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"Did you space the pills out with food, as explicitly instructed on the bottles?"

Mrs Burland glared at her

"I’ll take that as a no," Mallory said Mrs B’s color was off, and her blood pressure was far too low "When was your last ers on the woman’s narrow, frail, paper-thin wrist to check her pulse "Did you eat lunch today?"

Mrs Burland straightened to her full four-foot-eight inches, quivering with indignity "I knohat I’"

Mallory looked into her rheumy, pissy eyes and felt her heart clench Da she knew the probleood enough to take care of herself, and since she’d long ago scared off family and friends with her mean, petty, vicious ways, she had no one to help her Mallory picked up the room phone and called the cafeteria "Stella, it’s Mallory I need a full dinner tray for roo love going to beanyeye "Not today"

When the tray carumpy patient "Eat"

Mrs Burland tried to push the tray away but Mallory was one step ahead of her, holding it still "Oh no, you don’t You’re not going to have a little tantrum and spill it, not this tiht with temper, which Mallory was happy to see because itbetter Mallory leaned close "I’er and meaner, and I’ve eaten today"

"Well that’s obvious" Mrs Burland sniffed at the juice on the tray "Hmph"

"It’s apple"

"I have eyes in my head, don’t I?" Mrs Burland sipped the juice In sixty seconds, her color was better "You didn’t used to be so mean"

"It’s a newly acquired skill," Mallory said

"I’o ho that up This cafeteria food isn’t fit for a dog," Mrs Burland said

Well, she had her there Even Mallory, who’d eat just about anything, didn’t like the cafeteria food, not that she’d ever say so to the cook "Fine" Mallory went to the staff kitchen and pulled out her own lunch, which she brought back to Mrs Burland’s room "Try my sandwich Turkey and cheese with spinach" Which she’d only added because her etables "There’s a little bit of mustard and probably too much mayo but your cholesterol is the least of your probleie of baby carrots and an apple

Mrs Burland took a bite of the sandwich first "Awful," she said, but took another bite And then another, until there was nothing left but a few crumbs

"The carrot sticks and the apple too," Mallory said

"Are they as horrid as the sandwich?"

"They’re as horrid as your bad attitude And I’ll tell you this right now You’re going to eat it all if I have to shove it down your throat myself"

"Mallory," a voice breathed in disbelief from the doorway

Jane Perfect Mallory turned to face her boss, but not before she saw triulee coht

"Certainly" Mallory jabbed a finger at the carrots and apple Mrs Burland meekly picked up the apple

In the hallway, Jane led Mallory just out of hearing range of Mrs Burland "New tactic?"

"Yes," Mallory said, refusing to defend herself "She finish it all?"

Jane took a look over Mallory’s shoulder at Mrs B "Every last bite How did you do it?"

"By being a bigger bitch than she is"

"Nicely done"

By the ti and exhausted She solved the first proble a handful of Jodi’s cookies Then she pulled her phone out and took a quick peek to see if she had any texts before re she had Ty’s phone She paused and eyed the re chocolate chip/walnut cookies Fifteen e door was open, and thedeniht out, the other bent His black T-shirt had risen up Or maybe it was his Levi’s that had sunk almost indecently low on his hips In either case, the revealed strip of his washboard abs had her ht , but he seeht back and she’d had a hell of a long day and couldn’t possibly be worth looking at right now

Not that it appeared to make any difference Ty’s attraction to her was apparently based on so she couldn’t fathom She knew she could think about that for a et used to it, to the fact that no matter what she did or what she looked like, he see was far too ained

Ty sat up on thethere She was packing a plate of cookies, which he hoped to God were for him He assumed she’d discovered the phone fiasco by now, but other than that, he wasn’t sure what sort of mood to expect from her

The last time he’d seen her, she’d been face down on his bed, boneless and sated right into a coma of bliss He’d stroked a strand of damp hair from her face and she’d sht, his sole thought, oh Christ, I a her close, but then claustrophobia had reached up and grabbed him by the throat Just as he’d chosen retreat, she’d awakened and gotten dressed to go

That h he hadn’t realized it then He’d followed her hoot there safely, then driven back to his place and expected to crash Instead he’dit

He had no idea what she was thinking, but he hadn’t expected to see her sht of him, a smile that was filled with relief

Relief, he realized, and surprise that he was still here in town

Yeah, join my club He was surprised, too

She was in pale purple scrubs and white Nikes She had two pens sticking out of her hip pocket, one red, one black There were correlating ink aze and rubbed at the stains "I’m a mess Don’t ask"

"Not a ht the staff to keep theht?" he asked hopefully "Did you get it on video?"

"You are such a guy" She ca the plate out for hi bite of a cookie and ive the HSC ten thousand dollars?"

Ah, there it was, he thought, sing He’d been hoping she wouldn’t find out, but he supposed that was unrealistic in a town like Lucky Harbor Taking his time, he ate cookie number two, then reached for a third

She held the plate out of his reach "Did you?" she asked

He eyed her for a long etworried as she lowered the plate Worried for hiave"