by Regina Cole
“What would you do? If you’d just met Greg, and you had something really important going on, and he needed you? Would you drop everything and go?”
A little laugh escaped Sabrina then, and she shook her head vehemently. “Oh no, that comparison isn’t going to fly here.”
A niggling feeling of doubt lodged in Stacey’s stomach. “Are you not happy with Greg?”
“We’re talking about you and Rob, sweetie. Greg and I are fine, or we will be.” Bree turned her head quickly. “Shit, that’s the door. He’s home.”
“But I don’t know what to do yet,” Stacey said, the panic welling up in her throat. “I need your help.”
“I can’t make this decision for you. But I’ll tell you this. If I cared for anyone, or anything, the way that you seem to care for Rob?” Bree smiled, a little sadly. “It would take a lot more than a major work project to keep me from his side.”
* * *
“So, in conclusion, this project would ensure that the tenants of Lawson Meadows would always have the power they need, and save the city a considerable amount of money in the long term.” Stacey smiled at each of the city council members. There. She’d done it. Presentation finished.
“I think we’re ready to vote on this proposal,” Councilwoman Tanner said, looking at the other council members.
Stacey held her breath as the votes were cast. Four yea votes, one nay. It had passed.
The councilman adjourned the meeting, and Stacey almost fell backward in relief as Hannah squeezed her arm in celebration. Ed was grinning from ear to ear.
“Stace, you did it! Oh my God, I knew you could do it,” Hannah said, her voice an excited whisper as they walked sedately out of the council chambers, members of the local news media milling around them. “This is the best!”
“I knew it would pass. You did all the research, had an incredibly compelling presentation, and the savings to the city is considerable. They would have had to be insane to pass this up.”
“Thankfully, they were not insane.” Stacey laughed, her relief making her shaky as she walked through City Hall with her boss and Hannah on either side of her. “I’m just glad they saw the potential. And after Lawson Meadows is finished, then there’s a good chance the other housing projects could benefit from the same kind of updates.”
“Ms. Hough.”
Stacey turned at the sound of her name. She smiled, a bit puzzled, but tried to keep her face pleasant. “Councilman Pendleton, what can I do for you?”
“We’ll go on ahead,” Ed said quietly, and with a polite nod at Councilman Pendleton, he and Hannah excused themselves.
The elderly councilman had been the one nay vote on the council. He had a reputation for being a hard-ass, and he’d certainly grilled her during the Q-and-A section of her presentation. But she’d been able to counter each of his questions with facts and evidence, so he hadn’t taken her off her game. Thankfully.
“I just wanted to tell you that you did a good job in there.” He nodded back toward the chambers. “We hear a lot of proposals that aren’t anywhere near that polished and professional. Excellent work.”
Well, that was unexpected. And confusing. She rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on her slacks. “I don’t understand. You voted against the proposal.”
“I did.”
“So, why are you telling me this?”
He laughed, a wheezy, rusty sound that made it seem like his mirth was a rare thing. “I didn’t vote against the project because of the proposal. I did it because I think the city should be spending its money and time in other ways. But I respect a person who does a good job, and you did that.” He bobbed his graying head. “Have a good afternoon, Ms. Hough.”
“You . . . too,” she said, watching as the elderly man sauntered off.
She wanted to be flattered, but the whole exchange had just left her confused. Oh well. In the end the nay vote hadn’t mattered, the project had passed, and she had done a good job.
She glanced down at her cell phone’s screen. Two thirty. She had two hours before her flight to Charlotte. Just enough time to get back to her office and pick up her bags, then grab a cab to the airport. She’d texted Rob several times that morning, but she’d only received one reply from him.
He’d arrived in Charlotte at four in the morning. His dad was being transferred to Carolinas Medical Center. It didn’t look good.
She’d read that text probably a hundred times, and each time she wanted to go back in time and convince herself to drop everything and go with him. To hold his hand as he went through this painful time. To ease his pain and heartache and somehow make things better.
But she couldn’t desert her career goals, even though she loved him. They were so new as a couple. Hell, she’d only told him she loved him that night! She couldn’t throw away her entire career on a whim, could she?
She’d wrestled with the question so long that the decision was eventually made for her. When she looked at the clock, her plane ticket booked, it was nearly half past one in the morning.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said to herself as she gripped her briefcase tighter. “I’m on the way there now.”
Her heels clicked on the polished tile floors, and she joined the crowd of people waiting for the elevator. Hannah and Ed must have gone down to the lobby already. She’d join them there and catch a ride back to the office with Hannah.
It seemed to take forever for the lift doors to open, and she squeezed in the corner with the rest of the people. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She hated tight spaces like this. It always reminded her that she was a big girl. Someone was always invariably brushing up against her, making her feel self-conscious. If she wasn’t so chubby . . .
What would Rob say if he heard you say that?
She smiled to herself at the thought. He’d probably remind her that she wasn’t supposed to bully herself.
She’d see him soon, and then her worries would lessen. They had to.
