A Family to Cherish

by Ruth Logan Herne

  “People been gettin’ this cancer for a long time, and been treated the same way. They’ll burn it with radiation and then watch me to see if it comes back. They already looked all through me and couldn’t find anything else. Right there is something to be happy for.”

  She didn’t look happy. She looked scared. And angry. And Cam understood that, but he also knew his mother’s limitations. In her old-world view, all doctors were to be believed and respected. She didn’t have internet access, she’d never choose to watch informative or educational TV, and she deliberately limited her life to her home with rare excursions out. The words cutting-edge treatment meant nothing to her.

  And yeah, she was grumpy, opinionated and know-it-all, but she was still his mother. That tipped the scales. “When did you schedule your first treatment?”

  “I haven’t yet. I’m calling tomorrow.”

  “Good. That gives me tonight to check things out. Study up on this.”

  “You think you know more than doctors who spent ten years in school?” She angled him a tight look that was more than a little insulting, but Cam chalked it up to fear and normal snippiness. Belittling others had become his mother’s custom a long time ago. And while he wished she were different, he’d learned to adopt the Serenity Prayer’s sage reasoning. He’d change what he could and not waste time worrying about the rest. “Not more, but there are options breaking on the cancer front every day.”

  She drew herself forward. Her features went tight and tart. “If there were options, they would have told me.”

  Cam stood. “That’s not always the case if they don’t offer them here. Part of the new health care mentality is to keep business in the office, or the clinic, or the hospital. And part of our job as consumers is to study the options.”

  “There aren’t any.”

  “Then all I’ll waste is a little time,” Cam told her lightly. “And because you’re my mother, you’re more than worth it.” He bent and hugged her again, then kissed her cheek and tried but failed to recall the last time he’d kissed her. “I’ll check things out and get back to you tomorrow. Do you need anything?”

  “No.” The sharp, single-word answer shut him out, but that wasn’t unusual.

  “Okay.” He headed for the door, not expecting thanks or gratitude for his interference. That wasn’t likely to happen, but if there were other possible treatments available, he needed to find them. He’d examine the internet later, once the girls were asleep. He didn’t want them bending over his shoulder, watching as he searched cancer websites. He’d tell them in good time. But not today.

  His phone buzzed as he climbed into the car.

  Meredith.

  His heart stretched a little wider when he spotted her name. And did he answer her call a little quicker than most?

  Yes.

  No.

  Yes. To get it over with and move on.

  That last wasn’t true, but pretending not to care was the best he could do right now. “Hey. What’s up? Is Sophie okay?”

  “She’s fine. Rachel’s fine. And they’d like to do an Irish dance workout with Heather and me tonight, if that’s okay. No soccer, right?”

  Irish dancing? His girls? Not likely. And anyway… “They’ve got 4-H. If Sophie’s up to it.”

  Meredith laughed lightly. “She heard you. I’ve got you on speakerphone, so their faces just fell to their toes, but I’ll grab them to practice another night if that’s okay.”

  It wasn’t okay, but he wouldn’t say that now, with the girls listening. They were already over-involved, but developing strong soccer skills and athletic endurance meant practice. Drills. Time. Equipment.

  Dancing?

  Kristy would have thought that was for sissies, and just because she wasn’t here to raise her daughters, didn’t mean he should disregard what she’d have done.

  You have no idea what she would have done. And she’s not here. You’re being a schmo.

  Maybe, but they were his kids. His girls. And his mother’s news put him between a rock and a hard place anyway. “I’ll be there in five minutes, okay?”

  “Mom made a pot of sauce. If you guys don’t have supper plans, eat here, then take the girls to their meeting.”

  Eat with Meredith? Like a cozy family? He wanted to, therefore he couldn’t. “I—”

  “You’ll break my mother’s heart if you say no,” she warned.

  His inner war ended. “I can’t do that. I like your mother. She’s great.”

  “Thank you, Cameron.” Dana caroled out the words, obviously pleased. And listening.

  He grinned in spite of himself. “And she’s right there in the room with you guys.”

  “Bingo. Speakerphones are marvelous things.”

  * * *

  Meredith was on her way out when she saw Cam pull into the drive. He frowned, glanced around and raised a hand to pause her. “Where are you going?”

  “Stillwaters. I told you, Heather and I are doing a workout.”

  “Before dinner?”

  She softened her voice as if speaking to a small child. “Big girls can warm up food later if they want to. I have a microwave. And I need to check on the bathroom tear outs, and figure my game plan for this week. If you could stop by later tomorrow and make sure the bathroom remodel won’t break historic code, I’d be grateful. These guys aren’t quite as sensitive to the landmark status as they should be, and I don’t want an unnecessary delay.”

  “Will do. So.” He shifted a look of disappointment from her car to the house and back. “You’re really going?”

  His look nearly undid her, but she’d read the hesitation in his voice when she invited him to stay and eat. She’d heard the reluctance. Removing herself made it easier all around. “Yes. Duty calls. But you’ll have fun with Mom and the girls, and the sauce is amazing. And she’s got garlic bread, too, done on artisan bread from Bread-n-Bagel.”

