“Your new husband,” he said. “Annie told me. I saw him coach a couple of games before I left. You rob the cradle, Madelyn?”
She laughed. “So they say. The good part is, when I’m old and hobbling around, he’ll still be able to tote my walker.”
“Something tells me you’ll have a lot of good years before that happens. I’m glad you’re happy. I really am.” Ronnie smiled at her. “I hear you have a new baby, too.”
“I do,” she said, her expression glowing. “And my having a baby at my age should prove to you that miracles are definitely possible.”
“You think it’s going to take a miracle for me to get my family back?” he asked.
“A miracle would be the easy way,” she teased. “I think you’re going to be on your own, but the Ronnie I knew could sweet-talk just about any woman into giving him whatever he wanted. I don’t think Dana Sue’s immune, despite how much she wants to be.” Maddie stood up. “Come on, pal. You’ve postponed the inevitable long enough. You need to go back to see your daughter. Trust me, it’ll get easier every time.”
Ronnie rose and followed her, but at the door to Annie’s room, he hesitated and looked Maddie in the eye. “You’re wrong, you know. As long as Annie’s in bad shape, there’s no way it will get easier.”
In fact, he was pretty sure now that it was possible for a heart to break more than once.
Chapter Seven
Dana Sue walked outside to use her cell phone after her too-brief visit with Annie, who was still sleeping most of the time. Her lack of responsiveness had been hard for Dana Sue to see, so she’d been almost relieved when the nurse had told her that her time was up.
Besides, she needed to check in with Erik and Karen to make sure they could handle things at the restaurant. She knew they’d want an update on Annie’s condition, as well.
Exhausted, she sat down on a concrete bench in a garden filled with the last summery blossoms of well-tended rosebushes. A local garden club maintained the so-called serenity garden outside the main entrance, hoping the tranquillity of the setting would provide comfort to the families of patients.
Closing her eyes and turning her face up to the sun, Dana Sue let the warmth soak into her. It was hot and humid, but the heat felt good after so many hours inside the air-conditioned waiting room. After the antiseptic atmosphere of the hospital, the garden’s cheerful, fragrant flowers and small pond were soothing. If she hadn’t been so keyed up and worried, she could have fallen asleep sitting up.
“You okay?”
Dana Sue jerked and opened her eyes at the sound of Erik’s voice. Her first instinct was to look at her watch before asking, “What are you doing here? It’s almost time for the restaurant to open. You know how busy we are on Saturday.”
“No need to worry,” he assured her, sitting down beside her. “I went in as soon as I got your call. All the prep work’s done. The waitstaff and busboys came in early to pitch in and help. Karen can hold the fort till I get back. I came to see how Annie’s doing and to bring you something to eat.”
“I grabbed something in the cafeteria earlier,” she said.
Erik rolled his eyes. “And lived to tell the story?” He handed her a take-out box. “A wild mushroom risotto, a little pear-and-walnut salad and a slice of one of the sugar-free cakes I’ve been working on.”
Despite her recent meal and her claim that she wasn’t hungry, Dana Sue couldn’t resist a peek inside the box. The aromas that drifted out were tantalizing.
“Chocolate cake?” she inquired, sniffing reverently.
“With amaretto and almonds,” he confirmed. “It’s moist and decadent, if I do say so myself. But you can’t touch it till you’ve eaten the rest.”
“Who’s going to stop me?”
He regarded her solemnly. “No one. I’m trusting in your good judgment.”
She took the fork, grinned, then took a huge bite of the cake. “Oh, sweet heaven,” she murmured as the flavors burst on her tongue. “Maybe we should just turn into a bakery. You’d make us all rich.”
“A decadent dessert is just the icing on a fine meal,” he insisted, but he was beaming with pleasure at her praise. “Try the risotto,” he urged. “I think Karen’s picked up your skill with seasonings.”
Dana Sue tasted the risotto and sighed. “Perfect.” She took another bite of that, then sampled the pear salad with its light raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Before she realized it, she’d finished every bite of food Erik had brought.
“I guess I was hungrier than I realized,” she admitted. “Or else your cooking is just too fabulous to resist.”
“When you’re under a lot of stress, you need decent food to sustain you,” he told her, his gray eyes filled with concern. “No more hospital meals. One of the perks of owning a restaurant ought to be delivery to your doorstep in a crisis, okay? Karen and I will see to it that you get breakfast, lunch and dinner. As soon as Annie’s able to eat something, we’ll work on tempting her, too.”
At the sympathetic expression on his face, Dana Sue’s eyes filled with tears. “You know why she’s in here, don’t you?”
Erik draped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “I’ve got eyes, don’t I? It wasn’t hard to figure out.”
Relaxing into his solid embrace, she whispered, “I must be a terrible mother. I had no idea it was this bad.”
“You’re not a terrible mother,” he said, giving her a little shake. “Come on. No kid has ever been luckier in the mom department.”
More tears spilled down Dana Sue’s cheeks. “You’re being too nice. It’s making me cry.”
He laughed. “Sweetheart, you cry at most anything, so don’t blame me for those tears. You were just due for a good cry. You’ve probably been holding it together all night long.”
“You know, for a
