“Don’t make the same mistakes I did, Cara. Don’t give up your music. But don’t let it be just a hobby, either—it should mean something to you. It should feed the souls of all around you.” Another pause, and Cara noticed the heart monitor register an extra blip. “And one more thing. Don’t tell your mother what I said.”
“But why not?” If Maureen knew that Gerald had given Cara his blessing, maybe that would be enough to get her off Cara’s back about performing. Isn’t that what Cara needed?
“I don’t want her to feel pressured into changing her mind. She should come to that naturally. Just be yourself. Do what you do best. Remember that your mother’s a good woman with a tender heart, even if she does hide it better than a German Christmas pickle.”
“Did you know that tradition actually didn’t originate in Germany?”
“What?” Gerald looked at her in surprise. “The German pickle doesn’t come from Germany?”
“Nope. It was started here in America, and then later, some German families adopted it. It’s not as wide-spread over there as it is over here, either.”
“Well, I’ll be. Someone’s been lying to me about pickles.” Gerald lay there for a moment in silence. “How did you even know that?”
Cara shrugged. “I like to Google things, and one question leads to another. I don’t remember why I looked that one up. Disappointing, isn’t it?”
“I’ll say. Next you’ll tell me that German potato salad isn’t really German.”
“I believe that one is safe.”
It was so strange, sitting in a hospital room with her father, talking about German traditions—and the Malones were Irish, not German.
“So. Promise you won’t hold that over your mother’s head.”
“I promise.”
After giving her father a kiss on the cheek, Cara left the room so her mother could spend some time with him in private. She made her way back to the waiting room, grabbing a bag of almonds from the vending machine in the hallway before getting comfortable. She desperately wanted the answers to so many questions—chief of them all being, would her father come home from this hospital visit, or would he pass before he had that chance—but those were questions that probably didn’t have answers at that point.
Chapter Nine
Cara had fallen asleep on the sofa in the waiting room, but she wasn’t aware of that fact until she heard Morgan’s voice. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. You’re slobbering on your arm. Wake up.”
Her eyes popped open and she saw her roommate standing over her, looking amused. “Wha . . .?” She wiped the corner of her mouth on her sleeve. “What are you doing here?”
“We couldn’t leave you to go through this alone.”
“We?”
Morgan stepped back, and there was the whole gang—Rory, Regan, Laurie, Logan, and Brennan. Brennan? Cara ran her fingers through her hair, wondering how terrible she looked. And as if drooling in her sleep wasn’t embarrassing enough in front of Morgan, now Brennan knew about it too?
Everyone found seats in the waiting room, and they practically filled it up all by themselves. Cara excused herself to go to the bathroom, and there she washed her face and tried to smooth down her hair. She knew Brennan didn’t really care what she looked like—she had cried all her mascara off and it hadn’t seemed to faze him—but that was before the kiss. Yep, she would probably now categorize everything in her life by the letters B.K. and A.K. Before kiss and after kiss. Whenever there’s a defining moment in someone’s life, that’s a natural phenomenon.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, she hoped she’d be able to avoid Brennan, but he was right there, like he’d been waiting for her. Oh, wait—he was waiting for her.
“Cara, can we talk?”
“Sure.” She led the way outside, where the air was fresher than it was inside. Hospital smells, even the less pungent ones, were always unpleasant to her.
They walked a little ways away from the building and then Brennan stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Listen. About kissing you.”
“It’s all right. Really,” she said. “I understand about getting carried away in the moment and not realizing what you’re doing. If you’d like me to forget it ever happened, I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do understand,” Brennan said. “I don’t want you to forget it ever happened. In fact, I’d rather like it to happen again. And often. And on every day of the week, and holidays, and in different weather—I’d like to compare kissing in the rain to kissing in the snow, for instance. I want this to be a regularly occurring thing.”
“You would?” Cara was completely blown away by what he’d just said. “Then why did you throw my suitcase in the car and get rid of me so fast?”
“To be honest, I was scared out of my mind. I wasn’t planning to kiss you. It just happened, and when it did, I felt things I’d never felt before. My brain just about exploded. I’ve kissed my fair share of girls in my life, but this—this was beyond them all. I could see an entire future with you in that second, and I sort of freaked out. And then I realized how that must have looked, me getting rid of you, like you said, and I knew I needed to explain myself. So here I am.” Brennan held out his hands and made a gesture as if offering himself to her.
Cara didn’t hesitate. She slid her hands into his and edged closer. “Do you think we should experiment with kissing at hospitals?”
“Absolutely. We need to know how that ranks compared to, say, kissing at libraries or universities.”
“This sounds like it’s very needed research. For science, of course.”
“For science,” he agreed right before his lips met hers.
* * *
Cara’s friends had carpooled to Denver together, but Brennan brought his own car so he could get back Monday morning in time to open the store. He sat with Cara until the very last minute before he had to leave, though, holding her hand as they waited for updates on her father. Gerald just didn’t seem to be stabilizing, and his monitors kept going off. Cara remembered the nurse’s warning that the cords and tubes shouldn’t be bumped and she hoped that’s all it was, but a very large part of her feared that her father wasn’t going to pull through this.
