“And what did Ava show you?”
“Well. She drew the bed very small and the windows very large. Which can mean she feels overwhelmed by being here and she wants to escape. But she also drew herself smiling and surrounded by her parents and family. Which means that she feels safe and loved. I think she’s going to be just fine.”
Lena nodded. “Did you talk to her mother about this?”
“Yep. You’ve got a nice family, Ms. Reyes. I’m glad I got to help them out.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled up at him. A moment. This was a real moment. Then his smile twisted back to that little sideways grin and the glint came back into his eyes. “If only I could have helped you out with that scene in the hall. If you’d drawn that for me, my assessment would be that you were being set up.”
And moment over. She gave him her most vicious glare and arched an eyebrow. “Why? Were you jealous?” Venom still dripping from the words, she turned and stomped down the hallway, putting a little extra swish in it just to give him a show.
His laughter followed her. “You are surely something, Ms. Reyes.”
Humph. Just how much of something, you’ll never know. She turned the corner and flipped her hand dismissively in his general direction.
* * *
MATT WATCHED HER sashay down the hall. Because she wanted him to watch. Still smiling, he shook his head and entered the playroom. She was something. Hot. Cold. Smart. Sexy. Let it go, dude. A woman like that isn’t to be trifled with. And he had too much on his plate right now to take on the likes of Ms. Reyes.
As he set up the table where he’d lead a session with several of his regular kids, his mind drifted back. Not to Lena, but the entire family. They’d shown up in force. Ava was never alone for a moment. When he was five, his nanny had taken him to the hospital when he’d had his tonsils out. When he developed a complication and had to stay overnight, she left at 6:00 p.m. The maid was supposed to stay with him, but never showed up. His parents were in London. He’d been terrified. And after that, he’d spent several scary nights alone in the hospital with asthma attacks.
Shake it off, man. But he wondered. What would it be like to come from such a family, full of loud laughter and love? And how did that family forge someone as guarded as Lena?
“Mr. Matt! Mr. Matt!”
He turned toward the voice with a smile. Clarissa. Dr. Rutledge’s granddaughter. With her was a tall woman, whose red hair matched the wisps of hair still clinging to Clarissa’s little head. She was being dragged by the hand across the playroom.
“Hey there, pretty girl. You seem mighty perky today. And you’re the first to arrive, which means you get to be my assistant.”
He shifted his attention to the woman beside Clarissa. He held out a hand. “Matt. Are you Clarissa’s mother?”
The woman laughed. “No. Although you aren’t the first to make that guess.”
“This is my aunt Logan, Matt. She’s visiting me and I wanted to show her the playroom.” Clarissa looked up at Logan. “I told you he was cute!”
Logan blushed and Matt felt a little heat on his own face. Here he’d been teasing Lena about an ambush setup and now he was the victim of one. “Logan,” he said. “Might you be the daughter who was asked to leave several deportment classes?”
Her laugh echoed through the playroom. “Indeed I am. How did that conversation ever come up?”
“I think it was my confession to having been in a similar situation.”
Clarissa grabbed his hand. “What are we doing today, Mr. Matt?”
“We’re going to make Halloween decorations. So we are going to need construction paper, glue and scissors. Do you know where they are stored?”
“I do,” Clarissa said seriously. She turned to her aunt. “Promise me you won’t leave.”
“I promise.” They watched Clarissa open the supply cabinet. “I’m sorry about this. She just said she wanted to show me the playroom.”
“It’s okay. She’s a good kid. Has a lot of fight in her.”
“That she gets from me.”
There was something in her stance. The slight nuance of her voice. Matt grinned. “Baa, baa,” he said.
“Black sheep,” Logan returned with her own grin.
They did a fist bump. “May we ever run free,” he said. “Hang out awhile. No need for you to miss out on time with Clarissa while she’s doing this.”
She glanced at her watch. “I really need to go. Clarissa, come give me a hug and kiss. I have to go back to work.”
Clarissa wrapped her arms around Logan’s abdomen. “Will you bring me a dessert?”
“Tomorrow, Mini-Me,” Logan said as she kissed the top of Clarissa’s head.
Clarissa looked up at Matt. “Aunt Logan is a pastry chef. She makes the best desserts ever in the whole world.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You two should go on a date.”
“Clarissa! That’s not very polite,” Logan said.
“Why? You’re my favorite aunt. He’s my favorite hospital person.”
Matt held back laughter. He looked thoughtfully at the little girl. “Would it make you happy if we went on a date?”
“Yes.”
Matt pulled over a chair and sat down to be at eye level. “What if we go on the date and we just want to be friends instead of boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Clarissa shrugged. “I don’t care. I just think you should go on a date.”
“Okay then,” he said. “Go finish getting the supplies ready.”
As she skipped away, he turned to Logan. “So we’ll go on a date.” He made air quotes.
Logan smiled and held out a hand. “Deal. But just so you know, this really isn’t a date.”
“I understand. But I’m new in town. A little short on friends. We’ll talk about the lives of black sheep and Clarissa will feel like she did something good for us.”
Logan looked back to where Clarissa was rummaging through the supply cabinet. Her eyes filled with sadness. “I just want her to have a date of her own someday.”
“She will. She’s a fighter. Like her favorite aunt.”
Logan laughed. “I’m her only aunt. Give me your number and we’ll arrange a time for this date.”
“A LITTLE FARTHER off our beaten path,” Lena said as she slid into the booth at The Glass Onion. She and Sadie usually met in the Avondale area for their weekly Wednesday-night dinners.
“I was craving shrimp and grits.”
“They serve wine here?”
“Yes. So, you seem to be in a better mood than last week. Did your family let you off the hook after the what-was-his-name fiasco?”
“No. I have another date on Saturday. This time with a doctor that my aunt Paula set me up with.” She smiled. A pretty, vacuous smile. “I’m just going to spend the entire night making this face.”
They gave the waitress their order. Two shrimp and grits and a bottle of chardonnay. Sadie leaned back in the booth and looked at her.
“What?”