Promises of Forever

by Celya Bowers

“Harley, stop.” Kayleigh went to the fridge and got two sodas. She gave one to her friend. “Your mind is so dirty.”

  She opened the soda. “Hey, what can I say? I’m a freaking romantic. Okay, so how many times did he have you seeing stars?”

  “Can you see stars in the daylight?”

  Harley laughed. “Oh, that’s just awful. So are you guys dating officially or what?”

  The one little detail she wasn’t sure about. “I really don’t know. I guess I’ll have to just wait and see. I’m not in any big hurry for anything, since I’m not sure what lupus is going to do my life.”

  “Okay, I guess I can see why you’d be reluctant to tell him about it, and why you wouldn’t have a relationship. But don’t scare him off, okay?”

  “All right.”

  The women finished their meal and talk to turned to their upcoming English assignment. “How much work have you gotten done so far?”

  She hated to admit it, but her mind hadn’t been on the dreaded assignment. “I checked out books from the library last week, but I haven’t worked on it yet.”

  “Kayleigh, it’s due in five weeks.”

  “I was going to work on it tonight, but my nosy friend came over.”

  Harley jumped up. “I have my stuff in the car. I was going to the library when I left here, but I can use your computer to do research.” She ran out of the house.

  After they cleared away the dishes and Harley brought Kayleigh’s laptop to the kitchen, the two friends started studying.

  * * *

  “I wonder who could be ringing your doorbell at ten o’clock on a Sunday night. Manny is in Houston until tomorrow, and I’m already here,” Harley said sarcastically.

  “Probably just kids goofing off,” Kayleigh said, dismissing the noise. “As you said, Manny is out of town, and you’re here. There’s not many options left.”

  Harley slipped out of her chair. “Why don’t we go check it out?”

  Kayleigh followed her friend, knowing this was a disaster waiting to happen. The way her heart started thumping against her chest, Kayleigh knew exactly who it was, and if that wasn’t enough, Harley had opened the door and invited Finn inside.

  “Finn, it’s so nice to see you again. Come on in, we were just studying.”

  Kayleigh made it to the living room the same time Finn walked inside the house. The day after sex was a little awkward with her nosy best friend in the room, looking like an excited kid at Christmas. “Hey, Finn.”

  “Kayleigh, I thought you might be hungry.” He extended a box. The aroma wafted into the house. “I made some lasagna.”

  She took the box and inhaled the scent. If it was as good as it smelled, she was in trouble.

  Harley cleared her throat. “My gosh, look at the time. Ben is going to rip me a new one for being out so late.” She went to the kitchen and retrieved her papers. “See you in the morning. Don’t worry about calling out tomorrow. I’ll take care of it.” With a wave of a chubby hand, Harley was out the door without another word.

  Which left Kayleigh and Finn staring at each other like horny teenagers. “Thank you for the food, Finn. But you didn’t have to bring it all the way over here this late. You know I’m capable of finding food for myself. I know you think I’m some kind of charity case, but you don’t have to keep feeding me.”

  “And here I thought it was just a nice gesture,” he said shortly. “I always make extra when I cook. If you’d taken five seconds to look in my freezer you would see that.” He walked toward the front door. “And for the record, I don’t make love to charity cases.” He stormed out of the door without another word.

  As if she needed one more thing to go wrong in her world. She wanted to go after him and explain, but her feet wouldn’t move. She wanted to call his name, but her mouth wouldn’t work, either. Her hands stopped working and the box fell to the floor. Kayleigh felt a strange tightness flowing through her body, realizing this was how it felt when one died.

  CHAPTER 15

  The further Finn drove away from Kayleigh’s house, the more he cursed himself for acting like a first-class jerk. So she didn’t want him taking over her life. That was fair. He had a habit of taking things over. He had to stop that. Kayleigh was living her life just fine before she met him, and she could keep doing it just fine now.

  “Well, Finn, you’ve got a lot to sort out.” No one else was in the truck with him. He usually had his best ideas when he talked things out.

