Page 3 of Beyond Perfect

Her face remained passive. He noticed a few freckles. She just stared at him. Diego had bought a boat so he wondered if she’d been out on it.

Hell, he’d tell her all of it. “I—I couldn’t handle what happened to Denzi Lomax. Seven years ago, before Pathways was up and running, I took a temporary stint as a social worker in Syracuse. I wanted experience with kids like her.”

He saw Maisy’s face soften. “What happened?”

“I tried to get her out. Her brother had taken off so I thought I had a chance. But she was so attached to Marco Gomez that I failed. I wasn’t good enough at that, I guess.”

“How old were you?”

“Thirty.”

“She’s one of the reasons you eventually started Pathways and your other schools, isn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“I’d say you made up for your inability to get Denzi out.”

He shook his head. “I’ll never make up for that.”

“Of course you will.” She fidgeted with a bracelet she wore. “If that’s all…?”

He studied her. Her eyes flashed with anger, telling him his confession hadn’t diffused the emotion.

“You’re still upset with me.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Because I took off.”

“No, you did what you had to do to cope. But you could have answered my texts when I tried checking that you were okay. I was really worried.”

“I wasn’t okay. And I didn’t check my phone for a week. I’m sorry I worried you.”

She folded her hands over her waist. “All right. I accept your apology.”

“Your face says you don’t.”

“I do, as much as I can.” She stood. “And please don’t single me out anymore. It doesn’t look good.”

He felt a stab in his heart. “All right.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Kane.”

“Goodbye, Ms. Shepherd.”

After she left, he closed his eyes briefly. Perhaps her demands, her demeanor would keep him away from her. He was drawn to Maisy Shepherd, and he could never have her. Or any other woman. Or kids, like Harry.

No happily ever after for him.

* * *

Maisy swerved into the driveway of her big house on the outskirts of town. The windows and doors were open to the screens and a light shone in the den. She liked having someone to come home to.

She exited the car and walked in through the kitchen. Unable to do the plumbing and electrical, Maisy had hired professionals to put in new wiring and pipes before she moved in and Caleb came to live with her. After that, this room had been the first tocomplete. She took a second to admire the pale-yellow walls and the white trim on the woodwork which she herself had painted. Kitchen specialists had installed the bright white cabinets and the honey-colored engineered wood planks on the floor. In the six months since he’d been here, Caleb and Maisy had remodeled the living room, then two of the bedrooms upstairs. Now, they were working on the den.

Grabbing bottles of water, she went out into the living room and followed the hallway to the back, calling out, “Hey, I’m home.”

She found her brother up on a ladder in the den, taping the ceiling before they painted the walls. He’d made a lot of progress here. “Hi, kiddo. How was your day?”

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