Timing Is Everything

by Steinsiek, Sabra Brown;

  Before Meg had come home, he moved his things into Annie’s bedroom. He had no doubts that this was the right thing for them. He’d made a commitment to Annie, a commitment that he planned to honor. He shut Laura out of his mind and heart, safely locking the memories away with all the others of his past.

  He spent the day installing his computer in the guestroom that Annie insisted he take as his own space. He had done some research and found online groups for children with critically ill parents, groups for children who had lost parents. He wanted Meg to have as much support ready for her as possible when the time came.

  Annie’s parents and Megan arrived in the afternoon, and they had dinner together before Taylor took her parents to the airport. Annie had made the decision not to tell them, or Meg, about the tumor until it was absolutely necessary. She and Taylor had also agreed that, if Meg asked, whichever one of them she questioned, she would have to be told the truth.

  Annie had gone to bed long before him and had been asleep when he’d finally joined her. She’d murmured his name sleepily as he slipped in beside her, and he’d taken her in his arms, holding her as she’d slept, wondering late into the night how it was possible to love two women as deeply as he did.

  * * *

  He received Laura’s resignation the next morning. He’d been up early and out for a run before either Annie or Meg woke. He’d just been returning to the house when a Federal Express truck pulled into the driveway. Taylor had intercepted him before he could ring the doorbell, signing for the package addressed to “Barnum.” It had come overnight express from Albuquerque and he knew before he opened it what it would contain.

  He’d thrown it, unopened, onto his computer desk and gone to take a shower. Irrationally, he was hoping it would be gone by the time he came back to it, but it had been there waiting for him, and he knew he couldn’t put off opening it any longer.

  Taylor,

  It is with regret that I tender my immediate resignation as your assistant/publicist. Now that the tour is over, I have requested to end my leave of absence early and will be returning to the Herald.

  I have enjoyed my time as your assistant and am grateful for the opportunities it offered. Please let me know if there is any way that I can help with your search and training for my replacement.

  Sincerely,

  Laura Collins

  Gently, he placed the single sheet of paper back in the envelope. That was it, then. Laura was out of his life. He couldn’t have expected anything else, but he had hoped.

  * * *

  Taylor told Annie that Laura had resigned. “She’s decided she really wants to go back to the paper.”

  “Are you going to try to change her mind, Taylor?”

  “No, Annie. She made it clear that this is what she wants to do. I don’t really have much for her to do anyway. I’ve already instructed my agent’s office to cancel anything I was scheduled for. They can handle any publicity I might need, and I’ve asked Elodie to send out a message to the fans that I need a little time with my new family. It’s better this way.”

  Annie knew it wasn’t better for him at all. She could hear it in his voice, see it in his eyes, and she was powerless to do anything to change it.

  * * *

  They quickly settled into a routine. Meg returned to school, a mini-celebrity because of the news she brought with her. Annie returned to the studio part-time, teaching only her advanced classes. Only Taylor was left with nothing to keep him busy. He’d kept the condo as a rehearsal space rather than moving the piano to Annie’s. It was too big to really fit in her house, anyway. Most days he took Annie to the studio, then went to the condo to “work” before picking Annie up when her classes were over.

  He didn’t get much work done. He couldn’t find the joy within himself anymore to sing. Mostly he just did exercises to keep his voice in shape and spent the rest of the time reading or staring off into space.

  * * *

  Laura hadn’t told Taylor the truth. She hadn’t asked to return to the Herald, not yet anyway. She still intended to try to make a go of it as a free-lance writer. She resumed her counseling sessions and began to build a new life—again.

  * * *

  Annie tried to carry on with her life in as normal a fashion as possible. She was actually able to forget for long periods of time that she carried a time bomb in her head. She was grateful to Taylor for his love and support but never ceased to feel guilty that she’d provided the obstacle that was keeping him from Laura.

  While Taylor worked on the computer in the evenings or watched television with Meg, Annie worked on getting her affairs in order.

  * * *

  Two weeks after their wedding, Annie returned to the hospital for another CT scan. According to the doctor, the news was “good”—the tumor didn’t appear to be growing, and the medication was managing the pain.

  That was the night that her lawyer called with the news that she’d located Cary.

  Chapter 48

  “I actually found him almost right away, but I decided to try to obtain his signature without either of you having to have anything to do with him.”

  Taylor took Annie’s hand, then said, “I assume he wouldn’t cooperate.”

  “Not a chance. I received this from his lawyer yesterday.”

  She handed them a letter. It was written in formal “legalese,” but they were able to get through enough of it to know that Cary wouldn’t sign the papers without meeting personally with Taylor to “assure himself that the petitioner will be an appropriate guardian for his daughter.”

  Annie was confused. “Why Taylor? Wouldn’t he want to take it out on me?”

  “He’s been biding his time all these years, Annie, waiting to get his revenge. If I come crawling to him, wanting something he controls, then he’s put back in the position of power. Power over me and over you. He doesn’t give a damn about Megan. He just wants to make us grovel.” Standing and moving to where he could look out the window, Taylor was silent for a minute before he turned back to them. “If groveling is what it takes to keep Meg safe, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  “Taylor, we could do this completely through the courts, you know.”

