Up by Five (34 page)

“The femoral artery,” Ryan replied.

Shane shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Yes it is,” Ryan protested.

“Not what the card says.”

“Well, it is.”

“Anterior tibial artery and popliteal artery,” Shane read from the card.

“Well, they branch off of the femoral.”

“But they’re not
called
the femoral artery down there.”

Gabby sighed. She had to pull a card that would get them out of the Peppermint Stick Forest—that was where all the questions about the nerves and vessels were.

She appreciated these guys though. Ryan was filling in tonight too and Shane had come over with pizza after his shift ended to help for a while. Apparently Isabelle and Amanda were helping Cody and Olivia frost something like fourteen-dozen cupcakes for something.

She hoped they didn’t show up later with the leftovers. Conner’s sisters were also very supportive, but Olivia’s you-can-do-it encouragement baking was already to blame for Gabby’s five-pound weight gain and Emma thought that Gabby needed a lot of study breaks—complete with trips to the masseuse or nail salon.

Though Gabby didn’t argue too hard once she was facedown on the table and they were digging into her tight shoulders.

Her family, too, was on board. Poker had gone to once a month—at least games that included Gabby—Conner played more often than that. And she no longer had to make dip. Olivia made it for her. She and Conner attended a family dinner twice a month and she called her mom every other day. Things were good. Everyone seemed to be surviving.

Even Josh had straightened up. Somehow, Gabby had the suspicion that it had to do with Sierra being more than a friend to him, but she didn’t want to know. She completely understood where Conner had been coming from all this time regarding his sisters and his friends.

She drew a six and moved her top hat.

“Name two ligaments of the ankle,” Shane read.

“Anterior talofibular ligament and the posterior talofibular ligament.”

“And if you shot someone in those, they wouldn’t be able to run either,” Shane said, sticking the card on the bottom of the pile.

“Should we be concerned that everything is revolving around people getting shot tonight?” Ryan asked.

Shane shook his head. “Rookie shot a guy in the arm last night. He was still able to run. And got away.”

“Got it,” Ryan said with a chuckle.

She smiled as Dooley and Mac came into the room, arguing about something. Dooley spotted the game and immediately dropped onto the love seat next to Gabby. “I want to play.”

“You have to start at the beginning,” Shane said. “And Gabby’s already to the Lollipop Woods.”

“Yeah, but the Molasses Swamp is all the neuroanatomy…that’ll slow her down,” Dooley said, giving Gabby a wink.

He was right. She hated neuroanatomy.

Dooley leaned in. “And let me guess, you’re the thimble.”

Shane frowned. “Yeah. So?”

“You’re still at the Peppermint Stick Forest. I can so pass you.” Dooley drew a seven from the deck.

Shane plunked a game piece down for Dooley. “Fine. Name the nerves that come off of the brachial plexus.”

Dooley smirked at him. “The musculocutaneous, the axillary, the median, the radial and the ulnar nerves.”

Shane sighed and Dooley moved his piece seven squares and slid across the Rainbow Trail, moving ahead of Shane.

“So where is the female anatomy section?” Dooley asked. “I’ll kick ass at that.”

“Up by Queen Frostine, of course,” Ryan said.

“Ah, got it. Well, I’m ready. Studied up just last night,” Dooley said.

“You really think you can do better on female anatomy than
I
can?” Shane asked, sitting up taller.

Dooley nodded sincerely. “I do.”

Shane scoffed. “We’re going to skip ahead to the Ice Cream Sea,” he told Gabby and Ryan.

“Oh brother,” Ryan muttered.

“What? I have to defend my knowledge base here,” Shane said.

“I’m going to beat you both anyway,” Ryan said, moving all the game pieces.

Gabby laughed at that. They all looked at her.

“Really? I
have
female anatomy,” she said. “You think you can beat me?”

Shane grinned and Dooley nodded, “It’s more important to us.”

She shook her head, grinning. “Okay, let’s go.”

She should have known this was going to happen. But she did need to be able to pass this section of the test.

They correctly identified the labia majora and minora, the clitoris—“Morgan’s favorite body part,” Dooley added.

“It’s every woman’s favorite body part,” Gabby informed them.

