Stay With Me

by Kathryn Shay

  “Alexis, where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling you all night.”

  “Um, I’m out, Dad.”

  “You weren’t answering your cell phone.”

  I didn’t hear it ringing until now, the bar’s too noisy.

  “I’m sorry. Is everything all right?”

  Silence on the other end Finally, Austin said, “I was worried about you.”

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” she repeated.

  “Are you all right?” he asked again.

  “Yes, of course.”

  Another unusual silence. “Where are you?”

  She peered up at Spence, who was staring at her strangely. “Um, I’m out.”

  “Alexis, this isn’t at all like you. Are you sure there isn’t something wrong?”

  “Nothing. I promise.”

  “Well, good. I called to tell you I’m driving down there tomorrow from Rochester.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “To see you. And I’d like to visit the Guardian operation.”

  “I wasn’t planning to go back this week.”

  “Change your plans.”

  “Dad, I…”

  When she didn’t finish, he asked, “Alexis?”

  “Nothing, we can work that out tomorrow. What time shall I expect you?”

  “About five in the afternoon.”

  After she hung up, Spence watched her, an odd expression of disbelief on his face. It reminded her of the looks she received from employees she was about to terminate. Still, she was surprised when he asked, “What’s the matter, does daddy restrict your playtime?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I couldn’t help but overhear. Your father sounds like a slave driver.”

  “No, he was wor—” Alexis bit off her words. No one here knew about her ulcer, her weakness, and she’d just as soon keep it that way. “What business is that of yours, anyway?”

  He shook his head. “Damned if I know. Sorry I opened my mouth.” He gave her his back and stalked to the bar.

  Alexis watched him for a minute, then turned, too, and left Casey’s.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THERE WERE ONLY two things in the world that were important to Austin Castle. His family, which now included only Alexis and Jamie, and the business started by his father, which he and his brother had built into an empire.

  As Austin swerved his jet-black Mercedes into the gravel driveway of the cottage, he was overcome by a sense of loss. His wife Mary had grown up here. But Mary was gone. Soon after her, his father, James, had died. Then his only sibling, William.

  And Brody.

  Don’t go there, he told himself. Don’t think about him. He exited the car quickly and slammed the door to banish the ghost of his bright-eyed and brilliant son, who’d never celebrated his twenty-first birthday. Instead, Austin concentrated on the child who was very much alive.

  And sick.

  Stop it. She’s fine. She’s just recuperating.

  But he didn’t believe her. Why else would he have flown in yesterday all the way from Japan? He was gripped, once again, by the terror of finding her curled up on the office floor, in pain so great he’d feared for her life.

  “Papa Bear!” a voice squealed from the cottage. The smile that claimed his face was very real, as a psychedelic blur bolted out of the door and hurled itself into his arms. Scooping up his granddaughter, he held her tightly, relishing how strong and healthy she was, even if she did have too much sass. “Hi, Goldilocks.” He kissed the top of her head. “How’s my girl?”

  “Super.” Jamie drew back, grinning.

  He scowled. Her bright purple shorts and shiny yellow top practically stung his eyes. And that damn eyebrow ring made her look like a heathen.

  Which is precisely why she’s wearing it, Dad, Alexis had told him. It’s a phase—the more we protest, the more she’ll rebel. Like with her godawful hair.

  Unaware of his disapproving thoughts, Jamie looped her arm through his and said, “Everybody’s on Portia’s deck. It’s almost suppertime.”

  He stiffened, dreading contact with the McPhersons, whose presence reminded him that he’d taken Mary—Clare’s sister—away from the lake she loved. “Oh, is Clare here, too?”

  “Yep. And my new friend Max.”

  His brows knitted and he stopped walking. “A boyfriend? You’re a little young for that, aren’t you? I hope your mother isn’t letting you date already.”

  “Oh, Papa, Max is short for Maxine.” She frowned. “Why are you so grumpy today?”

  “I miss my girls,” he said ruffling her hair.

  As they made their way to the back, down the grassy yard between the two houses, the sight of the lake almost took his breath away.

