given him... Well, it had taken his breath away. He’d picked the little girl up and carried her back to her tiny bedroom and tucked her in, Jetta settling in on top of the covers. Maddy had watched him from the doorway, a funny expression in her eyes. That night, she’d let him sleep in her bed, only asking that he be out before Chloe woke up.
He was.
The same thing had happened the next evening. And the next. Kaleb found himself anticipating what Maddy would say, or found himself recognizing the way her eyes crinkled when he said something he knew she’d laugh at.
This was his first outing with Chloe, Roxy and Maddy since the kite festival. He’d been nervous.
Roxy was not.
And Maddy was... Well, the woman was hot. And sweet. And nothing at all like Janice. In a good way. Because whereas Janice had worn sweetness like a costume, it had collapsed in the face of crisis, much like that slinky cat suit that Maddy had donned, which was discarded at the end of the day. Maddy’s sweetness went to the core of who she was—had survived an abusive husband.
She touched his hand, pulling him from his thoughts. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. Very okay.” He threaded his fingers through hers. The catch he heard in her breath was very real, but she didn’t try to pull away. Even when Chloe grabbed his other hand and held on tight. Roxy had walked on ahead, throwing him a knowing smile. It also held a hint of warning: hurt either of them, and you’ll pay.
The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Maddy. Or Chloe.
“We’re way high, aren’t we, Kaleb?” Chloe strained at the railing.
“We are way high.” His eyes, though, were on Maddy. Their relationship had been climbing as surely as the elevator that had climbed the steel girders of the building and dumped them out at the pinnacle. A fall from this height would be devastating.
Kaleb had no intention of falling, though. If he had to come back down, he intended to do it slowly and steadily, the same way he’d come.
Roxy stood several feet away from them taking pictures. The only glitch to an otherwise perfect day was that Maddy seemed to be going out of her way to stay out of the shots that her sister lined up that included him. Still protecting herself from being hurt?
He couldn’t blame her. But something about it bothered him. Normally it was Kaleb who sidestepped any hint of being linked with a particular female. He wasn’t used to the reverse happening. He didn’t like it. Especially when Maddy was the one doing it. Maybe she was afraid.
The way he’d once been?
Did that mean he no longer was?
He had no idea. And today wasn’t the day to go down that particular avenue. It could wait for another place. Another time. When he was alone with her and they could talk freely.
Maybe he should ask Roxy if she could watch Chloe for a couple of hours tomorrow.
So he could do what?
He wasn’t sure. Make a decision? Possibly. All he knew was that he wasn’t ready for whatever they had to end. He hoped Maddy felt the same way. It seemed that there’d been a change over the last week. Even his nightmares had faded, disappearing completely whenever he shared Maddy’s bed.
Surely she had experienced the same freedom? Otherwise she wouldn’t have let him stay the last couple of nights.
Except she was avoiding being in a picture with him today. Maybe he should straight-out ask her.
Squeezing her hand, he leaned closer. “Embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“What?” Her green-eyed gaze swung around to meet him.
“I noticed that you don’t want Roxy to catch us together.”
“Oh...” Her face turned pink. “It’s just that my mom...”
“Your mom...?”
“I don’t want her thinking there are things there that aren’t.”
He paused. Maybe the altitude was affecting his brain, but he suddenly wanted to lay it out there. “What if they are?”
Chloe swung her arm back and forth, still holding his hand. “What’s there?”
“Nothing.” Kaleb said it at the exact same time as Maddy. They both laughed. Only the laughter felt a little more hollow than it had earlier.
“Hey, guys,” Roxy called. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Anyone ready to eat?”
“Me!” Chloe let go of him and ran over to hug her aunt.
Maddy glanced at him. “I guess it’s time for lunch.” She hooked pinkies with him and squeezed for a second before releasing his hand. It felt right. Comforting. Like an acknowledgment that needed no words after all. He tweaked a lock of her hair in return. And this time when Roxy spun around to take a picture with her phone, Maddy didn’t try to duck out of it.
The perfect ending to a perfect outing.
* * *
“Mommy, my head hurts again.”
They’d just finished lunch and were waiting on Kaleb to bring the car around to get them. The day had been beyond fun. Kaleb had been attentive and charming, entertaining them with stories from his childhood and medical school. For the first time since she was a teenager, Maddy felt as if things were working out in her favor. That included her move to Seattle, which had definitely been the right decision.
“Is it worse?” Chloe had commented that morning that she didn’t feel well, that her head was kind of achy. Maddy had given her some acetaminophen this morning as a precaution, and she’d seemed well enough during the day. Maybe the change in pressure from the trip up the Space Needle and then back down had bothered her sinuses or something.
“Yes.”
She did look a little pale, and when Maddy put her hand on her daughter’s forehead, she felt warm. Maybe it was her imagination. It was muggy out today, despite the breeze.
She glanced at her sister. “Can you feel her head for me?”
Roxy knelt in front of Chloe. “What’s wrong, munchkin? Feeling a little under the weather?”
“It’s my stupid head.”
Her sister grinned. “You shouldn’t call yourself a stupid head.”
Chloe tried to smile, but it was obvious something was wrong. Even Roxy seemed worried. “I think she might have a fever.”
That would explain the headache. And Chloe’s preschool teacher had said there was a stomach bug or something going around and not to be surprised if she caught it.
“Where does it hurt, honey?”
“My whole head.”
Moving behind her daughter, she put her fingertips on Chloe’s