They got the Fallopian tubes, the uterus and the vagina right. But then they stumbled.

They didn’t know that fimbriae were part of the Fallopian tubes and they didn’t know Bartholin’s glands secreted fluid during sexual arousal—and could get inflamed and painful. But Gabby did.

“On to male reproductive anatomy,” she announced, drawing a five from the deck.

“But we didn’t even get to talk about orgasms or nipples,” Dooley protested.

“Orgasms are more physiology than anatomy,” Gabby told him with a smile. “Somebody ask me a question about the male sex organs.”

Ryan grinned and she groaned.

“An
appropriate
question,” she added.

“Well, that leaves me out,” Dooley said.

“And I don’t want to talk about anything that gets inflamed and painful in the male sexual system,” Shane added.

“I don’t understand why you need to know the fancy names for all this stuff,” Dooley said, picking up a question card.

“Yeah, knowing how it works is the important part,” Shane said.

“But when you’re talking about it with someone, you need to use the proper terms so you know you’re talking about the same thing,” Gabby said.

“I have never spoken the term
vas deferens
in my life and the people I talk to about this stuff know exactly what I’m talking about,” Dooley said.

Gabby couldn’t help her grin. She was going to kick butt on this anatomy test. And likely most of her tests from here on out if she had these guys on her side.

The door to the break room banged open and Cody came in carrying a huge tray of cupcakes.

Olivia, Amanda and Isabelle were behind him.

“We had leftovers,” Olivia announced happily. “Carrot and lemon.”

Gabby groaned. Olivia Dixon’s carrot cupcakes? No way could she say no to that.

“No chocolate?” Dooley asked, getting to his feet.

“Not tonight.”

“Cupcakes should always be chocolate,” he told her, choosing a lemon and taking a huge bite.

“You should leave these alone then,” Olivia said, holding the platter out of his reach.

Ryan grabbed them from behind her and handed Dooley another lemon, taking two carrot for himself.

“What are we studying tonight?” Cody asked, moving toward the board.

“Anatomy. Specifically sexual anatomy,” Shane told him.

“Are you the thimble?” Cody asked.

Shane scowled at him. “Yeah, so?”

“You’re behind everyone else.”

Shane gave him a growl. “So?”

“So whether you’re talking female or male sexual anatomy, I feel sorry for Isabelle.”

“He’s just fine,” Isabelle said, sliding onto her fiancé’s lap. “It doesn’t matter if he knows what to call it, just how it all works.”

Gabby sat back, a huge dumb grin on her face and stupidly feeling like crying at the same time.

Things were crazy, chaotic and loud. Just like always.

In other words, completely perfect.

Conner rounded the corner, headed for the break room…and ran smack into someone.

Someone small by the feel of it, but he couldn’t see around his armful to who it was.

“
Oof
” was all he’d heard from them so far.

But he knew who it was.

The floor was now littered with peanut butter, chocolate star cookies.

He peeked at Sara Gordon around the giant stuffed duck he was carrying.

“Nice duck,” she told him dryly.

“Were those for me?” he asked of the cookies. “I don’t know how many times I can tell you—I’m in love with someone else now.”

She grinned as she dropped to her knees to gather the cookies. He set the duck aside and knelt to help.

“I’m thrilled about the being-in-love-with-someone-else thing,” Sara told him, putting the cookies back on the plate—that was thankfully plastic.

“Was I really such a creepy stalker?” he asked, stretching to his feet.

“No. You were sweet and charming and always made me smile. But,” she added as he was about to say something cocky, “it bugged me that you were wasting it on me. I’m thrilled you have someone to dote on now.”

Conner grinned. “My favorite word,
dote
.”

“Well, you’re good at it.”

He picked the duck back up. “I do believe I’ve given you the last pink bunny of our relationship, though, Mrs. Gordon.”

“I understand. Though it makes me strangely nostalgic to think you’re now taking enormous stuffed animals to someone else.”

He patted the duck’s bill. “I know what you’re thinking. That this will turn Gabby to mush, but this is actually for my sister and my new niece.”

Sara’s eyes widened. “Emma had her baby?”

