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This time, Lily didn’t much care if he hung up or not. Then again, if he actually was the stodgy old grouch he’d sounded like, he might make Nate pay for the scolding she’d just given him.
“Max,” she began, tempering her voice, “I know it’s been a long time since you’ve spent any time in my company.” Long time, she laughed to herself. What a joke! Max never had spent any time in her company, because he’d always preferred short-skirted cheerleader and prom-queen types—a far cry from what Lily had been—and from what she’d become! “But you need to know, I would never do anything so underhanded as to get Nate’s hopes up about getting a dog—not without making sure it was okay with you first.” This time, thankfully, the whole truth and nothing but.
When he didn’t respond, she added, “So here’s the lowdown. The dog is a golden retriever, one of the gentlest breeds God created. She’s smart, well-trained and quiet. She’d make an excellent companion for Nate. Georgia says there’s room for her in the apartment. I’m sorry the little guy overheard the conversation, but now that the cat’s out of the bag, the ball’s in your court.” Lily groaned inwardly at the back-to-back clichés. “Think about it for a couple of days. I’ll hold off finding a home for Missy ’til I hear from you.”
And with that, she banged the receiver into its cradle.
“Take that, you bossy, swaggering—!”
“My, what was that all about!”
Lily turned toward the sound of the friendly voice. “Hey, Cammi.” She slumped onto the nearest hay bale. Immediately, Missy curled up at her feet. “That was Max.”
“Uh-oh,” her older sister said. “I’d heard he was back in town, but I was hoping you could avoid a collision.”
Lily only shrugged.
“So tell me, how’s he look?” She wiggled her eyebrows and winked. “Handsome as ever?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Cammi ruffled Missy’s thick golden fur. “Still stuck on the big galoot, eh?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she said again.
“Didn’t sound much like it when I walked in.”
Lily filled Cammi in on what had happened, from their sister Violet’s call to her hanging up on Max.
“Wow. Somebody put some starch into your spine, I think. Never thought I’d see the day you’d stand up to him, not knowing how you’ve always felt, anyway.”
Cammi was the only person on earth who knew that Lily loved Max—that she’d loved him when she was twelve and he eighteen, that nothing had changed, not a whit, in the years since. She sighed.
“You really ought to see other guys,” Cammi suggested. “Who knows? Maybe God has put your Mr. Right out there someplace, and He’s just waiting for you two to bump into one another.” She sat beside Lily, draped an arm over her shoulder. “How you gonna find your knight on a white steed if you never leave this barn?”
“I’m content, right here, doing what I do.”
“Baloney. You were born to be a wife and mother. This—” Cammi waved a hand, indicating the cages and the critters in them “—this stuff you do is proof you’re filled to overflowing with natural nurturing tendencies.” She held up both hands to stall Lily’s retort. “You’re doing great work here, nobody could quibble with that. But be honest with yourself, kiddo. Wouldn’t you rather be spending all that love and care on children of your own? On a husband?”
Yes, Lily thought. But only if Max were her husband and the father of those children.
“Well, I didn’t come here to lecture you, so how ’bout we talk about the reason I did come?”
Lily forced a grin. “The wedding?”
“Yup. Did you get your dress yet?”
On a sigh, she said, “No. Not yet.”
Cammi frowned. “What’s the matter? You don’t like the style?”
“It’s fine. Gorgeous, in fact. We’ll all look like fashion models. It’s just…I haven’t had time.”
Her sister stood, put both hands on her hips. “You have three weeks to pick up that dress and have it altered. It isn’t like you have a choice. You’re the maid of honor, don’t forget. How can I get married without you there by my side?”
Lily got to her feet and hugged Cammi. “I know. I’m sorry. You have enough on your mind with all the last-minute plans. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow. I promise.” She brightened to add, “Did you get all the presents put away yet?”
Cammi groaned. “Not yet. There were about a hundred women crowded into the living room. Must have taken you weeks to get the shower organized.”
“Took longer to recuperate, once it was over!”
The sisters laughed, and Missy barked happily.
“Tell you what, since tomorrow’s Saturday, how ’bout when you pick up the dress, we meet for lunch,” Cammi suggested. “My treat. Least I can do for you throwing the biggest, bestest shower a bride ever had.”
“It’s a date.”
“Let’s meet at Georgia’s. I have a ton of stuff to do in town, anyway.”
