All She Needs to Know

by Maria Siano

  Jayne lifted a card from the bottom of the pile in her hands. "Didn’t I read she was fired over the fake story?" She held the card in front of her.

  "That’s right," Kyle confirmed. "She was fired, which isn’t fair. And, Jayne, she wasn’t just any reporter. She was someone — she is someone — who is very important to me." He looked into the camera again. "Summer, I’m so sorry. I hope one day you will be able to forgive me."

  Jayne tilted her head. "Well, in light of what you’ve revealed here today, I’m sure your fans will understand why you told a little white lie to a reporter." The camera zoomed in on Jayne. "We have to take another break. We’ll be right back for a few final words with Kyle Mills before we sign off." A wide grin spread across Jayne’s face as they cut to commercial.

  Is that a little smile on Kyle’s face, too? Summer wondered as she studied his face for a few seconds. Then the image disappeared, replaced by a smiling college-age woman in a toothpaste commercial.

  Summer’s mind raced as she tried to process everything Kyle said. Why would he talk about his cancer diagnosis, now? He had everything he ever wanted. Why would he jeopardize that?

  She stared at the television, until Kyle’s face popped up on the screen again.

  Jayne reached to shake Kyle’s hand. "Kyle, I can’t thank you enough for joining us today. And for being so forthcoming about your health issues."

  Kyle leaned forward and lifted himself out of the chair just far enough to shake Jayne’s hand. "Thanks for having me." He sank back into the chair. "Say, there’s one more thing, if I can... I want to announce that I’m in the process of creating the Kyle Mills Foundation for Hodgkin’s Research. I hope I can come back soon to tell you more about it."

  "We’d like that very much," Jayne said as she turned to the camera. "Well, I’m sorry to say, that’s all the time we have. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next time." Jayne waved as the credits began to roll across the screen.

  Summer’s mind reeled as the show’s theme song bellowed through her television speakers and the show credits scrolled across the screen. Behind the list of names rolling down the screen, Summer noticed Kyle stand as Maxine ran to him. Maxine scowled as Kyle tried to peel himself away from her. Maxine continued to tug on his arm as they left the set.

  In a fog, Summer rewound the show and watched again as Kyle told the world about his cancer diagnosis. Even the second time, the words still stunned her.

  A ping rang out from the next room and Summer jumped up to get the phone from the dining room table.

  Huh? A text message from Kyle? The show ended only minutes ago. Did he write it as he walked off the set?

  Summer,

  I will be in Wisconsin next week. Can I see you?

  Kyle

  Revealing he had cancer, on national television, didn’t erase what he’d done. She still had no hope of ever landing her dream job with the Tribune. And she might not ever be able to find work as a journalist again.

  But Kyle’s public admission did change one thing.

  She wanted to see him. Soon.

  ***

  Kyle heard the ping as the limo pulled out of the studio parking lot. He checked the screen. Ah! "Finally," he muttered as he opened the text message from Summer:

  Kyle,

  I’ll meet you. When and where?

  Summer

  Kyle leaned back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

  What seemed like seconds later, a deep voice echoed through the car.

  "Mr. Mills, we’re pulling up in front of your apartment," the driver said.

  Startled, Kyle opened his eyes from the soundest sleep he’d had in months. He managed to utter a "thank you" to the driver and climbed out of the car.

  He jogged to the apartment entrance, jimmied the key into the lock of his apartment, and pushed the door open.

  He staggered over to the sofa and plopped down as he dialed Summer’s number. He needed to hear her voice. Ring...ring...

  "Hello?" Summer answered.

  "Summer!" Kyle blurted out. "Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me. I wasn’t sure you’d want to get together. I’m so glad—"

  "I saw you on Jayne Norris today," Summer interrupted.

  "I figured." He took a breath.

  "So..." Summer hesitated. "How about if we meet Tuesday, at the St. Croix Coffee Shoppe, on Main Street, at 1?"

  Kyle grinned. "Great... Summer, I’m really looking forward to seeing you."

  "OK," she said in a flat tone. "See you then."

  Kyle placed the phone on the sofa next to him.

  He took a deep breath. "Yes!" he yelled to no one as he scanned the empty apartment.

  He changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Then he stepped into the sneakers next to the door and headed out for a run along the beach.

  CHAPTER 12

  Summer stepped into the cafe and spotted Kyle in the back near the counter. He hurried toward her.

  When he reached her, he leaned in. "You look great, Summer." He stopped and backed away. Then he leaned in again.

  Summer patted his arm to put him at ease. "Why don’t we order." She pointed to the counter.

  Kyle’s face relaxed. "OK."

  As they approached the counter in silence, Summer tried to ignore the tension between them. Keep things light and friendly, she reminded herself. You’re just here to say goodbye.

  Summer stepped into the short line and Kyle followed beside her.

  In the silence, he checked his watch three times in a matter of seconds, twisting it back and forth with each glance. Then he shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he glared at the bags of coffee on the shelves behind the cashier.

  It took Summer by surprise. She had expected things to be a little awkward between them, but didn’t think he’d be this tense. "How about if I go grab a table?" she asked. "There’s an empty one there, by the window." She pointed across the cafe and then glanced back at him. "You can get our coffees."

