Love Slave for Two: Reunions [Love Slave for Two 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (29 page)

“Nah, that’d just look silly.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you before I left.”

“It’s okay. We understand. Are
you
okay?”

She took a moment to think about it. Her stomach was still in knots. She thought at one point on the Atlanta to Denver flight she might need the airsick bag, but then after a few pretzels it settled again. “I think I’m more sleep deprived than anything at this point. My stomach’s a mess. How’s Ty?”

“He’s being Tyler. How do you think he is?” At that moment, she heard Tyler yelling in the background.

“Is that her? Give me the phone, blast you! Why didn’t you tell me she was on the phone?” Nevvie snickered as Tyler came onto the line. “Love, where in bloody blue blazes are you?”

“I’m sitting in Denver, waiting for my flight to Sheridan and sipping a latte. You want to take it down a few notches, or do I need to tell Tommy to spike your Earl Grey tea with some of his pain meds to mellow you the fuck out?”

He let out an exaggerated sigh. “I’m just concerned about your safety.”

“I’m in freaking Denver, Ty. I don’t think I could be much safer unless I was in a padded room somewhere in outer Mongolia.”

“I can fly out there tomorrow and—”

“No.”

From the moment it took him to respond, her answer must have taken him aback. “What?”

“I said no. No thank you, Ty. I can do this.” She took a deep breath. “I
need
to do this.” She thought about it a little longer. “I want to do this. I want to be charitable. Lord knows, I have enough experience dealing with hospitals. If nothing else, maybe at least I can help run interference with the doctors or something and let them focus on her. Bottom line is, I don’t want to spit in the face of the good fortune I’ve had in my life.”

His voice sounded different. “I’m so very, very proud of you, love.”

“That warms the cockles of my heart. Oh, and by the way, if you haven’t noticed, I’m extremely sleep deprived.”

“The extra dose of snark was a clue, angel.” She heard the smile in his voice.

“Okay. Just wanted to make sure you understood I’m not trying to be bitchy, but my don’t-be-bitchy filter is in the shop.”

“I do. I’ll get packed and head up to Savannah today.”

“No, you don’t need to do that, either.”

“Well, why not?”

For such a smart guy, he was so totally clueless sometimes. “Do I need to do the math for you? Let Mom and Dad have some alone time.”

“What do you mean, ‘alone time’? They aren’t alone. They have the boys there.”

“Alone as in a-looone. Without the three of us hanging over them. As in, they can have lots of time to talk when the kids are napping or sleeping.”

“What?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed. “Man. Woman. Together. Alone. Do. The. Math.”

“Oh. Ooohhhhh. Ah. Now I’m tracking, love.”

“And I’m the sleep-deprived one.”

“Right. Love you, here’s Thomas, before he rips the bloody phone out of my hand.”

Tom came back on the line. “What are you two talking about?”

“You realize that damn thing has a speaker function, right?”

“Yeah, baby girl, duh. But he yanked it away from me. What were you talking about?”

“Tyler wanted to go chaperone Mom and Dad.”

“Huh?”

“Let him explain it. I’m too tired. I need to go, my phone’s nearly dead. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Call us when you land.”

“Will do.” She hung up and stared at the phone. Then she stared at her empty latte cup.

She eyed the restaurant two gates down that also sold liquor. It was tempting.

Very tempting.

She let out a sigh. With the condition she was in, it would put her on her ass, not to mention it might make her yak on the next flight. She trudged the other direction to the Starbucks and ordered two more lattes.

* * * *

It was nearly eight that night by the time she landed in Sheridan, rented a car, found a hotel room, and located the hospital. She texted Tom that she’d arrived safely. Then she texted Kyle and he met her at the hospital entrance with a hug.

He looked years older than he had when they’d had dinner with them.

“Thanks for coming, Nevvie. I’m sorry it’s not under better circumstances.

“It’s okay. How are you and Jacob holding up?”

He shrugged. “I feel numb right now. We knew she wasn’t well, but we found out this morning she wasn’t telling us how sick she really was. Her regular doctor came to see her and told us she’s known she’s been bad for a while. One of her friends from her church used to drive her to her appointments while we were working.”

He led her inside the hospital. While it certainly wasn’t as large as the one she’d spent more than her fair share inside of in Tampa, at that time of night it still had an antiseptic air, combined with the haunting feeling of impending doom.

Or maybe it was just her sleep-deprived state.

In the ICU, she scrubbed her hands and followed Kyle to Mary’s cubicle. In this ICU, there were no solid walls separating the bed areas, just curtains. When they stepped inside, Jacob looked up from where he was sitting beside her. His eyes were red and puffy, as if they’d just missed him crying.

Mary, her eyes closed, looked even more frail lying in a bed that dwarfed her.

“Hi, Nevvie,” he softly said.

She walked over and hugged him. “Hey, how you doing?”

He shrugged.

Kyle pulled another chair over so all three of them could sit at her side. The nurses didn’t interrupt them.

“Have you guys gotten any sleep?” Nevvie asked.

Kyle shook his head. “What’s that?”

“Okay, why don’t you two try to get some sleep? I’ll stay here with her.”

“You’ve got to be as exhausted as we are after your trip,” Jacob said.

She shrugged. “Now’s not the time for the story, but let’s just say I’m no stranger to all-night hospital vigils.”

The brothers looked at each other for a minute, as if looking for permission from the other to go. Nevvie was reminded of the two little boys who sat on her bed that afternoon so long ago, crying, begging her not to leave.

“Go home,” she softly said, firmly taking charge. “I’ll call you if there’s any change. Make sure you charge your phones.”

They both nodded. Each brother gave her a strong hug that nearly started her crying before they walked out.

When the nurse came in a few minutes later to check on Mary, she looked slightly taken aback.

