Left Together (40 page)

“Holy
shit…” He ran his hand through his hair. “Why didn’t she just tell me? Why all
the bullshit?”

“Who
knows? Who cares? You guys weren’t exactly on the best of terms. Maybe she
needed to see that you were stable enough to take care of a child. Maybe she
was afraid you wouldn’t want anything to do with him. It doesn’t really matter
at this point.”

Evan knew
how sensitive I was to the subject, so he snapped out of his pity party. “Does
Ethan know?”

“I
don’t think she’d put that weight on his shoulders after everything else he’s
had to handle.”

“Is he
still awake?” I nodded. “Would you mind bringing him up with you, so I can talk
to her?”

“Not
at all.”

Evan
led me downstairs and over to the sofa where we found a very sleepy little boy.
“Hey, buddy. Looks like the boat wore you out, huh?” He gave his uncle a small
smile. “Kacie’s going to take you to bed, okay?”

“Where’s
Mommy?” His eyes filled with anxiety and he sat up, searching for her.

“She’s
here. We’re just going to hang out down here for a bit. Kacie’s tired, too. She
said she’d go up with you so you can go to sleep.”

“But I
don’t want to be alone.” There was genuine fear in his voice. It was almost
like he knew something was going on even if he wasn’t sure what.

“You
can come to my room,” I offered. “You won’t be alone.”

Jenna
joined us to ease her son’s fears and promised she’d be up to get him soon.
After hugging his mom, he climbed into my arms and rested his head on my
shoulder. He was too exhausted to hold it up on his own. By the time I got to
the spot at the top of the stairs where you can look over the railing into the
living room below, Evan was holding Jenna while she cried. It was exactly what
she needed. She needed someone else to be the strong one for a change, even if
it was just for a minute.

Not
wanting Ethan to see or hear what was going on, I rushed him to my room and
closed the door. He tended to be a little nervous without his mom, so I crawled
into bed next to him. Holding my hand, he fell sound asleep in a matter of
minutes and I followed not long after. I didn’t wake up until Evan came in to
get Ethan. It was a few hours later and he had been drinking. He said Jenna was
probably already passed out because she had quite a bit. I told him to let
Ethan stay with us so Jenna could sleep. He didn’t argue.

The
next morning, I took Ethan downstairs when he woke up, so his mom could sleep. I
suppose because of being a single mom for so long, she instinctively got up,
hangover and all, and came into the kitchen about twenty minutes later.

“Are
you okay?” She shook her head. “Go back to sleep. Ethan’s fine.”

“No.
Thank you, though. I should know better than to drink with Evan. He’s twice the
size of me, but I think I can keep up with him every damn time.” She fell onto
the chair and dropped her head on the kitchen table. I got her a can of soda
and some aspirin. After explaining how it always worked for me, she accepted
the remedy.

“Mommy!”
Ethan had been so distracted by something on TV, he didn’t hear her come in. He
came running over and made himself comfortable in her lap. She brightened up
once she had him in her arms. Who needs caffeine and painkillers when you have
a sweet little boy like that? “Did you forget me last night?”

“Nope.
Uncle Evan kept me up too late, then I didn’t want to disturb you. Did you
sleep well?”

“I
didn’t wake up once.”

“Really?
That’s a first in a really long time.”

“It
must’ve been the boat,” I added.

“How
you feeling, Sheridan?” Evan bounced into the room as if he wasn’t up drinking
half the night. He kissed me and rubbed Ethan’s head. Jenna grumbled something
about hating him and he laughed. “Where’s your laptop?” he asked me.

“In
the closet by the front door.”

He
took off to retrieve it. It was already loading when he walked back into the
room. He sat across from Jenna. “Are you okay with staying until Tuesday?”

“That
won’t give me enough time to drive back for Wednesday.”

“It
won’t, but it doesn’t matter because you’re flying,” he commented as he typed
away.

“Evan…”

He
looked up. “You can fight me all you want, but you won’t win. Ask Kacie.” I
shrugged when she glanced my way. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you drive
over a thousand miles. I’m going to go into the club tonight and tomorrow
night. Tuesday morning, I’ll fly back with you, rent you a car for however long
you need it, and hang out with you on Wednesday. We’ll figure out what to do
from there, but I’ll need to be back by Wednesday night to go to work.”

“Why
are you doing this?”

“Because
you’re family, Jenna. This is what family does. We stick together when someone
needs help.” I went over behind him and kissed his head. There had never been a
moment when I was more proud to have him in my life than that one.

“What
about Kacie?”

