anxious.
When I’d visited the hospital, I’d naturally thought I’d be turned away; I hadn’t stressed about seeing Lucy then. But now that I knew I had permission to be here, I felt like I suddenly had some respectable expectation to live up to. And it was running my nerves ragged.
“Yeah, I…” Laughing at herself, Dr. Kavanagh pressed a hand to her chest as she shut the door. “I guess I should let you know Dr. Kavanagh isn’t technically my name either. Not anymore, anyway.”
My brow furrowed in confusion before she explained, “The director who asked me to teach those three volunteer classes you attended at the library knew me back before I was married. And I never corrected her when she introduced me to your class by my maiden name, did I?”
I shook my head slowly, feeling lost. Was she saying her name wasn’t Dr. Kavanagh?
“My name’s actually been Gamble for thirty-three years,” she finally clarified. “But please, call me Aspen.”
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Mouth falling open, I repeated, “Gamble?”
As in, Lucy’s last name, Gamble?
With a nod, Dr. Kav—er—Aspen’s eyes glittered with delight before she said, “I’m Lucy’s mother.”
“Oh my God,” I blurted, not having foreseen that answer.
But what a strange connection.
I’d taken Aspen’s free technical writing class at the library when I was twenty-two and had just learned Duke was sick; it had altered the course of my life in the best ways. Because of this woman right here, I’d been able to tweak my résumé so I could get a better job with topnotch insurance as a telecommunications engineer, and I’d learned how to write grants to help with hospital fees.
I owed her so much.
To learn that we now had Ava in common was…
Well, I was thunderstruck.
“I…” Shaking my head, I blew out a long breath. “I was not expecting you to say that.”
She laughed. “And I certainly wasn’t expecting to learn that you were…” Words fading, she gasped, and her eyes filled with sympathy. “Your brother,” she realized, bringing a hand to her mouth. “He didn’t make it.”
“Uh, yeah…” Clearing my throat, I looked down at my hands and studied my thumbnails before glancing up and forcing a smile. “But he hung in there as long as he could. Two years longer than anyone thought he would.”
When my voice shook, I bit the inside of my lip for showing such weakness.
Aspen’s gaze warmed, and she reached out to clutch my arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” The sincerity in her expression shredded my emotions. “You’ve been through so much.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but my throat closed over and words escaped me. I had a sinking feeling I was about to make a sobbing mess all over her.
Thankfully I was saved by the appearance of an older man as he exited the hall, a baby cradled in his arms and a pink receiving blanket tossed over one wide shoulder.
“Hey, babe?” he asked distractedly as he immediately began to scan the room. “Do you know where the baby wipes are? We need a clean-up on Aisle Tushy.”
I straightened, trying to get a look at Ava, but the man shifted, turning away from me and blocking her from my view.
“Oh!” Aspen popped into motion, hurrying forward. “They should be in the diaper bag. Here.”
She scooped up the bag from a rocking chair and drew out a plastic package to hand him.
“Sweet. You’re a lifesaver.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek as he accepted the baby wipes, only to get distracted when he finally realized I was there.
“Hey,” he greeted leerily, straightening next to Aspen as his sharp, calculating gaze ran over me. “I didn’t realize we had company.”
“He just arrived,” Aspen answered, clasping his arm before motioning to me. “Vaughn, this is my husband, Noel. Noel, Vaughn Merrill.”