  “And have tabloids get hold of it? Have Meg dragged through all of that? No, I’ll play his game. It will be easier in the long run. Set up the meeting as soon as possible.”

  Jude had called them that evening. “He’s insisting on meeting with his lawyer present, Taylor. Do you want me to go with you? I would advise that you say ‘yes.’”

  “I suppose that makes some sense. I doubt he’ll cave in at this first meeting. He’s more interested in humiliating me and hurting Annie. He’s not going to give up on that quickly.”

  “There’s always the publicity angle to hold over him. From what I gather, he’s a rising star at TNC. A public scandal about his abandoned child won’t help his career.”

  “No, we can’t use that unless it becomes absolutely necessary. He’s liable to call our bluff on it, and then Meg would be the one who was hurt. Just set up this meeting, Jude. The sooner we start playing his game, the sooner it will be over.”

  * * *

  One week later, Taylor and Jude entered the offices of a prestigious law firm in Atlanta. Identifying themselves, they were shown into a conference room and offered coffee or tea, then left alone for a few minutes.

  Taylor stood at the window while Jude sat at the table and took out her files. She looked at him and could see the lines that all of this had already etched into his face. He turned as the door opened, and Cary Edwards entered the room followed by his lawyer.

  Cary was at his most charming when he was introduced to Jude, and he played the “old buddy” as he said to Taylor, “It’s good to see you again, Taylor. You’ve made quite a success of yourself since the good old days in New York. And, I think we have a f
riend in common. Laura Collins? I read somewhere she was your assistant. She and I were pretty heavily involved while I did my time in Albuquerque.”

  Jude saw the fury in Taylor’s eyes and interrupted Cary’s carefully scripted reunion. It was obvious that he knew exactly what to say to goad Taylor. It was her job to keep Taylor from losing it.

  “My client and I have a return flight to catch. Perhaps we could get started?”

  The lawyers opened the discussions with a lot of legal thrust and parry. Taylor and Cary were only observers in this opening round of negotiations.

  Cary sat across the table from Taylor looking relaxed and without a care. Taylor’s tension showed in the lines around his mouth and eyes. The stiffness of his posture contrasted graphically with the relaxed attitude Cary projected.

  “Perhaps Mr. Edwards would care to tell us his concerns so that my client and I might address them.” Jude deftly took control away from the opposing lawyer.

  “Of course,” Cary said as he straightened his tie. “I never had any concerns about my ex-wife’s ability to care for our daughter.” His emphasis was subtle but unmistakable. “I do have concerns now that Taylor has re-entered the picture. His lifestyle is far from steady, and I have some concerns about who will be caring for my daughter while Taylor and the former Mrs. Edwards are following Taylor’s ‘muse’.”

  Jude answered. She had cautioned Taylor not to make any statements unless she specifically asked for one. “I understand your concern, Mr. Edwards. However, the record shows that Mr. Morgan has been on the road less than six months total in the last five years. That’s not a lot. I’d venture to guess that your reporting duties have taken you away for equal, if not longer, periods of time.”

  Cary wasn’t happy. He’d underestimated Taylor’s lawyer, dismissing her as an unimportant woman who would quickly fall prey to his charms. He threw a look to his own lawyer, who, taking his cue, responded, “How my client has spent his time is not relevant. Since Mr. Morgan is petitioning for custody of the minor child, he—and his lifestyle—are what are in question here.”

  After another hour of legal wrangling, Taylor was at the end of his rope. As he’d predicted, Cary had no intention of giving in at this meeting. He couldn’t understand why Jude was insisting on continuing.

  Finally, Cary’s lawyer said, “I can see we are making little progress here. Unless there are extenuating circumstances that make speed an important part of this process, I think we should agree to meet again in, say, another month? We can prepare a list of questions and send them to you so that we can try to cut to the heart of this in a more expedient manner.”

  A month? Taylor wasn’t sure if Annie had a month. But the last thing they wanted was for Cary to know that Annie was dying. He heard Jude agreeing to the proposal and knew that Cary had won this round. But he wasn’t prepared at all for Cary’s parting shot.

  “I have been thinking that I’d like to meet with my daughter to see how she feels about all of this. Perhaps she’d prefer to come live with me?”

  Jude was too slow to stop Taylor as he came to his feet so quickly he knocked over his chair. “Damn you, Edwards! You won’t get anywhere near Megan. You walked out of her life before she was even born. You haven’t made one attempt to see her in the eleven years she’s been alive. If you make any attempt to see her now, I’ll kill you!” Taylor turned and left the room before he gave in to the urge to smash Cary’s self-righteous face.

  Jude found him fifteen minutes later in the small courtyard of the building that housed the law office. He looked completely defeated, and she wished she could say something to make him feel better. But, the truth was, his outburst had just made things worse.

  He turned at the sound of her footsteps. “We’d better head back for the airport, Taylor,” she said. She headed for the street, Taylor following, to the cab the receptionist had summoned for them. Giving the driver their destination, she waited until he had pulled out into traffic before she quietly said, “You know that wasn’t any help, Taylor.”