“What
about me?”

“He
can’t just leave you.”

“I’m a
big girl. I can take care of myself for a few days.”

“So
you’re okay with him doing this?”

“These
are the kinds of things Evan does, Jenna. If I didn’t have so many things going
on at Shining Stars this week, I’d be packing myself. Save yourself the stress
and just accept the fact that he’s doing this because he cares. You won’t be
able to stop him anyway.”

“Wait.
Uncle Evan’s coming home with us?”

“Just
for a couple of days, buddy. Have you ever been on an airplane?”

While
they discussed their plans and Evan booked their flight, I made breakfast.
Jenna still seemed shocked. She hadn’t had anyone look out for her in a long
time. Regardless of how the doctor’s appointment went, she wouldn’t be on her
own anymore. No one should have to be.

Once
we finished eating, Evan told us to get ready, then drove us to the condo. “Why
did you bring me here?”

“To
see if you like it. Whatever happens on Wednesday, you’re going to need help.
Maybe not right now, but you will eventually. If you don’t like this place,
I’ll sell it and we’ll find something you do like.” Evan spoke to her as if he
wasn’t taking no for an answer about her moving to Tampa.

“Evan…”
I tried to get him to slow down, but that’s not how he is. “Let’s not add too
much to her plate all at once.”

“You
know just as well as I do that this needs to happen.”

“I
can’t move. My doc…” She saw Ethan walk into the room, so she stopped herself.
“Everyone is in New York. It’s not like I can find new ones in the middle of
this.”

“Kacie’s
brother will help. I already called him.”

“You
called Noah?” I asked curiously. He was covering all his bases.

“Yup.
He thought of two people right off the bat. He’s going to send me their
information later today.”

Jenna
looked at me. I didn’t want to scare Ethan, so I tried to explain. “My brother
is an orthopedic surgeon. He has a lot of very trustworthy friends.”

“Evan
Pierce, you are the most stubborn son of a bitch I’ve ever met!”

He
shrugged. “Not sure why you’re only figuring that out now.”

“Mommy
said a bad word,” Ethan added, climbing up onto the sofa.

“Oh,
shush, you!” she told him, and he laughed.

“Hey,
Ethan. I have a question for you.” I knew what he was about to do and there was
no way to change his mind. Apparently, Jenna also knew because she went over to
sit next to her son. There was no way she’d win the battle. Evan grinned and
waited for Jenna to nod her permission to talk to him. “What do you think about
you and your mom leaving New York to live here?”

He
looked at all of us, trying to figure out what was going on. “You mean with
you?”

“Well,
we would live here.” Jenna gestured to the room we were in. “The problem is
that you would have to go to a new school and make new friends.”

“What
about my bed?”

She
pulled him up onto her lap. “We’d bring it with us, silly. It would take a
little bit, but we’d pack up our stuff from the apartment, even all of those
toys you have, then put everything in a big truck and bring everything we have back
here.”

“We
could see Uncle Evan and Kacie all the time?”

“Whenever
you wanted, buddy.” Evan sat down on the coffee table in front of him. “We can
paint the walls in that bedroom I showed you whatever color you want. You can
come over and go swimming. We can take the boat out or go fishing. We can do a
whole bunch of stuff. You can even go to the school where Kacie works.”

“Will
I be in your class?!” he asked excitedly.

“Oh,
now
you believe I’m a teacher?” I teased him. “We can definitely talk to your mom
about it.”

“What
do you think, Ethan? Since you’re getting older and a lot smarter, I’m going to
let you decide. Should we stay in New York, or do you want to move here?”

“If
you need to think about it for a few days, you can do that,” I added.

“I’ll
miss my friends, but I want to come here. I want to be with Uncle Evan.”

“I
think that’s a very good decision,” Evan gloated.

***

Those
few days were rough despite not having to say goodbye to Ethan and Jenna for
very long. The current plan is they are going to stay in New York to let Ethan
finish out his school year before moving. We all agreed it was the best thing. Jenna
would be able to give a few weeks’ notice for work and get things together. On
our end, we’d have plenty of time to get the condo cleaned and painted for
them. Evan already started the paperwork to get Jenna on the payroll at Skyline
so she’d have medical coverage. While I was at work on Monday, he took them to
pick out what colors they wanted for all of the rooms. His main goal was to
keep Jenna busy and not dwelling on the what-ifs.     

