Summer on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #6)(92)

At just that moment Vanessa walked into the cubicle. When she saw Tim with his arm around Anne Marie and their heads together, she exploded. “I knew it! I knew it! The minute I’m out of the picture you go after Tim…. So much for all that crap about not being interested in him. You’ve been after Tim from the day you met.”

Anne Marie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She blinked in confusion. “What?” she asked.

“You want Tim.”

“Vanessa!” he warned. “Stop it.”

“I won’t stop. Do you think I’m blind?” she demanded. “I saw how the two of you were looking at each other.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

A nurse stepped into the cubicle. “You need to keep your voices down,” she said. “If there’s a problem here, I advise you to take it outside.”

Reluctantly Tim stood up. “Come on,” he said to Vanessa.

“Let’s talk about this without half the hospital listening in.”

They left and Anne Marie relaxed a little. She’d had enough of Vanessa’s hysterics for one day. Brushing her disheveled hair out of her face, she closed her eyes and wondered if she’d made a big mistake letting Tim into their lives. Just then, it seemed she had.

Before she could brood any more on the situation, the technician was back with Ellen and a copy of the X-ray. “Looks like you’re going to get a cast,” he said to Ellen. Her daughter’s face was dry of tears now but her eyes were wide and curious. “Can I have a pink one?”

“I’ll see what Dr. Sawyer has to say about that.”

It took another hour before the arm was set and the cast in place. Ellen looked admiringly down at her arm, which was encased in a hot-pink cast, and smiled up at Anne Marie. “It still hurts really bad.”

“I know it does, sweetheart.”

Ellen scooted out of the chair. “Where’s Dad?”

“With Vanessa.”

Ellen said nothing, just stared at the f loor. The assistant brought in paperwork for Anne Marie to sign. Once she did, they were free to go. Tim sat out in the waiting area and stood up when they appeared.

Ellen showed no delight at seeing him.

Tim knelt in front of her. “How’s my girl?” he asked.

“Okay. I have a cast.”

“So I see.”

“If you’d take me back to my car, I’d appreciate it,” Anne Marie said wearily.

“Of course. My dad lent me his. All I had at the house was the Harley.”

Anne Marie didn’t care who the car belonged to as long as she got where she needed to go. On the drive back to the family home, she didn’t inquire about Vanessa. Frankly, she didn’t care where the other woman was; she was just grateful not to be dealing with her anymore.

Anne Marie sat in the backseat with Ellen and got out as soon as he’d parked. All she wanted to do was escape, to get her daughter home.

“Apologize to your parents for me,” she said, unfastening Ellen’s seat belt. “I’m sure they’ll understand.”

Hands in his pockets, Tim stood helplessly by as Anne Marie led Ellen to her car. “If there’s anything I can do…” he offered.

“There isn’t,” she said stiff ly.

“Can I phone you later and see how Ellen’s doing?”

She didn’t mean to be rude but she couldn’t face him again that night. “I’d rather you didn’t. Tomorrow would be f ine.”

“Okay.” He accepted that without argument. “Remember to call if there’s anything I can do.”

She nodded, but as far as Anne Marie was concerned Tim had done quite enough.

Chapter 33

Alix Turner

“Alix, we need to talk.”

Alix tensed. She recognized her employer’s tone of voice and it was ominous. Alix had already had a heart-toheart with Winter Adams, owner of the French Café, a few days earlier.

Alix had made a costly mistake this morning, her second that week. In both instances the entire batch of dough had to be dumped, wasting the ingredients and the time. Alix knew she was in the wrong, and she knew the mistakes had occurred because she was so agitated, mentally and physically. Although she’d gone several days without a cigarette, her body still screamed for nicotine. It was supposed to get easier, but it hadn’t. She knew why, too, but that didn’t help.

“Are you going to f ire me?” Alix demanded. She stepped into the off ice and held herself rigid, expecting the worst. It was what she deserved. If having to toss two different batches wasn’t bad enough, Alix had been irritable all week. She was afraid her employer had grown tired of her short temper, and what had happened this morning was the f inal straw. Winter obviously intended to let her go.

She looked at Alix and sighed loudly. “It’s not what I want to do. If you recall, I asked you to take over as manager next week when I’m on vacation.”

“But you’re doing it anyway, right?” Alix didn’t know why she felt the need to ask. Losing her job now would be disastrous. She and Jordan were living at the lake house, so with saving for a place of their own, increased transportation costs and much higher utilities, their budget was stretched to the limit. She’d had to give up cigarettes out of necessity as much as desire. She simply couldn’t afford to smoke.