Sierra laughed and Libby’s lips curved up in satisfaction.
“It’s good to see you laugh again,” Libby said. “That split with Matt has had you down in the dumps.”
“I miss him,” Sierra said simply. It was an understatement of massive proportions. Every fiber of her being longed to see him, to talk to him, to hold him close. He filled her thoughts during the day and haunted her dreams at night.
“You still haven’t heard from him?” Libby took a sip of her strawberry soda and her eyes widened.
“Not one peep,” Sierra said with a sigh. “Not that I really expected to anyway. We’ve said everything there was to say. What’s left?”
“I still don’t understand what the big deal was. So you’re not me. He didn’t fall in love with me—”
“He didn’t fall in love with me, either, Libby,” Sierra interrupted. “Or at least if he did, he never told me about it.”
“Okay.” Libby waved a dismissive hand at the mettlesome detail. “He grew fond of you, then. Would that be a fair statement?”
Sierra nodded. Matt cared for her. That much at least she knew was true.
“So, what did it matter if your name was Sierra Summers or Libby Carlyle?” Libby asked. “Or if you had tons of money or—”
“No money.” Sierra filled in the blank.
“Exactly,” Libby said. “You’re still the same person.”
“Except,” Sierra said. “I’m divorced. And I have a daughter.”
Libby’s gaze narrowed. “You think this is all about the munchkin? He doesn’t want her?”
“He doesn’t even know her,” Sierra said. “But he’s never wanted to raise someone else’s kids. He said that to me before.”
“But anyone who knows Maddie loves her,” Libby said.
“That’s true,” Sierra said. “But Matt doesn’t know Maddie and he’s not going to give himself the chance to get to know her.”
“Then you’re better off without him.”
“I agree totally,” Sierra said.
But she couldn’t help but wonder if keeping her distance from Matt was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong?
Libby held Maddie’s hand tight in hers as they crossed State Street. “Aunt Libby has to stop by and pick up some important papers on the way to the store. Okay?”
Maddie looked up from the double-dip cone that Libby had just bought her at the Creamery and nodded, her little mouth closing around the top of the cone.
Libby cringed at the sight of the strawberry ice cream already dripping down the sides. She wished she would have thought to grab a few napkins. She quickened her steps and prayed Matt had some in his office.
The door dinged as she opened it and Libby swept past the receptionist without stopping. “Mr. Dixon is expecting us.”
Matt was on the phone when she entered the office and a frown crossed his face when he caught sight of a small child at her side.
A sense of unease coursed through Libby and she wondered if she’d made a mistake. It had seemed like such a clever notion. In fact, in the peacefulness of her home, the idea had seemed positively brilliant.
Just like she’d told Sierra, everyone who knew Maddie loved her. So, all she needed to do was to introduce Matt to Maddie and he’d love her. Then, there wouldn’t be anything standing between Sierra and Matt but pride and if she had to, Libby knew she could figure a way around that, too.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Libby said, “that I brought Maddie with me. Sierra is in class and I’m baby-sitting.”
Maddie looked up, her lips covered with strawberry ice cream. “I’m not a baby.”
“Of course you’re not, sweetheart.”
By now the ice cream was running down the cone and onto Maddie’s hand. In a few moments it would be on Matt’s thick plush carpet.
For a second, Libby wished Sierra were there. Her friend always seemed prepared for these types of catastrophes.
Matt pushed the buzzer. “Rachel, could you bring in some napkins, please? Right away.”
In only seconds, the napkins were in Libby’s hands, but it would take more than paper to remove the stickiness from Maddie’s hands and face.
“There’s a sink just through there,” Matt said, pointing down a short hall. “She needs her hands and face washed.”
Libby stared at Maddie for a long moment as if the thought had never occurred to her. “I believe you’re right. Why don’t you clean her up while I look through these papers on the Advocacy Center?”
Matt’s mouth dropped open.
“I can do it, Mr. Dixon,” Rachel said, and Libby suddenly realized the woman had never left the room.
“Thank you—” Matt began.
“I’m afraid not.” Libby shot the woman a polite, but firm smile. “I don’t know you and I don’t let Maddie go with anyone I don’t know. Mr. Dixon will have to take her.”
“Why don’t you take her?” Matt said to Libby. “And then, when you get back, you can sign the papers.”
Libby made a great show of glancing at her watch. “I’m afraid I don’t have time to do both. And you did say the papers had to be signed today?”
Matt stifled a groan. The Advocacy Center was heading into the homestretch and the cost had run over early projections. Stella had agreed to kick in the extra and that was the reason for Libby’s visit today.
“I’d like to review this document before I write the check,” Libby said. “I guess I could come back another time….”
“No, you sit right there and read,” Matt said, glancing down at the little girl. “I can take her.”
He gestured with his head down the hall. “Come on, honey. Let’s get your hands washed.”
But the child didn’t take a step. Instead, she moved closer to Libby, her blue eyes wide and large.
“It’s okay, princess.” Libby crouched down beside the little girl and shot her a reassuring smile. “Mr. Dixon is a friend of mine. And he’s your mommy’s friend and Reverend Carl’s friend. He won’t hurt you.”
