Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series) (25 page)

“I see your point, but Ryan, don’t keep her waiting too
long. She’s a special lady and I would hate to see you lose her because you
waited. I think she’s pretty sure of her feelings, from what she’s told Chloe.”

“She’ll be coming back to Dallas. We’ll have chances to talk
again. But for now, I just need to keep my distance, as hard as that is to do.
It’s the best thing for both of us.” 

“Not going to see her off at the airport tomorrow?” Shane
looked at his older brother.

“I can’t. It would be too hard to see her get on that plane,
knowing I may not see her again, other than on a business level. It’s better
this way.”

“If you say so, just remember what I said.”

“I will.” Ryan sighed as he looked out the car window,
obviously deep in his own thoughts.

Earlier in the evening, the girls had ordered room service,
and enjoyed Chloe’s dessert while giggling like schoolgirls all evening. This
was their night and they intended to enjoy it. Chloe was amazed. She envied
them their years of closeness and wondered what it would have been like to have
grown up with this bunch. She was grateful to be included now and intended to
have as much fun as the rest of the girls. She told them a little about
herself, and they filled her in on their lives. They talked of the restaurant,
of the plans she had. They talked of their week in Dallas and all their
personal dramas. The conversation eventually worked its way to Katy and Ryan.

“All I can tell you, Katy, is to be patient with my
brother-in-law. He has been through a lot and so have you. You two have a
special bond in more ways than one. Give him the time he asked for. That’s all
you can do. And don’t give up on him. I hope to have you for my sis-in-law
someday.”

Katy replied sadly, “That would be great… if it ever comes
to that, Chloe. Rest assured, I don’t intend to give up on him. I’ll give him
however much time he needs. I’m not going anywhere. He’s in my heart and that
is where he’ll stay. Whether we go any further is something only time will
tell.”  

“I am so glad to hear you say that. I’ll do my part on this
end to try and get him to come around. We’ll be seeing you again soon for work
anyway. It’s not like you’re going back to Chicago and never coming back,”
Chloe offered enthusiastically.

Lizzie, Marianne, and Angie listened to the conversation
with interest. It was good that Katy had Ryan’s family in her corner.

The girls ordered a movie and spent the rest of the evening
laughing and crying over the sappy chick flick. It was the perfect way to end
their week together.

When the movie ended, Chloe hugged each of her new friends
and thanked them again for including her in the festivities.

“Keep in touch. Marianne, you and I will have to get
together for lunch sometime.”

“We definitely will,” Marianne answered with a smile.   

“Angie, take care of Michael. We’ll try not to keep him in
Dallas for too long when he comes back to work on the expansion.”

Angie laughed as she hugged Chloe. “At least I’ll know he’s
in good hands.”

“Lizzie, I’ll see you in about a month. Keep up the good
work on the ads.”

“You can bet on it, I can’t wait to get busy. It’ll be good
to see you again so soon, too.”

“And Katy, please, keep your chin up. It will all work out.
You and Ryan are going to be together. I just know it.”

“Thanks for everything, Chloe. I’ll see you soon with some
more designs.” The two girls hugged and vowed to call each other often.

With that, Chloe was out the door and headed home. The other
four went in to pack and prepare for their departure tomorrow. Lizzie’s cell
phone rang as she was closing her suitcase. It was Cara. Lizzie had left her a
message earlier to tell her that she and Rex would not be home for a few more
days. Her daughter was returning the call.

“Hi, Honey. Did you get my message?”

“Yes, Mom, I was out. I think it’s great you and dad are
taking a few days together. And way to go, Mom, for pulling together that ad
campaign all on your own and springing it on Dad. That was awesome. Dad said
you might go to work in the agency.”   

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“Well, just so long as you’re not too busy to help me plan a
wedding. I got engaged tonight.”

“Oh, Cara, that’s wonderful. Nick’s family must be
thrilled.”

“Mom… I’m not marrying Nick. We decided several months ago
that we were just friends, nothing more. It was a mutual agreement. He’s very
happy for me.”

“Not marrying Nick? Then who, Cara? I didn’t realize you
were even seeing anyone else. Are you sure about this, Honey? It seems so
sudden.”