  It was beautiful. A blessing from God. Mary, who loved their life by the lake, had always said. And he’d deprived her of all of it. Guilt lay like an anchor inside him, weighing him down. He avoided looking at Clare’s white clapboard cottage and concentrated on his footing.

  “Guess who I found?” Jamie said, pulling Austin toward her mother.

  Alexis had heard his car from Portia’s house and had come halfway up the lawn to meet them. His eyes searched her smiling face. Did she know that, since her collapse, he had to reassure himself she was all right after every trip he took? He hoped not.

  “Hello, Dad.” She was tanned but still too thin. Covering the distance between them, she enveloped him in a huge hug. He tried not to hold on too tight—don’t smother her, Castle—and then drew away to examine her. “Well, you look better.”

  “I am,” she said, cheerfully. “I gained two pounds last week.”

  He scowled, nodding to her bright-orange mini sundress with its plunging neckline. On her feet she wore matching orange sandals—and even orange nail polish. “Where’d this come from?”

  Alexis giggled, and his heart turned over. She leaned in close. “Jamie. She picked out my lake clothes.”

  They were in stark contrast to his elegant loafers and Polo golf shirt and slacks. “Have you lost your mind?” he whispered back, then pulled her to one side of him, Jamie to the other, and held them close all the way to Portia’s lakefront.

  The group sat on the deck—Portia and Jamie’s friend, he guessed, who reminded him of a vampire in a black T-shirt, shorts and...was that black lipstick?

  At the far end of the deck was Clare. His sister-in-law sat huddled on a wicker rocker in the shade, watching him. It had been a long time since he’d seen her. She seemed so fragile now.

  His heart thudded in his chest.

  “Uncle Austin.” Portia stood to hug him. She wore a black bathing suit, with a black-and-white print sarong. “You look handsome as ever.”

  “The consummate flirt, as always. When are you getting married, Porsche?”

  “Never.”

  Jamie introduced him to Max—who nodded eerily to him—then the girls disappeared into the house.

  “Go say hi to Ma.” Portia urged him with a gentle push.

  “All right.” He crossed to the other side of the deck, where he stood at attention before Clare much like one of her students might have done in the past. “Hello, Clare.”

  “Austin.” Then she smiled. Mary’s smile, the one that had put him in the palm of her hand, every time. “Give me a kiss, young man.” Though she was only ten years older, she’d always treated him like a boy. He leaned over and hugged her. She felt alarmingly thin and frail, but her grip was strong. “Next time, don’t stay away so long,” she murmured in his ear. “I missed you.”

  He closed his eyes. He’d missed her, too. “I’m sorry,” was all he said, but it was rife with meaning.

  Portia called over to him, “What will you have to drink, Uncle Austin?”

  “A Manhattan, if you’ve got the ingredients.”

  “Yup, Alexis brought them over.”

  Smiling at his daughter, he took a seat on one of the benches. The easy talk with the women and the drink Portia brought out calmed him. Mayb
e the visit wasn’t such a bad idea, after all.

  A door banged across the way. Portia peered behind him, waved, and called out. “Spence, come and meet Alexis’s father before you go to work.”

  Austin started to turn, just as Jamie barged out of Portia’s house. “Okay, Julia Child, when are we gonna eat? That spaghetti sauce smells mag.”

  Austin stiffened. “Spaghetti sauce?” he asked.

  Heavy footsteps approached him, but he didn’t turn to meet the next-door neighbor.

  “What’s wrong with spaghetti, Uncle Austin? You used to love it.” Portia was clearly puzzled by his tone.

  Austin frowned and waited for Alexis to explain. When she didn’t, he asked, “What’s Alexis eating?”

  “I don’t understand,” Portia said. “She loves it, too.”

  “She can’t have marinara sauce.” They stared at him blankly as if he spoke a foreign language. “Because of her ulcer.”

  “Who has an ulcer?” a male voice demanded behind him.

  o0o

  SCOWLING, SPENCE steered his green Jeep Cherokee along East Lake Road, on his way to work an hour too early. What had he been thinking yesterday when he had flirted with Alexis, hugged her, considered...damn it! He was not interested in the woman at all. Especially after the scene he’d just witnessed.

