Sydney squeezed Jessie’s shoulder. “Most important, Jessie’s aunt.”
Megan offered her hand. “Megan Cash.”
“She’s Daddy’s friend,” Jessie announced in a very serious tone.
“Well then, she’s our friend too.” Sydney’s firm grip squeezed Megan’s hand. “Right, Jess?”
“Right.” Jessie smiled. “Is Ella awake?”
Megan nodded. “She’s been waiting for you to get here.”
“Can I go see her?”
“Absolutely.”
Jessie peered at Sydney. “Can you watch Bandit? I can’t take him in a patient’s room without Dad.”
“You got it.” Sydney accepted the leash and smiled fondly at Jessie.
Jessie went into Ella’s room and her daughter squealed with joy.
“Jessie’s quite a girl, isn’t she?” Sydney said when the door closed.
Megan nodded. “Very mature for her age.”
Sydney frowned. “Too bad losing her mother is the reason she had to grow up fast. How are you holding up?”
“Are you talking about Ella’s illness or Fowler?”
“Both, I guess, but mainly Fowler. That’s something I can help you with.”
“It’s a minute-by-minute thing. One minute I think we’ll be okay, the next—” Her voice broke and drifted off.
“I completely understand.” Sydney laid a warm hand on Megan’s shoulder. “I was recently in a similar situation. A creep thought I was in possession of something he wanted. He threatened me and everyone I love.”
“Seems like that all turned out okay.”
“Thanks to Russ.” Tenderness softening her gaze, she peered over Megan’s head. “There’s no one better to have on your side than one of the Maddox brothers.”
Megan followed Sydney’s gaze down the hallway. Reid, Russ, and Micha strode their way. The three men walked side-by-side, and it seemed as if they moved in slow motion, like the way movies portrayed heroes coming to the rescue. Russ, a man she’d pegged as a real tough guy, returned Sydney’s smile with a warm, intimate one of his own. Oh, how Megan wished a man would react to her the same way again. Would join her in life and share her burdens and joys.
She shifted her attention to Reid, surprised at how much he resembled his brother, yet he was his own man. This morning he wore blue jeans and a white button-down shirt under a dark brown blazer. She could see the outline of his gun in the fabric, and as much as she hated weapons, seeing him and the others armed gave her comfort.
She let her gaze return to his face and loved seeing his determination, likely placed there on her behalf. His eyes met hers, and a shiver of awareness rippled through her. When he smiled softly, almost shyly, her heart completely thawed toward him. Poof. Just like that. She forgot all the hurt, the past pain, the present pain, and enjoyed the warm feeling.
Sydney cleared her throat, and Megan broke the pull Reid had on her.
Why couldn’t she control her emotions? Especially in front of others. Not good. Not good at all. How could she respond this way to a man who’d bailed on her and hurt her beyond words?
True, she wanted to feel cared for, and this man had once proved he could do that. But she also wanted a man who would stay by her side through all of life’s troubles, to share her burdens and help raise Ella.
He wasn’t the man she could count on to do that any more than Orrin had been. They’d both demonstrated their willingness to leave her behind when something they wanted more presented itself.
When Megan chanced another peek at Reid, he’d traded his warm expression for a deadly serious one, exactly like the tough FBI agent exterior he’d once portrayed. He stopped in front of Megan, as did Micha, but Russ went to join Sydney. He laid a protective hand on the small of her back. She smiled up at him, and the loss of a life partner hit Megan harder.
Leave it alone. Move on. Full stop.
“So.” Reid clapped his hands. His alert, almost hard posture sent all thoughts of a missing partner to the recesses of her mind.