Uncle
Tim took the three of them to the airport only yesterday, but it feels like
it’s been forever. I remember the hours leading up to every one of Gram’s
doctor’s appointments. The ones like this, the ones where we got results from
the treatments she went through, were always the most stressful. Those were the
ones that dictated how the rest of her life was going to be. In Gram’s case,
they were never good news. I know that Jenna’s situation is entirely different.
Everyone’s body reacts in different ways to the treatment. It’s so damn hard
not to worry, though. Why does this shit happen to good, decent people, while hardcore
criminals freely run around the world? I don’t understand it.

With
the school year winding down, there isn’t much more teaching I need to do.
Knowing my mind will be preoccupied today, I switch my lesson plans around to
finish the day with a movie. The kids have been so good and are doing so well,
I figure they can use a break, as well. The other first grade teacher, thought
it was a good idea, so she brought her class over. I keep glancing at the time,
wondering when Evan is going to call. My phone is sitting on the desk in front
of me, so I keep hitting the button to make sure I didn’t miss the vibration. A
few times, she offers to dismiss my class for me if I want to go, but there
isn’t much I can do from home. Doctors are rarely on time with their
appointments. It’s only forty-five minutes past when she was scheduled. That’s
nothing in the medical field. Still, it’s hard not to think the worst.

Ten
more minutes, then I’ll text him
, I say to myself, looking at
the clock across the room.

Wondering
if it will help pass the time, I flip through the things that were in my
mailbox. There’s a notice about the weekly meeting being moved to before school
instead of after on Friday. There are the photocopies of the announcement that
have to go home to the parents about the pizza party I want to have for the
kids on the last day of school. There’s a note from Monica, my assistant, that
the books I ordered are in.

Before
I can check the clock again, my phone vibrates. There’s a text from Evan. Anxiously,
I slide my finger across the screen to open it. Tears fill my eyes and run down
my cheeks at the message.

Sorry it took so long. Doc
running behind. She did it! She beat it! Going to pick up Ethan and grab
something to eat to celebrate. Call me after school. Love you.

Kacie

The
last few weeks have been a complete whirlwind! Between finishing up the school
year, getting the condo ready for Jenna and Ethan, and business picking up at
Skyline, Evan and I have only seen each other in passing. The weekend after
they went back to New York, we got rid of Evan’s old furniture. I spent a few
days after school cleaning the place from top to bottom and shampooed the
carpets. Once all that was done, Evan would paint the first coat in the morning
before going to work, then I’d come home after school and roll on another. By
the time I finished, I’d be too tired to go see him at the club.

My
friend Danielle is quite the artist. For some reason, she doesn’t like for most
people to know that about her, but she’s very talented. I decided to hire her
to paint Ethan’s room. Evan thought it was a great idea, so we checked with
Jenna. At first, she tried to tell us not to spend the money, but Evan
explained her options were either
she
could pick the theme or
he
was going to. Maybe one of these days, she’ll learn not to argue with him. With
my luck, she’ll be just as stubborn as he is and this shit will go on forever. Finally,
she makes a decision to go with an underwater or fishing theme since he hasn’t
stopped talking about it since they got home. That’s what Evan had in mind
anyway, so we go with it. If Ethan doesn’t like it, we’ll repaint.

I
wanted to do something special for Jenna, but had a difficult time figuring out
what exactly. It’s hard to guess if she’d be happy or think I was just stepping
on her toes. When she gets here in the next couple weeks, it’s important to me
everything goes as smoothly as possible. Her entire life has been disrupted by
her diagnosis and only recently has begun to be put back together. From talking
to her on the phone, I get the feeling she’s ready to leave New York behind. Even
though she grew up there, life hadn’t been easy. She had issues with her
parents, lost her boyfriend, and had to face such a horrible disease. For such
a long time, having Ethan was the only light in her life.

As
soon as I mentioned what I had in mind to Jade, she jumped onboard with helping
me pick out new bedroom furniture and bedding for Jenna. We bought some extra
decorations for the room, too. Of course, there are things she’ll be bringing
with her that she won’t want to part with. We understand that. If she doesn’t
like it, I’m going to move the furniture to one of the guest rooms at my house.
No harm done. I’ve been meaning to get rid of the crap in that room anyway. Evan
says that, from what he could tell when he was up there, the only newer things
she owns are Ethan’s, so I think this will be perfect.

Since
everything has been so crazy, I haven’t had much time to see my mom. I filled
her in on the situation so she didn’t think I was ignoring her. She understood and
even offered to help. Now that the condo is all ready for its new occupants,
and Evan is working a Saturday because Keith has something to do, I decide to
spend the day with her. I make it to Port Charlotte a little before lunch. She’s
waiting for me at the door when I get there.