Georgia’s? And risk seeing Max there?
“If he’s there,” Cammi said knowingly, “we’ll talk loud and fast about the new love of your life.” She giggled and crouched to hug Missy’s neck. “He doesn’t have to know it’s a dog!”
“Maybe I ought to borrow that sweater,” she said, grinning as she plucked a shiny dog hair from Cammi’s shoulder. “He’d think my new beau was a blond!” Lily walked her sister to the door. “On second thought, it would be a waste of perfectly good playacting. Max doesn’t care who I see. Truth is, that scolding he gave me earlier was the most attention he’s paid me, ever.”
“Then, we’ll do something better than try to make him jealous.”
“What’s that?”
“We’ll ignore him.” Cammi headed for the house. “See you at supper, kiddo?”
Smiling, Lily nodded. “Sure.”
Ignore Max Sheridan? It would take more than a wedge of lasagna to give her the strength to accomplish a feat like that!
Chapter Three
“Lily?”
She recognized the dee-jay-type voice immediately: Max. Just what Lily needed—a run-in with him on the telephone just before bedtime. “Yes,” she said cautiously.
“Sorry to call so late, but I wanted to wait until Nate was asleep.”
Why, she asked silently, so he won’t get upset when you start browbeating me again? “What can I do for you?”
Missy padded up, circled several times, and flopped at Lily’s feet. She patted the dog’s head as Max sighed heavily into her ear.
“I don’t blame you for being mad. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I’m calling…to apologize. I had no right chewing you out the way I did this afternoon. Especially since I didn’t have all the facts. Nate and my mother explained things, and, well, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” She didn’t, but if saying so made his apology easier…
“Do you? Understand, I mean?”
“You’ve got a lot on your mind these days, what with your mom needing surgery and all.”
“Frankly, Mom’s leg was the last thing on my mind when we spoke earlier. I just…”
She could picture him, running one hand through his hair and staring at the ceiling, the way he had as a teenager, when nervousness or frustration got the better of him.
“Max, really,” she said, feeling an unexplainable need to rescue him, “it’s okay. Water under the bridge.” She frowned, wondering why she’d been speaking in clichés lately. Maybe, Lily thought, because the wisdom of each adage “fit” better than brand-new ideas?
“You don’t have to go easy on me. I can take it on the chin. Especially when I deserve it.” He hesitated. “And I deserve it.”
She heard the smile in his voice, and grinned herself. “Okay then, next time I see you, I’ll give you a good whack and we’ll call it even.”
Max chuckled. “You always were a good-natured little thing.”
Always were? Meaning, he’d noticed something about her back then? Lily didn’t quite know what to make of that. She’d always suspected he only saw her as incidental, as someone who stood on the fringes, as a girl who was never a real part of things. To find out he’d seen her, that he’d watched and listened closely enough to know she was good-natured…
She knew her heart had better quit beating double-time or it would jump clean out of her chest. “So, how did things go with Nate? Is he terribly disappointed?”
“Why would he be disappointed?”
Lily rolled her eyes. Oh, no reason, she thought, except, maybe, that Nate wants a dog, and because his dad thinks he’s master of the universe and wasn’t properly consulted, the answer is no. “Well, you’re not going to let him have Missy, right?”
At the mention of her name, the retriever raised her head and met Lily’s eyes. Funny how quickly the pup had adapted to her new moniker. If Lily were the type to read meaning into every little thing…
“Not necessarily. I explained to him that a dog is a big responsibility, especially one like Missy, who’d need regular brushing, especially for a kid who’s only four. Besides, she hasn’t been lost for more than a few hours. Her owners might claim her in the next day or two and…”
Lily didn’t hear anything Max said after “owners.” She’d put a half-baked effort into finding out who Missy belonged to, tacking Lost Dog posters on a few telephone poles, mentioning during the TV interviews that she’d keep the pup until it could be reunited with its family. But there was more she could have done, like running ads in the local papers, placing announcements on the radio. Lily had done it all so many times that “getting the word out” had become second nature.
So, why not this time?
“Nate understands we’ll consider taking Missy—and I stressed the word consider—only if her owners can’t be found.” He paused. “How long does that usually take?”
