Promise of Forever

by Patt Marr

  Beth wheeled her new yellow Beetle convertible into the space between two luxury cars. Grandpa had been right. Compared to the other vehicles in the BMC physicians’ parking area, her VW stood out like a happy child at a convention of bankers. It didn’t fit in any more than she did, but they were both here to stay.

  It had been humbling to see how willingly Grandpa had agreed to the changes she’d wanted in her office, and he hadn’t been exaggerating about Keith Crabtree wanting to leave without fanfare.

  She’d met with Keith after hours in his office and worked out the transition, but she hadn’t greeted the staff she would inherit. The receptionist—a young woman in her early twenties—was new to her. One of Keith’s nurses had been there when Beth was a child and a patient herself. Her other nurse was a widower who’d begun working at BMC when he’d needed better hours to raise his daughter alone.

  When Keith mentioned his name, Noah McKnight, Beth couldn’t put a face with the name, but she sincerely hoped the man had a good sense of humor. She hadn’t realized there was anyone named Noah on her staff when she chose the theme of her new office decor. It was such an odd coincidence that she’d considered changing the theme, but it was exactly what she wanted, and her decorator had already placed custom orders.

  Grandpa said if Noah had a problem with it, they would transfer him to another doctor’s office. Beth hoped it didn’t come to that. No one should lose his job or have his life rearranged because she was here.

  High overhead, huge palm fronds swished in the warm fall breeze. The sky was California-blue without a cloud in sight. Beth raised her face to the sun and told herself this was the beginning of a great new life.

  The people inside that classy glass-and-stucco building might scoff at the latest Brennan grandchild coming aboard, but she was well-trained, hard-working, resourceful and unafraid. Nothing could ruffle her composure. Nothing could make her doubt herself.

  Or could it?

  She must be more nervous than she wanted to admit, but was it any wonder? The Brennan family reputation was a heavy load to bear. There were people inside who would love to see her fall on her face, and that was not just paranoia talking.

  She tossed her car keys into her tote bag and slung the tote over her shoulder. From the car’s back seat, she gathered up a floral arrangement, two big gift bags and a smaller one. Arriving this early, she hoped to have her gifts on the desks of her staff when they arrived.

  Stepping briskly, she headed toward the front entrance, as nervous as an intern on her first day. Today she would be working without a net, with no attending physician to consult and no colleague close by. In her office, she was on her own as never before.

  On her own? That was old Beth thinking. She knew better than that. She could pray anytime.

  Lord, I need you today.

  It wasn’t much of a prayer, but a flood of confidence swept over her, surprising her with its immediacy and power. Before she was a Christian, she might have called it mind over matter or something equally indefinable, but she knew better now. The effect of faith on the human body was real.

  Noah McKnight jogged from the employee parking lot toward the BMC staff entrance and took the back stairs, two at a time, hurrying to reach the office and get his daughter’s sign pinned to the bulletin board before Beth Brennan arrived. This time his daughter’s artwork would get the appreciation it deserved.

  He rounded the landing and started up the next flight, grateful for this chance to stretch his legs. He’d been a nurse before Kendi was born, but he’d only been a health nut since Merrilee had died and he’d realized he was all Kendi had. If something happened to him, what would become of her?

  When he thought of his baby being raised in a foster home, it felt like there was a giant claw in his stomach. He knew there were good people who raised kids for the state, and he’d known some, but he’d taken off on his own as soon as he could. Merrilee’s foster situation hadn’t been much better.

  If there was a God, he would get to raise Kendi himself, but he hadn’t seen much reason to count on help from above. Merrilee had, and look where it got her.

  Sometimes he missed the feeling that God was in control. If he were still a praying man, he would pray that things would go better today than he feared they would. Keith Crabtree’s sudden departure had been a shock to the staff, but a terrible blow to Mona Fitz, the senior nurse in the office. The doc and Mona worked together for over thirty years.

