***
An hour later, we sat in the hospital’s parking lot, sipping our lattes and listening to the radio. My ring tone started. Mom. I pressed the green button and brought the phone to my ear. “Did you get my message about tonight?”
“Yes, I did. Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring you guys something to eat for dinner.”
I grinned. “You’re the best, Mom.”
She chuckled. “I’ll see you tonight.”
I turned off my cell just as a song ended. “Is that Taylor’s latest hit?”
Cora stared at me blankly. “I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention. What time is it?”
“Three forty-five. You’re worried about this Debbie girl for nothing, you know. Keith’s crazy about you.”
“Then why hasn’t he asked me to the dance?”
“Maybe he just assumed you’d go together or he’s waiting for you to ask him.”
She widened her eyes. “That’s dumb. Men always do the asking.”
“You asked him out,” I reminded her.
Cora grinned. “That’s ‘cause he was taking forever when it was obvious he liked me.” She sighed. “I could go with you guys, but I hate being a third wheel. Oh, let’s go get this over with. Debbie can have him for all I care.”
We threw our paper cups in the bin by the entrance then stepped through the sliding, circular automatic doors. The ladies behind the desk at the physical therapy entrance were nice, but Keith frowned when he saw Cora. Maybe she had a reason to worry.
“What?” Cora asked with attitude.
“My mother’s here.” Keith glanced over his shoulder and hustled us away from the desk.
Cora frowned. “So what? She knows we’re dating.”
“Yes, but she doesn’t approve of my girlfriends coming to my place of work.”
“Girlfriends? Just how many—”
Keith pulled her toward him and shut her up with a kiss. “I’ll come to your place tonight. There’s something I need to ask you. Right now, I have to introduce Raine to Debbie then go back to work before my mother finds out I’m gone. She’s big on work ethics. Get it?”
Cora grinned. “Got it.”
“Good.” He planted another kiss on her lips. “This way.”
He led us down a set of stairs and along a hallway to a door. He opened it to reveal an office with several workstations, but only one was occupied by a heavy-set, middle-aged woman. She waved to us. I elbowed Cora, who grinned.
“Debbie, this is Lorraine Cooper, the friend I told you about, and her friend Cora. Girls, this is Deborah Keegan,” Keith said when we stopped by the woman’s desk. “Thanks for agreeing to help them, Debbie.” He squeezed her shoulder and turned to Cora. “See you tonight.”
Debbie didn’t wait for him to leave the room before she tapped on the keyboard then glanced at me. “What’s your social security number?”
I recited the nine-digit number and waited with anticipation as she typed. She glanced at me. “Just the names of the nurses?”
“Yes.”
She tilted the screen away from us as a page popped on the screen. She scrolled down, clicked, and scrolled some more, then picked up a pen, scribbled something on a piece of paper, and handed it to me. “Anything else?”
“No, thank you.” I studied the names—Gabrielle Guillaume, Kayla Jemison, and Sally Mullin. I wanted to ask her if they’d retired, but I doubted she would appreciate it. From her cold demeanor, it was obvious she was only helping us because of Keith.
We were by the door when I whispered, “I wish I could ask her if they still worked here.”
“Go ahead and do it,” Cora said.
I glanced at Debbie from the corner of my eye. “I don’t know. She didn’t seem thrilled to be helping us.”
“Oh, whatever. Are they all retired?” Cora asked, turning to face Debbie.
The woman looked up and scowled. “Excuse me?”
“The nurses,” Cora said. “Are they retired, dead, or still around?”
Debbie sighed. “There’s a Gabby Guillaume upstairs at the Women’s Center,” she said. “But I don’t know if it’s the same nurse.”
We were grinning as we left the basement and headed for the elevator. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to talk to one of the nurses who had taken care of me. “Thanks for asking her.”
Cora shrugged. “Are you excited?”
“Oh yeah.” Scared, too. I wasn’t sure what to expect.
We followed the signs to the double doors of the Women’s Center. Inside was a spacious, spa-like waiting room with soft background music, comfortable furniture with fluffy pillows, and ottomans. I shivered. Someone must have cranked up the air conditioner because the temperature in the room was cooler than outside. Through the glass walls, I could see women lounging in beds, some with their babies. A young nurse who reminded me of Marj from the swim team sat behind the large, circular nurses’ station. She wore fashionable blue floral scrubs, and her braids were in a bun. We approached her.
“Hi. We’re looking for Gabby Guillaume.”
She frowned, her eyes volleying between Cora and me. “I’m Gabby. How can I help you?”
Cora and I exchanged a glance. She was too young to have taken care of me seventeen years ago. “I think someone made a mistake. We’re looking for Gabrielle Guillaume who worked here seventeen years ago?”
The nurse frowned. “That was my aunt. I’m named after her. What is this about?”
I explained about my birth and wanting to thank her aunt. The nurse’s expression changed as I spoke, from confusion to surprise then finally wariness.
“Ooh, that’s sweet,” another nurse overheard us and said. She was short and curvy and had a kind smile. A third nurse had her back to us and was busy punching the keyboard.
“She’s thinking of nominating her for an award,” Cora said.
“The Daisy Award,” I explained.
Nurse Guillaume smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “She would have loved that, but my aunt is retired now and moved back to Louisiana. If you leave your number, I can give it to her and explain what you want. If she wants to talk to you, she’ll give you a call.”
“That would be great. Thank you.” I scribbled my cell number and name on the piece of paper. “Um, you don’t happen to know Kayla Jemison and Sally Mullin, do you? They worked here with her.”
Nurse Guillaume shook her head. “That was before my time, but Aunt Gabby might know. I’ll ask her if she knows how to contact the other two.”
“Thank you.” We left the Women’s Center and entered the elevator, but I couldn’t get rid of a weird feeling about the nurse. “Do you think she reacted kind of weird?”
Cora frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but she seemed almost reluctant to help us.”
We headed to the parking lot, but just before the car started, I thought I heard a motorcycle engine roar to life. I looked around, but there was no biker. Not that I expected to catch a glimpse of Torin. He probably used rune magic to move at a super speed.