“Mom, don’t worry. Enjoy your trip. When you get home,
you’ll meet Caleb. I promise you’ll love him. It’s all good, Mom, believe me.
Gotta run. Have fun.”

Lizzie stood staring at the phone for a long time. 

“Liz, what is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Bad
news?” Angie asked as she entered the room.

Lizzie sat down on the edge of the bed. “Cara just got
engaged, but not to Nick. To someone we’ve never even met.”

“Cara has always had a good head on her shoulders, Liz. I
wouldn’t worry too much about it yet. Wait until you meet him to pass
judgment.”

“I suppose you’re right, it was just so unexpected. I
expected her to announce her engagement to Nick. I need to go see Rex for a
minute. I’ll be back.”

Lizzie went to Rex’s suite to relay the news to him. Angie
filled the other two in on the latest drama in their lives.

“Always something going on with one of us,” laughed
Marianne.

“We just get most of our problems solved and another one
appears,” Katy answered.    

“It’ll be interesting to see how this one turns out. Tune in
for the newest ‘Fab Five’ drama, News at 11.” Angie laughed hysterically. “Poor Lizzie, I know it’s not funny for her. It just struck me funny for a minute.”

Rex was as concerned as Lizzie when he heard the news, but
he was able to calm her down. “Let’s enjoy our vacation, when we get home,
we’ll talk to Cara, meet her young man, and then we can decide if this is a
good thing or not. There’s nothing we can do about it right now, anyway. And
Cara is of age, she can marry whomever she wants to.”

“I suppose you’re right. It was just such a shock. But she
seemed to be very happy.”

“Go on back to the girls. I’ll see you in the morning. I
love you.” Rex kissed her goodnight and walked her to the elevator.

Lizzie blew him a kiss and mouthed the words, “I love you,
too,” as she got on the elevator.

She let herself back into the suite. “Well, Rex says there’s
nothing we can do about it right now anyway, so we’ll just have to wait ’til we
get home and check this guy out.”   

“It’ll be okay, Lizzie. Let us know all about him after you
meet him.”

“Oh, you can be sure I will.” She laughed as they headed to
bed.           

 Rex made a phone call to his daughter after Lizzie left. He
congratulated her and tried to find out more about the mystery man in his
daughter’s life, but he did not get very far, either. Cara told him to enjoy
his vacation and she would see him when he got home. This was getting more
mysterious by the minute.

Katy wondered if the madness would ever end for any of them.

Saturday morning came much too soon and it was finally time
for the ‘Fab Four’ to say goodbye. They awakened early to alarm clocks blaring
in their rooms.

Angie and Michael were planning to head out after breakfast.
After everyone had taken their turn in the shower, the girls headed down to the
coffee shop for breakfast. They met Michael and Rex there and all had a
pleasant meal together, wishing each other well and making plans to get
together again soon.

“Well, Honey, we had better hit the road, don’t you think?”
Michael asked as he gulped down the last of his coffee. “It’ll take an hour of
hugs and tears to get you out of here, so better start now.” He winked at the
girls as he spoke.

“All right, I’ll go back up and say my goodbyes, grab my
bags and meet you in the lobby.”

“Michael, best of luck to you, it’s good to have you back in
the fold.” Lizzie leaned over to hug her friend.

“Thanks, Liz, it’s good to be back.” He returned the hug as
he answered.

“Bye, Michael. Take care of Angie girl for us.” Marianne
grinned at him.

“You can be sure of that. I won’t let her out of my sight.”
Michael winked at Angie again.

“So glad you two worked things out. It’s been a long time
coming.” Katy said softly as her eyes filled with tears.

“Katy, Ryan is a good man. You two will work it out too. I’m
sure of it.” Michael gave Katy a hug before he headed to the elevator.

The girls went back up to the suite for a final goodbye.

“Well, I guess this is it,” Angie said tearfully as she set
her suitcase by the door. “It has, as always, been great to see you guys. Let’s
plan another get-together real soon.”

The other three girls came over to her and hugged her one by
one.

“We’ll get together soon. Who knows, maybe for your
wedding?” Marianne speculated.

“Who knows?” Angie laughed. “Thanks for listening to me this
week and for understanding about what happened all those years ago.”

