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“There isn’t another doctor anywhere close. You’d think the community would be lined up outside your door.”
“Funny thing—I thought that, too.” Jolie hesitated. “It might have been easier if I’d come in as Jane Doe instead of a Maxwell.”
Pursing her lips, Cassie nodded. “The name does have a certain...element of recognition around here.”
“I met Mandy Wheeler.”
Cassie didn’t even blink, much less give away what was apparently common knowledge in the Maxwell family. “Nice girl.”
Apparently Cassie didn’t think of her as a part of the family anymore, either.“Iknowabout her now.”
Cassie’s eyes flared wider, then she gave a meaningful glance toward Zak and lowered her voice. “Thea and I found out about her pregnancy when Bobby ran off for a while last fall. Mandy made us absolutelypromisenot to tell anyone...not even Bobby, because she wanted to tell him herself. Since you were living way out in California, Thea and I figured we’d keep that promise. At least, until later on.”
You couldn’t even tell your own sister? Bobby is my brother, too.Jolie tried to ignore the hurt that curled around her heart. “She’s staying at my place now because she doesn’t dare stay at home. Her...father.”
Cassie’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t know. Mandy told me she was fine there.”
“The bruise on her cheek tells a different story. We need to talk.”
“I’ll call you.” Cassie glanced at her watch. “Zak and I are staying overnight out at the ranch, but I could come to town after I drop him off. Maybe at six?”
“Okay. Mandy will be there, but we can take a walk up to Silver Falls and talk along the way.”
Cassie nodded, her expression grim.
After watching her drive away, Jolie headed for her own vehicle, her stomach fluttering. She and Cassie had just had an adult conversation—the first one in years.
Down the road, perhaps there could be more. Maybe Bobby had given them all a chance for new beginnings.
And with all of them pulling together, perhaps his child would have a chance at happiness that none of them had been able to achieve.
CHAPTER NINE
CASSIE DIDN’T ARRIVEat Jolie’s cabin until almost seven o’clock, minutes after Jolie did.
She got out of the car and stared at Dolly and the old ewe, her mouth open. “Zak would love them,” she said, shaking her head in amazement. “Helovesanything on four legs.”
Jolie stepped off the porch to meet her. “He’s welcome anytime. Did you happen to see Mandy on your way up here?”
“Nope.” Cassie slammed her car door and pocketed her keys.
Jolie frowned. “Rafe brought her back at noon. She should be here.” She turned on her heel and headed back up the porch steps. “I’m going to check her room again.”
Mandy had arrived just over a week ago with a duffel bag and the clothes she wore. Jolie had glanced in the room earlier, but now she took a closer look.
Her heart sank as she quickly opened the closet and dresser drawers. Nothing. Not even a note. Why hadn’t she checked sooner? In the kitchen she searched for a note, but again found nothing.
Out in the yard Cassie leaned against the hood of her Toyota, watching the llama graze. “Find her?” she called out, looking up at Jolie’s approach.
“She’s gone—with all her things. But why? She and I had talked and agreed she could stay. She was even going to work at the clinic a little because she didn’t want to accept what she thought would be charity.”
Cassie gave her a knowing look. “I suppose you had everything figured out for her, too?”
A recurring theme with Cassie.
Memories flooded back of her youngest sister’s wild escapades. Jolie had never possessed the experience or theauthority to make a difference, and Cassie had resented every effort to corral her.
Jolie took a steadying breath. “I was trying tohelpMandy. The girl is pregnant with Bobby’s baby, comes from an abusive home situation, her mom is gone, and she has no one else to take her in. I didn’t even know about Bobby and Mandy until this week. It hurt, Cassie, that none of you shared a family matter like this with me.”
