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“Maybe we should wait until later,” Zane said, staring hungrily at the brownies.
“Don’t worry,” Amy said, grinning. “We’ll be sure to save some. Besides, Mom and I made a double batch.”
Giving her a wide smile, Izzy appeared to be surprised that Amy had joined their conversation. Amy had seemed to warm up to all of them quickly. Maybe it was because they were all survivors, just like she was.
ChapterThree
Once he saw the doctor who walked inside the solarium to greet them, Lex felt instantly reassured. Looking grim, Dr. Donnelly approached, reaching out to shake everyone’s hand, including Caleb’s.
“I’m happy to meet you boys,” the doctor said. “The first thing you’ll need to know is that if I behave like a grouch, it’s not because I mind examining each one of you to make sure that you’re all okay. I’m totally on your side. I just get furious every time I start to think about what each one of you has probably gone through, just to survive.”
The doctor’s wife must have entered the house through the kitchen door while Mrs. Giordano was cleaning up after lunch, because she suddenly appeared, walking into the solarium through the hallway to introduce herself.
“How do you do everyone? I’m Brian’s wife, Nurse Donnelly. But you can all just call me Michelle.” She looked at her husband. “Everything is set up in one of the rooms on the second floor.”
“Harry? Do you want to show the boys where to go?” Dr. Donnelly looked at his wife. “This young man is Caleb. He seems to be a little shy.”
Nurse Donnelly bent down to look into Caleb’s eyes. “How do you do, Caleb?”
“I’m good,” he whispered softly.
“Well, don’t be scared. We’re going to check out your friends first, so you can wait here with Amy for now. I’ve heard that the two of you have already become friends.”
He nodded, still appearing shy.
“I’ll come and get you myself,” Zane reassured him.
“Okay,” Caleb answered.
“You’re Zane?” Nurse Donnelly asked.
“I am.”
“Why don’t you go first? You seem the least nervous of everyone.”
He heaved a sigh, looking like he was heading to the gallows.
Harry slapped him on the back. “Hey, don’t look like that. It’ll be fine. Come on, you two. Let’s get this over with so we can get on with the rest of the day.”
As Zane turned to follow, Isabella reached for his hand, squeezing it. “I’ll see you in a little while. Like Harry said, you’ll be fine.” She looked at Lex. “You too, Lex.”
When Lex made a gagging noise, everyone started to laugh.
* * *
Dr. Donnelly frowned when he finished examining Zane about twenty minutes later.
“What’s wrong?” Zane asked.
Lex was alone in the room with the doctor and Zane. Apparently aware of Zane’s discomfort when he’d been asked to undress, Nurse Michelle had left the room.
“I’ve never seen so many intentional burns etched into any one person’s skin before, Zane,” Dr. Donnelly answered gruffly. “What are they from?”
“The poker that they used in the woodburning stove when they warmed up the barn at night during the winter. I used to try and run away a lot. I finally realized that if I stopped trying to run, I’d have a better chance of getting away someday if I used my time to try to come up with a plan instead.”
“Which amazingly, you did.” Appearing deeply disturbed, Dr. Donnelly finally huffed out an unsteady breath. “Okay. Feel free to get dressed.”
He turned to Lex. “How about it, Lex? Do you feel a little less stressed after watching me with Zane?”