Brennan left at five a.m. so he could get back to Aspen Ridge to take a nap and a shower before heading to work. He bent down and gave Cara one last kiss, and then he was gone. As soon as he was out of earshot, Laurie, Morgan, and Regan all converged on Cara.
“Was that what I thought it was?” Morgan asked. “Because it looked like a kiss, and I don’t mean a friendly little peck.”
“Yeah, it was a kiss.” Cara felt her cheeks turn red, even though she had no reason to be embarrassed around her roommates. They knew everything about her anyway.
“And when did you go from coworkers to lip-lockers?” Regan wanted to know.
“Well, he kissed me the first time—and the second time—before I drove down here yesterday morning. Took us both totally by surprise. And then when you all got here last night, we sort of decided we liked it and should keep doing it.”
Laurie reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “This is so awesome. I’m kind of freaking out about how awesome it is.”
“And now you can stop feeling guilty about breaking up with him,” Logan said languidly from the corner.
“I wasn’t having guilt,” Laurie protested, but then she paused. “Okay, yes, there was guilt. I admit it. But no more. Now Brennan’s with the girl he’s supposed to be with.”
“I kind of thought you and Max would end up together,” Regan said.
“Yeah, so did my mom, and she wasn’t too excited about that. He’s a musician, you know,” Cara said, making air quotes with her fingers.
“And musicians are scary,” Morgan added.
“Oh, definitely. I wake up every morning relieved to discover that Cara didn’t murder us in our beds.” Laurie rolled her eyes. “I hope she’s more accepting of Brennan’s occupation.”
“Me
too. Um, if we both still have jobs.”
Cara realized that not everyone in the room had heard what was going on at Marchbanks and Sons, so she filled them in. There wasn’t any part of her life that wasn’t in total upheaval at this point.
Around eight, Morgan and Rory said they needed to leave so they could get back to the bank, and Laurie and Logan had to head back as well. Regan didn’t work that day, so she was going to stay with Cara. They had just decided they ought to head down to the cafeteria for something to eat when Max showed up in the waiting room.
“Hey, there you are,” he said. “This place is huge. It took me forever to find you. But I have a surprise.”
Cara raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure if she could take another surprise, after everything else that had been going on. But when Max held up a CD, she knew what it was instantly.
“The demo’s done?”
“I just came from the studio. Jethro ran off a hundred copies, like we asked, and this one’s yours.” Max handed it to her with a grand flourish. “How many more do you need?”
Cara had absolutely no idea how to answer that. She hadn’t planned to give any away herself—she thought Max would be handling that aspect. “Just one more for now,” she said on an impulse. “I’d like to play it for my dad, and he should have his own copy.”
Max reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out another CD case. “Here you go. How is your dad?”
“We had a little scare with his monitors around two this morning, but he seems to be all right now,” Cara said. “My mom’s been in there with him since he was admitted, and I’ve gone in a few times so she could eat and stuff like that.”
“You both need to get some sleep,” Max said.
“Oh, I’ve dozed off in my chair,” Cara protested, but Max shook his head.
“I’m talking about real sleep. On a real bed. I know a guy who knows a guy who owns a hotel just down the street from here. I’m going to see about getting you a room.” Max wouldn’t even let Cara argue. He walked away and pulled out his phone, dialing it as he went.
“A nap would be awesome,” she said to Regan.
“And pretty crucial,” Regan added. “For your mom, too.”
Max came back a few minutes later, a big smile on his face. “Okay, you’ve got a room for you and your mom, and they comped it. Regan, how are you holding up?”
“Me? I actually had a really long Sunday afternoon nap yesterday, so I’m good for a while.”
“How about if you hang out here, and Cara takes her mom to the hotel to get some sleep?”
“I can do that,” Regan said. “I loaded up my Kindle, so I can outlast anything or anybody.”
Cara didn’t think they’d be able to convince her mother to leave the hospital, but Max turned on his charm—there was no resisting his charm if you were female and not dead. Within fifteen minutes, Maureen had given the hospital instructions to consider Regan part of the family, and they were on their way to the hotel.
“I just can’t believe this is happening,” Maureen said as Cara navigated through traffic. “I always thought the leukemia was our enemy. I never even considered his heart.”
“Well, they did say his body was growing weaker everywhere.” Cara turned left and pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. “I’m glad I was here, Mom. And I’m glad we’re talking now.”
“I am too. I know we have a long way to go yet, but I’m glad we opened the door.”
* * *
After a dreamless nap on the most comfortable mattress in the world, Cara took a hot shower and felt a million times better. She was so glad she’d thought to bring an overnight bag, and she was even able to share some extras with her mom. Then they hurried back to the hospital, unwilling to spend more time away than necessary.
Regan stood up when they came in the room. “He’s been resting comfortably the whole time, and I just finished the last book in my series. Your timing is perfect.”