  They’d all known Keith would be gone, but not for good. A couple of weeks before, he’d said he was taking the first week in October to go fishing. That wasn’t unusual. Keith often went fishing.

  When Keith gave them all the same week off—with pay—Noah should have realized something was up. Keith had called it an early Christmas gift, but he’d never made such a generous gesture.

  On that last day, Keith’s face had been void of emotion when he told them he’d just seen his last patient…ever. Beth Brennan was back in town and would be his replacement. He shook their hands and was gone.

  Mona fell apart, sobbing and threatening retribution against the Brennans and their “spoiled princess” for forcing Keith out of a job. She wouldn’t be consoled by Vanessa, their young receptionist, or listen to reason from himself. The Brennans weren’t to blame because Keith wanted to retire. Anyone could see he’d lost his zest for the job.

  This past week, Noah had spent a lot of time worrying about Mona’s attitude and whether Beth Brennan would know her stuff. Had she gotten her position because of her name? Would she be a powder puff and let Mona run the show, or would the two of them lock horns and he’d have to referee?

  In all this time, would Beth have changed as much as he had? He’d worked through the stages of grieving, and it seemed like he had his sense of humor back.

  Thinking, worrying, wondering what Mona would do today, Noah opened the stairwell door and stopped in his tracks. Stepping out of the elevator was Dr. Beth Brennan. Would she remember him?

  The new doc smiled as if seeing him just made her day. It was no doubt mere friendliness, but Noah’s heart rate picked up as if it were more. Of course, he had also just run up a double flight of stairs.

  “You’re Noah, aren’t you?”

  “I didn’t think you would remember me.” He was unreasonably pleased that she had.

  “Remember you?” A frown crossed her pretty face.

  “We met…” If she didn’t remember, maybe he shouldn’t remind her of that bad day. “It was a while ago.”

  “But I usually have a very good memory for names and faces.” She studied his face intently.

  “Don’t worry about it. We barely met. But how did you know my name?” He sounded like a single guy talking to a single woman. That wasn’t like him. He never thought of himself as single.

  “The scrubs,” she answered, glancing at his work attire. “Since you’re in scrubs, and I’ve learned that BMC only has one male nurse, you must be Noah.”

  That was him all right. Around here, he was one of a kind. Some men might have liked that, but not him. If the regular hours of this job weren’t better for Kendi, he would be back, doing the job he loved in a hospital ER.

  “I’ve lived in scrubs for so long,” she said, “that it seems strange to show up for work in street clothes.”

  Just then he noticed what she was wearing, right down to the yellow sneakers that matched her yellow shirt. Her khaki pants fit just right, and her only jewelry was a practical watch. There was nothing about the doc that shouted “spoiled princess.”

  If Mona had anything to complain about, it would be how young Beth Brennan looked. Without her long lab coat, no one would believe she was the doctor.

  “I’m Beth Brennan, in case you’re as bad at remembering names as I am,” she said, setting down a couple of gift bags and extending her hand. “We’ll be working together.”

  “I know,” he said, surprised at how his shortness of breath lingered on. He hadn’t realized he
was this out of shape. “Can I carry those bags for you, Dr. Brennan?” he asked, trying to sound natural.

  “Thank you, but, please, call me Beth.”

  Walking side by side toward the office, he noticed that the top of her head was level with his chin, though the length of her stride matched his. Just guessing, he would say she ran or jogged regularly. Whatever she did to workout was working just fine. She was in great shape.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re part of my staff, Noah,” she said with a secretive smile. “Without you, our office just wouldn’t be complete.”

  Oh, no. Here he was, ready to like and respect Beth Brennan, and she had to come on to him? That stuff started soon after Merrilee’s death, and it still turned him off.

  They rounded a corner, and their lobby came into sight. Noah stopped dead. A week ago the lobby had looked as impersonal as every other waiting area in the clinic. The only way a person would have known it was a pediatrician’s office was the presence of a little table-and-chair set and some kiddy magazines.

