by Dani Wade
So she chose to tease back, instead. “And I’m pretty sure you aren’t sorry in the least,” she said with a saucy grin. “No matter that I won’t be good for much today.”
“Nope,” he conceded, but his smile faded as she rushed to the opposite door.
She paused with her hand on the knob and glanced at him over her shoulder. The sadness creeping over his grin made her ache. To her knowledge, he hadn’t been to see his mother since that midnight conversation she’d overheard, but she couldn’t force him. He had to make this decision for himself. “I have to go to work,” she said.
He nodded, smile long gone. She forced herself to turn away, not to linger or reach out to him in any way. But the disappearance of their earlier connection still hurt.
When Christina entered Lily’s suite, Nicole glanced up from where she was packing her books. “I was just coming to knock on your door,” she said.
Thank goodness she hadn’t planned to just walk in like usual. Nicole always had been a smart girl. “Sorry I’m running late. Ready for your quiz today?”
“As ready as I can be...” Nicole’s voice and gaze trailed away, causing Christina to glance behind her.
Aiden stood in the doorway to the dressing room, having pulled on his khaki pants, but nothing else.
Turning back, Christina found a big smile plastered on Nicole’s face and an approving look in her eyes. Again with the damn blush! Though Nicole would have heard through the grapevine about Aiden’s mattress-moving strategy, Christina wasn’t used to parading her love life in front of others.
“Thank you, Nicole,” Christina said, her voice quieting. The other woman left the room as Christina turned to the bed, going through her usual motions of checking Lily’s pulse and temperature.
She was aware of Aiden as he came into the bedroom and leaned against one of the chairs near the doorway. The same chair he’d sat in before. But she had a feeling he wouldn’t let his guard down enough to do so today.
She studied him through her lashes as she talked to Lily in a low, soothing tone.
“You doing okay this morning, sweetie? Nicole takes good care of you, doesn’t she?”
Aiden maintained his distance, his posture closed off, arms crossed over his chest. The sunlight filtering through the curtains glinted off the spiky points in his chestnut hair, but didn’t illuminate his eyes. She tried not to notice the tight strength of his thighs as he stood there.
His complete lack of movement amazed her. He didn’t so much as fidget. Ordinarily, his shut-down expression might have indicated disgust or lack of caring, but she suspected it was more a product of caring too much.
It hurt him to see his mother like this.
Which was the very reason he’d avoided this room. She’d seen it so often, she wished she could tell him he wasn’t the only one, but didn’t want to risk scaring him off by getting too deep. She settled for, “You haven’t spent much time in a sickroom.”
His eyes widened slightly before his face resumed an emotionless mask. “Does it show?”
Sighing, she sank into her chair on the opposite side of the bed. Why had she thought he would make this easy on either of them?
She smiled down at Lily, the woman who’d become a surrogate mother to her before the older woman’s accident. Her heart ached with the guilt of her involvement. “It’s often hard for family and friends in situations like this. Not only does it hurt to see her sick and unresponsive, but it is an awkward situation.”
She cast a tentative smile in his direction, wanting to connect, but fearful of rejection. She wasn’t going to mind her own business, even if he was Lily’s son. Lily had talked so much about him—his drive to succeed, his interest in art, his independence, his loneliness. She had truly loved him.
And now he was Christina’s husband. She needed him more than he’d ever understand.
“It’s much easier for nurses, who have charts to check, exercises to perform and chores like dressing and bathing. We have a purpose, a job to do. We can be—” she swallowed “—useful to both the patient and their families.”
And useful she’d proven to be, as always. Far more so than she’d ever intended, despite her resolve never to travel that path again. She’d been useful to her mother for a while. James, too. Her father had rejected her because she was not of use to him. Which side would Aiden fall on?
“How long have you worked here?” Aiden asked, relaxing enough to stroll to the window and glance out. Was he remembering this room, the view from his childhood years here?
She had continued to spend time with Lily during high school and university, eager to have someone in her life who cared whether she succeeded or failed. “Almost five years.” Something she was very grateful for, since it also allowed her to give back to Lily after her accident. Their relationship had deepened before the stroke rendered Lily comatose. “I was here visiting Lily one day when James called me to the study. He offered to give me a job taking care of her if I would come live here with them.”
“He asked you?”
“Yes.” She’d been happy, but Lily had been ecstatic. Only later did she realize how tough it was being a live-in nurse of someone she loved and knowing she’d probably never recover.
Aiden went on, “You weren’t looking for work?”
“My father gave me a small trust fund that helped me through college, so I hadn’t planned to actively search out work until the next semester,” Christina said. “My last one.”
She thought she heard him mumble “Very clever,” under his breath, but she kept speaking as she absently rubbed Lily’s arm.
“As soon as my degree was completed, I came here to live, assisting Lily with her daily activities, exercises and stuff. The years before her stroke were good ones, despite the paralysis from the car accident.”