“Where are her sons?”

“I sent them home to get some sleep.” Nevvie had moved to the recliner next to the bed, propping herself up on her side so she could see both Mary and the TV.

“And you are?”

Nevvie knew the nurse wasn’t trying to be officious, but she also wouldn’t tolerate any bullshit from anyone at this point. “I’m her daughter. I’m staying with her tonight.”

* * * *

Nevvie managed a few catnaps. When the unit’s on-call physician made rounds to check on everyone at midnight, she cornered him and made him sit down with her at the nurses’ station with Mary’s chart and go over everything.

She digested the information he gave her. After a moment, she said, “Realistically, how long are we looking at?”

His lips pressed together, forming a thin line. He shook his head. “We’re just trying to keep her comfortable. She’s too fragile to transfer to hospice.”

She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Okay. Thank you, Doctor.”

“Would you like me to call the chaplain for you?”

“No, it’s okay.” She returned to Mary’s bedside and resumed her previous position and managed to drift to sleep again.

A little before dawn, a noise awoke her. She opened her eyes and saw Mary staring at her. “Good morning,” Nevvie said.

A faint smile curled Mary’s lips, but she didn’t speak. Nevvie sat up and quickly texted Kyle that she was awake. He immediately replied, before she could even put her phone down, that they were on the way.

Nevvie reached over and gently wrapped her fingers around Mary’s hand. “How are you feeling?” Calling her “mom” still stuck in her mouth and rolled around like a cold, iron marble.

“You’re here.”

Nevvie nodded. “I got here last night. I sent the boys home to sleep. It’s almost morning. They’re on their way back now.”

Mary gave the slightest of nods. “Your babies are beautiful.”

Nevvie swore she wouldn’t cry even though her stomach rolled again. “Thank you.”

“You’re a better mother than I was. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s in the past.”

Mary shook her head. “No. Not okay. You don’t let fear stop you from being a good mom. I was scared. I gave in.”

Nevvie heard the monitors make slightly more erratic noises than they had all night. She knew Mary was getting herself upset and it wouldn’t help her. “It doesn’t matter. I love you, and I’m here for you, and that’s all in the past. Okay?” She smiled and squeezed Mary’s hand. “I’m here for you, Mom.”

Well, her head didn’t explode. That was progress.

Don’t spit in the face of good fortune.

“You made Kyle and Jacob so happy, Nevvie,” she said. Her voice sounded even weaker. “Thank you for not holding what I did against them. You’re the only family they have now.” Her eyes closed as she drifted back to sleep.

It was obvious to Nevvie that Kyle and Jacob had made Mary their life. Jacob had recounted to her the seminal incident that happened the day Jim abandoned them, one that Kyle didn’t know about. Jim had started slapping Mary, and Jacob had intervened. Kyle had still been at school that afternoon, and even though Jacob knew he didn’t stand a chance against his father physically, Jacob had told the man to go to hell.

Jacob remembered it had started with Mary telling Jim that no, she wouldn’t uproot the boys again to go somewhere, and he’d started slapping her, yelling at her that he was her husband and she would submit to him. Jim had been so startled by his son’s defiance that when he went to hit him, Mary grabbed his arm and told him to get the hell out or she’d have him arrested.

Neither Jacob, nor Kyle, had gone to college. Jacob had dropped out his junior year of high school and got a GED so he could go to work full-time. Mary and Jacob had insisted Kyle finish high school, but he also immediately went to work full-time after graduation. Both boys had held part-time jobs while in high school to help make ends meet. Mary had worked up until Kyle’s junior year, when she was forced to quit due to her health.

Nevvie felt too tired to contemplate the ramifications. She wouldn’t have wished what she went through on anyone, but once she met Tom and Tyler, her life had turned into a fairy tale by comparison.

Kyle and Jacob were two young men about to lose their mother.

Nevvie had a loving extended family.

These two had nobody but her, once Mary died.

When Kyle and Jacob returned, Mary opened her eyes again and managed a smile for them. The doctors made morning rounds and, out of Mary’s earshot, told the three of them that if she made it through the day, it would be a miracle.

In silence, the three gathered around her bedside again to wait. It didn’t take long. Nevvie’s experienced ear noticed the monitors growing even more erratic, alarms tripping so frequently that the nurses finally set them to silent mode. They stopped taking her vital signs as well, giving them privacy.

A little before nine that morning, Mary opened her eyes and looked at all three of them. “I love all of you,” she whispered.

“We love you, too, Mom,” Nevvie said.

Kyle and Jacob nodded. “I love you, Mom,” Jacob said.

“Me, too,” Kyle echoed. “I love you.”

Mary nodded, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

Nevvie felt Mary’s grip on her hand go lax. Then Nevvie heard an alarm trip out at the nurse’s station. A nurse and a doctor hurried in, the doctor silently taking out a stethoscope to listen to Mary’s chest.

Kyle and Jacob both started crying. Nevvie took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
I don’t believe in You, God, but she did. Take care of her for us.

Both brothers seemed to be in a daze. After a few minutes, they stood and each of them kissed Mary’s forehead. Nevvie stood and did the same. Then she carefully tucked Mary’s hands under the sheet and pulled it up over her face. She slung her purse over her shoulder, grabbed her brothers by the hands, and, following a nurse, led them to a small consultation room where Mary’s doctor soon joined them.

The blur soon started. On autopilot and taking charge, Nevvie arranged for a local funeral home to come get her. Mary had told the boys she didn’t want a service, and that she wanted to be cremated and interred in Florida next to Michael.

Nevvie suspected that was partly due to their lack of finances, but when the men asked the funeral home representative about the costs, Nevvie shushed them. “It doesn’t matter. I’m taking care of this.”