Lily snapped back to attention. “If she fell off a boat, as the rangers suspect, it shouldn’t take long at all. In fact, I’m surprised she hasn’t been claimed already.” It was true, after all. If Missy had been her dog, she’d have been frantic with worry. Which raised the question: If the dog had fallen from a boat, where was the boat?
“Well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted you to know I didn’t mean to come off sounding like—what was that you called me?—a bully.” He chuckled. “You always did have a way with words.”
And there it was again—“always.”
“If I’d used that tone on the job, maybe I wouldn’t have had so much trouble collecting fees from my clients!” he said.
Georgia had told Lily that Max had earned his CPA, then worked his way up the corporate ladder to a partnership at one of Chicago’s most prestigious accounting firms.
He laughed again. “I can be a blockhead sometimes. I’ll just thank my lucky stars you’re the forgiving sort.”
Lucky stars? This, from the boy who used to depend on the Lord’s help by praying before every game, who sang solos in the church choir, who regularly talked his peers out of smoking and drinking because it wasn’t the behavior of believers?
Georgia had said something else, too: Max had lost his faith after his wife’s suicide.
“You are the forgiving sort, aren’t you?”
“Sure,” she said, “’course I am.”
“Whew. All that silence made me think maybe you were looking through your phone book for the nearest knee cracker.”
“Knee cracker?”
“You know, guys who take baseball bats and teach people—” He cleared his throat. “Never mind. Long as you’re okay.”
For the second time, Lily felt an overpowering need to reassure him. “It’d take more than a browbeating from you to do me any lasting harm.” So far, that was the biggest whopper she’d told, because his reprimand had hurt her, far worse than it should have. “Guess it’s only natural you’d assume the ‘daddy’ role,” she added, grinning, “seeing as you’re so much older than I am.”
“You sure know how to hurt a guy. Guess I don’t have to wait to see you to ‘take it on the chin,’ do I!”
Odd. He sounded serious. But how could that be, when she’d intended her remark as a joking reminder. Since Lily always tagged along with her older sisters and their friends, she’d frequently been their I-told-you-so target. Once, when a particularly humiliating comment put tears in her eyes, Max had slung an arm over her shoulders. “Aw, don’t take ’em seriously,” he’d said. “They don’t mean anything by it. They’re just practicing for when they’re parents themselves one day.”
“But I’m almost thirteen,” she’d cried, “not that much younger than the rest of you!”
She remembered the peculiar look that had crossed his face. “Six years,” he’d said, his voice trembling slightly as he withdrew his arm. “More than enough to make a guy—”
A cheerleader ran up and hugged him just then, preventing him from finishing the sentence. It was such a common occurrence—girls throwing themselves at him—that Lily didn’t give it another thought. Until now.
“I’m not that much younger than you,” she said, returning to their present conversation. Hopefully, he’d remember the scene from their past, too, and finish his sentence this time.
“Well, guess I’ll let you go. I promised Mom I’d open the diner in the morning. Five o’clock rolls around faster than I’d like to admit.”
“You slept late when you were a corporate big shot, eh?” she teased.
“Not really. Most days, I was up by six, out of the house by seven. Until—” He cleared his throat. “Slept later once it was my job to get Nate ready for the sitter.”
Which used to be his wife’s job, Lily surmised.
“So, you’ll be on duty at lunchtime?”
“Yeah,” Max said. “Why?”
“Cammi and I are meeting at the diner at noon.” She told him about having to pick up her maid of honor dress and get it altered for Cammi’s upcoming wedding—a stall tactic, because hadn’t Max said he’d called for two reasons?
“Cool. Guess I’ll see you then, then.”
How long since she’d heard him say “then, then”? Lily wondered. Too long. And she’d missed it. Missed everything about him, from that way he had of bobbing his head when listening to others, to the way he looked deep into a person’s eyes when he was the one doing the talking. She missed the delight he seemed to get from little things, like helping someone by picking up a dropped book or holding open a door. If schoolmates seemed down in the dumps, his antics were sure to raise their spirits. And then there were the adorable dimples that formed beside his sexy half grin.
“Yeah.” I’ll see you then, then, she added silently.
“If you’re lucky, I’ll pay for your dessert.”
If she was truly lucky, he’d pay her a little one-on-one attention!
“What was the other thing you called about?”
“Other thing?”
