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“La-la-la,” her father chimed, covering his ears and dancing away. “TMI. Just say he’s your boyfriend, please.”
Talia grinned. “Okay. He’s my boyfriend.”
“Pictures?” Helena Spires wasn’t one not to ask for something she wanted, and clearly she needed a visual.
“I may have a few…”
Talia pulled out her phone and scrolled until she found one of Fleet, pre-hospital. The pain line between his brows was apparent, but she explained as she turned her devise around to give her family a look.
“When this was taken, he was actually having some debilitating headaches. Then he went bouldering one day—that’s rock climbing—and suffered a brain aneurysm.”
Her mother’s mouth dropped open.
“That’s horrifying,” her father commiserated with concern, taking a good look at the picture. “Is he okay, now?”
“Perfect,” Talia told him with a smile. “He’s making a full recovery, with nothing to worry about in the future, or so they tell me. And that’s a good thing because, well, I’m pretty smitten.”
“He’s handsome, Tallie, that’s for sure,” Pixie said. “And if he’s smart and knows what’s good for him, he’ll hang onto you.”
“I think he’ll agree with that,” Talia admitted, grinning. “He’s a little worried about our…differences, but I’ve assured him there’s no problem with me or my family over skin color, so I’m sure he’ll come around.”
There was no way she was going to tell them about the possibly racially motivated attack on Fleet after what they’d all been through today. Time enough for that when her parents came for a visit.
“You assure that man that if you love him, we will, too,” her mother postured.
Talia almost choked. “I, uh… We, um, haven’t exactly said the ‘L’ word yet, Mom.”
Helena simply smirked. “I can see it coming.”
Talia needed a change of subject, realizing that her mother was reading her mind. She turned once again to her sister. “So Pix. Are you coming home with me for a few days?”
“You know what? I think I will.”
And there again, her sister surprised her. But notsomuch once Talia noticed where Pixie’s eyes were straying.
To Doug…who, if Talia wasn’t mistaken, had turned his own gaze away just before being caught out.
She sighed.
This should all prove to be very interesting.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Fleet found Pixie charming and adorable like Talia. But in every other way she was sounlikeTalia that he was amazed they were sisters. Once Pixie became comfortable, however, and started opening up, Fleet could definitely see the resemblance between the two. She was curious, open-minded, and loving. But unlike Talia, Pixie held back in the confidence department, and deferred to his opinion whenever he offered one up. What had happened to make the two women so different? There was something there…
Which led Fleet to the elephant in the room that neither sister had mentioned. Pixie had no use at all of her left arm. It simply hung by her side, pale and unmoving. Not that it bothered Fleet, or that he was owed any kind of explanation. But he had a feeling it was somehow related to Pixie’s reticence to speak up, and Talia’s near obsession with being heard.
He’d spent the night sleeping soundly in Talia’s guest bedroom while the sisters had shared Talia’s king-sized mattress. He’d heard them giggling in the dark, and had fallen asleep with that music in his ears, and subsequently felt fully refreshed this morning.
* * *
“Wantto accompany a recovering man on a quarter mile walk?” Fleet asked her as they finished the morning dishes together. Talia had left earlier for work.
“Sure,” Pixie answered agreeably. “But why only a quarter mile?”
“It’s all I’m allowed right now.” Which sucked. He made a face. To go from extreme hiking to shuffling thirteen hundred feet, was a real blow to his ego.
Pixie, as always, was agreeable. “Sure. Let me just grab a jacket.”