  “That store’s addictive.”

  Meredith laughed as she walked to her car. “It is. And it’s only one of the reasons I’m working out with Heather. That and Megan’s cookie store. Their candy shop. Too many reasons to eat wrong, each more delightful than the next.”

  “See ya.”

  He looked woebegone as she did a K-turn in the drive, and his lost-puppy look wasn’t lost on her.

  But she’d be silly to stay. Selfish to hope. Crazy to dream when she knew what her past could do to her present, so she flashed him a bright smile and headed away from the great-smelling sauce and perfectly cooked pasta. Mouth-watering good, but then so was Cam Calhoun and the less they were together, the easier things would be.

  So ten minutes later when she saw the gouge the plumbers had left on the formerly flawless dining room floor, she was ready to duke it out with the next available person. Unfortunately, Heather walked in at that moment.

  “Uh-oh.” She crossed the room, saw the mark and scowled. “The bathroom guys did this?”

  “That’s my take. They were the only ones here today.”

  Heather snatched up her phone. “You want to call them or shall I?”

  “Have at it.” Heather’s instant indignation reminded Meredith she had a partner now. A friend. A colleague. And that she didn’t have to do everything alone. Not in business, anyway.

  She listened as Heather talked to the owner of the kitchen and bath remodeling store, then remembered another good thing about small towns.

  Everyone had everyone’s private number.

  That made her grin and sigh. Sometimes privacy was a good thing. But in this case? She gave Heather and the phone an admiring look once the call was disconnected. “He’s coming over?”

  “Right now.”

  “I’m impressed. Beyond impressed. We’ll go right to—”

  Heather shrugged
her off, and drew out a magazine layout for her to see. “He used to be the only game in town, but now that Jamison and Wellsville are on the rebound, he’s got competition. Other contractors are advertising here, supporting local sports teams, coming to fairs and festivals. If he wants our business, he needs to make good on this. That’s a century-and-a-quarter-old hardwood floor there, and if we let this go, who knows how careless those guys will get?”

  “My thoughts exactly.” Meredith slung an arm around her shoulders. “Have I mentioned how glad I am to have you on board?”

  “Remember that tomorrow when Mrs. Dennehy comes in to get her hair cut.”

  “My smile-and-nod reflex is ready. And Grandma’s coming in tomorrow, so that will take the edge off.”

  “Perfect.” Heather tapped a finger on the furniture page she’d marked, the cozy-looking, oversize high-quality sectional flanking a conversation area. “What do you think of this layout for the spa waiting room upstairs?”

  “Love it.” Meredith hiked both brows in appreciation. “Earth tones, warmth, soft light, great feel to the whole thing. And probably out of our price range.”

  “It’s not. Haley Jennings has a connection.”

  “The woman doing the cooperative near the interstate?”

  Heather nodded. “Her neighbor is a friend of Rory’s. She fell on some hard times and I helped her out, so Haley told me she’d get us anything we needed at cost. They’re planning a small furniture store in the new cooperative, and she’s got a contract with them already.”

  Meredith eyed the price tag and whistled. “That saves us nearly two thousand dollars.”

  “And another five hundred on the lighting.”

  “Seriously?”

  Heather deadpanned a dramatic look. “Oh, honey. When it comes to money, I am never anything but serious. Life has a way of doing that to you.”

  Meredith knew that, but she’d made great money these past five years. She might have forgotten that bottom-line pricing was huge, and being a businesswoman she couldn’t afford to forget that now. “This is awesome, Heather. Thank you.”

  Heather grinned as a knock sounded at the side door. “And that is most likely our bathroom-remodeling friend, hopefully ready to make things right. Okay if I take the lead?”

  It was more than okay. It bordered on wonderful to share the responsibility with a trusted friend. “Go for it. I’ll listen and learn.”

  Heather smiled, welcomed the shop owner in, and within five minutes had his promise of repair and a cool two-hundred-and-fifty-dollar reduction in the overall cost. And a pledge that his workers would treat the gracious old home more politely in the future.

  “Cam will be upset,” Meredith told Heather as they headed upstairs thirty minutes later.

  “Why?”

  “Because I was home with Sophie today. She was sick. And if I’d been here, they’d have been more careful.”

  “True.” Heather acknowledged that with a nod and a shrug. “But good contractors do their best whether the owner is on-site or not. So now we’ve got the owner involved. And he doesn’t want to lose money, so I expect his people will be more careful. But how interesting—” she rolled out the words as she shrugged off her sweatshirt and kicked off her street shoes “—that you were babysitting Cam Calhoun’s little girl. Care to say more?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t have to, anyway.” Heather stretched. “I already knew that. Shoot, probably half the town knows it because Jody Gransby saw you and Sophie sitting on the porch this afternoon, reading.”

  “And she just happened to mention it to…?”

  “A neighbor who shall go unnamed, who then called Megan Romesser at home, who said it wasn’t polite to gossip and hung up.”

  “Then called you.”

  Heather grinned, smug. “Of course. Because she really wanted to know the scoop.”

