stepped inside she knew it was true. The tension of the day began to recede as welcoming sounds bombarded them from all directions: laughter mixed with music while the slide-and-chime of dish on dish was accented by clinking silverware. Across the wide space and off to one side were a couple of pool tables. At the far end of the room a game of darts was in full swing. A group of women was seated at a large table nearby.
“Ah,” he said, following her gaze. “Friends of mine. Come on—I’ll introduce you to some of the nicest people. Most of them will be at the party Saturday, too.”
They approached the group and Flynn turned on his grin, gesturing around helplessly. “Uh-oh, I think I’m walking into a girls’ night thing here, aren’t I?”
A pretty blonde answered. “Well, it is girls’ night, but you can join us because you’re not one of our men and only if you don’t speak about any of them tonight. I happen to have argued with mine, and I don’t want his name mentioned.”
She reached out a hand toward Ally. “Hi, I’m Emily.”
Ally shook it. “Hi, Emily. Ally.”
Flynn draped an arm over Ally’s shoulder. “So, everyone, like Ally just said, this is Ally Mowak.” He started with the opposite side of the table where two look-alike women sat side by side. “Ally, this is Hannah and Shay. Sisters, in case you couldn’t tell.”
To the women, he added, “Ally is coming to Iris’s party with me this weekend.” He turned back to Ally. “Hannah owns and manages Snowy Sky Resort and JB Heli-Ski. Shay is the owner of the Faraway Inn and Restaurant.”
Anyone would guess the women were related; they both had long brown hair and nearly identical golden-brown eyes, over which the same sweeping brows arched gently. Matching smiles accented sculpted jawlines. Something seemed vaguely familiar about them, yet she was sure she’d never met the women.
Flynn was gesturing toward the other side of the table. “And this is Adele and Janie. Adele is Shay and Hannah’s cousin and manages the Faraway Restaurant. Janie owns a knitting business and simultaneously wrangles five children, while Emily here—” he indicated the woman she’d already met “—is president of the Tourism Bureau.” Next, he pointed to the woman seated beside Janie. “This is Laurel, owner and editor of the town’s newspaper, the Rankins Press.”
Ally felt like she’d walked into the middle of a chamber of commerce meeting instead of a girls’ night out.
“Nice to meet you, Ally,” Hannah said with a warm smile. “Was Flynn saying somewhere in there that you know our sister Iris?”
“No, I just know Flynn. He knows your sister. Flynn and his grandfather are pretty much the only people I know in Rankins.”
“How do you two know each other?” Laurel asked, glancing at Flynn’s hand still draped over her shoulder. Ally was pretty sure she wasn’t imagining the curiosity shining in more than one pair of eyes.
Flynn explained, “Ally is like a little sister to me. Our grandfathers go way back. Ally’s grandpa Abe is friends with Doc.”
A few more minutes of small talk went by before Flynn said, “We should go get a table. Ally started a new job at the hospital today, and we’re both starving.”
“Sit with us. Seriously,” Emily said, “we’d love to have you. We’re really not that strict on the girls-only rule.”
The waitress appeared to deliver food. Flynn quickly placed their orders and rounded up two chairs while the women shifted and made room at the table.
Easy conversation ensued until a blond man with a bright smile and boyish good looks sauntered over to their table. “Hey, since Doc Junior here is horning in on your girls’ thing, does that mean I can, too?” He twirled a finger around the table.
Adele scoffed. “Absolutely not.”
“Women and men, Park. No boys allowed,” Hannah said and bit off the end of a french fry.
“Ladies, come on...” he drawled. But his grin suggested that he loved the attention. “It’s been days, hasn’t it, since we’ve bonded like this? I know you’ve missed me.” He seemed to be talking to Hannah and Adele, but they all laughed.
“So, Hannah, how about a game of pool?” he asked.
Adele laughed. Hannah’s chin jerked up as if she was studying the ceiling, but she brought it back down quickly to peer at him. “Seriously, Park?”
“Yes! Please, Hannah. Come on! I’ve been practicing, watching videos on YouTube. Pretty sure I’ve got this.”
“Fine. One game. No bets.”
He huffed. “I know, I know. My betting days are over.”
“Get me a root beer float, and I’ll meet you at table two when those guys finish their game.” She pointed at one of the tables currently in use.
“Awesome.” Park hustled off, presumably to claim the table and fetch Hannah’s drink.
Adele smiled at Ally and Flynn. “Park once lost $500 to Hannah on a pool bet. They were enemies for ages until Hannah saved him from a probable jail sentence and financial ruin. Now they’re friends.”
“I don’t know that I’d go that far,” Hannah said, but her voice held enough gentleness that Ally knew it was true. “He’s on Snowy Sky’s board of directors, but he’s still a royal pain in the butt.”
A shout rang out from the crowd playing darts, drawing the attention of most of the table.
Hannah turned in her chair and started to stand but immediately sat down again, wincing as she settled sideways on the seat. She busied herself riffling through her bag, but Ally wasn’t fooled.
With the collective focus still on the dart game ruckus, Ally felt confident no one was paying attention, so she lowered her voice and asked, “Are you okay? Is it your knee?”
Hannah’s eyes widened slightly before giving her leg an absent pat. “Oh...yes, it is, but I’m fine. Just an old injury.”
“What type of injury?”
Her expression went blank in a way that reminded Ally of herself when someone was prying into her business.
Ally bit back a smile. “Sorry, I’m not being nosy. Well, I am, but only because I’m a medical professional. Maybe I can...”
Before she could think of how to phrase the rest of her explanation, Hannah said, “Thank you for the offer, but I’ve seen so many doctors... It’s a form of arthritis caused by having my leg crushed in a car accident and then pieced back together.”
“What treatments have you tried?”
Hannah glanced toward the pool table where the guys were still playing before facing Ally again with a thoughtful expression on her face. “Do you... Are you like a naturopath or an osteopath or something?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m not a doctor. I’m a paramedic. Currently, I’m working as the hospital liaison and the emergency air medical coordinator. But I’m also... My grandfather,