“Honey, if you can’t talk to your friends, who can you talk
to? And I did my share of talking this week too,” Marianne answered with a
smile.

“We’ve all had a lot to talk about this trip. I think we’ve
all helped each other immensely. It seems we were all at a crossroad in our
lives and it all came together this week. And the fun never ends… I have more
to look forward to when I get home,” Lizzie laughed.

“And you promised to keep us posted on that scenario,” Katy
said.

“Oh, believe me, you will all be hearing about that little
drama. I’m sure I’ll need to hear your friendly voices on the phone during the
whole ordeal,” Lizzie assured her friends.

“Katy, I’ll give you a call to set up a meeting in a few
weeks so we can discuss the designs for the hotel.”

“Great, Angie, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Well, I’d better get going before Michael sends out a
search party for me. I have kept the man waiting for too many years as it is.”

“Group hug now.” Marianne said, and they laughed as they all
hugged and cried together. Their week was coming to an end. It would go down in
their memory books as one of most eventful trips they had ever taken together.
They vowed to keep in touch and finally Angie was on her way to meet the love
of her life.

Michael smiled as she approached him in the lobby. He held
out his hand to Angie. “Are you ready to begin the first day of the rest of our
lives together?” He looked into her eyes and smiled as he hugged her.

“I’m ready,” she said simply as she hugged him back.

After Angie left, Lizzie finished getting her things
together and prepared to meet Rex. She was going to his suite. They would leave
later to catch their flight to St. Louis. She wanted to discuss Cara’s
situation again before they left. She did not want it to ruin their trip, so
she thought it better to discuss it before they left.

Lizzie said her goodbyes and left as Marianne was preparing
to take Katy to the airport. There had been no call from Ryan. But no one had
really expected one. He had told Katy he would not tell her goodbye.

Lizzie knocked on Rex’s door. He opened it and led her into
the suite.

“Not a word about work, kids, or home from now until we get
back to Columbus. Our vacation officially begins now. And we have several hours
before we head to DFW, so how do you suggest we spend the time?”

So much for discussing Cara
. But Rex was right. This
was their vacation. And she intended to take full advantage of the time alone
with her sweet teddy bear of a husband.

“Oh, I think I can come up with a thing or two we can do to
pass the time.” Lizzie smiled as she moved toward the bedroom, beckoning him to
follow.

Marianne and Katy arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth airport in
plenty of time for Katy to catch her flight. They stepped into a coffee shop
for a last few minutes together, neither one anxious for their time together to
end.

“Now, Katy, call me anytime you need to talk. And be sure
and let me know when you’ll be back in Dallas, you’ll stay with us, of course.”

“Same goes for you, Marianne, call me if things get rocky at
home and you need to vent. You know I’m a good listener. And you can always
come to Chicago for a visit, if you need to get away for a while. Remember
that,” Katy offered.

“I half expected Ryan to show up at the airport at the last
minute.” Marianne looked around as if she thought he might still arrive at any
second.

“It would have been nice, but he said ‘no goodbyes,’ and I
guess he meant it,” Katy replied sadly.

“I still think there’s hope for the two of you. Just hang in
there. But for now, we had better finish our coffee and get you to your gate.
Be a shame if you missed your flight. Or would it?” Marianne laughed as an idea
came to her. “You could stay just a little longer…” She laughed as she pitched
the idea to Katy.

Katy laughed. “Yes, I could, but I won’t. I’ll go home as
planned. Ryan said he would call. I’m not going to chase him. He knows how I
feel.”

Marianne thought that Katy was just a little too strong for
her own good. She had always helped everyone else but did not want to accept
help. Marianne hugged her friend at the gate and watched her walk toward the
plane. She waited by the window until the plane had taken off and waved to her
friend in the air. “Be safe, my friend.” She turned and walked to the parking
garage. As she drove home to McKinney, she wondered what would be waiting for
her at home. She was still angry with Jon for not telling her about the
Jennifer incident, but in the grand scheme of things, was it worth staying
angry? Why waste a precious minute? After seeing what Angie and Michael had
gone through, and now Katy and Ryan, was it really worth it? As she rounded the
corner on her street and pulled into the driveway, the front door opened. Her
husband stood in the doorway, smiling welcomingly.