The tightness in the little girl’s face eased and she held out her hand to Matt.
Though it was sticky, Matt took it without flinching. He couldn’t help but wonder why Libby felt it necessary to reassure the child that he wouldn’t hurt her?
Since she hadn’t really spoken much, Matt expected that they’d walk to the rest room in silence, he’d wash her hands and face and they’d return to his office. Easy enough.
But Libby’s reassurance must have worked because they’d barely taken two steps when Maddie started talking.
“My mommy is at school,” she said. “That’s why I’m with Aunt Libby. Next year I’m going to school, too.”
“Is that right?” Matt asked.
“Mmm, hmm,” Maddie said. “I’m going to be five next year.”
“Getting old,” was the only thing Matt could think to say.
He discovered she really didn’t need much encouragement to continue talking. In the short distance to the washroom, Matt heard about her mother’s new job, her grandmother’s cookies and a doll that had recently lost its head.
She was a cute little girl, he decided. Her blond hair, pulled back in a long ponytail and tied with a ribbon, was several shades lighter than her mother’s and though her eyes were blue, not green, she reminded him of Sierra.
“Aunt Libby got me a double-dip cone,” Maddie announced.
“That’s a lot of ice cream for a little girl to eat,” Matt said.
“I could have eaten it all,” she said, her blue eyes serious. “But it melted.”
She gazed down at her once-clean white top then lifted her eyes to him. “Mommy’s going to be mad.”
Matt couldn’t imagine Sierra being angry over something as inconsequential as ice cream on a shirt. She seemed, he thought, like a mother who wouldn’t sweat the small stuff, but who wouldn’t be a pushover, either.
And she’d never leave her child.
“You’ve got a ni
ce mommy,” he said, opening the door to the washroom and ushering her inside.
“You know my mommy?” Maddie stood still while he wetted a paper towel and carefully wiped the stickiness from her face.
“I’ve met her,” Matt said, getting another paper towel for her hands.
“My mommy’s the prettiest mommy in the whole world,” Maddie announced. “Rev’nd Carl says so.”
Matt’s hand tightened around the paper towel and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach. Now that he was out of the picture, it didn’t surprise him that the good pastor wasn’t wasting any time making his move. “Does Reverend Carl come over to your apartment?”
Maddie nodded vigorously. “I like him. He plays Candy Land with me.”
Matt wasn’t sure what Candy Land was, but he didn’t ask. Interrogating a child just didn’t seem right.
He finished wiping her hands. “All done.”
“You’re a nice man.” Maddie stared at him without moving. “I like you.”
Matt smiled, surprisingly touched by the comment. “I like you, too.”
Libby was waiting with the documents in hand when they strolled back into the office. She eyed Maddie with a sharp, assessing gaze and nodded her approval before turning her attention back to Matt. “We’d better get going.”
“Are you going to be able to make the meeting Tuesday?” Matt asked. “I need to go over the final set of figures with you.”
“Tuesday?” Libby raised a questioning eyebrow. “Who’s all going to be at this meeting?”
“Just you and I,” Matt said. “You could stop by the office?”
Libby smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Why don’t you just call him?” Libby urged, leaning forward in her chair and almost spilling her glass of lemonade in the process.
Sierra shook her head. “It’s been over two weeks. If Matt wanted to see me or speak with me, he’d have called by now.”
“Maybe he’s scared,” Libby said. “Maybe he doesn’t know what to say. Maybe he—”
“Just doesn’t care,” Sierra finished the sentence, the thought sending a stab of pain straight through her heart.
The evening was mild and only the merest breeze stirred the air. Sierra enjoyed sitting on Libby’s veranda and chatting, as long as it wasn’t about Matt.
Despite her matter-of-fact words, being without Matt hurt. She missed him with an intensity that took her breath away. But it was over. She had to accept that fact. If she’d had any doubts, the phone’s silence had convinced her.
Though the last thing she wanted was to play the dating game, Carl had been coming around more often since Matt was out of the picture and she hadn’t the heart to send him away.
“Did I tell you Carl is taking me to lunch next week for my birthday?” Sierra tossed off the words as if they were of no consequence.
“You’re not going, are you?” Libby demanded. “Because you know if you do, he’ll get the wrong idea.”
“And what wrong idea would that be?”
“That you’re interested in him as a man, rather than just a friend.”
“Maybe I am.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’ve been thinking,” Sierra said slowly. “That maybe I should take my mother’s advice and encourage Carl. If you think about it, he is perfect for me.”
Carl was comfortable and predictable. He always called before he stopped over. And when he came, he never overstayed his welcome. So far, he hadn’t even tried to kiss her, although last night he had held her hand.
And it was like holding hands with a brother. Sierra immediately shoved aside the thought.
“He is not perfect for you,” Libby said. “You don’t love him.”
“Love is overrated.” And, it hurts, Sierra added silently.
“Since when is it overrated?”
“Since forever. It just took me a while to figure it out.”
“Well you’re not going out with him on your birthday,” Libby said. “You and I always go to lunch that day.”
“Last year was the first time,” Sierra said. “That hardly qualifies as always.”