The words seemed so mundane compared to the reality. She’d built a life here, loving Lily, Nolen, Marie, Nicole and the rest of the staff as a family. She couldn’t have enjoyed them more if she’d handpicked them. Despite her awkward childhood, she finally had girlfriends who lived in town, women she could talk to on the phone and shop with. Blackstone Manor wasn’t just a place she worked. It was home.
“Good years,” she whispered, turning watery eyes to Lily’s quiet features. Her hand shook a bit as she reached out to smooth the coverlet. The last few weeks had left her way too emotional.
Aiden surprised her by speaking from the foot of the bed. When had he moved so close?
“How can you handle seeing her like this?”
Christina turned to face him, startled by the turbulent emotions so evident after his earlier composure. So she’d guessed right. He hadn’t avoided his mother because he didn’t want to see her, but because he wanted it so badly. To see her as she was before the accident had changed her. He wanted to avoid the painful emotions stirring inside him.
Something she could relate to but not condone. “Because I love her.”
His gaze shifted to Christina and he stared intently, as if anxious to verify her words. They were true. Even without their history, Christina would have loved Lily’s peaceful acceptance of her situation, pride in her children’s accomplishments and graceful offer of friendship.
Christina only wished she could have begged Lily’s forgiveness before the stroke had separated them forever.
“What if it was your fault that she’s lying there?” Aiden asked.
The muscles around Christina’s heart squeezed down hard. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. It was her greatest fear laid bare before her very eyes. One hard thump reverberated in her chest, then another, until everything returned to its normal pace.
But Christina would never be the same. “What do you mean?” she forced out.
His hand shook slightly as he indicated his mother in her hospital bed. �
��I mean this. It’s all my fault.”
Christina should not have been relieved.
“Why?”
“She’d come to see me because I was too selfish to bow to James’s demands and come to Blackstone Manor. We’d spent a few days going to art galleries and shows. She loved the creative side of New York City.” Without his seeming to notice, he’d reached down to wrap his hand casually around Lily’s foot. Christina held her breath, but he continued on. “I don’t know if you remember the day of her accident.”
Christina remembered, all too well. The bad weather, the storm warnings.
“She assured me she wanted to get home, not wait for it to clear,” Aiden said. “After all, the sun was still out.” He gazed at the headboard but his eyes were fuzzy with memories. “But it got bad. Really bad. Why didn’t she stop?” He squeezed his mother’s foot again. “I should have made her wait. It’s all my fault.”
Lily’s foot flexed. Her heartbeat, so steady on the monitor up until now, picked up speed. Aiden jerked back, his hands flying wide. He stared at his mother as color drained from his face.
He’s gonna pass out. Christina rushed to his side. A little unsure, she snuck up against his body, leaning in to keep him steady. “It’s okay, Aiden.”
This close, she could see him swallow hard. “What...was...that?” he asked.
“Remember me saying that Lily’s coma isn’t a constant state? Coma patients can rise through the stages, then sink back down.”
He nodded, even though she wasn’t sure if he was comprehending.
“Sometimes it means they respond to things like weather, temperature, touch. Sometimes they can even sit up and open their eyes, but then they sink back down into the coma minutes or even hours later.”
“Has Mother ever...?”
“Sat up?”
He nodded again.
“No.” She stroked her hand up and down Aiden’s arm. “I’ve often wished she would. Sometimes I think these little episodes are her way of letting me know she’s still here, but in truth they may only be an involuntary physical reaction. I choose to think of them as the former, despite my nursing degree telling me it’s just the body’s way of releasing energy.”
To her surprise, his arms went around her, hugging almost too tight. Neither of them acknowledged what prompted the embrace, just settled into it for long, long moments.
When he finally pulled away, she decided to give Aiden what he most needed right now, whether he knew it or not. Placing a hand on one sculpted arm, she whispered, “I’m sure, no matter what it is, that she’d love the fact that you are here with her. And she’s perfected her listening skills over the last two years.” She smiled, even though he didn’t return it. But at least he didn’t look whiter than white any longer. “Why don’t you start with ‘Hello, Mom’?”
Ignoring the ripple of his muscles under her fingertips, she let go and walked away. Gifting him with the chance to heal the rift between himself and his mother was the least she could do for both of them. She just wished she could keep him when all was said and done.
Fourteen
“We’re a little too early for a harvest festival, which is what we put together for the high school last year. How can we fine-tune this summer fair, ladies?” Christina asked.
Surrounding her was a group of women who loved working together for the good of the community, and were known as the go-to choice for getting things done. They weren’t from the country club like Tina’s set, who simply threw money at a charity to be seen doing it. Just good women who worked hard and had fun.
“I’m so excited,” Mary Creighton said, clapping her hands together like a kid. “It’s been a long time since we had a true country fair. Or anything more than that rinky-dink carnival set up in the high school parking lot.”
Jean Stanton jumped in, too. “And the fairgrounds are still in really good shape. We’ll easily have enough room for anything we want to do. It’ll be nice to have something to look forward to after all this—”
A hard look from the other woman had Jean closing her mouth quick, but Christina had already tuned in.
