Time to Say Goodbye (Michigan Sweet Romance)

by Parker J Cole

  “Kapoor, if what I’m doing isn’t helping, we need to talk to the doctors and find out why.”

  “For all I know, some of their relatives were hit by the scam, too! You’re the only one I know who’ll help me. So, I need you to do that.”

  “If this isn’t working, then how can I—?”

  “Try some other techniques. Google it and find out more.”

  Google it? Leon’s neck cracked when he did a double take. “Google it? Kapoor, are you serious? If Google had the answer to every medical problem, then every person in the world would be called ‘doctor.’”

  Everything inside of Leon screamed to not acquiesce to Kapoor’s demand. He was a physical therapist, not a medical doctor. Not to mention it would be completely unethical to keep silent about this.

  “I’m going to reach out to Dr. Manchester and let her know.”

  Resignation turned the corners of Kapoor’s mouth down. The man understood his adamancy.

  “Well, don’t tell my sister. Gargi can’t know about this.”

  Leon frowned. Perhaps it was because he’d never had a sibling, but he didn’t understand this need to keep Gargi in the dark. From what he knew of sibling relationships, they shared everything.

  “Uh, she has to know. She’s your caregiver.”

  “Fine, then. I’ll tell her, okay?”

  He heard Gargi’s feet on the stairs. He made a beeline to Kapoor and assisted the man in getting back into the wheelchair. The man’s inert weight wasn’t too heavy, but it still took a lot of effort. Yet Leon tackled the transfer by himself; he didn’t want Gargi to come anywhere near him.

  Not when her brother’s accusations still rang in his head.

  He sensed Gargi’s presence. The hairs on his arms stood up in attention. Was it really because he had an interest in her?

  There had been only one other woman he’d been fiercely attracted to. The insanity which had gripped him back then wasn’t anything like this. Back then, he’d been wracked by emotions hard to control. Ultimately, it led to severing ties with the object of his desire.

  Gargi came into view. “Are you finished for the day?”

  “We are,” Kapoor answered as Leon drew away. “Thanks, Leon.”

  Kapoor lifted his eyebrow in a silent question. Something passed between them. Leon connected with it in an unfathomable way. It felt like the understanding he had with Krause taking care of his mother. He’d never trust Kapoor, but he had a slim grasp on the man’s need to protect his sister.

  Which seemed strange. How could a man like Kapoor possibly care so deeply about his sister? Men like him only cared for themselves, didn’t they?

  Leon stood in indecision. There wasn’t anything false about the impassioned pleas from their conversation. If everything else was fake, Kapoor’s desire to protect his sister was real. If a man could feel such a way, could he really be all that bad?

  His body recoiled at the idea. There was no way on earth Kapoor was innocent. Not after all the evidence the state prosecutors had brought against him. The phone taps, the wires, the paperwork.

  “There were others involved…”

  Leon stuffed his hand in his pockets. Was it true, then? Were there others who perpetrated the crime and somehow placed the blame on him? Was it possible to be so devious?

  For the first time in several years, a seed of doubt of the man’s guilt settled in the center of Leon’s gut. He pulled away from his thoughts to see Kapoor’s silent inquiry. Despite his common sense, he nodded. He wouldn’t say anything to Gargi.

  Kapoor nodded in return.

  Still, Leon couldn’t confront Gargi just yet. He didn’t know how he’d respond. He ambled over to the small table where he kept his notes and summarized the session. Instead of the same observations he’d been making for the past two weeks, today he made several which would be quite interesting to the doctors.

  “Would you like something to eat before you go?”

  The invitation jerked his head up. He almost regretted it when his breath caught at the picture she made. The sunlight once again spilled over her. Her dark hair interspersed with those unique threads of amber. An aura of light surrounded her petite frame. Her chocolate-malt skin shimmered with a resplendent quality. He couldn’t tear his eyes from her.

  Was it merely the power of suggestion from Kapoor? Or was he really attracted to this woman?

  “You’ve never asked me before,” he said slowly.