“I’m
so glad you called. I almost had to go golfing,” she says.

“Don’t
let her fool you, Kacie. She loves to golf,” Walt calls out from somewhere
inside. My mom shakes her head and puts her index finger to her mouth,
signaling for me to be quiet.

She
whispers, “I didn’t think he’d hear that.”

“If
you wanted him to, he wouldn’t have” I whisper, smiling.

“Weird
how that is, huh?” I follow her into the kitchen. “Can I get you anything?”

“I’m
okay. Thank you.”

Walt
comes from around the corner in his collared shirt and khakis. “Hi, Kacie.
Ready for your summer vacation?”

“I am.
Well, the kids are anyway. More than likely, I’ll be in the office most of the summer.
Dr. Kelly’s been hinting that he’s more than ready to retire. I can’t say as I
blame him. Besides, sitting at home once Evan goes to work gets pretty boring
after a while.”

“How’s
Evan doing? Kristen told me about his brother’s girlfriend showing up.”

“He’s
doing pretty well, considering. I think he likes feeling as though he has part
of his brother back. You should see Evan with his nephew. He acts like he’s six
right along with him. It’s nice.”

“I’m
shocked she’s moving all the way down here. It’s quite a distance,” my mom
adds.

“They
don’t have anyone in New York. From what I understand, Jenna doesn’t talk to
her parents at all. She mentioned how her neighbors occasionally watch Ethan,
but I get the feeling she’s not crazy about it. I’m sure, once she saw how many
people are here who care about her son, moving here was an easy decision. Ethan
appeared to be genuinely happy being with everyone.”

“I
hope it works out for everyone.”

“Me,
too.” If it doesn’t, Evan will be crushed all over again and it will break my
heart to watch that happen.

Walt
is ready to go golfing at the same time we leave for the mall. We all agree to
meet at the country club for a late lunch, then go our separate ways. The main
purchase we need to make at the mall is a birthday gift for Walt. Trying to
come up with something has been tough for my mom. She says he’s the hardest
person to buy for that she’s ever met. I feel the same way about Evan. For his
birthday at the beginning of the month, which we weren’t allowed to celebrate,
I bought him the fishing rod he had been talking about getting. Now that he has
someone who will go with him, he was excited to get back into it. It was a good
thing he had been so busy at Skyline or he would’ve bought it before I had the
chance. I also knew he’d make me take it back if it wasn’t something he wasn’t
already planning on buying himself. With that thought in mind, I suggest she
get Walt a golf club of some sort. I don’t know much about them, but he recently
mentioned he needed a new driver. Apparently, there are just as many brands of
clubs as there are running shoes. We stand there looking at each other for a
few minutes before I remember someone who loves to golf. I call Kyle for some
help and my mom promises to cook him dinner. You can get him to help you with
anything simply by mentioning food as a reward.

We
have plenty of time to kill, so my mom and I walk around the mall. Evan could
use new work shirts and I need a new pair of sandals. Maybe I don’t
need
them as much as I
want
them. Strappy heeled ones. Preferably pink and
sparkly. Seeing my mom buy some new towels for her bathroom reminds me to get
hand towels for the kitchen. While we’re in that section of the department
store, I pick up some new things to decorate the kitchen and dining room for
summer. Since Christmas, I’ve begun to get back into changing things according
to the season. Gram would be proud. As we check out, Walt calls to say he’s on
the last hole and is ready to eat whenever we are. Spending the day chatting
with my mom and finishing it off with her and Walt is nice. I’ll have to do it
more often.

***

As the
sun is setting, I pull into my driveway. Evan’s truck is still where it was
when I left this morning, but he should be at Skyline. In panic mode, I grab
all of the bags out of the trunk and run inside. There’s no indication of
anyone being home. The door is locked. All of the lights are off. There’s no
sound. Nothing. I set the bags down by the front table. “Evan?” Still nothing.
I rush up the stairs, but don’t find him anywhere. He’s not in our room or any
of the guest rooms. I go back downstairs to the kitchen, calling his name a
little more frantically this time. Still no answer. Thinking he could be at our
neighbor’s, I head out the back. After only two strides onto the patio, I see
him out in the garden. My erratically beating heart calms.

The
closer I get to him, the easier it is to see. He’s wearing khaki shorts and the
V-neck light blue shirt that matches his eyes. He knows how much I love it on
him and only wears it when we’re doing something together. There’s flickering
light surrounding him that I hadn’t noticed until now. The walkway to the swing
is lined in pink candles and there’s a bouquet of pink daisies waiting.

