Then her mom only had eyes for the baby in the carrier who kicked fat little legs and made adorable sounds. “Come on, angel. Let’s get you inside. Your great grandma will be so happy to see you. Yes, she will. Yes, she will.”
Her mother started inside the rec center.
“Did your mother steal my baby?” Angie frowned at the closing doors.
“Oh, yes. I don’t know if the rumor has gone around, but Evelyn Hill wants to be a grandma, and her egghead daughter is married to her career, and by this time in her life she’d already had me and don’t I want that, too?” Her mom could be a handful, but she loved her. And she really liked Angie. After all, Angie’s last name had once been Murphy, and Maddie had forever been fascinated by the Murphy family. “You look amazing.”
Angie blushed. “For a woman who recently had a baby.”
“For a woman.” She would leave it at that. She walked over and hugged Deke’s sister. She’d been friendly with all the Murphy sisters, but Angie was particularly easy to like. She’d only been a year ahead of her and Deke in school. She and Deke had actually double dated a couple of times with Angie and the man who would eventually become her husband.
“She should have stolen these enchiladas because they are fabulous,” Angie said, stepping back and looking her over. “Speaking of fabulous. Holy crap. What happened to the cute little nerd girl? You look like you could be a Hollywood star.”
That was what she was going for. Sure it was mostly makeup and a whole lot of shapewear, but she was going for glam. “This old thing? Well, I’m actually here because I had a conference in San Francisco, and I thought I should drop in for a couple of days since it’s not too far out of the way. When Mom mentioned the party for your grandma, I realized this was all I had to wear. Besides boring business suits. How’s everything in your world?”
How’s Deke? Does he have a girlfriend? Is he happy?
Is he miserable because he knows he gave up the best thing that ever happened to him?
Angie’s face went blank for a second and then she smiled. A smile that didn’t hold an ounce of joy. “It’s all good. Everything’s good. We’re kind of surrounded by babies now, and Mom and Dad are great.” She paused as though considering her next words carefully. “Have you seen Deke yet?”
Thank god they were going to talk about Deke. She shrugged nonchalantly. “No. Gosh. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw Deke. I guess I haven’t seen him since graduation. How’s he doing?”
Like she hadn’t thought about him almost every day since the day he left.
“He’s… I don’t know if I should do this.” Angie’s hands held that casserole tight.
That had not been the reaction she’d been expecting. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Her mom had only told her that she’d heard Deke was back. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t mentioned she’d seen him around town. She hadn’t told her he’d come over for a visit, which he usually did. Even after they’d broken up, Deke had checked on her mom and dad while she’d been in college. “What’s going on?”
Angie bit her bottom lip but finally answered. “I’m going to ask you to be nice to him. You remember that night when I picked you up and didn’t tell your mom that you had been drinking out at the lake?”
It had been right after Deke had broken up with her, and she’d stupidly gone out with another guy who’d left her at a lake party when she wouldn’t make out with him. Angie had been the one to save her that night. “Yes.”
What the hell had put that look on Angie’s face? All the butterflies fluttering around her belly suddenly turned into a knot.
“I’m calling that in, Maddie.” She sniffled and seemed to be trying to hold it together. “I’m not saying you would be mean to him. I know that’s not who you are, but he’s fragile, and I want to make sure…”
“Fragile?” Deke was anything but fragile. He was larger than life. He always had a joke and the quirkiest view of the world. It was what attracted her to him in the first place. Yes, he was gorgeous, but that openness he had to every possibility had been what really drew her in. He was a joy to be around, and part of that was his inherent strength. She’d always felt safe with him.
“He’s not home on regular leave, Madeline,” Angie explained. “He’s home for six weeks to see if he’s even going to be fit to go back. I personally hope he doesn’t, but you know how stubborn he can be. I know it’s his career, but they damn near killed him, and if that means he comes home to a farm job then so be it.”
Her heart threatened to stop. “Killed him? My mom didn’t mention he’d been hurt.”
“We’re not talking about it,” Angie admitted. “He did most of his healing at an Army hospital, so if he doesn’t take off his clothes you can’t see the scars. I don’t know why but they didn’t touch his face. We’re not covering it up, but he doesn’t want a bunch of questions. All we’re saying at this point is that he was injured in an accident and he should be back on his feet soon. But it’s what they did to his soul that has me worried.”
“Who? Who hurt him?” She could barely breathe at the thought of him being hurt. Had she spent the whole morning making herself as pretty as she could so she could find some revenge on him? Or because she’d hoped he might want to talk, might want to reconnect.
She’d been fooling herself because this panic wasn’t about not getting revenge. It was about him possibly not being okay.
He was supposed to be okay.
“Maddie, Deke was captured by jihadists and held prisoner. He was freed by his unit but…he won’t talk about what happened. Mom says he wakes up screaming and she doesn’t know what to do. So I’m asking you not to do this.” She gestured up and down. “All of this. He doesn’t need you to show him how much better off you are. He knows.”
“I’m not…” Damn it. She couldn’t force the rest of the lie from her lips.
“Of course you are.” Angie brushed away a tear. “I probably would, too, if I was in your position. I know how hurt you were. Or I wouldn’t because I’m smarter than you in this way. I know damn well my brother didn’t break up with you because he was bored or whatever excuse your big brain makes. He did it because he couldn’t stand the thought of being in your way.”
Hadn’t she heard this a million times? “He wasn’t in my way. I was going to defer. I was going to give us time to find a better way than him going into the Army. A year wouldn’t have made a difference.”
“It would have,” Angie insisted. “You wouldn’t have made it to Yale. You would have found another excuse and another until you were stuck here and you married him and had babies and didn’t use those extraordinary talents you were given. And one day you would have resented him for it. You would have resented all of us. Do you love what you do, Madeline? Would you change places with me? I love my life, but it’s mine. It’s right for me. I don’t think it would have been right for you. Tell me something, and you be brutally honest with me. Would you give up your job to be home with a couple of kids in rural California? Would you change places with me?”