Free Sweet Justice by Cynthia Reese Page B

corner by the window where she could observe the family from a distance. There was the big tall jokester—Rob—and he seemed to be connected to a blond named Kari, who was decorating a cake. And Daniel—a tad shorter than Rob, despite being older—was kind of serious, but she could see the longer he stayed, the more relaxed he became.
    Andrew, though... He was nowhere to be seen.
    Admit it , Mallory said to herself. You’re disappointed.
    Kimberly, Daniel’s fiancée, wriggled into the corner beside her. “You hiding out?” she asked Mallory.
    â€œJust staying out of the way. We’re kind of packed in here, don’t you think?” Mallory swept a hand toward the crowded kitchen.
    â€œThe Monroes can be a little overwhelming at first. I was sure gob-smacked by them,” Kimberly admitted.
    â€œAre they always...” Mallory trailed off, not sure exactly what she meant to ask.
    Kimberly laughed. She nodded. “Yep. Always just like this. Any excuse whatsoever to get together, to make a party out of things. You should have been down here in October—they had a cane grinding and all the homemade cane syrup you could eat.”
    Mallory’s stomach went from pleasantly hungry to tight and tense at the mention of October. October had found her not at a frolic of cane grinding, whatever that was, but in a burn unit’s waiting room, praying that Katelyn would survive.
    And all because Andrew had left Katelyn trapped in that fire.
    The noise and laughter filling the room must have covered up Mallory’s reaction, or maybe something else distracted Kimberly. Thankfully, the woman detached herself and left Mallory alone to watch the rest of the crowd.
    As if her thoughts had conjured him up, Andrew came strolling in the back door, along with a wake of cold air from the darkening winter outdoors.
    Katelyn looked up from her carrot chopping. “Howdy, stranger! Where have you been?”
    â€œWell, someone had to get the horses all in for the night. I noticed you didn’t offer to help. No, you hightailed it up from the therapy center for Ma’s toasty kitchen,” Andrew teased. He squeezed past Katelyn’s wheelchair at the end of the table to hang up a set of keys on a hook.
    â€œHey, buddy, I’m a paying customer at this here dude ranch,” Katelyn protested. She reached up and punched him on the arm as he slid by again.
    Andrew tweaked Katelyn’s hair like he would a kid’s. “The old dudette ploy, huh? Hang around here much longer, and you’ll turn into an honorary Monroe, and then we’ll see if you can get away with that.”
    They bantered back and forth a few minutes longer. Mallory was relieved to see that there was nothing remotely romantic about their interaction—Andrew could have been bedeviling a pesky kid sister. Katelyn, who went all breathy and silly and brainless when one of her crushes ever entered her sphere, didn’t show any telltale signs of infatuation.
    And that’s why you’re watching for that, right? Mallory tried to convince herself.
    Just then, a toddler, barely steady on her feet, wrapped her arms around Andrew’s legs. “Horsey!” she insisted. “Horsey!”
    Andrew swung the curly-haired tot up onto his shoulders and galloped around the room, evoking squeals of delight from his rider. His spirited jouncing took him careening into Mallory’s hideout by the window. He bumped into her, realized it was her and, his face flaming, pulled up short. He set the toddler down gently on her feet.
    â€œHorsey’s all tuckered out, now, sweetie. Go find Uncle Daniel and see if he’ll give you a ride.”
    Off she went, undeterred by all the people and chairs in her way.
    â€œWell, I guess I’ve made a pluperfect fool of myself,” Andrew muttered as he settled alongside her on the wide window ledge Mallory had pressed into service as a seat.