  This morning, sunshine poured in on a child-friendly play area with pairs of elephants, tigers and zebras as chairs for the kids. Bright-colored fish darted about in a big aquarium, and on the wall was a really cute mural of Noah’s ark and a big rainbow.

  Okay, he got it, and he owed the doc an apology for jumping to the wrong conclusion. Grinning, he said, “I take it I’m to play the part of Noah.”

  “For the record,” she said, looking anxious, “the decorator had placed custom orders before I realized I had a Noah on my staff. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Her earnest explanation said a lot. Only a really good person would care about such a little thing. “How can I mind? It’s not like I had to build the ark. How did you get all this done so fast?”

  “Obviously, I had a lot of help. Do you like it?”

  She shouldn’t have had to ask. “Of course I like it! It’s great!” Kendi would love it, especially that rainbow.

  “There’s more,” Beth said, her face happy with anticipation as she unlocked the door to the office.

  Noah braced himself for disaster. If she’d changed Mona’s kingdom as much as she’d changed the lobby, Mona would have a fit.

  But the front office was exactly as they’d left it. He almost sighed in relief.

  Her soft laugh said she’d caught that. “I thought I’d better leave the front office alone.”

  “Good call.” That was twice that she’d shown she cared about how others felt. How could Mona find fault with that?

  “There are other changes, though.” Beth set the flowers on the counter. He set the bags there, too, and followed her down the hall.

  Opening the doors of the three exam rooms, she flipped on the lights for him to see that each room had received a quick facelift. Caricatures of a pair of happy monkeys covered the back wall of Exam Room One. Room Two hosted a pair of silly zebras, and Three had a pair of giraffes with such goofy expressions he had to laugh.

  “Good! You’re laughing,” she said, sounding relieved.

  “This is just…great!” He couldn’t help being impressed. Beth Brennan had known what she wanted in her new practice and wasted no time putting it into motion.

  She walked over to a brand-new stand-alone cabinet and opened it, the better for him to see inside.

  The shelves were stocked with an assortment of the silliest hats and headgear he’d ever seen. They looked adult size. “Are these for Mona and me to wear?” he asked, knowing Mona Fitz would burn the place down before she learned how to have fun.

  “Actually, the hats are for me, but I might share. I got the idea from our family’s New Year’s Eve parties where everyone wears a crazy hat.”

  He’d heard about those hats, and he’d been invited to the Brennans’ New Year’s Eve party the last two years. If Merrilee had been alive, they would have gone.

  Beth chose a shiny red beret with a coiled wire toy attached to the top. “What do you think?” she asked, moving her head so the toy sprang wildly from side to side. “Do you think this will distract a little kid?”

  It would certainly distract him, and she wouldn’t even have to wear the hat. Man, the doc was cute. She didn’t seem to be wearing any makeup, but she was so naturally pretty with those caramel-colored eyes, straight little nose and truly terrific smile, that makeup sure wasn’t necessary.

  “You know how difficult it is to examine kids when they’re frightened,” she said. “If we’re having fun, I’ll get to do my job and they won’t dread coming here. At least that’s the plan.”

  “It ought to work.” If anyone could pull that off, she would be the one, and if Beth knew medicine as well as she knew kids, she was going to be great.

  She took the hat off and ran her hand through her sun-streaked hair as if it didn’t particularly matter how it fell. He couldn’t imagine many women—or men—risking a hair style that casual, but on her, it looked great.

  “What did you want to be when you were a little boy?” she asked. “Choose a hat, and you’re halfway there.”

  He was halfway there already, at least when it came to feeling at ease with his new boss. He’d assumed that she would be intelligent, kind, caring, as most peds docs were, but it was her joy of life that drew him in. He’d felt like smiling from the moment they met.

  He picked up a diamond tiara with a plume of feathers attached. “My daughter would love this.”

  “Is she one of our patients?”

  “Not yet.” But she would be. Kendi needed this doc’s sense of fun as badly as he did himself.

