14 Valentine Place (8 page)

Leonie nodded. “I know millions of people watch the Rob Lerner show and it would be exciting….” She trailed off.

“So why are you hesitating?” Maddie asked. “Leonie, you can’t not go just because Dylan doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

“But I asked him to come here to recuperate. It wouldn’t be right for me to leave him alone so soon after he’s out of the hospital,” she said with a look of regret in her eyes.

“He won’t be alone. We’ll be here,” Krystal pointed out. “We can make sure he gets something to eat and anything else he needs, for that matter.”

Maddie wanted to say,
Speak for yourself,
but held her tongue. Krystal’s words produced a spark of hope in her landlady’s eyes that had Maddie remaining silent.

“It’s generous of you two to offer, but—” began the older woman, only to have Krystal cut her short.

“But nothing. With everything you’ve done for us, you’re not going to tell us we can’t do you a favor.” Krystal looked at Maddie. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” Maddie had no choice but to agree because she knew it was the truth. When she’d twisted her ankle, Leonie had canceled her plans to spend a few days with friends at a resort in northern Minnesota so that she could take Maddie to physical therapy.

“What about work? You both have jobs to go to this weekend.” Leonie’s brow wrinkled in concern.

“The shop is close enough that I can come home on my breaks to check on Dylan,” Krystal stated.

Curious, Maddie asked, “How much care does he need?”

“With his arm in a sling, he only has use of one hand and unfortunately it’s his left one,” Leonie answered. “Plus he needs help with his exercises.”

“What kind of exercises?”

Leonie shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever they have you do after shoulder surgery.”

“I’m sure we can do it.” Krystal’s voice had a confidence Maddie didn’t share. “Leonie, you have to go to California,” she stated emphatically.

Leonie hesitated, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. “You’re sure you don’t mind looking after Dylan while I’m gone?” She looked from Maddie to Krystal.

“Of course we don’t,” Krystal spoke for both of them.

“Do you really think it’ll be okay?” Leonie sought
reassurance and Krystal gave her a gentle nudge in the back.

“Go make that phone call,” she ordered her landlady, who acquiesced with a smile and went scurrying out of the room. Krystal looked at Maddie and said, “This is so exciting, isn’t it?”

Maddie truly was happy for Leonie, but she had a hard time sharing Krystal’s enthusiasm. It might turn out to be a great weekend for her housemate and her landlady, but she didn’t see how it could be anything but a big headache for her—unless she left all the nursing duties to Krystal and saw as little of Dylan as possible.

But she knew that at some point during the weekend she was going to have to either help him with his exercises or get him something to eat. The latter would be the easier task, as she could prepare the food ahead of time and put it in the freezer. She smiled to herself at the thought of him sitting alone in the kitchen with a microwaved frozen dinner on his plate.

At least he’d get
good
frozen dinners. It was more than he deserved. Much more. Especially after trying to talk Leonie out of going to California.
That
still annoyed Maddie and she thought it would serve him right if no one lifted a finger to help him all weekend.

Except someone would wait on him—Krystal. Maddie should have been happy that her housemate wanted to play Florence Nightingale. It meant Maddie wouldn’t have to spend much time with him. And that was what she wanted.

Wasn’t it? That was a question she didn’t want to examine too closely.

N
OT SINCE HE WAS A CHILD
had Dylan needed anyone to help him put on his clothes or eat his dinner. For the past thirteen years he’d traveled the world, lived in foreign countries and worked a variety of jobs in which he’d relied on nobody but himself. And that’s the way he liked it. He didn’t want to be dependent on anyone for anything, which was why he hated being in the hospital.

He wanted to feel like his old self again. To be in control.

However, he discovered independence didn’t necessarily come with his signature on a hospital release form. The staff insisted he leave the building in a wheelchair, which made him feel even more helpless. Then his mother picked him up at the front door, fussing over him as if he were an invalid.

“You’re in pain, aren’t you?” she said, when he winced as he fastened the seat belt.