“You said…” She didn’t want to remind him of the apology; in her opinion, his discomfort had caused him to squirm long enough. “Never mind,” she said, hoping the disappointment didn’t ring too loudly in her voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Who was that?” her dad asked when she hung up the phone.
“Max Sheridan.” And now that she had a moment to think about it, had he been flirting with that “pay for dessert” comment? Don’t be silly, Lily.
“Sherman Tank Sheridan?” Lamont whistled. “Man, could that boy throw a pass! If the Cowboys could get a couple guys like that on the team…” Her dad went silent and met Lily’s eyes. “What’s he doing calling you?”
The flirtation question died a quick death when she realized her dad was right; why would the handsome, former star quarterback be interested in Lily London? She bent to kiss her father good-night. Still, it sure sounded like Max had been flirting.
Lily couldn’t concentrate on an answer. Not while looking at her father’s puzzled expression. “Bacon and eggs in the morning?” she asked, heading for the stairs.
“Mmm,” he grunted, flapping his newspaper. “Girls,” he muttered. “Never could understand ’em.”
It wasn’t the first time she’d heard him say that. And with four daughters born in quick succession, he’d likely say it ’til he drew his last breath.
Maybe someday she’d tell her father what had come to mind every time he’d said it:
Boys are just as confusing!
“I understand congratulations are in order,” Max said, when Cammi joined her sister in the booth. “When’s the big day?”
“Three weeks from today. If I’d known you’d be in town, I would have sent you an invitation.”
As they chatted, Lily sat back, smiling and thinking that Cammi had been looking particularly beautiful these days. She’d always been one of the prettiest girls in town, but since Reid had come along, she practically glowed. Thank you, Lord, she prayed, for sending him into her life. What were the chances He’d send a man like that into Lily’s life?
Cammi dug around in her purse, pulled out an invitation. “This came in today’s mail. One of Dad’s friends can’t make it.” She handed the tiny envelope to Max. “Why don’t you come in their place, and bring your little boy!”
Lily’s heart thumped so hard, she thought surely anyone in earshot could hear it. Don’t take it, Max, she prayed. Don’t take it. She didn’t want him there. Because Cammi had hired a band to play forties music, and he’d always loved to dance. Lily didn’t want to watch him move across the floor with another woman in his arms!
“Your mom already RSVP’d,” Cammi was saying, “so I’ll rearrange the tables so the three of you can sit together.”
Max tucked the invitation into his shirt pocket. “Thanks. Maybe Nate’ll meet some kids his own age, ’cause it looks like we’ll be staying in Amarillo longer than we thought.”
Cammi frowned. “I heard about your mom’s leg. What a shame.” She brightened to add, “But she’s on every prayer list in Texas, so she’ll come out of it better than new.” As an aside, she said, “Besides, the way I hear it, her surgeon has more reason than most to succeed.”
Max’s expression darkened, and Lily wondered if it was because he didn’t approve of his mom’s relationship with her doctor, or because Cammi had mentioned prayer. The latter, probably, she decided, remembering what Georgia had said about his faith crisis.
“I didn’t pack a suit for Nate, but we have three weeks to buy—”
“He doesn’t need a suit,” Lily cut in. “He’s four years old. No one’s going to notice if he’s not dressed up like a tuxedo advertisement.”
Cammi pointed. “Oh, Max, is that li’l cutie over there Nate?”
He looked over his shoulder to where his son sat, deep in concentration as he colored on construction paper, and nodded. Lily couldn’t help but notice how his entire demeanor changed at the mere sight of the boy. He stood taller and smiled. Not that half-baked grin he’d been tossing around since he’d come home, but a genuine, full-faced, two-dimpled smile. If anyone doubted Max’s love for Nate, they need only see him now to believe how much his son meant to him.
Lily frowned. “He looks a little pale today. I hope he isn’t coming down with something.”
Max’s wide grin faded. “His appetite has been off the past week or so. And he isn’t sleeping well, either.”
“Probably just having trouble adjusting to the climate,” Cammi offered. “The Texas Panhandle is very different from Illinois.”
“Yeah, maybe.” But Max didn’t seem convinced, as evidenced by his worried expression. He faced them suddenly and whipped out his order tablet. “So, what can I get you ladies?”
“What, no waitress today?” Lily asked, grinning.
“Flat tire or something,” he said. “So I’m ‘it’ until she gets here.”
