Chapter 18
Eighteen
“Excellent differential, Dr. Savage,” Dr. Miles praised in his gruff voice over the phone.
Grier had the receiver wedged between her ear and shoulder as she quickly pulled up the new patient—Ally’s— chart.
He’d just finished explaining that the afternoon brain MRI revealed a large pituitary tumor, likely contributing to her scoliosis symptoms.
“I wish I could say I’m happy about this, but I’m afraid it means a much longer road ahead for Ally,” Grier responded, sympathetic to the girl’s plight. She scanned the radiology report for any other signs of disease beyond the single tumor—and was grateful to find none.
“Agreed. But now she can get the correct care, even if it is not the most expeditious. It will, in time, provide the best results and, hopefully offer her a much higher quality of life.”
Grier listened as he paused, sensing he wasn’t finished.
“I hope you don’t find this too forward, but I’m increasingly impressed with your medical acumen, as well as your ability to advocate for your patients, even in the face of…
strong opposition. It’s obvious why you were named Physician of the Year. ”
Grier was at a loss for words. Praise from Dr. Miles was rare— let alone an entire monologue loaded with it.
She’d never had issues with the chief of surgery, finding his bark worse than his bite—at least where she was concerned—but she was unaccustomed to such prolific recognition of her expertise.
She stuttered before a weak, “Thank you,” gushed from her lips.
“I—I just want what’s best for Ally. For all our patients, really. ”
“I know, Dr. Savage. I’m well aware of your reputation for prioritizing patient care.
It’s one of the reasons I never hesitated to support your appointment as department chief—and why I continue to recommend you for various recognitions throughout the year.
You serve this hospital—and your profession at large—by bridging the gap of respect between our disciplines. I trust this will continue.”
It was the way he delivered his words—like she should have known it to be true despite his very reserved, very restrained, and highly uncommon offering of praise—that made her pause.
He had voted for her to be chief. And for other recognitions.
She knew she held his respect; she wouldn’t have made it this far without it. But his esteem? That was news.
“Yes, sir.” Sir? Was she thirteen? She corrected herself quickly. “Yes, I will never willingly compromise what I feel is in the best interest of any patient—mine or otherwise.”
Alix and Maren walked into her office together. The workday was done, and Grier knew they were both here for explicit details regarding Tobin’s impromptu lunch visit. She knew unequivocally that Alix had already recounted their version of the story—with embellishments—to Maren.
She used her eyes to indicate that they should sit while she finished her conversation.
“Good. Have a good night, Dr. Savage.” He ended the call without waiting for her to respond.
Grier hung up and stared at her desk, dumbfounded by the compliments she’d just received.
“You okay, honey?” Maren ask gently. “You look kind of… confused.”
Grier shook her head, pulling herself back to the present.
“Yeah, I think so.” She gave her head another shake, stretched her upper back, then narrowed her focus on her friends.
“Speaking of confused—have either of you been talking about me around the hospital? Specifically, as it concerns my personal life?”
Alix and Maren exchanged a glance, questioning where this was going and where it had come from. Both shook their heads rapidly, convincingly.
“No, honey. We’d never betray you like that,” Maren offered. “No, we haven’t talked to anyone,” Alix confirmed, validating what Grier already suspected.
As the weight of their admission settled, her suspicions about the source of Haleigh’s knowledge only grew. No one but Grant could have shared that information. She didn’t know what to do with it.
“Honey? What’s going on? Did someone threaten you because of Tobin?” Maren asked carefully, concern lacing her tone.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like Haleigh—the opposite was true.
She earnestly supported the surgeon, even as it concerned her brother.
She’d often thought they’d make a strong couple.
But she was still jarred by this sudden momentum towards closure, a step that pulled her further from Nora.
And that hurt. Instinctively, she grabbed the pendant around her neck, running it back and forth along a short stretch of chain as she steadied her emotions and fought a small twinge of tears.
“No, nothing to do with Tobin. Not directly, anyway. Just…” She hesitated, knowing instinctively she should give Haleigh the same respect she wished Grant had shown her—not discussing anything before confronting her brother.