“Mom, I’m fine,” he assured her, determined not to let his shoulder prevent him from doing the simplest of tasks.

“I don’t think you are. Maybe I should cancel my trip to California.”

“No, you don’t need to do that. I said I’m fine and I mean it. I’m fine,” he barked at her and then immediately felt remorse. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just hate that I can’t take care of things myself.”

She made a soothing sound and patted his hand. “You’re just like your father. He didn’t want to be dependent on anyone, either.”

The comparison to his father only fueled his frustrations. “You’re wrong. I’m not like him.”

She didn’t say anything but started up the car. The silence stretched uncomfortably and again he found himself apologizing. “I’m sorry, Mom. I should probably have had this surgery in Florida. You don’t need me grumbling.”

“You’ll feel better once you’re home,” she said in her usual cheery way. “Everyone gets a little testy when they’re in pain. They say the first few days after surgery are the hardest.”

“If that’s true, it’s a good thing you’re going to California this weekend. If I’m going to be ornery, I might as well be alone.”

“I’m still wondering if it’s a mistake for me to leave,” she said apprehensively.

“Don’t give it a second thought. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s Krystal and Maddie. If you treat them the way you’ve treated those nice nurses at the hospital…” She shook her head.

“There’s an easy solution. Tell them I don’t need their help.”

She clicked her tongue. “Now you’re being ridiculous. You know as well as I do that you need someone to help you with your exercises. You heard what the doctor said about the importance of doing them correctly.”

“It’s not that big a deal. I have the diagrams. I’m sure I can manage by myself.”

“And will you manage to cook for yourself, too? Seeing as it’s your right hand in the sling, how do you plan to do that?”

“I can eat frozen dinners. It only takes one hand to punch a microwave button. Mom, I just want to be left alone for a few days. I can take care of myself until you get back.”

“Now you’re being stubborn.”

“No, I’m not,” he denied. “I just don’t want anyone hovering over me as if I’m some kind of invalid.”

“Maddie and Krystal won’t hover. They won’t even be around that much. They have work to do.”

He shifted in his seat, unable to get comfortable. “I just wish you hadn’t asked them to look out for me.”

“I didn’t ask. They volunteered.”

He cast her a sideways glance. “Are you sure Maddie volunteered?”

“I didn’t ask her to look after you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t understand why you get so touchy whenever I mention her name.”

He knew there was no point in answering, so he simply leaned his head back and closed his eyes while she recited a list of Maddie’s virtues. He would have preferred to forget about his mother’s tenant, but he found himself thinking back to his encounter with her at the co-op.

He’d thought the reason he’d found her attractive the first night he’d come home was her belly-dancing costume. But then he’d seen her with her hair pulled back in a net and a large butcher’s apron covering nearly all of her, and he’d realized that it hadn’t simply been her state of dress that had aroused his interest.

She had an appeal that had nothing to do with her physical appearance. There was something in the way she looked at him, a silent message that told him if he
wanted to do battle, she was ready. She wasn’t exactly feisty, but she certainly wasn’t the shy kid he remembered, either. It had been a long time since he’d met a woman who truly intrigued him.

And as much as he hated to admit it, Maddie did pique his curiosity. But that didn’t mean he wanted her nursing his injured shoulder. He shuddered. He needed rest, not to have his blood pressure rise—or to have any other kind of physical reaction every time she came in the room. It was the latter response that bothered him most.

“The next couple of days are important to your recovery, Dylan.” His mother’s voice broke into his musings. “You need to remember that and follow the doctor’s instructions. Maddie and Krystal have been kind enough to help you do that, so please be gracious and accept their help.”

“I won’t do anything to embarrass you,” he promised even though he knew that when it came to Maddie, he shouldn’t be making any such statement.

He sighed as he thought about the weekend ahead of him. It didn’t matter if his shoulder was out of commission. He didn’t need a woman to take care of him. He could take care of himself. He always had and he always would. Maddie Lamont would discover that for herself.

L
EONIE LEFT
Friday morning. Maddie offered to take her to the airport, but Krystal insisted she be the one to see that their landlady caught her plane on time.