  That Austin Castle was Judd Keagan’s mirror image had been clear as soon as Castle revealed Alexis’s secret and berated her in front of everybody to the point where she’d fled from him…

  “Alexis has an ulcer.” He’d turned to answer Spence’s question. “And who are you?” he’d snapped.

  Spence had held up his palms. “Just an innocent bystander.”

  “Dad, please…”

  He’d rounded on his daughter, angrily, which made no sense to Spence. “And why on earth haven’t you told them about your illness?”

  “Dad!” she’d pleaded again.

  “I demand an answer.”

  Jamie had sidled close to her mother. They’d obviously faced Castle’s temper before.

  Alexis wrapped her arms around her stomach and finally admitted, “I just didn’t want to.”

  “That’s not an answer.” He’d practically exploded. For a brief moment, Spence wondered whether the man was simply worried beyond reason about his daughter. But then he wouldn’t be yelling at her if he was, so Spence dismissed the idea.

  He’d waited for Alexis to stand up for herself; instead, she’d slinked away like a whipped puppy, telling her father she needed to be alone. Clare had stopped Castle when he’d ignored Alexis’s wishes, of course, and started after her.

  Man, those people had more trouble than the Kardashians. Spence wished he hadn’t promised to take Jamie waterskiing tomorrow. Aw, hell, he’d just make sure Alexis didn’t come along. She’d probably be sick by then, anyway.

  A flash of orange by the side of the road caught his eye. Slowing down, he saw Alexis walking along the gravelly shoulder. Her head was down and her arms were wrapped around her waist.

  She didn’t even look up as he sped past her. Not that he planned to stop anyway. He watched her in the rearview mirror as she veered off and headed for the public beach.

  She could use a friend.

  Not me, he told himself. Never me. He didn’t get involved in people’s lives. Especially people like her.

  “No man is an Island, entire of itself.” He thought about John Donne’s poem. Well, it didn’t apply to him.

  Which was why he couldn’t fathom his reason for turning around and driving back to find Alexis. Swearing a blue streak, he parked and followed the path to the beach. She stood beside a pile of boulders, staring into the water. A warm breeze blew her hair back, revealing orange shark earrings. Her entire posture was tense and uncompromising.

  He jammed his hands into his flight-suit pockets. “Hi.”

  She whipped around. Her mouth gaped. Then he saw her grit surface. Slowly drawing herself up tall, she raised her chin and faced him squarely. If she hadn’t been wearing the tight little dress and gaudy shoes, she’d have made an intimidating figure. “Did you come to gloat?”

  “Gloat?”

  “Yes. I finally figured out what set you off last night. The phone call from my father.” She shook her head. “I suppose after the tirade you just heard, you think you’re right about him.”

  He was tempted to agree but he didn’t want to hurt her. “No, Alexis, I didn’t come to gloat. I came to see if you wanted to talk.”

  “To you?”

  The corners of his mouth turned up. “A novel idea, I know.”

  She smiled then, too. “Oh, hell, I don’t know why I’m jumping on you. I’m...upset.”

  “Just what the doctor ordered for an ulcer.”

  Her hand pressed her stomach.

  “Does it hurt now?”

  She shook her head. “A little. But I’ve been fine since the day on your boat.”

  “Relaxation and no stress.” He glanced at the lake toward their houses. “Until now.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “I do, more than you know.”

  She pierced him with a knowing gaze. “Because of your own father?”

  He stiffened. “Yep. But I don’t want to discuss Judd.”

  “I don’t want to discuss Austin, either.”

  Taking a seat on one of the rocks, Spence sighed. “All right. Tell me why you kept your ulcer a secret, then.”

  She crossed to an adjacent rock, leaned back against it and rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms. “It’s such an inconvenient weakness. I’ve never had anything else interfere with my life that I couldn’t control.” She faced him, surprised. “I’ve never shared that with anybody.”

