in the lock.
Moments later, Max opened the door and stepped inside.
“So how was the job search?” she asked.
Her brother blew out a sigh. “No luck yet. So I guess you’re stuck with us for a while.”
That might be true about Max staying with her, but she certainly didn’t feel stuck with Anthony.
“It’s not a problem.” Kirsten glanced at the sweet little baby who’d come to live with them. “I’m happy to help out while I can.”
“But what happens when you get a call from another firm looking for an accountant? You’ve got a mortgage to pay, so you can’t continue watching Anthony for me.”
That was true. And Max would be hard-pressed to job hunt all day and watch over his son without help.
He didn’t seem to be stressed about that, though. Or worried about the fact that he might not be able to afford day care and rent when he did manage to find employment.
“Well,” Kirsten said, “I can watch him for the time being. We’ll just have to take one day at a time.”
And she shouldn’t have any trouble doing that. She’d been taking one day at a time ever since she’d allowed Max to move in with her. But what else could she do? He was the only family she had left, and looking after him was a responsibility she’d always had.
Of course, she’d come to realize that some of her help over the years had bordered on enabling in many ways. The more money she gave him, the more he seemed to need.
Then, about two years ago, she’d read a book on tough love. It made sense that she wasn’t really helping him by bailing him out all the time. So she’d told Max that she was finished taking care of him, that he was an adult and would have to fend for himself. He was twenty-four at the time and had just started dating Courtney, so he’d moved in with her for a while.
Lo and behold, he landed a good job at the feed store and kept it for nearly two years—until the owner sold the business.
Losing his job had been really tough on him—and it had been tough on Kirsten, too. But the layoff hadn’t been his fault. His boss had decided to retire and sell the business, and since the new owner had a large family and planned to hire his kids to work for him, Max was let go.
Of course, that meant he could no longer pay his rent. So she’d offered to let him live with her until he found a new job.
She’d been afraid that they would both fall back into destructive old patterns, yet she didn’t want Max to end up on the street when he’d been clearly trying hard to get his life on track. If she looked at the big picture, he deserved her help and a second chance.
And then Anthony had come along, immediately changing the dynamics of their brother-sister relationship and complicating things. After all, there was no way Kirsten would ask Max to leave or refuse to help him when that meant turning her back on Anthony, too.
She smiled at the child in her arms, his little eyes closed, his lips still tugging at the nipple.
“So how did things go for you today?” Max asked, as he plopped down on the sofa. “Did the baby give you any trouble? “
“We had a good day.” She didn’t dare tell him that she’d taken Anthony to the clinic. She had to tread carefully with Max these days, not make him feel as though she was backing him into a corner. All she needed was for him to resent her interference, bolt and take little Anthony with him.
If he were to leave, where would he live? How would he support himself and a baby?
“How’s your own job search coming?” he asked. “Did you get any nibbles from the résumés you filed with those online applications? “
“I’m still waiting to hear something.” But she wouldn’t actively seek a full-time position until Max found work and knew what his options were for day care.
“So you don’t have any interviews scheduled?”
“No, but I’m really not worried yet.” She had a healthy savings account, so she’d been able to pay the mortgage—so far.
“You know,” Max said, “I’ve been thinking. The Red Rock Medical Center offers low-cost checkups. Maybe I ought to take Anthony one day next week.”
Kirsten nearly jumped out of her chair, but she reeled in her excitement, knowing it was best to let Max think the whole idea had been his all along. Apparently, her hints had sunk in after she’d dropped the subject and let it go.
“You’re probably right,” she finally said in a ho-hum sort of way. “I could …” She caught herself, realizing that Max wanted to do the right thing, but for some reason, it was important for him to make those kinds of decisions on his own. “Well, I could look up the website on the computer and give you a phone number—in case you want to set up an appointment or ask questions.”
He seemed to think on that for a while, then he said, “Sure, that would be okay.”
She slowly released the breath she’d been holding.
Max wasn’t a kid anymore. And he wasn’t as irresponsible as he’d once been. She needed to remember that. She also needed to respect his decisions—whatever they were. And if that meant minding her sisterly Ps and Qs, then so be it.
“Do you think Courtney would have taken Anthony for his shots?” she asked.
He’d refused to call Courtney, but maybe Kirsten could nudge him just a bit.
Max seemed to ponder that for a moment. “She used to hate going to the doctor herself, so something tells me she wouldn’t have worried about taking Anthony.”
Well, Courtney certainly hadn’t appeared to have a very strong maternal instinct, but Kirsten bit her tongue, reminding herself to keep quiet and to let Max come to his own conclusions about his child’s mother.
“I guess it’s good that you’re going to be the one raising him,” Kirsten said. “He’s going to need a daddy like you.”
Max shrugged, although the hint of a smile suggested that her comment had pleased him. And she was glad that it had. Their relationship had taken a real turn for the better today, even if she was the one who’d learned a valuable lesson in dealing with Max, in trusting him to do the right thing.
“Do you want to go with me when I take Anthony to the clinic?” he asked.
The question both surprised and delighted her—but not because she needed to be involved in Anthony’s care. She was happy to see that her relationship with her brother was finally on the mend.
“Sure,” she said. “I can go with you as long as I don’t have an interview scheduled.”
“Thanks. I’d like you to be there. I’m not sure I want to see someone poke him with a needle.”
Kirsten wasn’t excited about seeing that, either.
“You know,” Max said, “since things
