“Once that tube is out, that’s the first thing we’ll do,” Arianna promised. “Sophie, go wash your hands.”
Arianna chatted with her mother and then set her up with an episode ofFriends, one of Mia’s favorite old TV series. She and Alden ate at the kitchen table, out of Mia’s sight line, and Alden observed that Arianna wasn’t at the table for too long before she was back in the living room, checking on her mother.
“I feel guilty that I can eat,” Arianna confided once Sophie was back with her Grammy and she and Alden were in the kitchen, putting away leftovers.
“It’s almost as hard for the one who’s not sick,” he said.
“I feel so helpless sometimes.”
“You’re not. You’re doing great.”
She bit her lip, nodded. Then she managed a smile for him. “Thank you for today. It was really kind of you.”
“I hope you enjoyed it,” he said.
“I did.”
“What did you do?”
“Things I used to take for granted. Window-shopped. Had lunch at The Habit. Onion rings,” she added happily.
“Oh, yeah. Can’t go wrong with onion rings.”
“I even took advantage of the sun and walked part of Clear Creek Trail. You were right. I needed a break.”
“I was right? I’m gonna bask in that for a moment,” he said with a grin. Then sobered. “I enjoyed time with your mom and kid,” he said. And he had.
Sophie was a great kid, and Mia was the kind of woman he’d want for a mother-in-law.
Spending evenings with the three of them, he could so picture it. Yep, he was falling for this woman. Falling? He already had.
No, no, no! No falling. He needed to grab his common sense and hold on tight. There was no hurry here. They were fine just being neighbors. Good neighbors, good neighbors who helped each other. Good neighbors who hung out.
Good neighbors who hung out naked?
He cleared his throat, made the supreme effort to clear his brain, and said, “I’d better get going. Got some things I should do.”
Like take a cold shower.
16
Sunny dropped off a rotisserie chicken at Arianna’s place late Friday afternoon. Sophie and Mia were on the couch together and Sophie was reading her favorite book to Mia, so the two friends wandered off to the kitchen for a mug of tea.
“How’s it going with Bella?” Arianna asked.
Sunny shook her head. “Would it be awful to confess that I wish she’d get kidnapped by aliens? That’s where I am right now. It changes daily.”
“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this,” Arianna said.
“You don’t deserve what Wyatt did to you. Your mom doesn’t deserve what’s happening to her. I guess trouble never heard of the merit system.”
“Guess not,” Arianna said, staring into her mug. She roused herself and returned to Sunny’s problem. “You still not going to tell Travis about the note?”
“What’s the point? It’s just more of the same. I can’t control how Bella feels and him harping on her will only make it worse.”
Bella’s including Dylan in her note had added a new hurt. Dylan had seemed more ambivalent right from the start, and he’d been showing signs of starting to like her. If what Bella had written was true about him as well as her, Sunny was getting nowhere. If it wasn’t, his sister was positively Machiavellian.
“You’re trying so hard. It’s just sad.”