  “I won’t say anything at Guardian, Alexis, if that’s a concern.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But Clare and Portia are your family. Why keep it from them?”

  She hesitated a moment and continued. “Portia and I used to be best friends. When Brody died, and I became the next Castle prodigy, I didn’t have time for the lake. Or her. She was hurt. I finished at Harvard in three years, got my M.B.A. and by the time I was twenty-two, I started interning in the three divisions at Castle Enterprises; we have about a hundred companies among the Aerospace, Medical and Foundation Divisions. Portia warned me I was working myself into the ground. Pride, I guess, kept me from telling her she was right.”

  Wondering whether to probe, he remained quiet a long time. “Who’s Brody?”

  She looked at him blankly. Then she closed her eyes and rubbed them with a thumb and forefinger. “I must be more upset than I thought. We never mention Brody’s name.”

  Spence waited.

  “He was my brother,” she finally confessed. “He died in a snowmobile accident when he was twenty and I was eighteen. My father and I...we were with him when it happened.” She breathed deeply before she finished, “He was the one interested in the firm.”

  “I’m sorry you lost your brother.” Spence was silent a minute. “What were you interested in?”

  She shrugged. “I can’t really remember. I think maybe the Foundation. I’m not sure in what capacity.” Threading back her hair, she said, “It was so long ago.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Thirty-five.”

  “Not too late to do what you really want with your life.”

  “Oh, no, you misunderstand. I love the business now. It’s my life.” She drew in a breath. “Other than Jamie, of course.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “Spence, my dad’s really a nice guy. He’s worried about me, is all.”

  “Fine.”

  She frowned. “I think you have a chip on your shoulder.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I’ve seen you with your son and your father. I’ve heard the edge in your voice when we talked about mine.”

  Bleakly, he stared out to sea. He watched the waves roll and the whitecaps peak, looking li
ke giant teeth. Because of Iraq and Guardian, he tried to live a simple, honest life. “Maybe you’re right.” He glanced at her. “I’ll tell it to you straight, so long as you promise not to let it affect your decision about the grant to Guardian.”

  “I’d never let anything personal affect a business decision.”

  “Just like Judd Keagan.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When I was eighteen, my father wanted me to go to Yale, get a business degree, and then take over as VP of KeagCrafts. I wouldn’t kowtow, so he threatened to disown me. I beat him to the punch and enlisted in the army and learned to fly.”

  “What happened when you got out?”

  “I didn’t see him for years. He won, though, in the end.”

  “How?”

  “He stole Jeff away from me by getting him to go to Yale, then into the business. He got his protégé, and my son’s affection, in place of me.

  “I’m sorry.” She hesitated. “But it looked to me like they were both trying to bridge the gap with you the other day.”

  “We’ve done okay. I see Judd for an occasional dinner. I try to spend more time with Jeff but he’s busy. Then again, I was a crummy father, so he doesn’t owe me anything.”

  “Children and parents don’t operate on an owe-me system.”

  “In my experience they do.” He stood and checked his watch, the clench of his gut telling him to stop the discussion. “Come on, let me drive you back to the cottage. I’m due at work in a half hour.”

  “I can walk.”

  “Not in those lovely glass slippers you’ve got on, Cinderella.”

  She grinned. “God, Jamie has rotten taste.”

  “Now that’s one thing we agree on.”

  o0o

  ALEXIS FELT BETTER when Spence dropped her off at her cottage. Talking about the past, and even Spence’s problems with Judd, had calmed her. He’d been unexpectedly kind, first in going out of his way to find her, then in his gently offered advice. In many ways, he was a very nice, and attractive, man.

  Kicking off her platform sandals, she made her way barefoot down the lawn to Portia’s cottage. The grass tingled coolly against the soles of her feet. Still warm at seven, the early evening was scented with lilacs.

  Only her cousin and her aunt sat on the deck. The sun had hidden behind a cloud, casting the women in shimmery shadows. Alexis’s heart lurched when Portia faced her. She looked sad and Alexis knew it was because many years ago they had told each other everything.