  Kyle nodded. "What will you have?"

  "I’ll have a small chai latte." Summer reached into her purse to grab a few dollars to pay for the drink.

  Kyle put his hand on hers. "It’s on me. It’s the least I can do."

  "OK. I won’t argue with that." She smiled.

  Summer stepped out of the line. She meandered between the small tables and made her way to the empty table. A few minutes later, as Kyle approached carrying their coffees, she tried not to stare. But she couldn’t turn away from him.

  As he handed her the latte she grabbed the mug and placed it on the table in front of her. "Kyle, I appreciate what you did on The Jayne Norris Show," she blurted. "I was floored."

  Kyle sat across from her. "A lot of people were surprised. Maxine is still furious with me. She said it could have damaged my career."

  Summer sipped her latte. "I can’t believe you publicly revealed your diagnosis," she whispered. "I know it was not something you ever wanted to do."

  He continued to lock eyes with her. "I needed to do something to help you get your job back."

  Summer had missed those green eyes in the past month. "We never got a chance to discuss much about what happened when you first got diagnosed with cancer." Summer hesitated. "Why did you decide to keep the diagnosis a secret all those years ago?"

  Kyle rested his arm on the table. "I think, at first, keeping it a secret was a way to feel in control of something that felt very out of my control. But at some point, I became obsessed with keeping the secret. And after a while, I didn’t know how to stop it. It was unthinkable at the time, to tell the public, to tell you, that I had been diagnosed with cancer."

  Summer lowered her head. "I wish I had known about it back then, when you were going through all that. Maybe I could have helped. I could have been there for you."

  Kyle re
ached for her hand. "I wish I had told you."

  She grasped his hand. "I’m sorry you didn’t."

  He gave her hand a light squeeze. "I’m sorry, too."

  He had never opened up to her that way before. And Summer didn’t want it to end. Not yet. "Once you finished your treatments, why didn’t you tell the public then? It might not have been too difficult to revive your career at that point, since you had only been out of the public eye for a year or two."

  Kyle let out a breath. "A year after the diagnosis, when I completed the chemo treatments and there was no sign of the cancer, I knew I would still have to be checked regularly for the next few years, to make sure the cancer hadn’t returned. But I also felt like I could finally leave it all behind me. It was just so nice not to have to think about anything having to do with cancer."

  "I understand." She gently slipped her hand from Kyle’s grip and folded her arms in front of her. Her head fell against her chest as she recalled her mother’s unbearable cancer treatments. Then she peered up at Kyle.

  He ran his hands through his hair. "It didn’t feel like I was hiding anything, as much as I just wasn’t constantly thinking about it."

  "As soon as you were cancer-free, you wanted to go back to those big parts in the big-budget films again?"

  "I wanted to get back what the cancer had taken from me." Kyle sipped his coffee. "I wanted my old life back. I wanted everything to return to what it was before I was diagnosed. And I wanted to forget any of it ever happened."

  Summer glanced out the window. Then she turned back toward Kyle. "I remember watching your career take off all those years ago, and being really happy for your success. It must have been such an exciting time for you. And now you’re getting it all back again. Things are really working out for you."

  He rubbed his eyebrow. "You know, I would give it all up if it could get you your job back. I feel awful that you were fired because of me. I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess. I hope you know I never intended for any of it to happen."

  Summer brushed the top of his hand. "You shouldn’t feel guilty about me getting fired. It was my fault for —"

  "There’s something I need to ask you —" Kyle interrupted.

  "Listen, Kyle, there’s something I need to tell you, too." Summer’s eyes met his. Her chest tightened as his eyes narrowed into small slits and the lines on his forehead grew more prominent than usual. "It was my fault, too. I should have never pressured you about why you visited Faith, or about going public with the story about your cousin. I should have just dropped it. Anyway, Drew offered me my job back, and I —"

  "He did?" Kyle leaned across the table. "Are you going to take the job?"

  Summer took a deep breath. "I don’t know." She sighed. "I’m thinking about it."

  Kyle leaned back against the wooden chair. "But that’s not the job you want, right? You want to work for the Tribune. Did you ever hear from —"

  "No." Summer shook her head. "I never heard from them. And I don’t expect to." With her reputation as a journalist tainted forever, a prestigious newspaper like the Tribune would never take a chance on her, even after Kyle’s revelation on Jayne Norris’s show. Drew only offered her the job at the Observer out of guilt, she presumed, because he had pressured her to go public with Kyle’s story even when she pleaded with him not to reveal it.

  Kyle lowered his head. "I know I ruined things for you. The Tribune would have offered you a job, if you hadn’t written a fabricated story — because of me." He cleared his throat. "This is probably going to sound crazy." He gulped the last of his coffee. "But I have to ask you —"

  "How are things going with your foundation?" Summer interrupted, worried he was about to suggest they get back together. She feared she might not be able to resist if he did.

  Kyle ran both hands through his curls and folded his hands on top of his head. "Things are moving quickly with the foundation. That’s what I was going to ask you —"

  "Oh, I thought —" Summer paused. So he doesn’t want to get back together?