  “Anytime she comes in, she can wear it, but she might surprise you. We girls don’t always want to be royalty. I would have picked this one when I was little.” She chose a football helmet and plunked it on her head.

  “You liked to play football?” he asked, thinking how different that was from his little girl.

  “Not as much as other sports, but I wanted my mother to think I was as headstrong and out of control as my brother, who did play.”

  “Trey Brennan, out of control?” That was an image impossible to conceive.

  Laughter burst from her. “Not Trey! He would never do anything my mother disapproved of! Golf and tennis were his games. It was my brother Ry who played football.”

  Noah had forgotten that she had another brother. Ry Brennan, the family rebel, had been introduced at Beth’s reception nearly two years ago.

  “I take it that you know Trey,” she said dryly.

  Noah couldn’t stand the guy, but he probably ought to keep his opinion of her brother to himself. “When Dr. Crabtree needed a neurological consult, he used a doctor more familiar with peds patients.”

  “Good! Our kids deserve somebody who’s nice.”

  That was calling it like it was.

  “Do you know my uncles?”

  “Not well.” Why be candid when it could only hurt her feelings? Her womanizing uncle, Dr. Charles Brennan, was an excellent cardiologist, but the female staff had no respect for him. Her uncle Al was a brilliant orthopedic surgeon, but a patronizing, sarcastic know-it-all, as unlikable as her brother Trey.

  “How about my grandfather? Do you know him?”

  He knew the senior Brennan better than he was supposed to admit, so he said, “Everyone knows the chief! Your grandfather’s amazing. He makes a point of knowing all of the staff. He asks about their kids and their grandkids. You can tell he suffers a lot with his arthritis, but he makes it to the office every day. He’s the best.”

  That brought a glow to Beth’s face. “He’s a hard man to say no to. He can talk me into anything.”

  She wasn’t the only one. When the chief called last week and asked Noah to keep an eye on Mona, it hadn’t felt right, going behind Beth’s back even if her grandfather did have her best interest at heart, and there was genuine cause for concern.

  “How about my dad? Do you know him?”

  “Only because I was an ER nurse at Cedar Hills
Hospital before I came here. The general consensus is that your dad can do no wrong. He’s very dedicated to his patients.”

  “He is, isn’t he? Poor Trey—as James Thomas Brennan III, he’s had a lot to live up to.”

  That could be part of Trey’s problem, but it had to be more than that.

  “Do you know my cousin Collin?”

  He nodded, smiling. “He’s engaged to a nurse friend from Cedar Hills.”

  “I’m supposed to be a bridesmaid at their wedding, but I haven’t met the bride yet.”

  “You’ll like Glenda. She’s great.”

  “Collin’s not much like his dad, you know,” she said cautiously.

  So she knew about her uncle Charlie’s flirtations. It couldn’t be easy for her, coming back to L.A. where so many people thought they knew her because they knew her family.

  “Which is Mona’s desk?” she asked, leading the way to the front office and picking up the flowers. “In the interest of a peaceful transition, I brought these for her.”

  The flowers were arranged in a container shaped like a dove. Noah smiled as he pointed out Mona’s desk. It looked as if the doc had done her homework and knew what she might expect from Mona.

  “And I have this for Vanessa…”

  It was a candy dish, shaped like a pair of kangaroos, their pouches full of candy. Beth placed it on the front desk. Vanessa did have a sweet tooth. How had Beth known that? Since she was batting two for two and there were a couple of gift bags remaining, he wondered what she might have for him.

  “And for Noah…” The big bag held a long white box, the kind that long-stemmed roses came in.

  Roses? For him?

  But the “flowers” were big chocolate chip cookies attached to long green wires sprouting leaves. “Have you ever had a cookie bouquet?” she asked.

  “No, this is a first,” he said, pleased with his gift. “My daughter’s going to love these.”

  “I saw her picture on your desk when I was moving in. I thought she would like these even if you’re not a cookie kind of guy.”