  He turned the truck around and went back to Kayleigh’s. He couldn’t go to bed without apologizing to her. If she didn’t want to see him anymore, he’d have to deal with it.

  He arrived at Kayleigh’s house, took a deep breath and walked to the front door. It was only ten-thirty, she could still be up. He rang the doorbell, mentally preparing himself for whatever she had to say. A few minutes went by and she hadn’t answered the door.

  She was making him pay very dearly for being an ass. He rang the doorbell again. Nothing. What the hell? “Okay, Kayleigh,” he called out. “I’m sorry. Now just open the door.”

  Still no answer.

  “She keeps a spare key under the flowerpot,” a voice called.

  Finn whipped around and saw Harley getting out of her car. “I tried to call her, but didn’t get an answer,” she explained.

  “We had a disagreement and I left, but I had to apologize to her. I don’t like leaving things undone.”

  Harley smiled. “She told you she could make her own decisions, right?”

  “Yeah.” He picked up the flowerpot and got the key. “I kind of said some things I’m not too proud of and wanted to set the record straight.”

  “She’s probably going to be pissed. I’ll check the bathroom and you can check the rest of the house. She has been known to walk around the neighborhood late at night, too, when she needs to think.”

  He slipped the key into the lock. “Please tell me you’re kidding.” He opened the door and his heart fell to his stomach. Kayleigh was lying on the floor in a heap.

  “Baby!” He rushed to her side. The food that caused the very argument was splattered onto the hardwood floor beside her. He lightly tapped her face, hoping she would open her pretty eyes, but he wasn’t having much luck. Kayleigh was dead to the world.

  Harley left the room and returned with a pitcher of water. “Get back.” He moved out of the way just in time to avoid the splash.

  Kayleigh sputtered but didn’t move much, and her eyes were still closed. “Okay, we’re going to the hospital,” Finn said. He scooped Kayleigh up and headed for the door. “Get her identification, Harley.” He walked out the door and headed for his truck. He placed her in the backseat and Harley slid into the passenger seat.

  He started the truck, sped down the road, and then glared at Harley. “Okay, tell me what’s going on!”

  “I shouldn’t. I promised. She should be the one to tell you.”

  “You can honestly sit there and keep your mouth shut when we couldn’t even wake her? What kind of friend are you? I’m damn glad you’re not mine.”

  “You just wait one minute, Finn. You don’t even know me. She said she didn’t want to tell you ’cause you might run.”

  “So what is this?” Finn knew his life was about to change, but right then he didn’t much care.

  “Kayleigh has lupus. It’s an autoimmune disease that starts attacking from the inside. With all the schoolwork and other activities, I guess this has been too much for her this week.”

  He felt like a jerk. No, check that, he was a jerk. “No wonder she was so tired this morning.”

  “It’s not your fault. Kayleigh is stubborn. She doesn’t want to admit that she has to slow down.”

  “But I should have realized why she was so tired.” He breathed easier when he arrived at the emergency entrance. Two orderlies ran out with a stretcher. “What’s the problem?”

  “She has lupus. We couldn’t revive her.” He watched the young men take Kayleigh from the truck
and put her on the stretcher. “Who’s her doctor?”

  Finn looked at Harley. He had no freaking idea. “Dr. Sam Preston,” Harley said.

  “You can wait in the waiting room after you move your truck.” They took off with Kayleigh, and with Finn’s heart, too.

  Once they were inside, Finn sat next to Harley. “Start from the beginning.” He didn’t ask politely. In fact, he didn’t ask.

  Harley sighed. “She found out right after your first meeting. Then when you guys started dating, she said if she told you, you’d run.”

  He wanted to hit something. Kayleigh had a low opinion of him and she didn’t even know him. Part of him did want to run all the way to Ireland, but the other part of him needed to stay. Kayleigh didn’t have the luxury of a family for support. But after a handful of dates, was she really his responsibility? “I think if I’m dating her, I have the right to know if she’s going to pass out on me or not.”

  “Finn, I know you’re upset, but please try to see it from her side.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible right now.” He took out his cell phone and called his assistant. “Sarah, this is Finn. Nothing’s wrong. I’m not going to be in tomorrow. Please move any appointments to Tuesday or whenever you can.”

