Promises to Keep

by Chaffin, Char

  The final step, of bringing Ruth home and making a place for her in their lives, had been more difficult for Travis than it was for Annie. He struggled with residual anger and hurt over what his mother had done. But Annie dug deeply within herself to understand much of Ruth’s behavior. It became easier for her to finally accept than it was for Travis. And after all, it had been their choice not to press charges.

  Travis visited his mother almost every day and there was still awkwardness between them, but she seemed willing to let him set the pace. She wisely didn’t ask for more. She’d come a long way from the blanket-wrapped form in the bed at Thompkin Urgent Care, who’d rocked back and forth, moaning like a wounded animal.

  Now Annie stepped over to Ruth’s side, comfortable in her faded jeans and bright yellow sweater. She placed the vase she carried on a nearby credenza. “Good morning, Ruth. I brought you an early birthday present.”

  “They’re lovely! Who sent them?” Ruth eyed the roses with delight.

  “Dan Marley sent them over. He’ll be by later on today, to see you.” Flipping her long braid over one shoulder, Annie stood next to the bureau, her hands folded at her waist, and patiently waited to see what her mother-in-law might need, though the battle for that patience had been hard-won.

  There had never been any question of allowing Ruth to be incarcerated. Especially when two separate psychiatric evaluations diagnosed her as mentally incompetent to stand trial. Hospitalization was best, the doctors advised.

  A week after their evaluation, Ronald suffered a massive heart attack and passed away in his sleep. The entire Quincy household was in an uproar. Travis and Annie, trying to sort out their own lives amidst having to bury Travis’s father, had far more than they could handle. Admitting Ruth to Shane Ark was the best solution, allowing them to work through the grieving process and deal sanely with a quiet, private wedding.

  After Ronald’s funeral, Phoebe Sherman decided to re-negotiate her previous position at Weston Medical, and left Quincy Hall. Martha had already returned, to everyone’s relief, and her calm, fortifying presence was a godsend. Even Annie’s family pitched in, with Mama taking Hank two days a week and Susan helping Annie move into the Hall and get settled.

  Eventually it calmed down, and both Travis and Annie concentrated on their schooling. They’d juggled their classes with frequent trips home as well as to the Shane Ark Institute. Close enough that traveling there on the weekends was doable, being an hour out of Roanoke, they’d often combined the Institute visits with a quick overnight stay at Aunt Nan’s.

  Two months after graduation, Travis began working with Dan Marley. Last month, Dan retired, and now Travis fully held the reins of the Quincy Legacy. Despite his youth, he handled it well.

  Travis and Annie converted most of the west wing of the Hall into a lovely, spacious apartment, where Ruth happily lived. Her nurses took excellent care of her and she saw Hank every day. She refused to leave her rooms, claiming she felt safe and secure there. Not once, since coming back to the Hall, had Ruth been in any other part of the house.

  As for Annie’s relationship with her mother-in-law, it had its ups and downs, but so far this proved to be an up day.

  Annie checked her watch. “Ruth, I will need to run off for a while, all right? I want to say goodbye to Travis and Hank before they leave for the office.” She offered a bright smile and was gratified to see it returned. “I’ll come back later, how does that sound?”

  Ruth nodded as Edward, her daytime nurse, came to help her from her chair. She had medication to take and she’d sleep for a few hours, a daily occurrence in her routine. Annie sent another prayer heavenward, as she did every single day, that Ruth’s morning nap would be restful and free of disturbing dreams.

  “In you go, Mrs. Quincy.” Edward led Ruth to the bedroom. Annie followed and waited until Ruth dutifully removed her robe and slid between the covers, sitting up long enough to take the small paper cup of pills he handed to her. She sipped her water and nibbled on a lemon wafer, with Annie assuring her the rest of the cookies would be waiting for her when she awoke.

  Annie sat on the edge of the bed holding one of Ruth’s hands, while her mother-in-law’s blue eyes grew heavy and her body sank into the mound of pillows at her back.

  “Annie?” Ruth’s voice slurred. Her eyes were already closed.

  “Yes, Ruth. I’m here.”

  “You’re a good girl, Annie. How I wish—”

  “Shh, I know. Everything’s all right. Everything’s good. You’re safe here. And later on today, your rambunctious grandson will come by and tell you all about his exciting day. How does that sound?” Annie stroked the thin, blue-veined hand she held.