  Gargi gave a light shrug. “Looks like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.”

  Leon drew back. “Huh? What?”

  Her dark chocolate eyes held a light a humor in them. “Sorry. It’s a line from a movie called Airplane. I forgot how much I like movies until a few moments ago.”

  His confusion showed on his face because she waved it away. “Don’t worry about it. I’m in a good mood. I made samosas. Would you like a couple?”

  “Some more what?”

  She giggled, the second time today but the first time he’d seen it. Laughter made her beautiful. Mirth lifted the corners of her eyes and stretched her full lips. It brought forth a sparkle about her he’d never seen before.

  “Sa-mo-sa,” she enunciated each syllable. “It’s a deep-fried pastry stuffed with goodies. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

  Leon couldn’t resist teasing her. “You had me at ‘deep fried,’ Bugsy.” Indeed, his stomach growled in anticipation.

  Her smile froze for a split second and then she relaxed. “Well, laal sher, would you like a few?”

  There she went, calling him ‘Lyle’ again. He didn’t get it but, since he just called her Bugsy, albeit as a term of light teasing rather than anything derogatory, he let her. Technically, Sunstone frowned on this kind of fraternizing, but Leon decided to throw caution to the wind. After all, he’d never had Indian food before.

  “Sure, I’m game.” He patted his belly. “Hungry, too.”

  “I’m sure.” She went over to Kapoor in the wheelchair and wheeled him into the kitchen. Leon followed. He inhaled that woodsy, flowery fragrance of hers, the one he couldn’t place but enjoyed nonetheless.

  Once she set up her brother at the table, she went over to the refrigerator. Suspiciously, Leon eyed the small white chairs. Surely they couldn’t hold a child, much less a man his size.

  Kapoor said dryly, “Almost makes you wish you had my wheelchair, doesn’t it?”

  Leon laughed before he could even think of not doing so. “Yeah, it does.”

  “You’ll be fine.” Gargi motioned with the tongs in her hand. “Go ahead and sit down.”

  “Remember: you break it, you buy it,” Kapoor quipped again.

  Leon grinned at the man’s joke. How could this be happening? Just moments ago, he was inclined to run away from this place as fast as his feet could carry him. Now, due to the nature of Kapoor’s decline, his desire to protect his sister, and the offer of food, all of a sudden, they seemed to get along as if there wasn’t a history of bad blood between them.

  Confused, he glanced up to find Gargi’s eyes fixed on him. “What is it?” He couldn’t interpret the look she gave him.

  She dropped her gaze. “Making sure my chairs hold up.”

  Just then the chair creaked and Leon clutched the table. “Is this thing about to break?”

  “No, it’s not.” Gargi didn’t look behind her as she went about preparing the meal. “You’re fine.”

  Leon sat back gingerly. Would the chair hold him up? He sat stiff as he waited.

  Kapoor waited at the table with him, but they didn’t say anything to each other. Gargi took the triangle-shaped pastries, placed them on a large cookie sheet, and popped them into the oven. As he watched her move around the kitchen, he thought of the humor she’d exhibited. Although he didn’t get the joke from the movie reference, it was quirky enough to be something he liked.

  How many layers were there to this woman? It was like unwrapping a gift to find another one ready to be peeled away.
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  While the food heated, Gargi reached into refrigerator and pulled out a container of something green.

  “What’s that?” Leon asked.

  “It’s chutney. It’ll go with the samosas. You’ll see.”

  The oven beeped several moments later and Gargi retrieved the platter of food. “My papa wouldn’t eat samosas like this. He likes his food prepared fresh and from scratch.”

  “Is that so?” Leon thought of his childhood. Most everything he ate came from a box. Except a couple of times when his dad and mom ran out of money. Then it came from roadkill. Not always fresh roadkill, either.

  “Indian food tastes better homemade,” Kapoor chimed in. “I’ve eaten at Indian restaurants all over, but Gargi’s food is the best.”

  Gargi flashed her brother a smile. “You’re probably biased, Dev.”

