Page 58 of Riverbend Gap (Riverbend 1)

Boots, Avery’s black-and-white cat, jumped onto the sofa and curled up against Katie. Her fur was the softest thing Katie had ever touched.

Avery’s flat above the clinic was small and homey, decorated mostly in neutrals with a pop of color here and there. It suited herfriend. It was neat and tidy except the dining room table, which was cluttered with Robinson-for-Sheriff promotional materials.

Katie’s mind went back to this morning as it had done all afternoon while she gardened and caught up on chores. It wasn’t even the meeting with her mother that claimed her thoughts, though that had gone better than she’d expected.

It was seeing Cooper with that woman—Amber. Katie remembered Lisa mentioning the hairstylist’s interest. Cooper had apparently decided to take Lisa’s advice and move things forward.

But seeing him with Amber had gutted Katie. Even now the memory of them together made her feel hollow inside. She had no right to be jealous. But that didn’t negate the fact that she was. Amber was beautiful and she practically radiated confidence. No wonder the woman had caught Cooper’s eye. Katie had felt like a slouch even though she’d taken care with her appearance. She pulled Boots into her arms and cradled him against her stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Avery set a glass of ice water on the coffee table for her.

Katie dredged up a smile and took the last bite of her brownie. “Nothing. Just getting tired, I guess.”

“It’s not even ten, but I’m tired too. We must be getting old. Have another brownie.”

“I’ve already had two. Remember how late we stayed up at college? We were just getting started at ten.”

“Yeah, those all-night study sessions while everyone else partied.”

“That’s why you made it into med school and I made it into the nursing program.”

Avery raised her milk in a toast. “To hard work paying off.”

Katie clinked her glass. “Hear, hear.”

They reminisced about college awhile, then the conversation turned to the clinic and some of the patients who had come in that week.

“Can I ask you a question?” Avery said after they’d exhausted the topic.

“Sure.”

“If a serious genetic disorder ran in your family... would you want to know if you carried the gene?”

“I’m not sure. It’s difficult to know something like that until you’re faced with it. Are you talking about one of our patients? I didn’t come across anything like that in the files.”

“She, uh, wants to keep it private for now.”

Fair enough. It was a small town, and Avery probably knew the patient personally. “Is it a serious condition?”

Avery gave a nod. “Huntington’s disease.”

That was serious. “Has she had genetic counseling?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I don’t think there’s a pat answer for everyone. It’s something each person has to decide for him or herself.”

Avery popped the last of her brownie into her mouth. “You’re right.”

“And further complicated if she has children to take into consideration.”

“Children definitely complicate the issue.”

It was a heavy decision to make, and Katie was glad the woman had confided in Avery. Especially if she didn’t have anyone else to talk about it with. Huntington’s disease was a fatal genetic disorder with an onset of symptoms in the thirties or forties. The probability of offspring inheriting the disorder was 50 percent, and there was no cure.

“It’s me,” Avery said.

“What’s you?” Her gaze locked on Avery’s, and the meaning of her words hit Katie like a tidal wave. A sudden coldness swept through her. Avery’s dad was almost sixty, but her mom had died when Avery was a child. Katie couldn’t remember Avery ever telling her how.