Chapter
Eight
“That doesn’t look good,”Tina said when Smith assisted Kenny from the car late the following afternoon. It had been a grueling day made worse by the long, tense silences between them.
Tina had been waiting for them on the porch. Smith must have let her know that they were done and on their way home. The decision to lie in wait must have been hers alone, if the undisguised flare of annoyance on her brother’s face was any indication.
“Hello, Tina,” Kenny said with a genuine, if somewhat nervous smile. She couldn’t help but remember the words Smith had flung at her all those weeks ago about his family and friends not liking her.
Tina returned her smile with a small, almost nervous one of her own.
“Kenny, I’d ask how you are, but I supposethatpretty much says it all,” Tina said, pointing at the cumbersome fiberglass walking cast on Kenny’s foot.
“The break was worse than I thought,” Kenny admittedwith an embarrassed grimace. “They had to realign the bones, basically yank them back into place.”
Tina flinched at the description.
“Good God, that sounds barbaric,” she whispered, her already pale skin going ashen.
“They loaded me up on anesthetic, so I didn’t feel much.” Although the disquieting grinding sensation as the bones slid back into place wasn’t something she’d forget anytime soon.
“And how long do you have to wear that?” Tina asked, as a stony-faced, silent Smith supported Kenny on one side while she hobbled along with a tripod cane up to the porch.
He sat her down on the porch swing, then perched on the half wall across from her while Tina took the rocking chair.
“Six to eight weeks. I can take it off at night. But I have to stay off the foot as much as possible for at least the first month.”
“What about work?” A valid question, since Kenny routinely spent hours on her feet every day during rounds and in surgery.
“I actually took…” She cast a self-conscious sidelong glance at Smith, feeling incredibly foolish for her optimism. “I’m on sabbatical.”
Smith’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward staring at her intently. Kenny averted her eyes, focusing on her sister-in-law instead. The plump, pretty, red-haired woman was watching her with an expression similar to that of her brother. She found it a little uncanny because they resembled each other only superficially.
“You went on sabbaticalbeforehurting yourself?” Tina clarified and Kenny hesitated before nodding.
“I see.” Kenny wasn’t sure what exactly Tina saw with that shrewd gaze of hers and she shifted uncomfortably, sending the swing rocking gently.
“Anyway, since driving is obviously out of the question,” Kenny said, with a wry gesture at the boot. “I’m going to haveto arrange for a driver to pick me up. So I should be out of everybody’s hair by tonight, hopefully.”
“A driver?” Smith asked, voice sharp. “What about Paul?”
“He’s on leave. I don’t want to disturb his vacation just because my plans fell through.”
“What exactlywereyour plans?” Tina asked. There was nothing but curiosity on her face. No judgment or malice.
“I don’t really know,” Kenny admitted, avoiding Smith’s eyes. “I had the vague idea that I’d come here and talk. But I’ve never been good at talking. So it was pretty foolish.”
A long, troubled silence followed that bit of awkward self-reflection.
“You should stay,” Tina said. Her voice was firm and decisive.
Both Kenny and Smith stared at her.
“Butt out, Tina,” Smith finally said with growl. He was glaring at his sister. “This is none of your business.”
“What do you mean?” Tina asked disingenuously. Their eyes—the only feature they truly had in common—clashed. Hers wide and innocent, his fierce and stormy.
“You know exactly what I mean. You’re meddling.”
