"Abby and I went to school together in Charleston and stayed in touch after graduation. I met David through her," Betsy said. "I am their friend, but I respect the sanctity of our relationship as doctor and patient. What you and I say in here is meant for us alone. They will never ask, and I will never tell. Do you believe me?"

"How can I?" Neil asked. "I just met you."

"I respect that," Betsy said. "Hopefully I can earn your trust over time."

Neil wasn't planning on seeing her ever again, no matter all his promises of a next time, so he went with a neutral, "Hopefully."

He glanced at the clock, calculated how much time was left, and swallowed a sigh. If Betsy noticed his distraction, she didn't comment on it. Instead she filled the rest of the session with idle chitchat about the season and the upcoming semester. Neil continued feeding her easy answers that wouldn't raise any flags and counted minutes in his head. When his time was finally up, he got up and preceded her from the room.

Betsy followed him down the hall but stopped in the doorway to the waiting room to clasp his hand. "It was nice to meet you."

"You, too," Neil lied.

Renee stood, bid Betsy another farewell, and went with Neil out to the car. As she unlocked the doors she looked over the roof at Neil and said, "That wasn't so bad, was it? Andrew was convinced it would be a disaster. He put money on you hating Betsy."

"Did you bet against him?"

"Yes," Renee said. "It was a private bet between the two of us."

Neil spent the summer blurring the truth with his teammates, but a half-hour talking to Betsy left him too worn out to care right now. It helped a bit that honesty in this case put Renee at a disadvantage. Andrew might be trouble, but he was easier to understand than Renee's polite smiles.

"I hope you didn't lose much," Neil said. "Why does Andrew tolerate you, anyway? You two should hate each other on principle."

"Either you think too highly of me or not highly enough of Andrew," Renee said, getting into the car. Neil slid into the passenger seat. Renee waited until they were buckled before turning the key in the ignition. "My faith keeps me and Andrew from always seeing eye-to-eye, but he and I understand each other."

There had to be more to Renee than her cross jewelry and pretty smiles if she'd qualified for a spot on Wymack's broken team, Neil knew, but he hadn't thought he'd misjudged her this badly. He mulled over everything that could be wrong with her from split personalities to clinical insanity. None of his theories sounded plausible, but it kept him busy for the ride back to the stadium.