  “Finn, you never miss work. What’s going on?”

  He laughed. Sarah knew him like a book. “I’ll explain later.” Unfortunately someone paged a doctor and immediately sent Sarah into worry mode.

  “Oh, my God, you’re at the hospital! Finn, I can be there in no time. Where are you? You want me to call your sister?”

  “No, Sarah. I’m fine. I promise I’ll explain everything…soon.”

  “Just not right now.”

  “Yeah, not right now.” He folded the phone closed and stared straight ahead. He was trying to put the events into some kind of perspective, but running into all kinds of roadblocks. Why didn’t Kayleigh trust him enough to tell him she was sick? That question was the biggest of them all.

  “Family of Kayleigh Hardy, please,” the doctor stood in the doorway with a metal chart in his hands.

  Finn and Harley stood and walked toward the older man. Finn extended his hand. “Phineas Callahan. I brought Ms. Hardy in. Is she all right?”

  “You’re Finn Callahan, the investment guy,” the doctor gushed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to act like a teenager. I’m a little shocked to see you here.”

  Finn just wanted to know about Kayleigh, but didn’t want the local news media here. “If you could keep my presence here quiet, I’d really appreciate it.”

  “Sure, Mr. Callahan. I quite understand. Do you have any idea how long Ms. Hardy was unconscious?”

  “No, afraid not. I’d say maybe fifteen minutes on the outside.” It took at least that long for him to get back to her house.

  The doctor nodded, making notes on the chart. “Well as you know, she does have lupus, and I’ve called her regular doctor and he’s on his way. What she needs right now is rest. We’re admitting her for a few days to run some tests. Another ten minutes and we wouldn’t have been able to save her.”

  Harley started crying. “Oh, no. I should have stayed there. I knew she was tired, and I left her alone.”

  Finn took her in his arms and comforted her. “Now, Harley, this isn’t your fault, either. Kayleigh is an adult, and makes her own decisions.”

  The doctor looked at them. “She’s going to need someone with her for a while. Her immune system turned against her. That’s why she couldn’t move or speak, and that’s how she ended up on the floor. It was not normal for someone at her level. So when the nervous system is sending out those kinds of warning signals, we pay attention.”

  “So can we see her?”

  “Yes, but only briefly. We gave her some medication, so she might appear drowsy to you. Don’t worry, it’s drug induced. Like I said before, she’s going to need rest, and lots of it.”

  Finn nodded, looking down at Harley. Kayleigh was probably going to be pretty mad at one of them, and it might as well be him. “Thanks, Doc.”

  “She’s in room 387.” The doctor left the room.

  Harley sighed. “I bet she’s going to hit the roof when she finds out she has to stay in the hospital for a few days.”

  “Yeah, I can hear her talking about her English paper already,” Finn said with a sad smile. Right now he’d give anything to hear her complain about anything. He really just wanted to hear her voice.

  When they arrived at Kayleigh’s room, the nurse was fussing over her. Kayleigh was awake, but looked so frail in the hospital gown. She tried to smile, but it got lost in her fear.

  The nurse quietly left the room. Finn sat down near the bed and Harley sat in the corner. He wasn’t sure if she remembered anything about their argument.

  She reached out a slender hand and he took it. “I’m sorry I was so jumpy earlier,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. He’d meant to say it first. Damn it. “Don’t worry about that. I told you you’d never have to apologize to me. So we’ll just forget about it, okay?”

  She nodded, and yawned. “I should have told you from the beginning.”

  Yes, that would have been nice so he could know what he was up against. “Don’t worry about that.”

  Kayleigh shook her head. “You don’t understand. I was afraid you were going to abandon me. If you don’t want to see me anymore, I understand.”

  “Oh, will you stop the martyr act?” Harley intervened. “You’re sorry, he’s sorry. Kayleigh, don’t waste precious time over things you can’t control.”

  Kayleigh smiled. “Okay, what she said.”

