Hannah's List (Blossom Street #7)(61)

At first, Winter was angry enough to let him go. But almost instantly she realized that if she allowed their conversation to end like this, the memory of it would always stand between them. She had to make at least an effort to reconcile.

She got up and hurried out the door. "Pierre!" she called, surprised to see that he was already halfway down the block.

He ignored her.

"Pierre," she called again, louder this time.

He paused, but didn't turn around.

Winter quickened her pace until she caught up with him. But then she didn't know what to say.

"I hate it when we fight," she blurted out, close to tears.

"Moi aussi," Pierre admitted, his shoulders slumping. "Me, too. Nothing ever changes with us. I love you and am crazy without you and then we're together for five minutes and I am crazy with you."

"I love you, too," she said in a low voice, "and yet sometimes I think I could hate you."

"We are not good together," he said, looking away from her, every syllable weighted with sadness.

She opened her mouth to disagree and found she couldn't.

Chapter Twenty-Three

W hen I got to the office Wednesday morning, I discovered Macy hard at work on the mural. She had her iPod plugged into her ears and seemed intent on her job. The sketch wasn't finished, but she'd made significant progress, which told me she'd been at work for several hours. And yet the office had opened just thirty minutes ago. I didn't understand how she could've accomplished so much in such a short time.

"She talked one of the security guards into letting her in early," Linda explained, reading my mind. She followed my gaze as Macy, oblivious to our scrutiny, continued drawing on the wall. "I don't know what she said to Larry."

"

Larry let Macy into the office?" That particular guard was a stickler for rules. The fact that Macy had somehow persuaded him to allow her into the locked office was almost impossible to believe. I couldn't imagine what she'd said to him. For that matter, I'd rather not know. Apparently, I made some movement that alerted Macy to my presence. The instant she saw me, she pulled out her earphones and gave me a dazzling smile.

"Good morning, Michael." I nodded, a bit embarrassed to be referred to by my first name in front of Linda. "I understand you got here even before the staff," I said, striving to sound businesslike. I didn't want Linda or the others on staff to get any ideas.

"I had to because I wanted to make sure I'd be ready to leave when you were. I plan to finish the sketches today."

"It looks like you'll be able to start painting soon," I said.

She cocked her head to one side. "The more I thought about how I'd arranged the giraffes and the lion, the less happy I was with the sketch. I've already made changes, see?" She gestured toward the wall.

I didn't really notice that much of a difference, but then I hadn't paid close attention. Macy had shown me the drawing and I'd approved it. I wasn't going to stand over her and examine every line she drew.

"You'll be able to come home with me tonight, won't you?" she asked, her eyes imploring. "To meet Harvey."

I felt Linda's interest and tried to ignore my nurse. The truth was, I'd do just about anything to get out of this. "You need to make an appointment with a physician who specializes in geriatrics," I said.

Macy's eyes grew round. "Harvey will never keep the appointment. This is the only way. You said you would. You can't go back on your word now." Seeking reinforcements, Macy turned to Linda. "He promised."

"You promised," Linda repeated in a tone that told me she was enjoying this far more than she should.

"Traitor," I whispered. Her support of Macy's schemes surprised me. It wasn't like Linda to side with someone else against me. I wasn't sure I liked this change in my nurse, who seemed to be falling under Macy's spell. I couldn't figure out why everyone, including Hannah, thought so highly of her. Macy seemed like a generous young woman and she had a certain quirky charm, but after ten minutes I found her irritating in the extreme.

"You'll come, won't you?" she pleaded.

I opened my mouth, but before I could utter a word, Linda answered for me. "He'll be there." She shoved a file into my hands and steered me toward the first examination room.

Sure enough, by four-thirty I'd finished my scheduled appointments in record time. Linda had somehow managed to free up the late afternoon so all I had left to do was some minor paperwork.

When I walked out of my office, Macy was waiting for me in the reception area, her purse draped over her shoulder. She wore army-green pants and a yellow T-shirt with a butterfly print on it and a brown vest made of some shiny fabric I couldn't readily identify. As was often the case, her red hair was a tangle of unruly curls. She lit up like a neon sign the moment she saw me.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

I sighed. I wasn't keen to meet this neighbor of hers, and my guess was that Harvey felt the same way about me.

"Sure," I said. "Let's go."

"Is it okay if I ride with you? I took the bus this morning."

"No problem."

I led her across the street to the parking garage, which was a few blocks down from the gym where Ritchie and I worked out. Paul, the parking attendant, saw me with Macy and winked in my direction. It was all I could do not to stop and explain that in spite of what he thought, I wasn't romantically involved with Macy. But if I made an issue of it I'd only look foolish, so I resisted.