“You’re so strong, darling.”
Compliments were not hard to come by around her mother. “For coming to a hospital?”
“Yes. After everything you’ve been through here, absolutely. How are you doing?”
Her mother checked in regularly. Sometimes Clara wondered if the cancer had hit her family harder than it’d hit her. “I’m doing really well.”
“Youlookreally good. When’s your next annual check with Dr. Farmer?”
Her oncologist split his time between their hospital and the one in Bozeman. “In about a month.”
Her mother nodded, and even though she pretended she was fine, Clara knew her mother got nervous around the time of her checks. “Well, I’d like to be at that appointment with you if that’s okay.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t know what to do without you at those things.” Her mother had come with her to every appointment. Every. Single. One. Indie had joined them for a few as well. Another reason she loved the women in her life. “Should we go straight home?”
“I was thinking we could stop by—”
“The Tea House? Get some sweet tea?”
Her mother grinned. “You read my mind.”
“No. I’m just as hopelessly addicted as you.”
They stepped into the hall, and Clara almost ran into a woman wearing a cap and carrying a laptop.
Wait…she knew that black cap. “Scarlett?”
The other woman looked up, and sure enough, it was her roommate. “Clara. What are you doing here?”
“Just keeping my mother company. Mom, this is my roommate, Scarlett. Scarlett, this is my mom.”
Her mother smiled. “Hi. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Yeah, you too. I’ve got to go. I’m having lunch with Malcolm.”
Clara’s brows rose. “You are?” With her laptop? That should be fun.
“Yeah, and I’m running late. I’ll see you later.” Scarlett stepped around them.
“Hm.”
Clara looked at her mother. “What’s your ‘hm’ mean?”
“She just seems…busy.”
“She’s always busy. It makes her a bit rude.”
Her mother chuckled. “I’ve met worse people.” Her mother linked their arms as they continued down the hall.
“Trust me,” Clara said under her breath. “Scarlett can be worse. Especially when you don’t wake up in time for things you’ve planned to do with her. Then you get pillows thrown at your head.”
“So why’d you join a running club with her?”
“Who told you that?”
“Becket.”
So Holden had probably told Jesse, who’d told Becket, who’d told her mother. Man, her family had big mouths. “I joined because it sounded fun and I didn’t think anything bad could come from doing some bonding with my roommate. Plus, so many people told me I shouldn’t that I suddenly really wanted to.”