  Leon felt something snake along his insides. What would it be like to have her smile directed at him? She’d laughed earlier, but that wasn’t a personal thing as much as a response to his ignorance.

  Stop thinking like that!

  He tried to obey the dictates of his mind by focusing on what she did. Gargi poured the chutney into a bowl and topped it with tiny green chilies. Then she took the browned samosas and arranged them in a heaping stack. With a flourish, she lifted a skillet he hadn’t been aware of from the stove and scooped out white rice dotted with green herbs of some sort.

  The scent of the food filled the air.

  “It smells so good in here,” Leon groaned. “My mouth is watering.”

  “Wait until you eat it,” Kapoor said, although his eyes became downcast.

  Gargi placed the small meal in the center of the table. “I’ll make your plate for you, Leon.”

  “No need to do that.” He grabbed a whatever-it-was-she’d-called-it, and sank his teeth into the crispy shell. The flavor exploded as the hot filling of soft, tangy potato, beans, peas, and whatever else, left his mouth happy. The crispy shell added to the experience.

  “Oh, man! This is so good.” He groaned in ecstasy as flavors he’d never experienced made him eagerly chomp into the pastry again.

  Gargi’s eyes gleamed. She nodded toward the bowl of green stuff. “Pour a little chutney on your plate and dip the samosa in it.”

  Leon smiled around his bulging cheeks. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” He did as he was told. The coolness of the whatchamacallit sauce added a depth of flavor.

  “What did you do to me, Bugsy?”

  As he met the twinkle in Gargi’s eye, he wasn’t sure if he referred to the food or something more.

  Did her brother and Leon really think she was that stupid? How could they even begin to think it was ‘okay’ to keep something as serious as Dev’s health from her?

  Gargi smiled at Leon as he grabbed another samosa and dipped it in the chutney. How she longed to grasp his mane of red-gold hair and dip his head into the sauce. Would he understand then she was not to be trifled with?

  She trailed her gaze away from Leon and cut the vegetable-filled pastry into smaller bites so she could feed Dev. Her brother disappointed her the most. What more did she have to do to prove her stability? What more would it take for him to stop treating her like some glass statue? The events over the last few years had not broken her in two. They made her stronger.

  Why wasn’t that good enough?

  She speared the cut pastry bite onto a fork and lifted it to Dev’s mouth.

  “Are you okay?”

  Gargi kept her lashes lowered over her eyes. She knew her brother would be able to tell what kind of rage she was in if he saw. Right now, she wanted to treat them the exact way they treated her.

  Like a little child.

  “I’m fine. Just got a call from a friend.” She put the food in his mouth.

  Dev swallowed. “A friend? Which one? Last time I checked, we had none.”

  “Savvy.” Thinking of their conversation and the prospect of a visit, Gargi allowed the ghost of a smile.

  “Savannah Woods?” His eyebrows drew into a ‘V.’ “The model? I’m surprised she called you. It’s been a while.”

  “Four years, Dev.” She fed him another bite-sized piece.

  “What did she have to say?”

  Her fingers clenched the fork. How dare he grill her about this when he would willingly keep his own secrets? “She called to apologize that we stopped speaking.” She scooped up some rice and added the chili sauce to it.

  “What did she say about me?”

  Gargi toyed with not giving in to that curious light in Dev’s eye, but she decided to go ahead and tell him. After all, he knew Savvy believed in his guilt.

  “She didn’t say anything about that, but she made it clear she was glad to talk to me again.”

  “Well, some things never change,” he said in a bitter voice.

  If she had not heard their conversation while she hid on the stairs, she would have done whatever she could to get Dev out of his mood. Yet the desire to do so had dissipated. After all she’d accomplished in her life, her brother still didn’t think she was capable.

  “You’re right, Dev.” She sighed. “Some things never change.”

  He gave her a small, sad smile as she served another forkful of food. Perhaps he thought she sympathized with him when she was the wronged party looking for some comforting. Plus, her brother and Leon’s conversation had only solidified her own conclusions. The treatment should have given some sort of respite and yet nothing had happened. Was there more to this than what met the eye?