  “I know. Even when I was yelling at him, I knew it was the wrong thing to do. The idea of his having anything to do with Megan… I’m sorry. I lost it.”

  “You could have gotten away with yelling at him, Taylor. Threatening to kill him was the mistake. If this, God forbid, goes to court, he can use it against us. Your outburst today and your physical attack on him before Meg was born, can be made to look as if you are unstable and unsuitable to be Meg’s father. When we meet with him again, Taylor, you have to keep your personal feelings for him in check. You simply can’t risk an outburst like that again.”

  Taylor only nodded mutely. He knew he’d blown it. The thought of Cary being anywhere near Megan, hurting her as he’d hurt Annie and Laura, had just been more than he could handle.

  Jude reached out and put her hand on his. “Taylor. It’s fixable. For what it’s worth, I think you’re right. He’s just playing with you. He doesn’t want Megan, he just wants your pride. Meg will be safe.”

  Taylor noticed she didn’t promise. Until those papers were signed, Cary could still take Meg away from him.

  * * *

  It was late when they finally arrived back in Tampa. As Taylor was driving Jude home, she said, “Taylor, you need to let go of this afternoon. This will all work out.” He’d nodded even though he didn’t believe her.

  The house was dark as he pulled into the driveway. It felt as if a lifetime had passed since he left that morning. Quietly, he opened the door and came into the silent house. He walked down the hall to Meg’s room and opened the door. She was sleeping, secure in the love of her mother and the knowledge that Taylor would take care of her. He just hoped he could live up to her expectations.

  “Taylor?” Annie spoke quietly from the darkened hallway behind him, and he closed the door before he turned to answer her.

  “Annie, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “You didn’t, Taylor. I’ve been waiting for you to get home.”

  Taylor put his arm around her and walked with her back to their bedroom. “He wouldn’t sign, Annie,” he said with defeat in his voice.

  “Then you were right. He’s playing some kind of game with us.”

  “Don’t worry, Annie. He doesn’t want Meg. We just have to let him think he’s winning for a while but he’ll sign the papers eventually.” He kissed her forehead, then held her for a moment. “Now, back to bed with you, Annie. You need your rest.”

  She looked up at him. “And you, Taylor?”

  “I can’t sleep yet, Annie. I’m too keyed up. I think I’ll stay up and read for a while.”

  She brushed her fingers across his cheek. “Don’t stay up too much longer, Taylor. You look worn out.”

  “I won’t,” he said as he left the room.

  Taylor sat in the dark guestroom that had become his space in this house. His mind kept replaying the scene in the lawyer’s office until he was sick of thinking about it. He decided to check his email to see if that would distract him.

  Logging on, he scanned the list of messages. Most of it was from the fan site. The discussions lately had been about his marriage, and he’d found some of them pretty scary; a couple of them had even threatened suicide because he was no longer available. Maybe, when this was all over, he’d officially retire, take Meg, and live in Europe for a while. He was tired of the rest of the world acting like they owned him.

  Almost without thinking, he found himself composing a note to Laura.

  Laura,

  I hope you’ll read this instead of deleting it just because it’s from me. I guess I really need to talk to someone.

  Annie is doing well. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was perfectly all right. The medications seem to be handling the pain, so she’s able to handle everything else. Meg is Meg. She still has no idea of what’s going to happen, what is happening on her
behalf now.

  Laura, I’m trying to adopt Meg. Annie’s lawyer is pretty sure that just naming me Meg’s guardian in her will is not going to be enough. If her birth father decides to crawl out from under a rock and take her, the courts would favor him over me because he’s her birth father. It seems to make no difference that he’s never seen her, never provided any support. Because she is his blood, he would be deemed more suitable.

  So, we’ve tracked him down. He’s in Atlanta, a rising star at TNC. He refused to sign the papers sent by our lawyer, insisted on meeting with me. That happened today.

  He hasn’t changed. He’s still smooth and charming, and, if you didn’t know what he was really like, you could easily be taken in by his veneer. He claims he wants to make sure I’m a fit father for Meg, and is raising all sorts of objections. Our lawyer was pretty good at taking away his excuses, but we didn’t reach an agreement.

  I never thought he would agree in this round anyway. He’s never forgiven me for saving Annie from him all those years ago. He has a chance now to have the upper hand, and he’s taking full advantage of it, enjoying seeing me grovel. I think he’ll sign eventually…he certainly doesn’t want to be bothered with a little girl.

  He doesn’t know that Annie’s dying. If he did, I’m afraid he’d just refuse to sign to make the time she has left as miserable as possible. It’s all such a confusing mess.

  Meg doesn’t know any of this is happening. We decided not to tell her until the papers were signed.

  I truly complicated it today. He threatened to demand to meet Meg before he would sign. I lost it. I came out of my chair, and, if I could have reached him, I would have killed him then and there. Instead, I only threatened to—in the presence of my lawyer and his.

  Laura, I’m sorry. I have no right to expect you to listen to me. If I told Annie any of this, she would only worry. No one else, besides our lawyer, knows what’s happening. You are one of a handful of people who know the truth about Annie.