Page 69 of A Man for Mia

Brother and sister stopped three feet away from each other.

"Have you heard anything?" he asked.

Mandy shook her head, looking hollow and alone. "No. Nothing."

Mia’s heart went out to the bereft mother. Remembering all too clearly that lost, empty sensation, she set her hand over her churning stomach. About the time she whispered, "Hug her, Drew" under her breath, he pulled his sister into his arms. She swallowed with pride. "Good man."

Still holding Mandy closer, he asked, "Where’re the girls?"

"I called Dad too," she said. "He offered to take them. Since he’s only a few blocks away, he’s been here and gone." Pulling back enough to give him an uncertain look, she said, "I was hoping you’d stay here … with me."

"Of course," he answered immediately, taking her hand to pull her down next to him on the cushioned chair, he kept a hold of her fingers. "I’m not going to leave you."

As Mandy rested her head on his shoulder and he began to sift his fingers through her hair, something powerful and achy moved through Mia. Keeping herself out of sight from Drew’s sister, she continued to eavesdrop, unable to take her eyes off him. If only he’d been there after Lexie’s death. He would’ve held her like that, comforted her. Maybe it wouldn’t have taken her over three years to heal.

Realizing at that moment that she had indeed healed, she pressed a hand to her chest, and three years of pressure eased off her lungs.

"Where’s Jeff?" she heard Drew ask.

Amanda shrugged, staring bleakly at a wall. "I called. Had to leave a message. Told him to call me back."

"You didn’t tell him what happened?" Drew sounded incredulous.

His sister glanced over long enough to glare. "If he cares anything about his children, he better call back."

Drew pushed to his feet, running his hand through his hair. Digging his cell phone from his pocket, he began to dial. "I’ll call him," he said and started to look around the waiting room as if looking for Mia.

She stepped into view and his eyes instantly darted her way. They exchanged a long look before he smiled and commenced to leave a message for Amanda’s husband, explaining everything that had happened. Mandy finally noticed her as Drew was hanging up and putting his phone away.

Straightening her back and narrowing her eyes, she hissed, "What is she doing here?"

"She’s here for me," Drew answered, his tone leaving no room for question. He sat down next to Amanda not even glancing Mia’s way as if he trusted her support that much.

But his sister didn’t like his answer. Eyes filling with tears, she rasped, "I can’t have her here right now, Drew. She reminds me of what he did. And I can’t think about that. I can’t …"

She shook her head, looking grey. "I’ve been thinking about it too much. That’s why I was sleeping in this morning. I stayed up so late last night, thinking and stressing. And Felix knew I was upset. He woke me a few minutes before … before it happened and said he was going to make me breakfast. I stayed in bed. I was being lazy, and lying in bed when he crawled up onto the kitchen counters. He was so sweet, Drew. When he put his hand on my hair and told me he was going to bring me breakfast in bed because I didn’t feel well."

She sobbed and Drew shuddered.

"Mandy, no." He reached for her, but Mia was suddenly there.

She caught his arm. He whirled around to scowl at her, but when he saw the look in her eyes, he paused. She shook her head, and he gave a slight reluctant nod.

And all the while, Amanda kept talking, sobbing out the entire story. "The next thing I knew, he was screaming and then there was this thump. And suddenly everything went quiet. I found him lying in a pile of Fruit Pebbles. His favorite cereal. He was going to give me his favorite cereal for breakfast."

Hunching her shoulder to buy her face in her hands, she started to weep and didn’t notice how Mia had urged Drew out of his seat so she could take his place beside Amanda. "I should’ve gotten out of bed. I shouldn’t have let him know how miserable I was."

Mia set a hand on Amanda’s back. "No, you should be proud of your son. He had the compassion to care for his mother when she needed someone to care for her."

Amanda lifted her face. The grief and tears had aged her since she’d bent over to weep. But anger quickly wiped away her anguish. She glared at Mia.

Mia swallowed but didn’t back down, especially when Amanda growled deep in her throat in animalistic warning. "Don’t you dare tell me how to feel." She vibrated

with the force of her rage. "You don’t know what I’m feeling. You have no idea what it’s like to be responsible for your child’s—"

"Mandy," Drew said, his voice reprimanding as he stepped forward to stop her.

But Mia lifted her hand and glanced his way. "It’s okay," she told him. "This is good."

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