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‘Billions, I’m afraid,’ Maddy responded playfully. ‘But I’m sure he’s never had a proper conversation with any of them. Until you.’
‘Do you two mind? I’m sitting right here,’ Cal announced grumpily.
‘I know you are …’ Maddy swivelled round to face her brother, the teasing smile disappearing. ‘And for the first time in six months. Despite my endless invites. Why is that?’
Ruby had to give Cal’s sister credit, it was a neatly delivered non sequitur.
Cal gave a tense shrug. ‘I’ve been busy.’
‘So you say.’ Maddy sighed.
Rye covered his wife’s hand. ‘Why don’t you tell Cal the news, now you’ve managed to get him here?’ he said, lightly.
If he was trying to distract his wife, it worked. Maddy gripped his fingers, her smile returning full force.
‘What news?’ Cal asked, sounding wary.
Maddy rested a hand on her midriff, her face beaming with that fierce combination of pride and hope that had captivated Ruby in the kitchen. ‘You’re going to be an uncle again.’
Instead of looking pleased, Cal’s expression barely changed. ‘I see.’
There was a short silence, then Maddy gave a hollow laugh. ‘Is that all you have to say?’
He put down his knife and fork. ‘I suppose congratulations are in order.’
If Ruby had ever heard of a more grudging congratulations she couldn’t think of one.
‘You suppose?’ Although masked by annoyance, the hurt and confusion in Maddy’s voice were clear. Ruby stared, astonished at Cal’s lukewarm reaction. It was almost as if he wasn’t happy about the news.
‘When’s the baby due?’ Ruby interrupted, hoping to cut through the tension as Cal simply stared at his sister. That his usual articulacy had completed deserted him also seemed significant.
Maddy gathered herself, forcing the smile back in place. ‘By our calculation, it’s due in about seven months. Which will make it a spring baby.’
‘Have you told Mia yet?’
Maddy shook her head, blinking away the suspicious sheen in her eyes. ‘No, not yet,’ she said dully.
‘We’re not kidding ourselves,’ Rye added, helping Ruby out. ‘Mia’s going to love
the idea of a baby brother or sister, but once they start playing with her toys we’re going to have World War Three on our hands. At the moment Mia’s king of the hill around here and boy does she know it.’
‘I can’t wait to meet her,’ Ruby said and meant it. She’d always adored children; they were endlessly fascinating and at Mia’s age impossibly cute. And Mia sounded like quite a character.
She and Rye continued to talk about the new arrival, with Maddy bolstering herself and joining in, but Cal remained stonily silent. As the meal ended Maddy excused herself, pleading exhaustion due to her pregnancy. She didn’t fool Ruby, who had been painfully aware of the young woman’s attempts to get Cal back into the conversation.
Ruby helped Rye clear away the dishes while Cal loaded the dishwasher. Then she bid Rye goodnight. Cal fell into step beside her.
‘Wait up, Cal. I need a word,’ Rye called after them.
‘Sure,’ he said, apparently unaware of the sharp note Ruby had detected in Rye’s request.
She watched the two men walk into the front parlour in silence. As she mounted the stairs to the landing she wondered about the rift between Cal and his sister. Surely Maddy’s tendency to matchmake couldn’t be the cause of Cal’s prickly demeanor tonight. It had to be more than that. Why his behaviour should make her feel weary and dispirited, she had no idea.
‘What the hell is your problem, pal?’
Irritation stirred in Cal’s stomach as his brother-in-law glared at him.
He was tired, confused and for some inexplicable reason his emotions were much closer to the surface than usual. This was the last thing he needed.
