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Behind him, Annie rolled her eyes. “Some invitation. Invite her and then point out that she has no life.”
Jolie looked up from the computer on the receptionist’s desk. “Is this your idea, or does your dad know?”
Matt had been rounding up his kids in front of her clinic for the past few days, but he hadn’t come inside and hadn’t said a word to her. Dollars to doughnuts, this was Charlie’s idea alone.
He had the grace to look abashed. “Well...we always have lots, and it would be fun. Please?”
“I’d love to, but I stay here until eight or nine every evening. I’m sure you’ll be eating earlier than that.”
Matt appeared at the door of the clinic in time for the last few words. “Earlier than what?”
She’d forgotten how tall he was, Jolie mused. His blue flannel shirt and well-worn jeans emphasized his long, lean legs and powerful build.
Most days were still cool enough for jackets, but he was already looking tanned and fit.
Annie slung her backpack over one shoulder. “Charlie just invited her for supper tonight.”
Matt took a sharp breath. “Tonight?”
“I just told him I couldn’t make it, so don’t panic. I appreciate the invitation, though.”
“She says she’s gotta stay here late every night,” Charlie said, his voice laced with disappointment. “I think she should come over and eat with us instead. Don’t you?”
“She’s busy, Charlie.” Matt glanced down the hallway. “Any news on that door?”
“The council is sending someone over to install a new lock.”
With a sound of disapproval, Matt strode to the back door, the kids and Jolie in his wake. “Run your fingernail along this door frame and tell me that any lock will hold if someone hits it hard enough.”
“Well, I—”
“Look, I’ll find you a good steel door at a contractor’s discount. I’ll deliver and install it for free.” He sounded exasperated. “Deal?”
Jolie mentally tallied her financial status. The portable X-ray machine, EKG cart, defibrillator and monitor, basic lab setup,and the host of other necessary clinic equipment had cost far more than she’d expected.
It would take a good long while until her accounts were in the black, and until then she needed to make every dollar count. And anyway, structural improvements on the building weren’t her responsibility. “Maybe later...”
“I’ll charge it to the council, and see what happens. Consider it returning a favor.” He turned his hands palm up. “My kids stop here all the time, and you looked after Charlie’s scrapes. Since their mother died, just having a woman to talk to means a lot to them. I owe you.”
That explained a lot,Jolie realized. Charlie’s hunger for attention, the way he’d been shadowing her. A loss through death, not divorce. Poor kid.
“And we could all talk about it over supper tonight!” Charlie broke in, beaming at them both.
“Another time might be better,” Jolie said dryly, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “I’d better inviteyourfamily someday, if your dad is going to insist on this door.”
After they said their goodbyes, Matt and Annie walked out to his truck. Charlie hung back to give her a big wink and a thumbs-up before following them.
Why, she thought, did she have the feeling she’d just been manipulated by a master who was less than five feet tall?
BY SATURDAY MANDY’Sstomach didn’t hurt as much. Not the way it had when she’d gone to the clinic.
Now she just felt as if she could throw up, but that was only because Dad would be at home.Waiting for her.And when he saw her come in the door, it would start all over again.
On Valentine’s Day, he’d finally noticed the pregnancy she’d concealed with baggy sweatshirts. He’d hit her until she finally gave up and told him the name of the baby’s father.
Her dad’s anger had changed to eager anticipation when he found out. He’d gone after Bobby’s father that night to demand money, but when Robert Maxwell kicked him off the property, Dad had come home and...
Mandy shivered, hugging her arms tightly around her waist.
