Wife by Design

The thought sickened him. But they were legal.

And could take care of Darin’s need to have some intimate contact with a female without being exposed to disease or prostitution.

Or attempting to get it from Maddie.

It was the perfect solution.

“It’s a strip club, Grant.”

He knew that.

More slowly, Darin headed toward the car. Grant kept pace with him.

“I’m surprised at you.” There was no petulance in Darin’s tone now. But there was something else there that Grant recognized only too well.

His big brother’s disappointment.

* * *

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY passed peacefully. There were no new residents. No emergency calls, just well checks. She only had two pregnancies to follow at the moment and both of them were progressing normally and nowhere close to delivery. She’d caught up on her charting. Administered allergy shots. Distributed meds to residents who couldn’t be trusted to keep them in their bungalows.

And between her, Sara, Lila, Angelica and Grant, they’d managed to allow Darin and Maddie to take morning therapy together, to see each other on campus a time or two, without ever giving them a second alone.

Sara was hopeful the time together would be enough to get Maddie through her adjustment period. And it appeared another storm had passed.

But with each day that passed, the weekend loomed closer.

Or, to be more precise, Saturday night—and Kara’s trip to San Francisco.

On her way home from work on Wednesday evening, she saw Grant off in the distance, bent over a mound of dirt and stone in the area where the rock fountain was taking shape. She saw him because she’d specifically gone that way hoping to see him.

She called out.

He looked up.

She waved.

He waved back.

And for one split crazy second she entertained the idea of asking him to spend the night with her Saturday night.

She wanted an adult sleepover. Just the two of them. The kind where the adults didn’t sleep.

* * *

MADDIE WAS STILL at Lynn’s place when Lynn came out from putting Kara to bed after eight on Wednesday evening.

“I thought you had arts and crafts tonight,” Lynn said. A volunteer was coming in to teach the women how to make reindeer Christmas ornaments to sell at the secondhand goods and craft boutique The Lemonade Stand owned a block up from the shelter.

Maddie shook her head. Sniffled.

And that was when Lynn realized that Maddie was crying.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” she said, placing a hand on Maddie’s hunched-over back as she sat down next to her.

Maddie got agitated. Nervous. Panicky. Scared to death. Worried. And ecstatic, too. She almost never cried.

“He doesn’t like me.”

“Who doesn’t like you?” she asked, but she already knew. Obviously something had happened between her and Darin.

“Daarrriiinnn.” The pretty blonde sounded as though her heart had been broken into a million pieces.

But maybe this was good. Broken hearts mended and Maddie could move on past the relationship stage of her recovery.

“Of course he likes you,” she said, because what else could she say?

Maddie shook her head and looked at Lynn with big watery eyes that were red and swollen. Maddie must have been crying the entire time Lynn had been bathing Kara, getting her in her jammies and reading to her. “He doesn’t like me, Lynn.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I told him I liked him and then he stopped waiting for me.”

“You told him you liked him?”

“Yes. Because I do and you tell me I just have to be honest and so I was.”

“What did he say?”

“He s-s-said he l-l-liked me, t-t-tooooo.” The last word broke off on a wail followed by another bout of tears.

“He did.”

“Yes.”

“Well, there you go, then. He does like you.”

“I think you should tell him about always telling the truth.”

“You think Darin lied to you?”

Sniffling, taking the tissue Lynn pulled from a box on the table and handed to her, Maddie blew her nose loudly and said, “Yes, I do, because he said it and then didn’t wait for me ever again.”

No matter what was best for Maddie, it hurt to see her so upset. Maddie was the sweetest, most giving person she’d ever known—certainly the most pure-hearted. And she’d suffered enough.