“I was wondering how you wanted me to handle being off-site. Do you have a beeper or anything for me to carry, or will the cell phones be reliable?”

Sarah put the clipboard she’d been carrying down on the counter and moved a few steps away from the kitchen staff. Lily followed.

“Going somewhere?”

“Into town,” Lily said, not feeling the need to explain any further.

“Tonight?” Sarah asked mildly.

“Yes,” Lily said, also not feeling the need to hide anything. “Chase and I are going to have dinner, and I’m finally going to get the hiking boots I should have gotten to begin with. Today definitely convinced me I needed them.”

“How is Chase doing?”

The question wasn’t surprising. Of course Sarah would know that Chase had been injured. Chase was Sarah’s sister, but also Lily’s patient, and now Lily was about to go off on what even she had to admit was a date with Chase. Murky boundaries everywhere, but none that she saw as compromising anything personal or professional—yet.

“She looked pretty comfortable out there today,” Lily said, “but it’s Chase. I suspect she doesn’t let much in the way of physical discomfort show.”

“You seem to know her pretty well,” Sarah said. “That’s kind of surprising, seeing how she almost never shares anything that really matters with anyone.”

Sarah’s frustration was hard to miss. Lily could only imagine how terrifying Chase’s accident must have been for Sarah. They’d been each other’s only family for more than half their lives. Shutting Sarah out, if that’s what Chase did, had to have been unconscious. Lily could never imagine Chase hurting Sarah intentionally.

“I don’t know about that,” Lily said. “Chase lets people see what she wants them to see. That goes for everyone, I imagine.”

“She seems to think that you see more than that.”

Lily felt heat rise to her face. She was both pleased and intrigued. “Really?”

Sarah’s eyes were probing, and Lily wasn’t sure if she was reading criticism or curiosity.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Chase really serious about anyone she was involved with,” Sarah said mildly.

“We’re not going over this again, are we?” Lily asked. “Because it’s really not—”

“No, actually.” Sarah spread her hands and smiled wryly. “I’ve given up on relationship advice for the rest of the summer.”

“Well, that should cover things, then, as far as I’m concerned at least.” Lily said it lightly, even as the idea of Chase giving Sarah some reason to be concerned about another woman ignited an unexpected and totally unreasonable flare of…annoyance. Because she didn’t get jealous—never had—and had absolutely no cause to start now.

Sarah raised a brow. “Anything’s just temporary, right?”