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After a long pause, Mandy darted a glance at Jolie, then looked away. “I did have friends. Me and Bobby did, because we were always together. But after the accident...”
“His group of friends blamed him?”
“They got really mad. Especially my best friend, Racey. She’s Dan’s girlfriend, and she said Bobby wasn’t even sorry that he almost killed his friends and that he only cared about himself. When I tried to stand up for him, she said I wasn’t any better than he was.”
“That must have really hurt.”
“I tried calling her once. She never called me back.” Mandy’s lip quivered. “Her mom wasn’t very nice.”
“What did she say?” Jolie prompted gently.
“She said Bobby was a—an egotistical, irresponsible guy to avoid, and anyone...anyone who got pregnant by him was either stupid or trying to get her hands on the Maxwell money.”
Jolie took a sharp breath. “Just for the record, I don’t believe a word of that.” Stepping closer, she wrapped an arm around Mandy’s shoulders. “For that woman to be so cruel to you is simply unconscionable. If Racey is anything like her mother, she’s a friend you don’t need.”
“N-no...she was nice, until this happened.”
Jolie gave her a gentle squeeze. “You’re a sweet girl, Mandy. What matters now is that you take good care of this baby and yourself.”
“I will, honest.” Mandy stepped down the stairs, then looked over her shoulder. “Thanks. Foreverything.No one has ever been nicer to me.” She patted her rounded stomach. “And Melissa Jo Wheeler thanks you, too.”
Watching her walk toward the barn, Jolie smiled at Mandy’s optimism. And then she felt a tiny catch in her heart. This might be the only time in her life she’d ever be so close to the excitement and joy of a new generation of Maxwells.
She’d simply have to enjoy it while it lasted, and hope that Mandy and her baby didn’t move too far away.
MATT STOOD ATthe bottom of Jolie’s porch steps, shielding his eyes against the bright afternoon sun.
Mandy and Annie had walked over to the edge of the clearing, where Lost Coyote Creek meandered through the rocks.
Charlie, currently on a one-hour time-out, was sitting on the porch swing pushing off with one foot. “How long now?”
Matt folded his arms. “You tell me.”
“But it’s beenhoursalready.”
“Twenty minutes.”
“I didn’t mean to spill that paint, honest.”
“You weren’t supposed to eventouchit. It was for a job your uncle Ed and I are doing. Now one of us needs to drive clear to Big Timber to buy more.”
“I’m sorry,” Charlie said in a small voice. His surreptitious peek at Matt’s expression spoiled the effect.
“You have forty minutes to go. I’m going inside to have coffee with Jolie and expect you to stay on the porch, on that swing. Not staying put is why the time was increased from a half hour, so don’t make it worse, okay?”
“What if I have to go to the bathroom?”
“One time.”
Charlie’s gaze slid over to the box of saltines by the railing. “What if I get really, really hungry?”
“I think you’ll last. You ate lunch less than an hour ago.”
Charlie fell silent. After a last stern look, Matt knocked on the door and stepped inside the cabin.
It was a cozy place, maybe a quarter the size of his. The timbered walls gave it a rustic, hunting lodge atmosphere, but there were cheery gingham curtains at the windows, and a framed mountain scene print hung over the fireplace.
Piles of colorful pillows on the floor by the fireplace and on the sofa relieved the unrelenting darkness of the heavy pine furniture. Two massive log pillars supported an open loft overhead.
