"Mom, I want you to let me finish Babylon. I can do it. I know I can. All I need is ten months and that baby will be up and running. There's too much money riding on that building to let it go down the drain. Dad doesn't know I'm asking for this, either. I'll work my ass off. Mom. I won't let you down. I can't do it unless you release the money from the trust. I think Grandma would approve. I gave that a lot of thought. Mom. The first thing I'll do is fire that jackass Dad hired to put the building up."
Fanny finished the apple. She stared at her daughter until Sunny started to squirm. "Only if the trust retains fifty-one-percent control. Things will have to be sold. Your father is in no condidon, physically or mentally, to have any control at ail. I don't think he'll agree to any of this. Sunny."
"If he knows Babylon is going to be finished, he'll agree. He knows how ill he is. Mom. I know now that you don't love him, but. Mom, if anything happens to Dad, don't you want to know you did everything you could?"
"I already know that, Sunny. I gave one hundred percent. All right. I have conditions. Your father can come here for six months. Six months, Sunny. Not one day longer. His therapist can live in. The therapist will be responsible for all his needs. I'll live in the studio. That's as far as I'll go. Sunny."
"Thanks, Mom. You won't be sorry."
"I'm sorry already. I don't have a good feeling about this at all. I trust you, but I don't trust your father. I'd like a legal contract with you, Sunny. You take your orders from me, and only me. Is that going to be a problem?"
"Not at all. I was going to suggest the same thing. Someone's coming up the road."
"It's the kennel people, they're bringing Daisy home. I boarded her because I've been away. Is there anything else, Sunny?"
"Mom, will it ever be like it was before?"
"No, Sunny." At her daughter's devastated look she said, "That's not to say it can't be better. Six months. Sunny. The therapist sleeps in the same room as your father, the nurse sleeps in the little room at the top of the stairs. All the other doors will be locked. One bathroom for all of them. The nurse cleans it. Mazie isn't young anymore, and she doesn't need any extra duties. I'm not being cruel. It would be just like your father to sue me if something goes wrong. I want to be sure he gets twenty-four-hour supervision. By the way, who's paying for this?"
"Dad's health insurance was picked up. Everything is covered. I swear. Mom, I'll fmd a way to make this up to you. I want you to be happy, I really do." But Fanny had stopped listening.
"Daisy, you grew!" Fanny laughed as the small dog leaped into her outstretched arms. "Oh, I missed you. Look, Sunny, she has a kerchief around her neck. Ah, kisses, kisses. You are a love, aren't you. You missed me, huh?"
Sunny watched as her mother snuggled the little dog. Her eyes filled with tears. Would she ever hear love-filled words directed at her again? Would her mother ever hold out her arms to her the way she just did for Daisy? She dropped her head between her knees and wept, her shoulders shaking. She jerked upright when she felt a gen-de hand on her shoulder.
"Be careful driving down the mountain. Sunny."
"Dad doesn't like dogs," Sunny said.
"Yes, I know. That's not my problem, is it?"
492 Fern Michaels
"No, Mom, it isn't," Sunny said wearily. '*Well, guess I'll be going. I'll call you when I'm ready to bring Dad up."
Her heart in her eyes, Sunny waited. Would her mother smile and hug her?
"Come here, Sunny." Sunny didn't have to be told twice. She ran to her mother. "Shhh, it's all right. We have a lot of tomorrows ahead of us. We'll take it one day at a time. If our expectations aren't too high, we can make it work," Fanny crooned.
"Thanks, Mom."
With Daisy in her arms, Fanny watched her daughter back up her car. "Wait till she gets the bill for the front end damage," she said to the dog. "Oh, well, that's not our problem either. Come on, sport, let's head back to the studio. I have a whole box of dog treats that have your name on them."
Inside the studio, Fanny busied herself getting out dog food, set-ding Daisy with a basket of dog toys in the middle of the floor. Anything so she wouldn't have to think about what she'd just committed to. In a frenzy she ripped open Simon's letter.
