meal,” Mr. McGraw boomed, patting his ample stomach. “Leave the dishes, hon. Me and the boys will get them.”
Once again, Lilly could scarcely believe her ears. In the world where she’d been raised, Sanctuary, all the men had treated the women as little more than serfs. And that had been in the best-case scenario. Once more she was forcibly reminded that the rest of the world wasn’t like Sanctuary.
As the men pushed back from the table and began gathering the dishes, Kane touched her shoulder. “You’ll be all right? I shouldn’t be gone more than a minute or two.”
Slowly, she nodded. He grabbed her plate and his, and moved to the other side of the table, picking up silverware. Lilly noted some of the other women pretending not to watch her. She offered Kane’s mother a tentative smile, relieved when the older woman smiled back, genuine laugh lines creasing her light blue eyes.
With the background noise of silverware and plates clattering in the kitchen, chatter flowed easily among the women. Lilly didn’t participate, but she listened, marveling at the feminine camaraderie. A swift stab of yearning filled her. The closest she’d ever come to having a friend had been one of the female doctors at Sanctuary, who’d exploited Lilly’s loneliness. Dr. Silva had pretended friendship in order to make it easier for her to perform experiments on Lilly.
The first time Lilly had begged her to stop, her so-called friend had ignored her and tightened the screws instead.
Since that day, Lilly no longer believed in friendship.
But the camaraderie among these women, who were joined by blood or by marriage, felt different. None of them appeared to have anything to gain, no private agenda as they joked and laughed, teased and commiserated. Lilly made a note to watch them while she was here, and see who tried to exploit whom.
The men returned a few minutes later. They too seemed in high spirits, jostling one another, bumping shoulders and fists. Kane seemed slightly embarrassed, side-stepping when his two brothers tried to get him in a headlock. His gaze locked on hers, sitting so quietly, as if he knew she thought herself a weed among blooming flowers.
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