  “Man, Harley, when you let go, you’re a fierce woman. You sure you’re not Irish?”

  “Who knows?” She sat back down in her seat. “You can continue.”

  Finn shook his head. He knew what needed to be done, but would he cross the line once again? “What’s important right now is that you get your rest. While you’re in the hospital you should concentrate on getting better and not to worry about a thing.”

  “What you do mean ‘while’ I’m in the hospital? I’m going home tonight.” She would have been more convincing if she hadn’t whispered.

  “Baby, you had a serious episode and they’re not releasing you until your body has recuperated. The doctor said it would be a least few days.”

  Harley jumped up and marched to the bed. “Before you start, you have plenty of vacation time. I’ll mark you out for the week. And we take all the same classes, so I’ll keep you informed.”

  Kayleigh nodded. “I know when I’m licked.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Three days later, Kayleigh was finally getting discharged from the hospital. She hated hospitals. She hated the rules Finn was laying down even worse. For three days he had been by her side, so she was hardly in a position to bitch. Or was she?

  She sat on the hospital bed calmly listening to him. His Irish accent was more pronounced, which meant he was either nervous or tired.

  “We can either be at my place or at yours, but we will be together until the doctor says it’s okay for you to be alone,” he said, pacing the area in front of her.

  “Finn, I’m fine now. I know how to use a phone.”

  “You do recall Harley and I found you unconscious Sunday night? Pick a place.”

  She didn’t like his tone or his thinking; she couldn’t spit without his approval. She tried another approach. “Finn, I wouldn’t feel comfortable staying at your house that long.”

  He had the nerve to look offended. “Why not? What’s wrong with my house?”

  “That’s it. It’s your house.” She felt tired already. She didn’t want to spend time discussing something she knew she’d end up agreeing to.

  “Baby, you need someone to take care of you.” He sat down beside her and picked up her hand. “Let me take care of you this week. This isn’t about sex. This is about you. We don’t have to sleep in the same bed. You can sleep in any room you want. I�
��m not asking for a lifetime, just for the next four days.”

  “So I can go home Sunday?”

  “Providing you’re well, yes.”

  Kayleigh mulled it over in her head. “Okay, Finn, you win. For the next few days, then I’m going back home.”

  “Sure, baby.”

  Something in his tone told her it was going to be a battle of wills for the next four days. “Finn, I’m serious. I’m going home Sunday.”

  “Of course.”

  Kayleigh sighed. “You’re not going to use that Irish charm on me, are you?”

  He smiled and winked a blue eye at her. He stood and walked around the room. “I’ll start taking some of your flowers down while you wait for the doctor.” He gathered three vases of flowers and left.

  While he was gone, Kayleigh called Harley and informed her of Finn’s idea.

  “That sounds like a great idea. He’ll be there to take care of you. I’ll come see you after work.”

  Kayleigh smelled a rat. Harley wasn’t spouting her dribble about how romantic it sounded. Harley had taken the high road of how practical it sounded. “Of course you’ve already discussed this, right?”

  “Duh. You’re my best friend and he’s your man, of course we talked about you.”

  Kayleigh decided to stop trying to be so defensive and just enjoy the rest of the week. “What did the idiot say?” She hated thinking about what punishment her boss had in store for her when she returned to work.

  “Bring a doctor’s note. He thinks you ran off and got married to Manny in Mexico.”

  Kayleigh laughed. “Oh, he thinks we can only get married in Mexico? Why?”

  “Because Manny is Hispanic.”

  Sometimes the idiot did surprise with his stupidity. “You know, I think he’s actually too stupid to live.”

  “I think we should take a collection for a hit man.”

  “We could probably get someone to do it at a discount.” Harley laughed.

  Kayleigh agreed. “I’ll see you later. I’ll tell Finn you’re coming so he can tell the guard.”

  “Oh my, he has a guard.”

  “Yes,” Kayleigh said, watching Finn walk back into the room, followed by her doctor. “Hey, gotta go. See you tonight. I’ll call you later with directions.” She closed her phone. “Hey, Dr. Preston, I’m ready to go.”