Dear Fanny,
This is just a short note to tell you once again how much I bve you. I deeply regret our misunderstanding. I want you to know that I will always be here waiting for you. Always means forever, Fanny.
All my bve and affection, Simon
"Forever is such a long time, Simon," Fanny whispered.
Address book in hand, Fanny picked up the phone to call Simon's office. "I'd like to leave a message for Mr. Thornton. This is Fanny Thornton in Las Vegas. The message is this, sell everything in the trust and transfer the money into the Babylon account. Find a buyer for Thornton Chickens ASAP. The code words for my account are Cotton Easter. Please advise me when the funds are transferred. Thank you."
"I know I'm going to regret this, Daisy. I guess I'm just one of those foolish mothers that love her children too much."
On a crisp autumn day in mid-October, Fanny watched Ash's arrival from her studio window. She continued to watch as a motorized lift swung up and out, lowering Ash in his wheelchair to the
Vegas Rich 493
ground. A young man and a middle-aged woman followed. Therapist and nurse. Sunny climbed from her own car parked behind the van. She motioned for the trio to follow her. Even from this distance, Fanny could tell that Ash was balking at something. He looked incredibly thin and drawn. She struggled to find something good to remember about the man to whom she was once married. Courtesy demanded she go out and at least say hello.
Fanny took her time, walking slowly, Daisy at her side. "Good morning, Ash."
"Where are the goddamn ramps, Fanny? You invite me here and there are no ramps. Jesus, can't you get anything straight?"
Fanny looked at the embarrassed faces surrounding her. She dropped to her haunches, her hands on the wheelchair arms. "There are no goddamn ramps unless you brought them with you. You won't be here long enough to justify the expense. That's another way of saying, don't get comfortable, Ash. Let's get one thing straight right now. I did not invite you here. Your daughter asked me if she could bring you here to the mountain for a little while. I said yes. I did it for her, not you. For six months. Not one day longer."
Daisy took that moment to leap onto Ash's lap. He recoiled, slapping at the httle dog, who only wanted to Uck his face. Fanny picked up Daisy who was whining softly. "Touch my dog again, and I'U push you off this mountain. That's not a threat, Ash, it's a promise. Sunny, see that your father is made comfortable. By the way, I'm Fanny Thornton," Fanny said, extending her hand to the nurse and therapist. She thought she read approval in their eyes. Sunny looked miserable as she contemplated how best to get her father up the steps and into the house.
"Who's going to do the cooking?" Ash bellowed.
"I don't know, Dad. You're at home in the kitchen. Everything's within reach. The doctors said you have to start doing things for yourself."
"Damn quacks."
"The best money can buy. They got you this far, didn't they? It's up to you to follow through." She lowered her voice when she said, "We have to do what's best, not necessarily what he wants, okay? If he gets too abusive, threaten to leave. He'll snap around because he knows my mother won't help him. I'm sorry he's so . . . overbear-ing."
Sunny sat in her car for a long time before she turned the key. She offered up a small prayer that things would work out. Her gaze
494 Fern Michaels
swiveled to the studio and then to the cemetery. "She deserves better than this. She deserves everything good and wonderful." She raised her gaze upward. "Help her. Please."
24
Fanny stirred, aware of a heaviness on her chest. Her first conscious thought was she was having a heart attack. Her eyes snapped open to see Daisy sitting on her chest, her short tail swishing back and forth. "Thank
God," Fanny muttered. "Who told you we were going to be bed buddies?" The litde dog whimpered in response. "You gotta go, huh? Okay, let me get my robe and slippers."
The air was dark and chilly, the young sun struggling to creep up from the horizon. Fanny loved watching the sun come up. In the old days she referred to it as AA, which meant After Ash, when all she had was time and the hope things would get better. Watching a new day begin was, in a way, her own new beginning.
