eyes stung and her breathing quickened as if she were hyperventilating. She pinched the skin on the back of her hand, hard, and pressed her lips together.
Gramps held Xavier’s arm as they made slow progress down the driveway. The older supporting the younger, opposite of how it should be.
Troy cleared his throat. “Like I said, the job won’t be long-term. I...it looks like you and your son have some...issues. You might want to find something more permanent.”
His kind tone made her want to curl up and cry for a couple of weeks, but she couldn’t go there. She clenched her fists. “I know the job is short-term.” Swallowing the lump that rose in her throat, she added, “That’s okay with us. We take things a day at a time.”
“Why’s that?” His gaze remained on the pair making their slow way up the driveway.
He was going to make her say it. She took a shuddering breath and forced out the words. “Because the doctors aren’t sure how long his remission will last.”
* * *
Troy stared at Xavier, forgetting to breathe. Remission? “Remission from what?”
Angelica cleared her throat. “Leukemia. He has...a kind that’s hard to beat.”
Every parent’s nightmare. Instinctively he reached out to pat her shoulder, the way he’d done so many times with pet owners worried about seriously ill pets.
She flinched and sidled away.
Fine! Anger flared up at the rejection and he gripped the porch railing and tamped it down. Her response was crystal clear. She didn’t want any physical contact between them.
But no matter his own feelings, no matter what Angelica had done to him, the past was the past. This pain, the pain of a mother who might lose her child, was in the present, and Angelica’s worn-down appearance suddenly made sense.
And no matter whose kid Xavier was...no matter who she’d cheated on him with...the boy was an innocent, and the thought of a child seriously, maybe terminally, ill made Troy’s heart hurt.
Again he suppressed his emotions as his medical instincts went into overdrive. “What kind of doctors has he seen? Have you gotten good treatments, second opinions?”
She took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t begin to tell you how many doctors and opinions.”
“But are they the best ones? Have you tried the Cleveland—”
“Troy!” She blew out a jagged breath. “Look, I don’t need medical interference right now. I need a job.”
“But—”
“Don’t you think I’ve done everything in my power to help him?” She turned away and walked down the steps toward her son. Her back was stiff, her shoulders rigid.
He lifted a hand to stop her and then let it fall. Way to go, Hinton. Great social skills.
He’d find out more, would try to do something to help. Obviously Angelica hadn’t done well financially since she left him and left town. Xavier’s father must have bolted. And without financial resources, getting good medical care wasn’t easy.
“Mom! Did you get the job?”
Angelica shot Troy a quick glance. “It’s still being decided.”
The boy’s face fell. Then he nodded and bit his lip. “It’s okay, Mama. But can we at least see the dogs?”
“Absolutely,” Troy answered before Angelica could deny the boy. Then he hobbled down the porch stairs and sank onto the bottom one, putting him on a level with the six-year-old. “I’m Troy,” he said, and reached out to shake the boy’s hand.
The boy smiled—wow, what a smile—and reached out to grasp Troy’s hand, looking up at his mother for reassurance.
She nodded at him. “You know what to say.”
Frowning with thought, the boy shook his head.
“Pleased to...” Angelica prompted.
The smile broke out again like sunshine. “Oh yeah. Pleased to meet you, sir. I’m Xavier.” He dropped Troy’s hand and waved an arm upward, grinning. “And this is my grandpa. My great-grandpa.”
“I’ve already had the pleasure.” Troy looked up and met the old man’s hostile eyes.
Camden glared down at him, not speaking.
Oh man. Out of the gazillion reasons not to hire Angelica, here was a major one. Obviously her grandfather was an important part of her life, one of her only living relatives. If she and Xavier came to live here, Troy would see a lot of Homer Camden, something they’d managed to avoid for the years Angelica was out of town.
Of course, he’d been working like crazy himself. Setting up his private practice, opening the rescue, paying off debt from vet school, which was astronomical even though his family had helped.
Troy pushed himself to his feet and got his crutches underneath him. “Dogs are out this way, if you’d like to see them.” He nodded toward the barn.
“Yes!” Xavier pumped his arm. “I asked God to get me a bunch of dogs.”
“Zavey Davey...” Angelica’s voice was uneasy. “Remember, I don’t have the job yet. And God doesn’t always—”
“I know.” Xavier sighed, his smile fading a little. “He doesn’t always answer prayers the way we want Him to.”
Ouch. Kids were supposed to be all about Jesus Loves Me and complete confidence in God’s—and their parents’—ability to fix anything. But from the looks of things, young Xavier had already run up against some of life’s hard truths.
“Come on, Gramps.” When the old man didn’t move, Xavier tugged at his arm. “You promised you’d be nice. Please?”
The old man’s face reddened. After a slight pause that gave Troy and Angelica the chance to glance at each other, he turned in the direction Troy had indicated and started walking, slowly, with Xavier.
Angelica touched Troy’s arm, more like hit him, actually. “Don’t let him go back there if you don’t want to give me the job,” she growled.
Even angry, her voice brushed at his nerve endings like rich, soft velvet. Her rough touch plucked at some wildness in him he’d never given way to.
Troy looked off over the cornfields, thinking, trying to get control of himself. He didn’t trust Angelica, but that sweet-eyed kid...how could he disappoint a sick kid?
Homer Camden and the boy were making tracks toward the barn, and Troy started after them. He didn’t want them to reach the dogs before he’d had a chance to lay some ground rules about safety. He turned to make sure Angelica was following.
She wasn’t. “Well?” Her arms were crossed, eyes narrowed, head cocked to one side.
“You
