Leaving Reggie alone with Maggie.
Maggie looked confused.
Reggie wondered if he’d gotten the wrong day to visit. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She blinked at him then moved back. “Sorry. Please, come in.”
He entered, and she closed the door behind him. He noted a step stool next to the door, presumably for Emily and the peephole. “Good safety measure.”
Maggie sighed. “I try, but it feels like a losing battle.” She wore a long skirt and a T-shirt, her feet bare, her toes painted a pretty pink. Her arm remained in a sling, wrapped in bandages, but she looked much better than she had in the hospital. Well-rested with shiny, neat hair and eyes that clearly focused, Maggie looked beautiful. And baffled as she stared at him.
Reggie gripped the leash. “So, um, you seem surprised to see me.”
“I thought you were Sherry.”
“Who?”
“A six-year-old friend of Emily’s who was supposed to come over for macaroni and hot dogs.” Maggie’s mouth firmed. “Wait here.”
“Hey, I can go—”
“No. Please, just hold on a minute,” she insisted in a voice that commanded obedience.
Reggie blinked, not having seen this side of her. So different from the funny, vulnerable woman laid up in a hospital bed.
As he tucked the leash back into Frank’s bag, he heard her clearly from down the hall. “Did you lie to me, young lady?”
“Nopers.”
“Try again.”
“Sherryiscoming over for macaroni and hot dogs.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeppers.” Emily sounded too perky for someone about to land in hot water. Reggie couldn’t help grinning. “But Reggie got here first.”
“Emily, why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”
“I did.”
“When?”
“I said Reggie and Frank were coming over.”
“You never mentioned it would be tonight.”
“So?”
Silence.
He imagined a whispered tongue-lashing.
Maggie reappeared with a chagrined expression.
Reggie felt like a heel for barging in when he hadn’t been invited. At least, not by the woman in charge. “Hey, it’s no biggie. I can go—”
Before he could take a step back, she latched on to his hand with her good one. Her touch both soothed and excited him, and his stomach felt tight. Her hand was small, her hold surprisingly firm. “Not one step, buddy.”
