I should see about getting her an early lunch.
What I really should have done was take Eve up on her offer to bring us home. Katie needs the rest and a proper meal. God knows I could use a little of both as well.
“All right,” I relent, digging into my purse for a couple of dollars to feed the machine. “You can have juice. Which one do you want?”
“Apple.” Then she shakes her head and points to another one. “No, grape. I want grape.”
A deep voice sounds from behind me while I’m still foraging for my wallet. “How about one of each? My treat.”
I swivel my head at the dark whiskey growl I’d now recognize anywhere. It doesn’t lessen my surprise to hear Jared Rush’s voice, or to see him standing in the hospital corridor with me.
“What are you doing here?” I’m sure my frown isn’t any more welcoming than my tone, but I can’t help it.
“Can I have both, Aunt Melanie?” Katie asks, oblivious to the change in the air that always seems to occur whenever Jared’s nearby.
I wish I could be oblivious to it, too. Awareness of him arcs through me like an electrical current, hot and bright and intense. He looks good, dressed in jeans and boots, the sleeves of his white button-down shirt rolled up over his tanned, muscular forearms. His thick man of sandy-brown hair breaks in waves on his broad shoulders, wild and untamed, like the rugged handsomeness of the man himself. And he smells ridiculously good, spicy and warm, a comfort to my senses that I want to refuse but can’t.
I break away from his smoldering stare to hand my money to Katie. “Choose one or the other, honey. I don’t have enough for both.” I glare back at Jared. “And we don’t need anyone’s charity.”
“How about an apology?”
The only thing that could shock me more than his unexpected appearance here are those words falling off his tongue in a low tone that actually seems sincere. He seems a bit taken aback by them, too. Something flickers in his warm molasses eyes, something I’m tempted to call regret.
I lift my chin, refusing to give in to anything about this dangerous, volatile—obviously troubled—man. “I don’t need your apology, either.”
After Katie’s bottle of grape juice clunks into the tray and she fetches it out, I steer her away from Jared, prepared to leave him standing right where he is.
“I heard about your mom, Melanie. How’s she doing?”
I freeze, wheeling around to face him. “What do you mean you heard about her? How? Did Eve—”
He shakes his head. “Not Eve. I ran into Gabe this morning while I was at the Baine Building meeting with Nick. He was on his way to pick her up at the hospital.”
“And he told you she was here with me?”
“He didn’t want to tell me anything, so don’t be upset with him. When I heard what happened to your mom, I pressed him to tell me where I could find you.”
“Why?” The question blurts out of me like an accusation. “What do you care? Oh, wait. Let me guess. You’re here because I didn’t show up for our session today?”
Katie looks up at me as my temper swiftly moves toward a simmer. “Who is this man, Aunt Mellie?”
“Just someone I met recently. He’s not important.” I see Jared’s jaw go a bit more rigid at my jab, but he says nothing. I paste a comforting smile on my face as I meet my niece’s worried look. “Why don’t you go back to the waiting room and read some more from your magazine?”
She frowns. “But you just said not to go where you can’t see me.”
“I know, and thank you for reminding me. I need just a minute with Jared, okay? I’ll be right behind you.”
“She’s cute,” Jared says as we both watch Katie skip back to the waiting room.
“She is,” I admit softly. “She looks just like my sister.”
“Your sister’s not here with you?”
“Jen’s dead. She died when Katie was two years old.” I level a flat stare at him and find him watching me with a soberness in his gaze.
“I’m sorry.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Why are you here, Jared? If you’ve come to tell me I’m in breach of my contract with you, don’t bother. If my mom wasn’t in the hospital, I was going to tell you I want out of the agreement. I can’t be around you, Jared. After what happened at the studio on Friday, I won’t be around you anymore.”