“Hey,”
I say as I reach him. “What are you doing here?”

“Last
I checked, I lived here. Are you kicking me out?” he replies with his cocky
grin. He tugs me into him.

“No. I
thought you were working. If I had known you were going to be home, I wouldn’t
have stayed with my mom so for so long.” My ears pick up our song playing
softly in the background.

“I did
go in for a few hours, but Meg is working tonight. Luke is busy with Danny and
the guys, so she said she’d stay.”

“How
sweet of her. What’s going on?” I motion around us.

He
shrugs. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You
succeeded.” I smile at him. He leans down to kiss me and asks me to dance with
him.

“Do
you remember what happened a year ago today?” he whispers, as our song starts
over again.

How
did he know I was thinking about that just this morning while getting dressed?
“Let me think. It was my first full day back in Tampa. I woke up in bed next to
my best friend.” He gives me his “Don’t make me take you right here, right now”
look and I giggle. “I had an interview at Shining Stars with Dr. Kelly. Later
that night, I went to some rundown, shithole club with Jade.”

“You’re
quite the comedian tonight. What else?”

“I was
chased by my parents yet again. Only this time, I ran at the right time. I was
lucky enough to score a spot in front of some guy with these blue eyes I
haven’t been able to resist since.”

“That’s
what you think happened, huh?” I nod. “Would you be disappointed to hear I gave
the guy who was sitting on that stool a free beer to get up so you could sit
down?”

“You
didn’t?” I ask, shocked and somewhat amused.

“Yeah,
I did.” It’s obvious he’s telling the truth. He’s got that sexy smile going on
and is biting his lip.

“You’d
think I would have figured that out.” I shake my head.

“Want
to know what else happened that night?”

“Mmm,”
I say, gazing up at him.

“I
couldn’t sleep. Every time I tried to close my damn eyes, you were all I’d see.
Actually, the next time I slept wasn’t until the first night I stayed here with
you.”

“Teach
you to give away a free beer to get the attention of some girl.”

“You
were never just
some
girl, Kacie. Not to me. Before I knew what hit me,
you became everything.”

I
shrug. “I tried to tell you how awesome I was, but you insisted on finding out
on your own.” He grins. “So, tell me something. How come you did all this when
you have the only girlfriend in the whole entire world who isn’t stuck on
celebrating things like this? Do you know how many guys would kill for that?”

“Why
is that exactly?”

“Because
I celebrate every single day I have with you, Evan. Not one day that passes
means any more than the previous one. We almost didn’t get this. I’ll never again
take our time together for granted.”

“All
right. I won’t lie. That kind of made me hard.”

I
smack his arm. “You’re such a pig.”

“Maybe.”
He laughs and squeezes me tighter. “If you have to know, that’s not why I did
all this.”

“It’s
not?”

“Nope.
Well… I guess in a way it is.”

“Care
to explain?”

As
comfortable as I am up against him, he pushes me away and slowly spins me
around. By the time I’m facing him again, he’s kneeling on one knee in front of
me. What the fuck is he doing? He nervously plays with my fingers, then raises
his eyes to meet mine.

“The
day you walked into my life, well… I’m not really sure how to describe it, but
something happened. My heart skipped a beat. I got this fluttery feeling in my
chest that hasn’t gone away since, and it only intensifies when you’re around.
Somewhere along the way, this feeling has become my lifeline. Our first year
together has been the most chaotic, stressful, rockiest year ever. It’s also
been the most fulfilling, happiest, best one of my life. Other than the
accident, there isn’t a damn thing I’d change. It wasn’t perfect, and there
were times I thought we wouldn’t make it. There were times it felt like every
damn time we turned around, something or someone was waiting to tear us apart. However,
if going through hell was what it took to get to where we are right now, it was
worth it. All of it. I have no idea what the next year will bring…or the one
after, for that matter…but what I do know is as long as I have you, I’ll have
everything I need. Regardless of what comes at us, I can promise you that I’ll
love you every single day for the rest of my life. I’ll take care of you above
anyone else. I’ll give you anything and everything I’m possibly able, or I’ll
die trying. Kacie Foster, will you please marry me?”

My
voice is stuck behind a lump in my throat. He caught me completely off guard.
In the same way all those months ago I didn’t need to hear him say he loved me,
I don’t need a proposal to know that Evan and I are forever. It’s the way we
are. We just belong together. Not only do I know it, everyone around us knows
it.