Cammi was on her feet in no time. “You handle the cash register,” she told him, tying an apron around her waist. “I remember from our high school days what happens when someone puts a food-laden tray in your hands.” Closing her eyes, she looked at the ceiling. “Anyone wearing a white shirt when you walked by was in trouble!”
A quiet thump captured everyone’s attention.
A woman got to her feet, knocking her plate on the floor when she did. “This little boy just fell out of his booth!” she shouted, pointing.
Max was beside his son in a heartbeat. “Nate?” He gave the semiconscious boy a gentle shake. “Nate, what’s wrong?”
Lily stood behind him, one hand on his shoulder. Nate’s brown eyes looked even darker in his ashen face. Hearing his long, ragged breaths, she said, “We need to get him to the hospital, now.” She gave Max’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll bring my car around and meet you out front in a minute.”
Max’s worried eyes met hers briefly before he turned his attention back to Nate.
Lily grabbed her purse from the table and raced for the door, dialing her cell phone as she went.
“Don’t you worry,” Cammi told Max. “Andy and I will handle things here.” She met the cook’s eyes. “Right, Andy?”
“You bet,” he said with a jerk of his spatula.
Cammi held open the diner’s door while Max hurried to Lily’s waiting car. “I’ve already called ahead,” she said, buckling the seat belt over him and Nate. “They’ll have someone waiting at the E.R. entrance.”
“Thanks,” he said, as she got behind the wheel.
It didn’t escape her notice that there were tears in his eyes when he said it.
Tires squealing, she pealed away from the curb.
Lily glanced at Max, who held his son close. Worry creased his handsome brow and made his jaw muscles bulge as he stared through the windshield. She reached across the seat to pat his hand. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Everything will be fine. He’s in the Lord’s capable hands.”
Max grunted, then pressed a kiss to Nate’s temple.
Pay him no mind, Lord, she prayed. He’s just had a rough go of things lately. But even as the thought formed, Lily knew better; Max had been nursing his grudge against the Almighty for a long, long time. But she didn’t have to worry. The God she had come to know had a great capacity for love, infinite patience, boundless mercy; He wouldn’t hold Max’s anger against him.
Now, if only she could convince Max of that.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Sheridan,” the nurse said, “your little boy is in good hands. Dr. Prentice is the best pediatric cardiologist in the area.”
Lily started to correct the woman. “I’m not—”
“Thanks,” Max said, sliding an arm around her waist. “That’s good to know.” And once the nurse left Nate’s E.R. cubicle, he added, “We can set her straight once Nate’s out of harm’s way. Right now, I’d rather she put her full concentration on doing her job.”
Lily nodded, feeling an odd mix of confusion and gratitude. For years, she’d dreamed of being Mrs. Maxwell Sheridan…but this wasn’t the way she’d pictured it happening.
Dr. Prentice blasted through the pastel-striped curtains, clipboard in one hand, stethoscope in the other. “So who do we have here?” he said, wiggling Nate’s toes. He draped his stethoscope around his shoulders and slid a pair of black-framed half-glasses from his lab coat pocket. “Says here your name is Nathan,” he said, squinting at the chart. “Okay if I call you Nate?”
Smiling feebly, the boy nodded.
Dr. Prentice balanced the glasses atop his balding dome. “Well, Nate, we’re gonna run a few tests, see what put you in here. And once we find out, we’ll do everything we can to make sure it never happens again. Whaddaya say to that?”
The smile broadened slightly as Nate gave another nod.
The doctor faced Max, held out a hand. “I see you’ve already signed the necessary consent forms, so there’s no reason to keep him waiting.” He winked at Nate. “We’ll get you home fast as we can, okay?” Waving Lily and Max nearer, he perched on the corner of the gurney and addressed his comments to Nate. “Here’s what we’re gonna do: First, we’re gonna show you all sorts of neat machines. X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram. Nate, m’boy, you’re gonna feel like you’re the star of a science-fiction movie!” He wiggled the boy’s toes again. “Now, I know you’ve seen all this stuff on TV, so I really don’t need to tell you that not one of these tests is gonna hurt, not even a little bit—right?”
A look of wide-eyed fascination brightened Nate’s pale face.
“After we’re finished with the big gizmos, we’ll do a couple of blood tests. Ever stick yourself with a pin, kiddo?”