  I’ll find out, one way or another.

  Gargi stole a glance at Leon again. He’d scarfed down most of the samosas. The pleasure on his face she’d imprinted in her mind.

  Not to mention Dev’s surety that she was somehow drawn to Leon.

  The idea, when she heard it, seemed impossible. How could a woman like her ever think she’d want a future with a man like Leon? He didn’t seem like the type she’d defy her father for. Yet, her brother’s theory bothered her on many levels. Hadn’t she felt a peculiar tug whenever they were in the room together? Didn’t their eyes meet more often than not, as if in constant search for the other’s presence?

  Could this be a fleeting attraction, or something more?

  She snuck a peek at Leon’s beard. Even though he chomped down on his food, that beard still had the ability to capture her attention. Clean and neatly cut, with a healthy sheen to it the sunlight picked up on. Did the short-cut bristles along his jawline have a hard edge to them? Or were they soft as fuzz?

  His mustache, despite the fact it worked up and down to eat the food, still made her eyes rivet to it. Thick, bushy, and well-manicured.

  Laal sher. Her mind whispered those two little words but, for the first time, she didn’t see it as an insult but a compliment of the truest form.

  “Gargi.”

  Her head whipped back to Dev, whose speculative chestnut-brown gaze was locked on her. More heat rushed to the planes of her cheeks. She’d had no idea she’d been caught staring. Thankfully, Leon was too pre-occupied with the food to have noticed as well.

  She fed the rest of the meal to her brother, and made sure to not give any more attention to the man across from them.

  “I gotta tell you, that was the best thing I’ve ever had.” Leon sat back in the chair and it squeaked in protest, but he didn’t seem to care.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she said in a polite tone. He was about to go anyway, so there was no need to prolong his stay. It would give her some time to think about everything.

  “I don’t think ‘enjoyed’ is the word,” Leon said, making quotations with his fingers. “Try, ‘even my mama doesn’t cook like this’ good. My mama can make a smashed cat taste like chicken.” He laughed, his golden eyes light as honey with merriment.

  At the mention of his mother, Gargi stiffened, but relaxed an instant later. Yet it was not quick enough. Leon’s smile died, replaced by a brooding look she had no way of interpreti
ng.

  Would his staunch belief in her brother’s guilt always stand between them?

  Leon stood up and brushed off his pants. “Well, I’ll go ahead and get going. I’ll see you next week. Thank you for lunch.”

  A silent look of communication passed between the two men. Gargi ground her teeth in fury, but she bit her tongue. If she let on she knew, they would only seek to keep her ignorant about other things. The one benefit would be that Leon would inform Dr. Manchester as soon as he possibly could.

  She trusted him that much at least.

  “Yes, next week.” She escorted Leon to the door.

  “You don’t have to see me out.”

  Gargi smoothed her hands down the sides of her pants. She didn’t want him to go. She pressed her lips together in order to keep from saying those very words.

  There was always something between them she didn’t understand. Right now, though they both tried to act nonchalant, something sparked between them. She could see he felt it, too, in the way his kept his eyes averted from her.

  Had the power of suggestion from her brother really caused her to think of Leon in that light?

  She cleared her throat. “Well, you complimented my food so much, the least I can do is walk you out.”

  “Thank you.”

  He left. She watched him stroll away as the sunlight turned his thick hair into an auburn-gold mane. She longed to call him back. Three days would pass until she saw him again. Part of her didn’t want to wait that long before she set her eyes on him again.

  At the admittance, she whispered to herself, “Silly girl.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  The moment she left Dev’s bedroom for the night, Gargi rushed to her computer and logged onto the forum for the online Lyme community she’d become a part of. So far she’d lurked about, reading information and adding anything pertinent to her document. Now she had to go deeper.

  Her fingers hovered over the keyboard to post a question, when another thread post caught her eye. “How can I find a LLMD?”

  Gargi clicked on the heading and read.

  “What’s LLMD?” someone with an avatar shaped like a lotus flower asked.