“It was the start of a new tradition,” Libby said. “You’re just going to have to call Carl and tell him you can’t go.”
“’Fraid not,” Sierra said. “I already said yes and he’s made the reservations at Crane River.”
Libby shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re choosing Cootie Carl over me.”
“Libby,” Sierra said in a low warning tone.
“Okay, okay.” Libby heaved a melodramatic sigh and waved a dismissive hand. “It’s your birthday. Do as you want.”
“I appreciate your understanding,” Sierra said with a wry smile.
“Any time.” Libby heaved another sigh. “By the way, I’ll be confiscating Maddie on Tuesday.”
“And why would that be?” Sierra asked.
Though her friend loved Maddie dearly, Libby had never been particularly fond of watching the little girl. And this would be the second time in a week she’d asked to baby-sit.
“Birthday shopping,” Libby said with a mysterious air. “And even if you put ice picks under my fingernails, I won’t say more.”
Sierra shook her head and laughed. Her friend was definitely up to something, but it looked as if she was going to have to wait until her birthday to find out what.
Matt breathed a sigh of relief when Libby finished reading the last of the documents and signed her name with a flourish at the bottom.
When she’d arrived at his office with Maddie in tow, he’d been unable to hide his surprise. But Libby had quickly explained Maddie’s presence by saying that the two of them planned to do some birthday shopping for Sierra.
He’d expected the little girl to start chattering away as she had the other day, but instead she’d smiled shyly and settled down at his desk with a handful of crayons and a coloring book that Libby had brought with her.
Libby’s cell phone rang just as she handed Matt the last document. She answered her phone and her eyebrows immediately pulled together. “I’ll be right there.”
She stood. “I have to go. Carson has a crisis.”
Matt nodded and rose to his feet. “We’re all through here anyway.”
“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked. “I won’t be long. While I’m gone, maybe you two could think of a gift Maddie could give her mother.”
Matt realized he must have missed part of the conversation but before he could clarify, Libby was already at the door.
“Hey, aren’t you forgetting something?” He cast a pointed glance at Maddie, who still sat at the desk, her head bent over the coloring book.
Libby rolled her eyes. “Weren’t you listening? I said you’ll have to watch Maddie for me. I won’t be long. I promise.”
Panic rose inside Matt. He didn’t know the first thing about taking care of a four-year-old. “Libby, I can’t—”
But she was gone, out the door before he could even finish the sentence.
Matt raked his fingers through his hair and shifted his gaze back to Maddie. The little girl looked up, her eyes wide and innocent. “Do you want to color with me? I’ll give you the red.”
Matt glanced at the stack of work on his desk and then at his watch. He didn’t have time for coloring or for baby-sitting. His meeting with James Hanna was in fifteen minutes. If he left now, he’d still be able to make it.
Rachel should be able to handle Maddie. After all, hadn’t she told him she had two younger sisters?
But Maddie doesn’t know her. She might be scared.
The thought grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. Heaving a resigned sigh, Matt hit the intercom.
“Rachel, I need you to call Mr. Hanna and reschedule our meeting.”
His afternoon now free, Matt pulled a chair up to the desk and sat down next to Maddie. “Can I have a blue crayon, too?”
Maddie thought for a m
oment then shook her head. “Just red.”
After about ten minutes, she not only let him have the blue, but the green, as well. Still, Matt hadn’t really missed the other colors and he thought his red elephant looked quite nice.
A knock sounded at the door and Rachel popped her head inside. “Mr. Dixon, there’s a delivery for you. It’s…it’s quite large. Too big for the outer office.”
Matt paused in the middle of coloring a red moon. “Have it brought in here then.”
Setting down his crayon, Matt smiled at Maddie. “I wonder what it is?”
Maddie scrambled up from the chair, her eyes dancing with excitement. “A surprise?”
A man dressed in coveralls expertly wheeled a dolly through the door and deposited the cherry wood box on the floor.
“What’s this?” Matt asked.
“Didn’t they notify you?” The man handed Matt a delivery confirmation form. “You won the raffle.”
The man was out the door and on his way before Matt had a chance to blink.
“It’s boo-ti-ful,” Maddie crooned, her gaze openly admiring. “Pretty flowers.”
Matt glanced down, noticing for the first time that there were indeed tiny spring flowers sewn into the tapestry on the top of the chest.
Rachel wandered into the room and stared at the cherry wood box. “What is it?”
“It’s a hope chest,” Matt explained, much as Sierra had to him. “Women fill them with their hopes and dreams and their husbands make those dreams come true.”
“Sounds corny to me,” Rachel said with a laugh.
“I like it,” Maddie said, a stubborn tilt to her jaw.
“I like it too, princess.” Matt gave the girl an affectionate pat on the head.
“See.” Maddie glared at Rachel and her chin jutted out even farther. “We think it’s pretty.”
Rachel glanced helplessly at Matt. “I didn’t say it wasn’t pretty. Or that I didn’t like it.”
“I know you didn’t,” he said, in a reassuring tone.
Still, Matt couldn’t help but glance down at the little girl at his side and smile. The little spitfire was so much like her mother he couldn’t help but love her.
Love Enough For Two (Love Inspired) Page 14