A Family of Their Own - By Gail Gaymer Martin Page 0,51
face flashed before him. She’d hurt him the other night, and he didn’t know how to resolve that problem, either.
“But maybe it will work out, and I’ll get better. Then our lives will be good.” She tilted her head toward him, her eyes asking. “Right?”
“Right. We’ll keep praying that God has good things in store for us.”
Her step seemed lighter as they headed into the parking lot, but Ross’s didn’t. Normally he’d call Kelsey to tell her the results of this visit, but now he wondered where they stood. He hadn’t called her since Easter, trying to get his head on straight. He still prickled from her comments. She seemed to think he coddled Peyton. That was the word she’d used. Coddled. How do you not focus on a sick child? How do you not try to ease her suffering and fear with special treatment? Kelsey wasn’t hard-hearted. He knew that. So what was going on with her? That’s what he wanted to know.
Kelsey folded her notes from the MOSK meeting and tucked them into her notebook while Lexie waited beside the door. When she turned, Lexie opened her arms.
“I’m really sorry about the news, Kelsey.”
Her chest tightened. “So am I, but I’m trying to stay positive.”
“You should, because the doctor said he didn’t know for sure, and it could be nothing.” She slipped her arm around her shoulders. “No Ross today, either. I’m surprised. He seems to get a lot out of the meetings. He sometimes talks to Ethan about it.”
She nodded, trying to hold back the remorse she felt. She knew she shouldn’t have said a word about the bedroom. Not only what she said to Ross, but how she said it came across so wrong.
“I’m sure he hated to tell you his good news when you’d just gotten something new to worry about.”
Good news. Her head jerked upward. “What good news?”
Lexie’s arm slipped from her back. “What? Are you telling me you haven’t talked with him?”
“Not in a couple of days.” More than a couple. Her depression deepened.
Lexie’s eyes narrowed and a frown slid to her face. “An argument?”
She shrugged. “Not an argument really. Just words, but words I shouldn’t have said.”
“I’m sorry, Kelsey.” She shook her head. “Want to talk about it?”
She bit her lip. She hated to talk about it because it showed her nasty side, and it shamed her. But Lexie had a good head, so she decided to tell her what had happened.
Lexie stood a moment, digesting her explanation. “What happened to the woman who can soothe a raging lion?”
“I guess I’m better at soothing lions than at taking care of my own conduct. I’m really sorry about what I said, but that’s how I felt that day. Lucy kept bringing it up and making me feel as if I’m not a good mother, because I didn’t give her my bedroom. I—”
“You said what’s important. You’re sorry.”
Kelsey closed her eyes and pondered what Lexie said. “I am, but within it all, there is some truth.”
“Truth is sometimes in the eyes of the beholder.”
“I thought that was beauty.” She tried to grin, but it didn’t happen.
“It’s the same thing, isn’t it? Truth. Beauty. It’s our perspective. Ross did what he felt he needed to do for his daughter. It was a kind thing. We criticize people for being cruel and unloving to their children. Ross treats his daughter the way Jesus said. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
The sting of Lexie’s comment hit home. “You’re right.”
“And it’s something he can undo.”
“In time.”
Kelsey heart skipped. “What’s his good news?” She listened as Lexie told her about the new medication that could make a huge difference in Peyton’s life. As the words sank in, her spirit lifted with hope for Ross’s daughter. The girl needed something good in her life. Losing a mother and being stricken with the same disease that took her assailed Kelsey with full force. A child bearing the weight of so much difficulty. But now she had hope. She could win the battle. “I’m glad you told me. Even if he’s upset with me, I want him to know how happy I am.”
“That’s the right thing to do.”
It was. She reached up and snapped off the meeting-room light. “I’ll call him when I get home. My sister’s due any minute, and I hate to keep her waiting.”
“No, you don’t want to do that.” She chuckled.
Lexie had heard Kelsey’s complaints about her sister a few times, and that’s