  Ruth pursed her lips in a cross between a smile and a yawn. “Lovely. I’m so sleepy.” Her head slipped to the side against the pillows, and she mumbled, “I don’t want to dream—”

  “Then you won’t. Just sleep.” Annie waited until Ruth’s chest rose and fell steadily, indicating deep sleep. With her free hand, she touched gentle fingers to her mother-in-law’s soft cheek. “Just sleep, Ruth.”

  “You’re a sweetheart, Annie Quincy.” The low voice from the doorway sent a shiver of awareness down her spine, as always. She laid Ruth’s hand on the embroidered coverlet and rose from the bed, reaching Travis’s side and placing a cautionary finger to her lips as she stepped from the bedroom, pushing him ahead of her out of the apartment and into the hallway.

  “Where’s Hank?”

  “Downstairs. Martha’s getting him ready to go.” Travis kept his voice low. “We’ll leave in about ten minutes.” Behind them, Edward closed the door. He’d retreat to the comfortable recliner next to Ruth’s bed, sometimes reading and sometimes working a puzzle, until Ruth awoke.

  “Ten minutes, huh? Well, in that case . . .” She pounced, her slight body pushing her husband’s much-larger and very willing frame against the wall.

  She pulled his head down until she could reach his lips. The kiss he gave her just about spun the top of her head off. He groaned when she bit his bottom lip. Finally coming up for air, they kept their arms locked around each other. She giggled against his shoulder. Her feet were several inches in the air, and Travis tortured both of them by letting her slide down his hardened body until her sneakers touched the polished parquet floor.

  “You’re lethal, do you know that? For such a little squirt,” he breathlessly teased her.

  Annie smirked at him. “Yes, I know. Lucky for you.”

  He gave her braid a tug. “Brat.” He leaned against the wall, elegant in his three-piece suit, the tie hanging crookedly. “So, how was she this morning?”

  She straightened his tie for him and then left her hands on his lapels. “Fine. Really. She said I was a good girl.”

  “Well, you are a good girl.” He cuddled her close and spoke against her hair. “What would I do without your fairness, Annie? Your caring. Any other woman would hate my mother. Any other woman would condemn her for what she did.” He looked down at her. “But then, you’re not any other woman.” He kissed her lingeringly.

  As their lips parted, she quipped, “You’re right. Lately, I’m just another good girl.” She was still uncomfortable with praise, when she was just doing what she considered the right thing.

  “You don’t mind, do you? Any other woman—”

  “Travis, seriously, I don’t mind. She’s better. She hasn’t had a nightmare in weeks, according to the night nurse. And she’s doing well with Hank.” Annie nestled into his arms. “Besides, I have everything in the world I want. It’s pointless to hold onto anger and resentment, isn’t it? So much of your mother’s trouble was never her fault.”

  Easing back, she slipped her hands around to Travis’s face, cradling his lean cheeks. His eyes glowed deep blue in the dimmer light of the hallway, his expression tender and loving. And all for her, that was the miracle. Always, all for her.

  A tiny pulse beat at the corner of her mouth, proof of her burgeoning emotion
s, as she whispered, “I promised you, years ago, that I’d love you, want only you, no matter what. I knew it wouldn’t always be easy, and it hasn’t been. But it doesn’t matter how impossible it all seemed, because we were meant, Travis. And nothing else could ever get in the way of that.”

  “Nothing,” he echoed in a husky rasp. He slipped a hand over her hip and around to the slight thickening of her waist, caressing her there, an unspoken question in his touch.

  She gave him a resigned look. “You know I didn’t tell her. Not yet. When the time is right, when she’s having a really good day, we’ll tell her together. How do you think she’ll feel about another grandchild?”

  “I think she’ll be happy. And if for any reason she’s not, we’ll deal with it, Annie. The way we’ve dealt with everything.” He twined the fingers of both hands through hers, and held them up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. His ardent gaze swept over her and his body pressed against hers, warm and reassuring. “Together, okay? Always, together. I promise.”

  There was a huge lump in her throat, a hundred frogs preventing her from normal speech, but somehow Annie managed a husky, “I promise, too.”