The elevator doors opened, and Stacey filed out into the milling crowd. Gosh, there were a lot of people here today. Sure, there’d been some interest from local newspapers and bloggers about the special city council meeting, but this number of people wouldn’t all be here for that. A chorus of giggles to her left drew her attention, and she noticed the set of risers in front of a holiday display. Oh yeah, local high schools were doing a winter concert in the spacious lobby. Well, another day she might have stayed to listen. But she had things to do today.
“Where the hell are they?” she said under her breath as she scanned the crowd. Ed and Hannah had to be around here somewhere. But when she’d looked in all the obvious places and they were nowhere to be found, she sighed and pulled out her phone.
Where are you?
Her text to Hannah sent, she stepped through the revolving front doors to look out on the front walk. She got Hannah’s response text almost at the same time she clapped eyes on her dark-haired friend. She didn’t bother to read the message, just walked down the sidewalk to the benches where Hannah and Ed were standing.
“Hey, there you are!” Stacey moved her briefcase to her other hand. “I was looking all over for you.”
When Hannah turned to face her, Stacey’s stomach dropped at the expression on her friend’s face. “Wait, what’s wrong?”
“Did you read my text?”
“No . . .” Stacey unlocked her phone screen, and when the words on the screen registered, she wanted to throw up.
Walter just called Ed. We’ve got major problems.
Lawson Meadows is on fire.
Chapter 27
The waiting room of the cardiac intensive care unit was the most comfortable version of hell that Rob could imagine. Seriously. It was nice.
There were soda and snack machines in the corner, along with a complimentary coffee bar that he and his sisters had utilized heavily over the past fourteen hours or so. The couches, while made from that heavy-duty vinyl material that w
as easy to wipe down with industrial cleaner, were surprisingly cushy. The lamplight was soft, and the art on the walls was generic, but done in calming colors. They’d even decorated a small Christmas tree in the corner.
He hated every last fucking square inch of the place.
Beyond those double doors, his father lay dying. He was in desperate need of bypass surgery, but his condition was too poor for them to attempt the operation. The heart attack had done a lot of damage. How much? Difficult to determine. Would he recover?
It wasn’t looking good.
“Robbie, come sit down.”
He’d been standing at the windows, looking out over the city of Charlotte. But at his sister Greta’s voice, he turned and faced her. “I don’t think I can sit right now.”
Frowning, Greta set her coffee cup down on the corner table. “You need to rest. You haven’t slept in way too long.”
She was right. He’d gotten that phone call and bolted straight home. Custard went to Silvio’s place to bum around with his big mutt, Max, and Rob had taken his hastily packed duffel bag and driven straight through the night to get to the hospital. The only thing that had given him pause was when he was in his bathroom.
He’d grabbed the wrong toothbrush. As soon as his fingers curled around it, his heart had sunk into his belly. Stacey. She’d left her mark here, and on his heart, and now he had to do this without her.
At the hospital, he’d paced, he’d watched, he’d waited. But he couldn’t rest. Not now. Not while things were so . . . uncertain. At any moment, things could go sideways. At any moment, he might have to be strong for his mother, his sisters.
He turned back to the large window, watching as the night sky grew darker and more bleak. “I’m fine.”
Greta didn’t say anything else, but he could feel her concern and disapproval. How could he not? It was almost impossible to miss.
The mood had been tense. His mother refused to leave Dad’s side, even for things like going to the bathroom, or showering. Marla was with her now, because the rules of the unit stated that only two people could be in the room with the patient at a time. That meant some pretty long, unbearable stretches in the hellish waiting room.
Rob sighed, raking his hand through his hair for what seemed like the thousandth time. He was so antsy, full of nervous energy. He wanted to pace the floors. There was a walking track outside, but he couldn’t leave the unit. He was too afraid that something would happen and he wouldn’t be here for it.
Dad was on a respirator, not able to speak. To see the man Rob had idolized his entire life—had fought with, clashed with, loved so much—lying there so helpless? It had torn something inside Rob’s heart irrevocably.
There was one ray of hope, and he clung to it with everything inside himself. Stacey. She had promised him that she would be here tonight. She had sent him her flight details early in the morning, and he pulled his cell phone from his pocket to check the status again.
The plane was in the air finally, and if there were no delays, she would be here and in his arms within two hours. He couldn’t wait. The one thing that would ease some of this pain was the knowledge that she was there for him.
Shoving the phone back in his pocket, he turned back to Greta. “Sorry. I know you’re just trying to look out for me.” He sank down into the seat beside her, and she reached over to grab his hand.
“I know. You’re so much like Dad. If the situation was reversed? He would be doing the exact same thing you’re doing.”
“I know.”
They sat in silence for several long moments, hand in hand, like they were small children needing comfort. It was nice. Greta was only three years older than Rob. When they were small, they had been best friends, but when Greta went off to college they’d drifted apart. Things were different now, but it was nice to know at moments like this that their bond could reignite at a moment’s notice.