"Let's go up to the big house, get some coffee, and watch the sun, Daisy," Fanny said as she scooped up the litde dog into her arms. "We've regressed a litde, but things will get better."
Fanny rounded the house as she walked toward the lacy, lavender shadows that proclaimed a new day. She saw him then, in profile, sitting in his wheelchair on the deck, in the same spot she'd always sat. His shoulders were slumped, his hands clutching the arms of the wheelchair. How vulnerable and beaten he looked, this man who was once her husband. Where was the mean-spirited arrogance of yesterday? Fanny closed her eyes for a moment, trying to imagine herself sitting in the wheelchair with the same injuries. Her heart seemed to skip a beat. She could feel her eyes start to burn.
Obviously Ash thought he was alone. Should she make some noise to attract his attention or should she simply walk up and say hello? Daisy whimpered. Ash turned to stare at her.
"It's my favorite time of day. I used to sit out here every morning, even in the winter, after you left, wondering if today would be the day you came back. You never did. When I saw you sitting here I was tempted to go back to the studio, but I wanted to apologize for yesterday. We ... I got off to a bad start. When things look the
most bleak, the most dark, it can only get better. I can make some coffee if you like."
"I'd like that, Fanny. I'm sorry too. Especially about the dog. He's cute."
"She. Her name is Daisy. Simon gave her to me. Would you like to hold her. She's really docile."
"Sure."
Fanny watched as the litde dog snuggled into the crook of Ash's arms. His movements were just as clumsy as when he'd held their babies years ago. Her eyes started to bum again as she entered the house. When she returned with two mugs of coffee, Ash was stroking the sleeping dog's silky head. "Do you want me to take her?"
"No. It feels good to have something warm in my arms. I get very cold sometimes, even when it's ninety degrees. Why didn't we ever get a dog, Fanny?"
"You refused to allow a dog in the house. Most of the time you weren't a nice person, Ash."
"Why did you allow me to come here, Fanny?"
"I've been thinking about that a lot. I guess I could say it was because of Sunny. She drove up here and smashed right through the gates. That's how important it was to her for you to come here. I was already leaning in that direction anyway. To deny you the right to come here would have put me on the same level as you, and. Ash, I'm nothing like you. In my soul-searching I realized that I took away the only home you knew as a child. I didn't ask for Sunrise ... to this day I don't know why Sallie deeded it to me. Sunrise should belong to you and Simon. When things get back to normal for you, I'm going to deed it back to you with one condition, and that is that you keep it in the family and not sell it. Don't ask me what I'm going to do or where I'm going to go, because I haven't gotten that far."
Ash nodded. "Part of me loves this place and a part of me hates it. All I could think about after the accident was coming here. I try not to think about the possibility of not walking again, and it scares the hell out of me."
"Then don't think about it, Ash. Think about today and what you have to do so that doesn't happen. That's how I handle unpleasant things."
"You always had a handle on everything. You were too good for me, Fanny. I'm not just a son of a bitch, I'm a weak son of a bitch. I always start off with good intentions, and then something goes awry. I'm also selfish."
496 Fern Michaels
"I know."
"Yeah, I guess you do. About the kids ..."
"Each of us has to find our own way, Ash. Our kids are no different. I think they're going to be fine. All I ever wanted was a close-knit family. Do you reahze, Ash, that you and I never, that's as in never, ever, tucked the kids into bed? We never stood together looking at the miracles we both created. We never went to recitals, ball games, or picnics together. That was a priority for me."
"That's why I never did those things. You did it better alone. I would have screwed it up someway. Hell, I did screw it up. Take right now for instance, here we are together, actually talking civilly to one another, and you know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking I'm never going to fly again, I'm never going to get the chance to manage Babylon."
"You need to think positive. Try and cut down on the painkillers. Endure what you can, try to hold out. I know, I know, I don't feel what you feel. I'm just telling you to try. Ash. Listen, I'll call Mazie to come back, but don't overwork her, Ash. I'll have Chue start on the ramps. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Don't hate me. Be my friend. I don't have any friends."