  Meredith saw two choices: laugh or cry. She decided to laugh and shook her head as she joined Heather in the stretches. “I never even thought of that. Of what people would think with Cam dropping the girls off. Sitting out there. I’ve been gone too long, it seems.”

  “Well, who cares what anyone thinks?” Heather wondered out loud. “We might not be able to change our proximity to people, but we can change how we let it affect us. And since the majority of people in our town are nice—”

  “True.”

  “—we ignore the rest and deal with them as needed. No sense borrowing trouble. Oh, there’s Rory,” she added as the downstairs door swung shut. “She’s going to work out with us tonight.”

  “Didn’t she just finish her lesson?”

  Heather nodded. “She’s determined. She wants a career on stage at some point. And yes, I’ve tried to discourage her ten ways to Sunday, but she thinks she’s got what it takes and I can’t disagree. But what a hard life. Always waiting on that next call. The next gig. Being part of a troupe.”

  “Or being a headliner and center stage.” Rory’s optimistic interruption drew Meredith’s smile and Heather’s grin.

  “That’s my girl. Dream big.”

  “And work hard.”

  “Amen.” Meredith turned on the music and looked left. “Ready?”

  “I am.”

  “Yes.” Rory shrugged out of her fleece, twirled and assumed a takeoff position perfectly.

  “Show-off.”

  She grinned at Meredith and splayed her fingers as if reaching to catch the notes, hinting at the woman within. Strong. Assertive. Charming. Ambitious. Industrious. And a stunning talent, to boot.

  She’d need every bit of it to make it on the stage, but how wonderful to have that dream and carry it through. Seeing Rory here, ready to work more, drove the point home. Hard work and goal-setting were their own education, and nothing to be shrugged off. All the fancy degrees in the world got you nowhere without a strong work ethic. How blessed she was to be surrounded by that at last.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cam pulled into his mother’s drive early the next morning, armed for battle. One light glowed in the kitchen. His mother wasn’t a fan of high electric bills so she was probably up and sequestered near the coffeepot. He knocked and waited for her to open the door. She expected him late in the day. Early morning?

  Not so much.

  “Cameron.” She opened the door and settled her features into a thin, grim line. “You came over to order me around.”

  “Yup.” He bent and kissed her cheek. He’d decided yesterday that not kissing his mother was wrong. Not hugging his mother was worse. And not showing love and affection was a bad habit, so he was determined to stop the downward trend now. “Have a seat while I grab coffee.”

  “Don’t you have to be at school?”

  “My first class isn’t until nine-oh-five, and I called the principal and told her I was running late. So…” He spread out several internet printouts for his mother’s perusal. “Here you go.”

  “I told you I don’t need help or advice.” She tapped a thick finger against the paper, her nails bitten to the quick, and that told Cam she’d started biting them again, a habit she’d stopped long ago. Unless she was nervous. Or depressed. Or scared.

  He’d go with all three.

  “And I didn’t listen, which is a good thing,” he continued as he pushed one paper in front of her. “Look at this.”

  “What is it?”

  He sent her an overused look of patience. She sighed out loud and read, then shook her head. “This says I don’t need no radiation.”

  “Correct.”

  “But how?”

  “Laser surgery.” Cam took his pencil from his breast pocket and circled the doctor’s location. “And his practice is right up in Rochester. He’s with the University of Rochester Medical Center and he’s an exper
t in laryngeal cancer.”

  “But—”

  “No buts.” Cam leaned closer. “This is like a miracle, Mom. It’s doable. There are only a few of these doctors in the entire country right now, it’s that new, but this one is right here. And there was a video of a guy who’d had the surgery, and he talked about his quick recovery. How he went right back to work, and he’s had no recurrence. It would be silly of us not to check this out.”

  “I can’t drive to Rochester. That’s two hours.”

  Cam smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. “But I can. And there are plenty of people around to watch the girls.”

  “Like Meredith Brennan.”

  He refused to get into this now. “Like Meredith, yes. The girls love her. And she’s very good with them.”

  “She’ll fill their heads with all sorts of nonsense. That’s been her way from the beginning. And then she’ll up and leave the minute the going gets tough.”

  “We’re not discussing Meredith,” Cam told her. He firmed his voice to drive the point. “We’re focusing on your health. Your well-being. Your life.”

  “So you can boss me around, but I’m not supposed to have a say about what you do? Who you see?”

  He stood, grinned and hugged her. “Got it. We understand each other perfectly. I’m going to help take care of you. But you’ve got to let me live my own life, my way. Deal?”

  A hint of a smile almost graced her mouth. And that hint was enough to tell Cam that she appreciated his efforts. He waved the paper in front of her. “Do you want to call and make the appointment or shall I?”

  “I haven’t said yes.”

  “And I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, so we’re deadlocked. But I’m bigger and stronger.”

  “I’ll call. I’ll see what they say. And that’s all I want to hear about it.”

  He gave her one last hug and felt her hug him back, a rarity in the Calhoun house. “Let me know what they say later, okay? I’ll come by before I start work at the spa.”