Count on Me (Bayview Heights Trilogy) by Kathryn Shay

decisions about your future.”
    “Oh, I’ve already decided. I’m going to be an actress.”
    “Well, maybe a minor in something else might help. Just in case…”
    Y ou don’t make it . The woman was too tactful to finish the thought, the one that scared Julia to death. She didn’t want to think about living in the world as herself. She planned to be other people most of the time. It was easier.
     That why you assume roles, Jules?
    She wondered how Dan was doing. And the others. Erica was probably dying. Shondra would be okay. Julia was a little worried about Ashley.
    o0o
    ASHLEY SAT before Dr. Max Johnson and pasted on a brave smile.
    “Are you all right, young lady? You look a little pale.”
     Oh God, with his experience, could he tell she was pregnant? She grasped her purse, which held the pregnancy testing kit she and her boyfriend, Evan, had stopped to buy before he’d dropped her off. He wouldn’t take it home with him. They were going to do the test tonight, together.
    “I’m fine.” She gave him her cheerleader grin. “I’m really glad to be working here.”
    “What do you plan to do with your life, Ashley?”
     The question of the day. “I’m not sure. Maybe some area of health—community health or education.” Or maybe just be a mother. It’s probably what I’d be best at, anyway .
    She tried not to think about Evan’s reaction. But his stunned face and angry flush haunted her…
     You’re on the pill, damn it. How could you be pregnant?
    I, um, went off it because it made me gain weight.
    When were you going to tell me?
    I figured the first half of the month was safe.
    For a smart girl, that was pretty stupid.
    Only when she’d begun to cry had he softened up. That ploy always worked with him, but it made her mad sometimes to have to resort to it.
    She tried to focus on what Dr. Johnson was saying. She’d do office work, stock supplies, make coffee, and maybe eventually she could get a little more involved with patients, if it was all right with them. Ashley didn’t much care. All she wanted was to be done here, go home and find out what her future was really going to be.
    She hoped Shondra would finish on time. She was catching a ride with her; Ashley wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait.
    o0o
    JOHN BATTAGLIA had the most beautiful eyes Shondra had ever seen. So brown they were almost black, with lashes a girl would kill for. And they sparkled like onyx when he talked about medicine. He was a dedicated man, she could tell.
    “I worked for Kurt when I was your age,” he told Shondra.
    “In New York?”
    “Uh-huh.” Buttoning his white lab coat, he sat down behind a desk. “You’ll be doing the stuff I did. Very similar to orderly work.”
    “I’ve volunteered at the hospital for years.”
    “So I see from your résumé.” He smiled, and Shondra’s heart, which had never been pledged to a boy, tightened in her chest. “You wanna be a doctor.”
    “Yes. You’re in premed, right?”
    “Columbia. I’ve taken extra courses each semester and gone summers, so I’ll be through a year early. I’ll start medical school in September.”
    “There?”
    “Yep. I’ve already been accepted.” He looked past her to the exit. She followed his gaze.
    Dr. Lansing stood in the doorway with Erica. “Oh, sorry, I thought you’d be done by now.”
    “We are. I’m going to take Shondra on a tour of the facilities. Erica, wanna come with us?”
    “Not now.” Dr. Lansing smiled and answered for her. “We need to get some things outlined before she leaves.”
    Erica’s expression was sulky, but okay. Shondra wished her friend could chill about this assignment. She wasn’t helping Ms. C at all.
    “Need a ride home?” Shondra asked Erica as she and John headed to the door. “I’m taking Ashley.”
    “No, my car’s out of the shop. Thanks.”
    “See you later.”
    John nodded to Erica, then squeezed Dr. Lansing’s arm. His knowing look didn’t escape