'\sh, I don't hate you. I hate what you've done to this family. One small part of me will always love you. There were many times when I almost hated you. Like the day of Sallie's service."
"I dream about that day. I started up this mountain three different times and three different times I turned around in the middle of the road and went back. In my heart I wanted to come, but my mind wouldn't allow it. You know, when I W2is a kid and she ignored me or she acted the way she did, I'd plot her death. I used to tell myself I'd dance on her grave, sing the kinds of songs she used to sing to those drunken miners. My mother the whore. I never worked my way past that. Simon did though. Simon was the smart one. Mom loved him so much. When she looked at me she'd look right through me. Are you in love with Simon?"
"That's none of your business, Ash. And don't try making it your business. Oh, one other thing, you can stay as long as needed. I'll be the judge of when it's time for you to go. Do we agree?"
"Sure."
"If you aren't too tired after dinner, I can come up and play a game of chess with you. I've gotten quite good over the years."
"It's a date. Do you want your dog back?"
"Hell, yes, I do. Don't try stealing my dog's affection, Ash. I
waited a long time for her."
"Okay, Fanny. Listen, thanks for . . . letting me hold your dog." Fanny laughed. "My pleasure. Remember, she bites on commaind," It was Ash's turn to laugh. "Yeah, as she's licking you to death." On the way back to the studio Daisy trotted along beside her. "If
you have the desire to meander up there from time to time," she said
to the little dog, "I won't hold it against you."
Fanny packed up the Christmas ornaments in tissue, aware that Ash's eyes were boring into her back. The fine hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Today wasn't going well for her ex-husband. "Would you like some tea, Ash?"
"No. You're upset with me, aren't you?"
"I think that's a fair statement. Ash, you cannot keep firing the people who are here to help you. You need to control your temper. You've gone through four therapists and six nurses. There is not an endless supply of people who are willing to come to the mountain. Tell me, please, what you're going to do now?"
"With you, Mazie and Chue, we can manage."
"No, Ash, we can't. Mazie and Chue are old and none of us are qualified. If we can't find help, you'll have to go back to town. Face it, the mountain is a drawback."
"They're all worthless and I'm not one damn bit better. If anything, I'm in more pain now than I was before. Jesus, I can't remember when I slept all night."
"You fire them because that puts you in control of the medication. Ash, you're taking too much. You're doped up all the time. Let's give some serious thought to a rehabilitation center on a temporary basis."
"Absolutely not. Those places are like prisons. I'm not ready for that. I can do a lot of things myself"
"A new tea
m is coming up. This is the last time. Ash. I'm scheduled to leave on a business trip in two weeks, so you would be advised to 'make nice' to the new team."
"You didn't tell me you were going away."
Fanny threw her hands up in the air. "Ash, I have a life, personal as well as business. I cannot be here with you. I hate to keep reminding you, but we had a deal. Everyone is doing what's best for you." She watched in horror as Ash swallowed what looked like a handful of pills.
498 Fern Michaels
"Okay, okay. We'll do it your way," Ash said. '*You're die boss as you keep reminding me. Sunny was supposed to be here two hours ago. Did she call?"
"I imagine there's snow on the road. If Surmy promised to be here, she'll be here."
"None of them cared enough to spend the holidays with us."
Fanny's tone was sharper than she intended. "How many holidays did you spend with Sallie and Philip?"
"Okay, Fanny, I get the point."
"Do you want me to get you a book? Some new ones came last week."
"I'm sick and tired of reading. I'm sick and tired of watching television, and I'm sick and tired of listening to the radio. I wish I'd died when I fell."
Fanny had heard it 2ill before, many times. She chose to ignore the self-pity, the whining voice, the glazed eyes. She continued with what she was doing.
"Did you hear me, Fanny?"
Vegas rich Page 60