Before she left, Leonie sat them both down and explained that Dylan was not the best of patients. Krystal
tossed off the warning with a flip of her hand, saying, “Men can be such babies when it comes to their health, but don’t worry. We can handle it.”

Maddie remained quiet, knowing that if Leonie were apologizing for her son, then he probably was like a bear with a sore paw. Not that she didn’t think Dylan had a right to complain. Surgery and rehabilitation were never accomplished without pain.

Instead of giving him the opportunity to moan and groan about his predicament, she avoided going down to the lower level, deciding to stay in her room until it was time to leave for the dance studio. She stretched out on her bed with a good book.

While she was reading, Maddie heard a loud clang, as if a pot had been dropped on the kitchen floor. She wanted to ignore the sound, but visions of Dylan doing further injury to himself while trying to manage the basics of cooking had her going downstairs. When she walked into the kitchen, he was at the counter trying to open a can of soup.

“You don’t have to do that,” she told him. “Didn’t you see my note? I left a sandwich for you in the refrigerator.”

“I ate that earlier.”

She watched as he struggled to hold the can of soup with his right hand, which was in the sling, and use his left to attach the opener to the lid. He wasn’t having any luck.

She walked over to him and stuck out her palm. “Let me.”

He relinquished the can and the opener. In only a matter of seconds she’d completed the task. Instead of
giving the can back to him, she poured its contents into the pan and set it on the stove. “Sit down and I’ll make it for you.”

“You don’t have to—” he began but she interrupted him.

“Yes, I do. Now sit,” she ordered. To her relief, he didn’t protest. Neither did he look happy.

He shuffled his feet as he walked over to the table and plunked himself down. Today he wore a pair of jeans and a lemon-yellow crew-neck sweater. He looked good. Too good, Maddie thought, wishing she could ignore the little sensations of pleasure that always seemed to tickle her stomach when she was around him.

“How’s your shoulder?” she asked, trying to focus on his health, not his looks.

“Do you care or are you just making polite conversation?”

“Both.” She broke eye contact, grateful she had the excuse of watching the soup.

“It’s fine as long as I don’t move it.”

“Have you been icing it?”

He sighed. “Please tell me my mother didn’t leave you a list of things I should and should not do.”

“She’s worried about you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“You mean the way you took care of the soup?” she asked, arms folded across her chest.

“All right. So I can’t do everything I’m used to doing, but I don’t need a baby-sitter.”

“You don’t need to worry. I don’t baby-sit grown men even if they behave like children.” She was los
ing patience with the man. “Maybe you should watch your own soup.”

Then she went over to the refrigerator, thinking that as long as she was in the kitchen she might as well get her own lunch. She pulled out the fixings for a salad and began tossing them together. Dylan didn’t say a word. When she stole a glance in his direction, she saw that his eyes, however, followed her every move.

When she’d finished, she set the bowl on a serving tray, added flatware and a can of iced tea. She was about to take it to her room when he stopped her.

“Where are you going?”

“Upstairs. It’s where I live,” she added, not wanting to sound defensive but knowing she did.

“Mom said you eat your meals in here.”

“Sometimes.”

“Then you should stay. I promise to be good.” He gave her a smile that said he knew exactly how bad he could be. It was the kind of smile that made her want to revise all the nasty opinions she held of him.

When she hesitated, he added, “What do you think Mom would say if she knew you were carrying your lunch upstairs just because I was eating mine in here?”

Maddie quirked one eyebrow. “She doesn’t need to know, does she?”

“Then don’t do it for her. Do it for me.”

It was a silky smooth plea that had Maddie’s nerves shivering in a pleasant way. “Why do you want me to stay? We both know we don’t get along very well.”
Normally she wasn’t so blunt, but with him it seemed to be necessary.

“Maybe it’s time we do something to change that.” There was a provocative glint in his eye that dared her to take him up on his offer.

She cocked her head to one side. “You think by eating lunch together we’ll become good friends?”

“I’m not sure friendship is an option with us. What do you think?”