Quicksilver Season

THE CLOCK IN EMERGENCY READ 3 A.M.

Bleary-eyed, Cassie removed bits of Pacific Coast Highway embedded in his skin while the patient complained loudly. Then she saw the scar.

It couldn’t be. But how many men had interesting scars on their posteriors? Cassie vividly remembered her father sewing him up after Cassie’s dog, at her instigation, had wreaked havoc on that particular part of Brendan’s anatomy. Oh, no! she thought, and the forceps slipped.

“Cripes, what’re you using, lady? A pitchfork?” No doubt remained. Brendan Peter Craig, the scourge of her childhood, had just made a spectacular re-entry into Cassie Hart’s life.