“Baby, are you okay?” asked Madeline. “You’re covered in blood.”
Lana decided not to go into detail about how the blood got there. That would only cause more problems. “I’m fine, Mom. It’s not mine. What are you doing here?”
“It’s al over the news. They said someone was shot and then showed your office building. I caled your office and kept caling until the police answered and told me you were safe.” Madeline puled Lana in for a tight hug, and despite knowing how this scare would make her mother overreact, a hug from Mom felt good. “Sit down, honey. You shouldn’t be on your feet at a time like this.”
“My feet are fine.”
“Nonsense. I know how much your legs ache when you overdo. Sit.”
Lana puled in a deep breath in an effort not to take off her mother’s head with the scathing remarks leaping behind her sealed lips.
“I bet you haven’t eaten anything today, either. Let me take you home and make you some nice soup.”
“Stacie is in surgery and you want me to go have soup?” Lana asked her mother.
“You have to keep your strength up if you want to be of any use to her at al.”
“My strength is fine. I don’t need to sit and I don’t need soup. Just stop, okay?”
Madeline gave Lana a disapproving frown that made Lana feel like a child. “You’re upset. You’l feel better if you just rest for a while.”
“I’l feel better if you just leave. Let me deal with this on my own. Please, Mom.”
Madeline pretended not to hear the plea in Lana’s voice. “You should have caled me earlier. You need a cel phone, Lana. You had me scared half to death.”
Lana realized that her mother’s fear was driving her now, and she couldn’t blame her for being worried. Lana might have been the one hurt in Armenia, but Madeline had to watch her suffer through a mother’s eyes. That couldn’t have been easy. “We’ve talked about this. I can’t afford one right now.”
“Then let me buy you one.”
Lana closed her eyes in an effort to gather her patience. “Mom, please. Not now. Stacie is in surgery, and I just can’t deal with you, too.”
The hurt look on Mom’s face made Lana feel like she’d just kicked a dog. “No one’s asking you to deal with me. I came here to support you.”
“I’m fine. You should go home and make sure Dad knows I’m okay.”
Madeline patted Lana’s arm. “You can come with me. After a scare like this, you should come stay with us for a few days.”
It had taken Lana months to get out of the house the last time, and she wasn’t strong enough for that kind of battle again. As far as her mother was concerned, Lana should just come live at home permanently, because she was too weak to live on her own. “Thank you, but I’l be fine.”
“Nonsense. You shouldn’t have to be alone at a time like this.”
“I’m not,” said Lana before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth. Too late now.
Lana motioned to where Caleb sat a few feet away watching them silently. “Mom, this is Caleb. He’s a friend of mine.” A lie, but a necessary one. She couldn’t let her mother get involved. It wasn’t safe.
Madeline’s blue eyes narrowed. “A friend or a boyfriend?”
Caleb stood up to his impressive height and stepped over to them, offering Madeline his hand. “Just a friend, ma’am. It’s nice to meet you.”
Madeline’s expression turned from skeptical to speculative, and Lana realized her mistake. If Mom couldn’t control Lana’s life, a husband was the next best candidate.
That’s why she hadn’t given up hope that Lana and Oran would patch things up.
Lana was sure that in Madeline’s eyes, Caleb had gone from friend to boyfriend to husband in the blink of an eye.
“You should come over for dinner tonight,” invited Madeline.
“Mom, now isn’t a good time,” said Lana. “I need to be here for Stacie.”
“When she’s better, then,” replied Madeline, stil addressing Caleb. “You can come over and meet the family. We’l have a cookout, and Lana’s father can show off his new roses.”
“That would be nice, ma’am,” said Caleb.
“No promises, Mom,” said Lana before Caleb could make any. He had no idea what he was dealing with—that in Madeline’s mind, they were probably already engaged by now. “Maybe after the fundraiser I’l have some time.”
“You should make time for your family, Lana. We’re al you have now.”
That was not true. She also had Stacie and the foundation. And the kids. “This isn’t the time. I’l cal you later, as soon as we know about Stacie’s condition.”
“It sounds like you’re asking me to leave.”
Lana puled in a deep breath. Aside from the fact that she realy couldn’t deal with her mother’s wel-intended interference, the less she was around her family, the safer they’d be. She couldn’t forget that. “I am. I’l be fine. There’s no sense in you spending your day here. You hardly even know Stacie.”
“I’m not here for her, Lana. I’m here for you.”
Lana wanted to say that she didn’t need her, but that was too cruel and hurtful. Instead she settled for, “Caleb is here with me. I’l be fine.”
As if trying to help her prove it, Caleb looped his thick arm over her shoulders and puled her against his side. “I’l keep an eye on her for you,” he told Madeline.
Lana was too shocked to move. She just stood there, soaking in his heat. And it felt good being inside his embrace. Too good. Caleb’s comfort was something she could get used to in a hurry, and that was a dangerous thing to her hard-won independence.
Madeline looked from Lana to Caleb, and that speculative light flared in her eyes. “I suppose you two have this handled. You’l cal if you need me?”
Lana nodded. “I promise.”
Madeline hugged Lana, making Caleb step back and take his warm comfort with him. It felt strange being swept from one set of arms to another, and Lana gave herself permission to enjoy something so rare.