He nodded, feeling a strange surge of pride that he didn’t fully understand. Little Miss Lucy Sullivan was his niece, not his daughter. But he felt like he was glowing.

It was about Emma, he knew. His little sister was a mom now. It was bizarre and wonderful.

“Last night. Gabby’s working for Sam tonight, so I thought I’d swing through and take her up to visit with me if they’ve got some downtime.”

Sara fell into step beside him as they turned for the break room. “I understand there’s a big test the day after tomorrow.”

Surprised, Conner looked down at her. “How’d you know?”

“Mac was going over the bones of the wrist and ankle last night. Said that he was determined to get to the Lollipop Woods tonight before Dooley.”

Conner laughed as he pushed the break room door open.

Chaos.

That’s what met him as he stepped into the room.

Everyone was there. Or nearly everyone. They had the Candy Land-Anatomy Review game spread out on the coffee table, there was a crazy amount of cupcakes being passed around and everyone was talking at once.

Except Gabby.

He zeroed in on her right away. She was sitting on the love seat, her feet up on the coffee table, a sweet smile on her face as she observed the crowd.

She met his eyes across the room and her smile grew even warmer.

Damn, he loved her.

“Nice duck, Dixon,” Mac observed.

“I’m on my way to being Lucy’s favorite uncle,” Conner told him, setting the duck on a chair at the kitchen table.

“Aren’t you Lucy’s only uncle?” Ryan asked.

“Well, that helps too,” Conner admitted with a smile.

He headed for Gabby. She scooted over on the love seat, then snuggled up against him once he was seated.

“I saw you walk in with Sara.”

“Yeah, she’s trying to win me back with my favorite cookies.”

“We have the same favorite cookie, Dixon,” Mac said.

Ah, he’d heard that. Good.

“Did you notice the heels she’s wearing?” Conner asked Gabby. “I think she’s realized that I like tall women and she’s trying to compete.”

“She’s always worn high heels,” Mac said from behind them.

Conner chuckled. “And did you hear that she tried to dye her hair dark once she realized I like brunettes?”

“That was an accident with some paint at the youth center, you jackass,” Mac said. “And it was one streak in her hair.”

Conner loved this.

“You know it’s true that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” Conner said to Gabby. “Poor Sara.”

“Oh god,” Gabby groaned, getting to her feet and pulling him up as well. “How about you and I go for a little while and we’ll see if anyone misses you.”

“Not a chance in hell,” Mac called out.

Conner gave him a grin as he grabbed the duck and headed for the elevators with Gabby’s hand in his.

“Studying going well?” he asked as they stepped onto the elevator.

“Strangely, yes.” She went up on tiptoe and gave him a quick, sweet kiss. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For bringing all of these people into my life.”

That caught him in the heart and he had to clear his throat. “I brought you into theirs too. I deserve a lot of thanks.”

“Well, I don’t know about everyone else, but I have the perfect way to show my appreciation,” she said as the elevator arrived on Emma’s floor.

“Does it involve a coat closet? ’Cause we still haven’t done that and I know a lot of closets around this place.” He followed her off the elevator.

“How did you know it involved a blow job?”

He chuckled and glanced around, then backed her up against the nearest wall. “I don’t think you can say the word
blow job
on the floor where all the sweet newborn babies are.”

“You don’t think those figure in to those sweet newborn babies being here in the first place?” she teased, looping her arms around his neck.

“Blow jobs don’t result in babies,” Conner told her, running his duck-free hand down her side to her waist and pulling her closer.

“They help.”

“I think you need to study your reproductive anatomy more in depth.”

“I might need some help.”

“At your service.”

They kissed, hot and hard.

Until Nate interrupted them.

“Stick with the blow jobs.”

They pulled apart with a laugh and turned to face Nate, their arms around each other.

“Strange advice from a new dad,” Gabby commented gently.

Nate looked like hell. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair tousled like he’d been running his hand through it, and his shirt rumpled.

“I think you have new gray hair already,” Conner said, not as gently.

“I’m sure I do,” Nate agreed. “I have a baby
girl
.”

Conner chuckled and nodded. “I know. In fact, I knew like five months ago she was going to be a she. As did you.”