“Thank you so much for sitting with him,” Maureen said. “I hated to leave, but that nap was very needed.”
“Not a problem. But I do need to head out now, if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Cara told her, giving her a big hug. “But didn’t you drive down with Laurie? How are you getting back home?”
“Max will take me. He’s been doing business in Denver all day—handing out your CDs and meeting with people in the know—and he said I could go back to Aspen Ridge with him.”
“Oh, that’s perfect. Have a good trip back. And thanks again.”
“Welcome.” Regan turned to Maureen. “I hope everything turns out okay.”
“Thank you.”
Regan left the room and walked down the hall, texting as she went—probably letting Max know she was ready. Maureen sat down in the chair next to the bed and took her husband’s hand. He was sleeping and looked very relaxed.
“This is just how he was when we left this morning,” Maureen commented. “I don’t think he’s even moved a muscle.”
Cara glanced around and saw another chair behind the door. She brought it out, unfolded it, and sat down in it on her father’s other side. There was no sound but the beeping of the hospital equipment for several moments until Maureen spoke again.
“You have some very supportive friends, and it was so kind of Max to arrange for the hotel. If you’d like to be with him, I won’t object.”
“I don’t want to be with him. I want to perform with him. It’s entirely different.” She was about to mention that Brennan was the guy she wanted to be with, but she figured she should let her mother deal with one revelation at a time.
Maureen pressed her lips together. “I just don’t understand it,” she said at last.
“I know the performance you saw wasn’t the greatest,” Cara said. “My nerves got the better of me. But we really are amazing together. And, in fact, I’d like you to hear something. Hold on—I’ll be right back.”
Cara stepped out to the nurses’ station and asked if they had a CD player. They did a little rummaging around and came up with one. Apparently, one of the janitors had left it there—he liked to jam out while he mopped.
Cara brought the machine into her dad’s room and plugged it in, then took the demo CD out of its case. “Max and I recorded this in a studio here in town,” she said. “Just give a listen.” She pushed play and sat down, hoping against hope that Jethro really was the magician he claimed to be and that the recording sounded amazing. It would be pretty humiliating to promise her mother something spectacular and not be able to deliver.
As the music began, starting softly and then building until it filled the room, Cara was amazed. Jethro was a genius—everything sounded fantastic. She could envision hearing this at a concert or on the radio. Then she glanced down at her father. His eyes were open.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to wake you up. Do you want me to turn it off?”
He shook his head. “Beautiful,” he rasped.
The three of them sat together and listened to the entire CD, and when it was time for the duet, Gerald’s eyes filled with tears. He lay there and cried through the whole piece, and when it was over, he said, “That’s my little girl.”
He fell asleep again within minutes of the last song, and Cara took the CD player back to the nurses’ station. She wouldn’t want the janitor to miss it the next time the floors needed mopping. Then she gave the CD to her mother. “This is for the two of you,” she said. “I have my own copy.”
Maureen took it and studied it for a moment, even though there was nothing on it to really look at besides a plain white sticker for a label. “You made your father very happy just now,” she said at last.
Cara didn’t reply. She didn’t know how.
“If this is what you want . . . be happy, Cara. Be happy. That’s all I want, all I’ve ever wanted. I’ll stop fighting you.”
“Really, Mom?”
“Really.”
Cara walked around her dad’
s bed and gave her mother a hug. They held each other for a long moment.
“You’re an adult now and you don’t have to do what I say, but I’d sure rather be on your team than sitting on the sidelines, booing all your plays. I’m sorry I haven’t been more supportive. I’ve just always felt that music was a hobby, not a profession, and I never saw the point in it. But now . . .” Maureen’s eyes misted over. “Your father looked happy. The music did that for him—your music did that for him. That can’t be bad.”
“It means a lot to me to have your support, Mom,” Cara said. “Thank you. And maybe someday you’ll even become a fan.”
Maureen shook her head. “Let’s just take this one step at a time, all right?”
* * *
Brennan texted an hour later. I talked to Marchbanks about meeting with my dad and he’s all for it. Got it set up for Thursday. And I miss you. How are things going?
Great, actually. Max brought the demo CD over, I played it for my parents, Dad loved it, and Mom’s not on a witch hunt anymore. I miss you too.
I’m really glad to hear that. I mean, about your parents, but about you missing me, too. Laurie’s rings came in. Do you want me to call them or wait until you’re back?
Call them. No point in having them wait.
Cara grinned as she slipped her phone back in her pocket. It was crazy how a simple exchange of texts could make her stomach go all fluttery—especially when she’d texted Brennan who knew how many times over the last couple of years without a single flutter at all.
By late afternoon, Gerald had stabilized enough that the doctor said he could be released. “I don’t want to send him home, however,” the doctor clarified. “He’s definitely not ready for that. He still needs round-the-clock nursing care. I send patients with conditions like his to a rehabilitation center I’ve worked with for years. We can transport him by ambulance in this very bed, so there’s minimal jostling. The staff is trained and dedicated, and I think he’d do well there.”
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