“It suits you. On you bald is very sexy.”
“Really? That’s quite a compliment coming from you.”
Her expression promptly closed down. “Don’t let it go to your bald head,” she said.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he assured her.
“Maybe we should limit our conversation to Annie,” Dana Sue suggested.
“It would be safer turf,” he agreed. “Although you never used to take the safe route, sugar.”
“I’ve changed,” she said tersely. “Let’s stick to what Annie needs.”
Despite his desire to continue to spar with Dana Sue, if only to put some color in her cheeks, he sighed. “That poor kid,” he murmured. “I honestly thought she was doing okay. She sounded fine when we talked.” He glanced warily at Dana Sue. “You knew we’d been talking, right?”
“I just found out a few days ago,” she admitted. “How long has it been going on?”
“I started calling from the beginning.” He shrugged. “She hung up. A while back, maybe six months ago, she finally started talking. To be honest, I don’t think she wanted you to know.”
“Then it wasn’t your idea that she keep it from me?”
“No, of course not. I figured she’d know the best way to handle it.”
“You left it up to a sixteen-year-old to decide whether to lie to her mother?”
“Omit the truth,” he contradicted. “I wasn’t violating our agreement, Dana Sue. I’d had the right to talk to her and see her all along. If she didn’t say anything to you, it’s probably because she didn’t want to upset you.”
Dana Sue regarded him with surprise, as if she hadn’t expected him to understand that. “You’re right,” she conceded with obvious reluctance. “I suppose on some level I needed to believe you didn’t give a damn about either of us anymore.”
“Well, you were wrong,” he said flatly.
To buy himself a couple of minutes to think about the mess they’d made of things, he stabbed a fork into a chunk of cantaloupe, then offered it to Dana Sue. She shook her head. He popped it into his mouth and chewed.
“Not bad,” he said, then stabbed another piece. “Try it.”
“Ronnie!” she protested.
He continued holding out the fork until she finally took it and tasted the cantaloupe.
“You’re right. It is good.”
He grinned at the admission. “Told you so,” he said, then fell silent. Finally he lifted his gaze to hers. “What do we do now?”
“About?”
“Annie, of course.”
She regarded him with a bewildered expression. “I honestly don’t know. I suppose we’ll have to let the doctors guide us through the next couple of weeks.”
“You’re willing to relinquish control to the doctors?” His tone was skeptical.
“When I’m at a loss, I am,” she said.
“You have changed.”
“Mostly for the better, I think.”
“I’d like to hear about what’s going on in your life,” Ronnie said, knowing he was pushing the limits they’d agreed to. “I can’t wait to see the restaurant. Annie says it’s awesome. She sent me a review from the Charleston paper.”
Dana Sue looked startled. “She did?”
“I was real proud of you, not just for getting a rave review, but for making a real success of yourself doing something you love.”
“Thanks,” she said, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. “We’d better get back upstairs. It’s almost time for us to see Annie again.”
“You go ahead,” he told her. “Have a couple of minutes alone with her. I’ll finish my coffee, clear this stuff away and join you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Go on, Dana Sue.”
“Thanks,” she said again, and set off eagerly.
He sighed and took one last sip of his coffee just in time to hear Maddie comment, “That was very gracious of you.”
He gazed up into her knowing eyes. “To be honest, I don’t know if I’m ready to see her again,” he admitted. “Looking at Annie lying there like that makes me want to hit something.”
“You gonna take off?”
He frowned at the question. “Of course not. Why would you ask that?”
“Do you really need to ask? The last time things got tough around here, you ran.”
“I was chased off,” he corrected, but Maddie merely smiled.
“Matter of interpretation, I suppose.”
“Well, I’m staying this time,” he said.
“Just for Annie?”
He grinned. “Do you really need to ask?”
Maddie reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “She’ll tell you to go,” she warned.
“I’m sure of it,” he agreed. “But this time I’m going to listen to what she’s not saying, instead of reacting to what she says.”
“Good plan.”
“Do me a favor, okay?”
“Anything.”
“When Dana Sue comes out of Annie’s room, talk her into going home to get some sleep. She’s wiped out. If I try to convince her to take a break, she’ll just think I’m trying to get the upper hand with Annie or something.”
“I’ll try,” Maddie promised. “But unless Annie’s completely out of the woods, you know Dana Sue won’t go anywhere.”
Ronnie nodded, knowing she was right. “Then I’ll see if there’s an available room nearby that she can use to catch a nap.”
“What about you? You look pretty beat yourself.”
“I’m used to getting by without much sleep. I’ll manage. I can nap sitting up in the waiting room between visits. The minute they let us stay longer with Annie, I’ll be by her bed night and day till she’s back on her feet.” He gave Maddie a long look, fighting tears. “I love that girl. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her.”
“Nothing is going to happen to her,” Maddie said fiercely.
“You have an in with the guy upstairs?” he inquired.
“I have faith, yes,” she said. “So should you.”
“I’m trying to,” he told her. “But I’m barely hanging on.”
“Then hang on to me,” she said. “I have enough for both of us.”
“You know, Madelyn, I think I missed you almost as much as I’ve missed my family,” he said quietly. “Even if you were mad as a hornet last time I saw you. You said a lot of things that night that cut right through me, but I deserved every word.”
“You did,” she agreed somberly, then grinned. “But I’m glad you’re back. I can’t
