they were all inside, and Roxy unceremoniously dumped the bag of doll clothes onto Maddy’s pristine desk. He noticed the frame and laptop had been replaced with new ones.
Maddy simply shook her head. “We need to hurry, honey, or we’ll be late for lunch.”
It took a few minutes, but Chloe finally decided on a bikini for her doll with slide-on sandals and sunglasses. Everything was soon folded and tucked back into the bag for safekeeping. Roxy glanced at her watch. “Darn. I forgot I have a waxing appointment. I need to get going.”
Maddy remained silent. The more outrageous Roxy’s comments, the harder her sister seemed to try to ignore them. Maybe Roxy was trying to keep Maddy’s mind off what had happened with Matthew. Or maybe she did it to goad a response from her sister. Whatever it was, there were some things one simply couldn’t unhear.
Chloe hugged her aunt goodbye and Roxy offered her hand to Kaleb, which he shook. “Nice meeting you.”
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other. ’Bye!”
The second the door closed behind her, Maddy sank into her chair with a sigh. “Sorry about that. Roxy has had a... Never mind. She’s had a hard life.”
Harder than Maddy’s? Than his? That he couldn’t imagine. Maybe she saw the doubt on his face, because she motioned him to a chair. “She was attacked in her home five years ago. The result was an unplanned pregnancy, which ended in a stillbirth. She uses the shock factor to keep people at a distance. It works.”
Yes, it did. Kaleb did the same thing. Not through his words, but his actions. Like not sleeping at a woman’s house. Like making sure he didn’t sleep with the same woman more than once. In fact, it had been a while since he’d been with anyone. It was just too hard and complicated. So he didn’t even try anymore.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare tell her I said anything to you. She would kill me.” Maddy smiled, although it looked slightly wan. “And maybe even you.”
“Did they find the man who did it?”
“Yes. He’s in jail.” She glanced at her daughter, who was in the far corner, playing with her doll. “I think that’s what’s behind her fascination with costume design. She can become invisible. No one ever sees the true Roxy.”
Kaleb had a couple of masks like that, but they weren’t the kind that could be stitched together.
He had to ask. “Is that why you decided to wear one of her creations?”
“No. That was all my sister. I think she thought it would help me with my...with the problems I’d had with my ex in the past. But after what he did at the hospital...” Her jaw tightened. “Let’s just say I’ve had enough secrets and hiding to last a lifetime.”
Kaleb could understand that. Unfortunately, he had no desire to splay his life out for all to see. Some things were better off remaining out of sight, even if they were never really out of mind.
Glancing at her watch, Maddy sighed. “Well, I don’t have that much time left for lunch. How do you feel about hospital food?”
“You mean as a patient or as a doctor?”
“I don’t think there’s much difference, do you?”
“No. And that sounds good to me. Do you have to take Chloe back to school?”
“She only goes half a day. Roxy will come back and get her. She normally watches her in the afternoons for me.”
A few minutes later, they managed to find a table for two and squeeze another chair in for Chloe. He waited with the little girl while Maddy went up and got them something to eat. Luckily she kept up a stream of nonstop chatter, which meant Kaleb didn’t have to think of anything to say. She was very excited about the whole kite-festival thing, from what he gathered. He’d never actually been back to the hospital’s childhood-cancer wing since Grace’s death. He’d spent enough time there to last him a lifetime.
He wasn’t even sure how he’d found himself in the cafeteria with Maddy and her daughter. He’d had the perfect opportunity to leave when Roxy had. But he’d stuck around anyway. And learned something about Maddy in the process. As exasperated as she might get with her sister, she loved her fiercely. And Roxy loved her back. To the point of trying to help Maddy cope with her own heartaches. Only no two people had the same way of dealing with those kinds of situations.
“I’m hungry.”
Chloe’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. He shifted to look at the serving line. “Your mom is almost done, it looks like. What do you think she’s going to bring you to eat?”
“Fruit cup. I always get a fruit cup, because Patsy and I love them.”
So they’d eaten here before, from the sound of it. Chloe tilted her head. “Is Mommy bringing some food for you too?”
“No. But I do think the fruit cup sounds good.” And just about the only edible thing on the menu. You couldn’t really hurt chopped fruit.
A tray plunked down in front of them, not a piece of fruit in sight. Instead, there were chunks of cheese perched on a few lettuce leaves.
“Oh! Cheese. I love cheese!” Chloe plucked a white square and popped it in her mouth.
Kaleb smiled. So much for fan loyalty. “No fruit?”
“Shh. They were working on more, but I didn’t want to hold up the line.”
He glanced at the tray again. Other than the cheese and what looked like a green smoothie in a clear container, the plate was empty. “Aren’t you having anything?”
“I’ll just have a liquid lunch.” She held up the container.
Kaleb had had a few liquid lunches after his daughter died, but they’d been amber colored and had burned like hell as they’d slid down his throat. They’d also put him down for the count. He wouldn’t resurface until the following day, when his pounding head and queasy stomach reminded him that he was still very much alive. And Grace wasn’t.
“I’ll be right back.” He levered himself from his chair and headed for the thinning line. When he got there, he asked for a pot of coffee, some sugar and three fruit cups.
The lady behind the counter glanced at him and then at the offerings on the ice in the silver buffet case. There were several plates of cheese on lettuce. A few sandwiches and the same bottles of juice that Maddy had chosen in various colors. “Wait right here.” She left the register and went into the back.
He picked up a couple of the bottles before choosing one that looked orange—a color he recognized as belonging to something in the fruit family. Within seconds the woman was back with three bowls of cut-up fruit. He paid and took everything back to the table.
“They had some?” Maddy stared at his tray.
“They were just finishing them up, evidently.” He passed the bowls and silverware to each of them and handed Maddy a coffee cup. “It looks like you could use something a little stronger than what’s in that bottle.”
“Yes,