“It’s okay, Mary. I need to know these things. Jean, go ahead.”
Jean shrugged, setting her dangly earrings into motion. “It’s just been tough with the economy and worry over what might happen to the mill after Mr. Blackstone got sick. Then our men started talking about what was going on at the mill and all...”
Christina hadn’t been aware that the disturbing incidents were common knowledge. Obviously, the workers had taken note and had ideas of their own. “I know, Jean. And trust me, Aiden is working closely with Bateman to put a stop to that nonsense.”
“That’s good, especially after that equipment failure last week,” Avery Prescott added. “Having him involved takes a load of worries off all of us about working out there. She just means it’s a good time to have some fun, blow off steam...even better than a night at Lola’s.”
Mary’s brows shot up. “Do you honestly think anything is better than a night at Lola’s?”
“I can think of a few things...” Jean snuck in, leaving everyone laughing.
“Now, about the fair—” Christina prodded.
“The carnival is already contracted. A really good one, with a great safety record,” Jean said. “Why not have a couple of those blow-up waterslides for the kids, too? And a watermelon-eatin’ contest.”
Christina hurried to scribble notes as the ideas flew fast and furious.
“A bouncy castle for the little ones.”
“A cake walk.”
“A petting zoo.”
Mary leaned forward. “Too bad KC isn’t in town. She’s always good for fun adult-only ideas,” she said with a waggle of her eyebrows.
“Hmmm...maybe some eye candy? I was thinking of asking Luke to come home that weekend,” Christina said. “He could bring the car for display, sign autographs... I’m pretty sure both the men and the women will like that.”
The youngest of the group now that KC Gatlin had moved away, Avery quickly chimed in. “What about a kissing booth? Would he be willing to do that? Because that man is hotter than a sidewalk in the South in July.”
The other women quickly agreed. “And in his racing suit,” Mary elaborated, “that man has buns tighter than—”
“Are you ladies talking about me?”
As Aiden’s voice rang throughout the room, a flush encompassed Christina’s entire body. The women around her froze, staring at one another with wide eyes until giggles escaped one by one. Christina tried to maintain her cool beneath Aiden’s sexy grin, but her mind betrayed her with images of Aiden, naked in her bed.
Oh, that so didn’t help anything.
“Aiden, these are the ladies working with me on the fair.”
“Very nice,” he said. “I can’t thank you all enough. I know it’s a lot of hard work, but we really appreciate it.”
The charm came on, and every woman in the room melted into pliant goo. Even Christina. Especially Christina. He’d taken to her lessons on Southern hospitality way better than she could have imagined.
She didn’t get to see this side of him often, and intense Aiden was just as attractive, but when he went out of his way to make someone feel valued, it really worked.
Determined to stop blushing, Christina tuned in to the murmurs of approval wafting his way. When her gaze followed, she found him watching her. The smoldering look in those dark eyes sent a shiver down her spine. In this room full of people, they might as well have been alone.
And deep inside, the fragile hope that he would stay burst into full bloom. She’d been fighting for so long, aching for too long... For once, the simple wish to keep someone she loved close to her overran practicality.
He turned and walked away with a smal
l wave. Christina knew he’d be in her room when she went upstairs. Their room. She only hoped she could survive waiting that long.
Mary fanned her forty-something face. “Oh, girl. That one’s a hottie, I have to say. Runs in the family. You are one lucky woman.”
Christina just sat there, her face getting warmer and warmer, while the other women enthused over her new husband’s traits.
“So tall. And all that dark hair.”
“And those dark eyes.” Avery shivered. “So intense.”
“Did you see the muscles in his arms?” Jean asked. “Talk about carry me away.”
Christina refused to squirm, but something of her thoughts must have revealed themselves on her face, because the laughter tapered off.
“Oh, honey,” Mary said, rushing over to pat her arm. “Are we embarrassing you?”
Christina wanted to yell yes! but bit her tongue, instead. Her inexperience and confusion were not their fault.
“Oh, course you are,” Avery said.
Mary’s concern coated her every word. “We didn’t mean to, Christina. Honest.”
Christina smiled her understanding. Avery put her arm around Mary and said, “We know you didn’t. You just can’t help it.”
“Me and my big mouth, my husband always says.” Mary shrugged. “I can fit both my size nines inside.”
Christina smiled up at her. “No harm done.”
Relief softened Mary’s face. “Good.”
Luckily, at that moment, the door cracked open once more, this time to reveal Nolen and a tray of goodies. He smiled over his obvious welcome and led the group to the farthest end of the room where he set up the refreshments on the table.
When she moved to join the others, Avery motioned for her to stay. “You okay, Christina?”
“Sure,” Christina said. Avery had been a good friend to her. They hadn’t been close when they were younger, but had reconnected when Avery had returned to town after getting her training as a physical therapist. Both were single, around the same age, with no interest in the party scene, so they had a lot in common and could talk easily about almost anything.