  Kyle stared out the window. "We’re in the process of trying to find people to work with us." He took a deep breath and then glanced back toward Summer. "Would you consider taking the job as the foundation’s public relations director?"

  A lump formed in Summer’s throat. "Kyle, you don’t have to offer me a job." Her cheeks grew hot. She swallowed hard. "I’ll find something, if I decide not to go back to the Observer."

  Kyle ran his hand through his hair again. "We’ll never find anyone to advocate for our organization as well as you can. No one is as tenacious as you. I know first-hand how much you want to help others, and you don’t give up until you do."

  Summer exhaled. "I don’t think—"

  "You’re the right person for the job, Summer." Kyle’s eyes narrowed. "The best person for the foundation. Even if you don’t want to work with me, we can arrange it so we don’t have to see each other. I can assign someone to be a go-between. We would just be so lucky to have you working for the foundation."

  Summer inhaled as her chest tightened again. Work for him? "I really don’t — well...let me think about it. Can I let you know in a few days?"

  Kyle leaned back. "Please give it some real thought. Don’t let your feelings for me deter you."

  "I’ll get back to you in a few days," she vowed.

  "I won’t pressure you," he promised. "I’ll wait to hear from you. You can let me know your answer, whenever you decide."

  Summer caught the time on her watch. Oooh! "It was good to see you, Kyle." She reached behind her and grabbed the purse hanging on the back of the chair. "But I have to go." She stood. "I have to get to a meeting with my real estate agent. I have to tell her whether I’m going to keep the house on the market."

  Kyle pushed his chair back and jumped to his feet. "I really appreciate you meeting me, Summer."

  She brushed Kyle’s arm. "I’ll get back to you about the job offer. Soon."

  She trotted away from the table and staggered toward the front door of the cafe.

  ***

  Summer waved to Noelle as she marched across the lobby of the Park View Diner.

  "Hi, Summer." Noelle opened her arms wide.

  Summer hugged Noelle. "Thanks for meeting me for an early dinner."

  The restaurant manager led them to a small booth near the back of the nearly empty dining room. Summer threw her bag into the booth ahead of her and scooted across the bench.

  Noelle shimmied into the bench on the other side of the table. "OK. So what’s wrong?" Noelle placed her purse beside her.

  Summer let out a long breath. "I saw Kyle today."

  "Uh oh." Noelle threw her head back.

  Summer buried her head in her hands. "He asked me to be the public relations director for his foundation." She peeked over at Noelle.

  "What?!" Noelle shot back against the leather seat.

  Summer shrugged. "It definitely caught me by surprise, too, when he offered me the job."

  Noelle chuckled. As she unrolled the napkin in front of her, the silverware spilled onto the table. "So does he think because he went on the Jayne Norris Show and revealed he had cancer that makes everything he did to you OK?" She picked up the oversized menu. "I wish I had been there when you refused his job offer."

  "I...I, well..." Summer stammered.

  Noelle dropped the menu on the table and leaned forward. "Wait! You did tell him no, right?" Noelle hovered over the menu as she waited for Summer to answer.

  "Well..." Summer paused, too embarrassed to continue.

  "Oh, Summer." Noelle tilted her head.

  "I didn’t say yes," Summer confirmed. "But I guess I didn’t say no either. I told him I needed to think about it. I haven’t decided anything yet."

  "Are you seriously thinking about taking the job?" Noelle’s voice grew louder
with each word. "Do you actually want to work with him?"

  Summer sighed. "I don’t know."

  "I can’t believe what I’m hearing." Noelle shook her head. "It sounds like you’re considering taking the job. How could you, after everything he did to —"

  "I know," Summer interrupted. "You’re right. But I couldn’t say no. As he was talking about the job, in my head I kept thinking: You’re not going to do this. But I couldn’t get the words out. I think I might want to take the job."

  Noelle fiddled with the silverware in front of her. "You lost your job at the Observer because of him. He damaged your reputation in the industry. You’ve lost any chance of landing your dream job with the Tribune. Have you forgotten all of that?"

  "No, it’s just—"

  "Well, I don’t think I would be able to ever forgive him," Noelle muttered under her breath. "But I guess you have forgiven him already." She looked up. "And he’s getting off very easy, if you ask me."

  Summer lowered her head. "I haven’t forgiven him," she whispered.

  "I’m not trying to tell you how to feel about it," Noelle said in a softer tone. "And I’m not trying to make things harder for you."

  "I know." Summer frowned. "And I appreciate your advice."

  Noelle drew in a deep breath. "Why don’t we take a step back. What would the job even involve? Would you have to see Kyle often?"

  "I would probably see him from time to time," Summer confirmed. "I mean, not every day, but I would definitely see him around the office now and then, and at fundraising events, I guess."

  Noelle smirked. "Would that be weird for you?"

  Summer threw her head back. "This whole thing is weird. I don’t know if I can work with him, but it is so hard for me to walk away from him. I wish it weren’t so hard. It shouldn’t be hard. He did a horrible thing, which could have ended my career. That did end my career for a while. Now Drew has offered me my job back, but I don’t really want to —"