A Soldier's Return & Engaged to the Single Mom by RaeAnne Thayne

Author:RaeAnne Thayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-10-23T16:28:29+00:00

* * *

Troy stared at Xavier, forgetting to breathe. Remission? “Remission from what?”

Angelica cleared her throat. “Leukemia. He has...a kind that’s hard to beat.”

Every parent’s nightmare. Instinctively he reached out to pat her shoulder, the way he’d done so many times with pet owners worried about seriously ill pets.

She flinched and sidled away.

Fine! Anger flared up at the rejection and he gripped the porch railing and tamped it down. Her response was crystal clear. She didn’t want any physical contact between them.

But no matter his own feelings, no matter what Angelica had done to him, the past was the past. This pain, the pain of a mother who might lose her child, was in the present, and Angelica’s worn-down appearance suddenly made sense.

And no matter whose kid Xavier was...no matter who she’d cheated on him with...the boy was an innocent, and the thought of a child seriously, maybe terminally, ill made Troy’s heart hurt.

Again he suppressed his emotions as his medical instincts went into overdrive. “What kind of doctors has he seen? Have you gotten good treatments, second opinions?”

She took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t begin to tell you how many doctors and opinions.”

“But are they the best ones? Have you tried the Cleveland—”

“Troy!” She blew out a jagged breath. “Look, I don’t need medical interference right now. I need a job.”

“But—”

“Don’t you think I’ve done everything in my power to help him?” She turned away and walked down the steps toward her son. Her back was stiff, her shoulders rigid.

He lifted a hand to stop her and then let it fall. Way to go, Hinton. Great social skills.

He’d find out more, would try to do something to help. Obviously Angelica hadn’t done well financially since she left him and left town. Xavier’s father must have bolted. And without financial resources, getting good medical care wasn’t easy.

“Mom! Did you get the job?”

Angelica shot Troy a quick glance. “It’s still being decided.”

The boy’s face fell. Then he nodded and bit his lip. “It’s okay, Mama. But can we at least see the dogs?”

“Absolutely,” Troy answered before Angelica could deny the boy. Then he hobbled down the porch stairs and sank onto the bottom one, putting him on a level with the six-year-old. “I’m Troy,” he said, and reached out to shake the boy’s hand.

The boy smiled—wow, what a smile—and reached out to grasp Troy’s hand, looking up at his mother for reassurance.

She nodded at him. “You know what to say.”

Frowning with thought, the boy shook his head.

“Pleased to...” Angelica prompted.

The smile broke out again like sunshine. “Oh yeah. Pleased to meet you, sir. I’m Xavier.” He dropped Troy’s hand and waved an arm upward, grinning. “And this is my grandpa. My great-grandpa.”

“I’ve already had the pleasure.” Troy looked up and met the old man’s hostile eyes.

Camden glared down at him, not speaking.

Oh man. Out of the gazillion reasons not to hire Angelica, here was a major one. Obviously her grandfather was an important part of her life, one of her only living relatives.

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