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pointing
at. “Well done. How about I go and see about the ice cream?”
    Kaylee nodded her head so hard that Dan
worried about the IV lines attached to the side of her neck. “I’ll
go with Kate,” he told Kaylee. “We’ll be back in a few
minutes.”
    He followed Kate out of the room, careful not
to get too close in case she ran in the opposite direction. She stopped before they reached the
nurse’s station.
    “You think I’m going to leave.”
    Her bold statement surprised him.
    Kate stood a little taller. “You don’t know
me, but I wouldn’t do that.”
    If she knew how much he did know she’d
understand how he felt. People didn’t change. Kate had a record
that would give anyone serious doubts about her ability to stick
around. “What did your employer say about taking another couple of
weeks off work?”
    Kate looked away. “She wasn’t happy.”
    “Did you get the extra leave?”
    “One more week. If I’m not back by the end of
the month, I won’t have a job to
go back to.”
    Dan didn’t know what to say. Kaylee’s
transplant might not be finished in a week. Kate knew that, but she
was still prepared to stay. “What will you do?”
    “Look for another job.” A small smile tugged
at her mouth. “I went to see Loretta Gilbert at The Beauty Box. She
had a sign in her front window, looking for a part time
beautician.”
    Dan hadn’t had much to do with The Beauty
Box, but he did know Loretta. She had a heart of gold and saw the
best in everyone. “Did you get the job?”
    “I’m going back at four o’clock today. She
wants to see what I can do.”
    “Sounds reasonable.”
    “I’m helping with a fashion show next Friday,
too. It’s promoting local designers and raising money for Kaylee’s
treatment.”
    “You’ve been busy.” Kate frowned and he tried
to remember why he’d followed her.
    “I’m okay knowing you don’t like me,” she
said. “But could you at least cut me some slack? I’m doing my best
to fit in and do what I can for Kaylee.”
    “I never said I don’t like you.”
    Kate snorted. “You could have fooled me. I’m
surprised you haven’t counted the knives and forks on the hospital
trays to make sure I don’t walk off with them.”
    Her comment hit close to the reason he’d
followed her into the corridor. “Do I need to?”
    Kate’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding,
right?”
    Dan didn’t say a word, but the look on his
face must have spoken volumes.
    Kate’s face turned red. “I almost felt sorry
for you the other day. Anna told me you’d had a hard time in Iraq.
I can’t imagine what it must have been like, but that doesn’t
excuse your rudeness. I’ve done nothing to make you hate me.”
    Dan couldn’t believe his sister had been
talking about him. He hadn’t told her the full story about what had
happened during his deployment and he didn’t intend to. It was over
and he wouldn’t rehash things that were better left alone.
    “I don’t know you well enough to hate you,”
he said. “But trust is a whole different thing.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You had a run-in with the Police a few years
ago. Normally that kind of petty crime escalates into other things,
but you’ve managed to fly under everyone’s radar. I don’t know if
you’re trying to scam Tom and Anna out of money or if you’ve turned
your life around.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    Dan wasn’t fooled by the shocked expression
on her face. “They don’t have a lot of money. Kaylee’s treatment
has cost a fortune. If you’re looking for money you won’t find
any.”
    “I don’t want their money. I don’t want
anything from them.” She looked over her shoulder then straight
back at him. “You had no right looking at my police record. It’s
none of your business what happened ten years ago.”
    “It is my business when you turn up out of
nowhere offering to help a sister you’ve never met. There’s more
going on than you’re telling us and I