Even with Alix and Maren. She trusted them, but she felt compelled to protect her brother’s and Haleigh’s wishes to remain in the shadows for now.
“Nothing. It’s nothing.” She hoped her friends wouldn’t press.
“It doesn’t look like nothing,” Alix said. “Seriously, Grier—if someone said something to you about Tobin, you should report it.”
She loved her friends and the way they rallied around her, even when it was entirely unnecessary.
She smiled, trying to comfort them—and perhaps herself.
The knot growing in her stomach as she formulated a plan to confront her brother was souring the far more welcome feelings stirred by Tobin’s unexpected visit.
She much preferred butterflies to the stomach acid now roiling inside her.
“Thank you, but truly, no one said anything bad about me and Tobin.” She redirected the conversation, offering herself as the sacrifice. “Who, I assume, is the reason you’re both here right now?” She didn’t have to force the sincere sparkle in her eyes as she recalled her lunch date.
Maren’s eyes narrowed briefly, hesitant to follow the redirection. But Grier knew she wouldn’t push for more. Alix, however, was eager for details on what they’d walked in on over lunch. “Finally! You were so tight-lipped during my adjustment after she left—give us details!”
“I was tight-lipped over lunch because there was nothing more to tell. What you saw—interrupted,“ she said, pausing to give Alix an obviously insincere admonishing look, “—was just a tender moment between two women beginning to accept how much they like each other.”
Alix snorted at her muted summary. “I think you mean how much they want each other.”
Grier didn’t fight the twitch of her lips—a not-so humble smirk spreading across her face. She really did like Tobin, and her wanting had never been in question.
“I have to agree with Alix here, honey. If last weekend’s extracurriculars were any indication of your feelings, liking and wanting each other are pretty much understood concepts at this point.
” Maren’s eyes twinkled as she lightly teased.
“Impromptu lunch dates and snuggles? Those are signs of intent.”
Not wanting to put the cart before the horse, and refusing to let her friends prod her into sharing information she wanted to keep close to the heart for now, she logged off her computer and began gathering her things to lock up for the evening.
“Well,” she said, sliding her raincoat over her shoulders and zipping it up, “I intend to see where things go with Tobin—at whatever pace she’s willing to set.”
She giggled at the eager and supportive smiles spreading across her friends’ faces. “Yeah, you do!” Alix cheered.
A few hours later, after Delta had been tucked into bed, Grier found her brother in the kitchen, cleaning up the remains of their dinner and packing Delta’s lunch for tomorrow. He smiled as she walked in.
“A few more days of this, and summer will be here,” he said, nodding at the lunchbox; school would be ending next week, just before Memorial Day weekend.
“She’s more than ready,” Grier offered. “All she’s talking about lately is her camp at the humane society.
I wish there were more animal camps for kids around here.
I won’t be surprised if we need to add an extension by the end of the summer with all the animals we’ll likely accrue over the next three months! ”
Grant shivered.
Grier laughed softly but remained quiet, perching on a stool across from him and settling in for the rest of the conversation.
Sensing her quietude, Grant probed. “You seem a little off tonight. Everything okay?”
She shrugged, trying to make this conversational segue work in her favor. “Yeah. Grand rounds this morning turned into yet another spar with Dr. Vanders.”
She watched him close the lunchbox and fling a kitchen towel over his shoulder as he moved to put it in the refrigerator. “That’s not all that atypical with him. Why’s this one got you so funked?”
She took a moment to recall the entire conversation, and then the one with Dr. Miles that afternoon. “Well, it actually worked out fine. You will not be shocked, I’m sure, to learn that Vanders’s immediate reaction was to cut.”
Grant shook his head. She watched him intently as she delivered her account deliberately, gauging his reaction. “Dr. Rhodes immediately challenged him—clearly far more versed in the case than he was. He didn’t appreciate that she was running circles around him and started to lash at her.”
If she wasn’t mistaken, she caught a flutter in his pupils at the mention of Haleigh, and a slight twitch in his jaw as he tried to control his response.