Rob pulled his phone from his pocket to check the flight’s progress again. Greta looked over at him with a quizzical expression.
“You expecting an e-mail or something?”
He killed the screen with a tap of the button. He almost felt like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, and that was stupid. This was something, this was real, and in just a couple of hours his family would meet Stacey for the first time. He wasn’t ashamed of her, so why the need for secrecy?
“My girlfriend. She wanted to come with me last night, but a major work project was happening today, so she got on a flight after work. She’s on the way here now.”
A genuine grin lit Greta’s face for the first time since he’d seen her early this morning. “Girlfriend? Really? Well, that’s awesome. I was wondering if you were still hung up on Rebecca, since it had been so long. How long has this been going on?”
Rob smiled, feeling a little sheepish. “It’s pretty new. But she’s amazing, and I think you’re really going to like her.”
“Well, if my picky baby brother thinks she’s special, then I’m sure she is. It’s really nice of her to come here to be with us.” The end of her sentence was much less joyful, and the memory of why they were here at all dimmed Rob’s excitement. It should be a joyful event to introduce his family to the woman he had fallen in love with. Instead? She’d be coming to wait with them—or mourn with them.
Rob stood. “I should go check on things. You okay? Need anything?”
Greta shook her head. “No, I think I’m just going to call my husband. Check in with him, see how the kids are. Seeing you all mushy and in love has reminded me of my family and home, and I really wish they could be here too.”
Greta’s kids were much too small to enjoy hanging around the waiting room for any length of time, so the separation was necessary, but Rob kind of understood the feelings that his sister was having right now. He was chafing at the separation from Stacey, and they had only been together a short while.
“Okay. Love you, sis.” Rob leaned down and brushed a kiss on her cheek.
“Love you too.”
Rob walked down the hall toward the nurses’ station. He had taken the last shift with Mom, but Marla had been in there for an hour and a half now, so she might be ready to get out and stretch her legs a bit. He wished Mom would leave the room, take a walk, get some fresh air, just do something. But he couldn’t blame her. He wanted to be in there with his father, and given the chance, he wouldn’t have left Dad’s side, either.
“Hi, I’m Richard Liston’s son. I was wondering if there’s any update on his condition?” Rob propped his arms on the high counter of the nurses’ station as the woman checked the computer.
“No change. Would you like to see if someone wants to switch places?”
Liking to and having to were two different things. He should give Marla and Mom this time together. “No, they’ll come out when they’re ready. I’ll just be in the waiting room if anything changes.”
The nurse gave him a small smile. “Okay. We’ll definitely update you.”
He backed away a step, then turned and shoved his hands in his pockets. His fingers closed around his phone automatically, and he pulled it free. Only a few minutes had gone by since he had checked the flight’s progress, but he couldn’t stop himself from doing it again. There, in a little image, was the tiny icon of the plane hovering above a map of the United States. Rob let his finger tap the icon, wishing it would speed up the plane and bring her here to him faster.
But the screen lit up under his fingertip, and he glanced at the notification bar. A text. From Stacey? Must have gotten in-flight Wi-Fi . . .
He opened it immediately, and his heart shattered at the sight of the words that greeted him.
I am so sorry. A major disaster happened at work, and I missed my flight. I’m trying to grab another one, but there isn’t a seat available until tomorrow afternoon. I am so, so sorry. I love you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.
His arm fell, taking the hateful words with it, and he closed his eyes.
/> She wasn’t coming. She had promised, and she wasn’t coming.
* * *
By the time Stacey finally got back to her apartment, it was nearly nine.
The fire at Lawson Meadows had started from faulty wiring. Wiring that should have been replaced years ago. Wiring that was standard throughout every single unit in the housing project. Wiring that would cost money to fix. Money that had—just that afternoon—been earmarked for the project Stacey had crafted. Money that was no longer available.
The solar panel project was dead. It had burned up in the flames of three apartment buildings that very afternoon.
Stacey collapsed on her couch, kicking her heels off and staring at the ceiling. It had been hell. They’d had to do media interviews, talk to the city council, coordinate with contractors to get estimates on the repairs. She’d been numb through it all. As the minutes ticked away, and her chances of making her flight diminished, Stacey had gone into automatic mode just to cope.
But it was over now. The flight had long since landed in Charlotte, without her on it. Her call to the airline had been less than helpful. And her stupid rental car still hadn’t shown up. She had no plane to fly to him, no car to drive to him, and the reason she’d stayed behind hadn’t even been successful.
A hot tear rolled down her cheek. The ceiling had gone blurry. No surprise, since the pain in her chest was growing with every ragged breath she took.
All she had wanted was to be there for Rob like he had been there for her. Should she have sacrificed what she’d been working on in her career for him? Well, since things had panned out the way they had, maybe. But she still believed in the solar panel project. For months she had lived and breathed that effort. To have skipped out on the crowning moment? To gas out on the last lap? It had been unthinkable last night. But it had gone up in smoke, quite literally.