“Not a thing. Besides, you’ve got bigger problems. Mom’s gonna flip out when she finds out you’re here. She’ll be fixing you up with every unattached bimbo in town.”

“What? Why?”

“Her grandchild clock is ticking like an atom bomb since Janet provided Auntie Joan with twins. Mom is desperate, and she won’t be satisfied until all four of you are married and pumping out the babies.”

Just the idea of it gave Mac the willies, but even that unsettling thought couldn’t clear away the overwhelming sadness over what Maddie must’ve gone through. No wonder she was so anxious to move into anonymity off the island.

“How come you get a pass on grandkids?” Mac asked.

“Mom knows David and I are years away from that.”

“Where is she anyway?”

“Doing the payroll at the hotel. She’ll be home in a little while, or you can catch her there.”

“Speaking of babies, what do you know about the father of Maddie’s?”

“Not a thing. She refuses to say who it was. Word on the street is that it was Royal Atkinson.”

“And people just believe that? You just believe it?”

Janey had the good grace to look chagrined. “Well, when a person has a certain reputation—”

“Whether it’s earned or not.”

“When she wouldn’t name the baby’s father, people speculated. She cleaned Royal’s house for years.” Janey referred to one of the longest-serving town councilmen. “Suddenly that stopped. A few months later, she started to show. People talked.”

Mac shuddered at the thought of pretty, petite Maddie getting it on with rotund Royal and his heaving jowls. “No way.”

“You asked. I’m just telling you what people say.”

“This town needs to get a life. How can you stand it? Don’t you ever get sick of it?”

“Doesn’t faze me. As long as they aren’t talking about me, what do I care?”

“Poor Maddie.” The words fell from his mouth before he could stop them.

Janey stared at him. “She got to you, didn’t she? And now you’re wondering what it would be like—”

“I’m not wondering anything. I just wanted to know her story.”

“You should probably keep your distance, Mac. She’s had a lot of trouble in her life. Her mother’s doing three months in prison for writing bad checks, and her father split years ago. Her sister was a wild child, too. They’re not our kind of people.”

“That sounds so snobby. She can’t help who her parents are any more than we can.”

“We got a lot luckier than she did.”

“Which is exactly why we shouldn’t throw stones.”

She went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You’re too good. Just be careful around her.”