woman nodded. “I’m sorry to call you but...” She held out one of her arms, and, sure enough, a rash had spread across the surface. “My husband was worried.”
“Is this everywhere?”
“Yes, it’s also on my stomach and my legs.”
Kaleb frowned. “Any trouble swallowing?”
“No. None.”
He took down the name of her surgeon and checked the medication the woman was on. The amoxicillin caught his attention. A common antibiotic, it could sometimes cause a rash. “Have you ever had an allergic reaction to any kind of penicillin?”
“Not that I know of.”
Taking her arm, he examined the spots. “Any itchiness at all? Tingling anywhere?”
“No.”
He nodded. “I don’t think it’s anything serious. Sometimes antibiotics, especially amoxicillin, can cause a harmless rash.”
Her husband came over and placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “So it’s nothing to worry about?”
“Not at this point. We normally see itching or tingling in a true allergic reaction. I’ll contact Dr. Porter’s office just in case and let him know what’s going on. I’ll have him call you if he wants to make a change in your medication. If you see anything else, though, please don’t hesitate to call me or the hospital.”
The hotel’s location made it convenient to do just that. It was another of the reasons they’d chosen to have the fund-raiser at the hotel. Where he’d come across Maddy in the middle of her asthma attack.
Who would have guessed that days later she’d be the target of a crazed ex-husband?
Shake it off, Kaleb.
He made the call to Dr. Porter’s office while he was in the room with his patient and marked down his own findings on his tablet, including the room number for billing purposes. Then he excused himself after handing them his business card and reminding them to call him if they had any other problems.
He checked with the front desk to make sure there were no other calls right now and headed back across the street to the hospital. A police car out front made his muscles tense for a second, but the officer inside the vehicle didn’t seem worried. It was another of the precautions the city had taken—upping the police presence in the area.
As he made his way inside, a little girl with a doll clutched under her arm rushed past him, followed by a slender woman with long blond hair. “Chloe, slow down. You need to wait for me.”
Chloe?
He looked a little harder, and, sure enough, the girl had red hair and pink cheeks as she turned and grinned at the woman following her. High heels made it hard for the blonde to keep up with the child, but it didn’t look as if the girl was being deliberately naughty. She was just on a mission.
“Please hurry, Aunt Roxy. I want to show her to Mommy.”
Kaleb lengthened his stride, pulling alongside the pair. “I’m sorry, but are you looking for Dr. Grimes? Madeleine Grimes?”
The woman caught up with the little girl and pulled her to a halt, using an arm around her shoulders to keep her close. She then turned and looked at Kaleb. Maybe looked wasn’t the right word. Glared was more like it. “And who are you?”
She was worried. Not angry. And Kaleb could certainly understand why after what had happened. “I work here. I’m Kaleb McBride.”
She looked closer. “You’re the man who helped Maddy, during...” She glanced down at her charge and then took two steps forward until she and Chloe were directly in front of him. “She told me what you did. I owe you. Big-time. It’s like you were meant to be there.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.”
“Oh. I do.” She looked at him with new eyes. “Would you mind taking me to Maddy’s office? This hospital is so huge, I always end up getting lost, and we’re supposed to have lunch together.” She gave him a meaningful look. “She’s been worried. Ever since. And she feels guilty, even though she tries to hide it.”
Kaleb didn’t like the idea of Maddy living in fear and guilt. But he knew from experience that trauma could last long after the event was over. Maybe she should talk to the counselor the hospital had hired.
“I’ll be happy to.”
The little girl, who’d been silent up to this point, evidently decided he wasn’t a threat. “Hi. I’m Chloe.” She held up a naked doll that was half her size. “And this is Patsy.”
Roxy rolled her eyes. “I tried to talk her into putting clothes on her, but—”
“Mommy has to choose her lunch outfit.”
The woman lifted a large shopping bag emblazoned with the name of a doll company and gave an amused smile. “Yes, and we have Patsy’s entire wardrobe with us, right down to six pairs of shoes. And a cat costume.”
Kaleb smiled. “Maddy told me you were a costume designer.”
“She did, did she?” Roxy glanced at him again, brows up.
“I saw her at the convention.”
Those arched brows went even higher. “You were at the masquerade party?”
“Not exactly.” Evidently Maddy hadn’t told her sister what had happened with the costume. “I was there for the hospital fund-raiser on the fifteenth floor.”
“So how did you see her at the convention? She wasn’t out of costume, was she? That’s a big no-no.”
“We...left together.”
There. That was the best he could do without spilling the beans.
“Oooooh!” Roxy expanded that single syllable until he thought she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen.
Chloe tipped her doll, cradling it in her arms like a baby. “I can’t wait to see Mommy. Is her office far?”
Kaleb’s attention came back to the little girl with a bump as he tried not to think about how much he missed these kinds of conversations, back when life was normal and good. He’d better just take the pair to Maddy’s office, so he could be on his way. “No, not too far. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you where she is.”
The whole way up the elevator, Chloe kept up a running commentary on what she wanted to have for lunch. Probably three or four years old, with huge shining eyes and a quick smile, she was certainly a charmer. And a talker. His own Grace had been quiet and reserved. But she’d been the love of his life.
He clenched his jaw and tried not to do what he did every day. Attempt to draw up the memory of his daughter’s face only to have his brain glitch and fumble the pieces until they were impossible to fit together. Which was probably why he should have a few snapshots on his mantel at home. But it just hurt too much to see
