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“I made sure Abe knew what would happen to him if he laid a hand on his daughter again, but he’s been really hitting the bottle lately. She probably came to you because you’re almost family.”
“Family?”
“This is Bobby’s ex-girlfriend.” Rafe’s voice turned cold. “Your little brother has been a busy guy over the past six months, in more ways than one.”
MONDAY MORNING PASSEDslowly. Two patients dropped in. A few people phoned to ask about clinic hours.
All Jolie could think about was Bobby’s pregnant girlfriend, and the fact that she appeared to be on the run. Why hadn’t anyone in the family taken her in? Given her shelter? Protected her?
And why hadn’t anyone even bothered to tell Jolie about her?
At noon Jolie flipped over the sign Closed Until One O’clock and raced for her SUV.
On Sunday, Mandy had slept most of the day and had offered little conversation when awake. This morning she’d stirred briefly while Jolie got ready for work, but had fallen back into a deep sleep. Jolie had left her a note on the coffee table, begging her to stay at least until Jolie returned.
Please be there, Mandy,Jolie whispered to herself as she negotiated the tight turns and steep elevations of Coyote Creek Road, and finally crossed over the cattle guard marking the start of the land surrounding the cabin.You shouldn’t be on your own.
The cabin came into view after the lane curved around a stand of pine. Mandy sat on the top step of the porch, with Dolly hovering close by.
Jolie parked and climbed out of the Jeep, holding a brown paper sack aloft as she ascended the stairs. “Lunch, courtesy of Grizzly’s Diner.”
The girl had taken a shower and had changed into the emerald-green sweats Jolie had laid out for her. With her long auburn hair tied back in a gleaming ponytail and her face freshly scrubbed, she looked too young to be out of high school.
She gave Jolie a tentative smile. “I—hope it’s okay that I’m still here. Really, I don’t want to be any bother, and I’ll understand completely if you want me to go.”
As if she’d just convinced herself that it was better to leave, she rose to her feet.
“Sit! I wanted you to stay. That’s why I left that note. Besides, I brought all of this and can’t begin to eat it myself. I’mgladyou’re here. Honest.”
Jolie settled on the top step and reached into the bag. “Ham and Swiss? Or would you rather have a turkey, pastrami, and tomato deli?”
Mandy shuddered as she sat down again. “Uh...whatever you don’t want.”
“Come on, I can tell at leastoneof those choices didn’t sound good to you.”
“Um, if I could maybe have the ham and Swiss...”
Well, she definitely wasn’t the assertive type.
Jolie had thought about Rafe’s words on Saturday night, sorting through the possibilities, trying to find a reason for the fact that Mandy seemed to have no ongoing contact with Bobby or the rest of the family.
Dollars to doughnuts, this girl had never pushed anyone for a nickel, much less tried to finagle her way into the Maxwell family.
Jolie swallowed a bite of her sandwich, barely tasting the fresh sourdough bread or pungent pastrami. “You asked if you could stay here, and work for me.”
Mandy’s chin dropped to her chest. “If I could.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen. I graduated last spring, same as...” Her voice halted.
“Bobby?” Jolie asked gently.
Mandy’s head bowed lower.
“Can you tell me what’s going on? I can’t help you if I don’t know how best to do it.”
Silence lengthened while Mandy focused on snagging little shreds of bread from her sandwich, as if the process were the most thought-consuming task in the world.
