Ask me to Stay

by Osburn, Terri

  “I’m sorry, Kendall. We headed this way as soon as we heard.” Francine took the seat next to him, teetering on the edge. “Aadi is trying to get some information. Have they said anything?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I feel horrible. We checked on him this morning, and he seemed fine. I just wanted to visit this new gallery downtown.” She dropped her head in her hands. “We shouldn’t have left the island.”

  Kendall put his arm around her. “You couldn’t have known this would happen. We don’t even know what it is yet. He’ll probably wake up and start fussing that he wants to go home.” Or maybe he would never wake up at all.

  Sitting up, she pulled a tissue from her purse and wiped her nose. “I’ve talked to him a lot in the last couple weeks, and I can’t figure out if it’s his age, or the disease taking a toll, or if he’s really as selfish as he sounds. But I’m convinced he thinks all those lies were harmless. Like he made some great sacrifice, and everyone he hurt should be grateful.” Shaking her head, Francine met Kendall’s gaze. “And I still can’t help but care about him.”

  Maybe that’s how he’d duped them for so long. By being too likable to ever be a bad guy.

  Aadi entered the waiting room looking grim. “The doctor is on her way. The staff won’t tell me anything.”

  “That’s okay,” Francine said, taking her partner’s hand. “Thank you for trying.”

  The three sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Most likely imagining the worst. Kendall tried to be positive. Ray was a fighter. If anybody could make a comeback, it was him.

  An African American woman with close-cropped hair and an air of authority stepped into the room. “I’m looking for the family of Ray Wallis?”

  Kendall replied, “That’s us.”

  The arched brow said she didn’t believe him. Not that he blamed her. A five-foot-tall Chinese woman. A balding Indian man. And Kendall, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a frame easily triple her patient’s size.

  “Are any of you blood relatives?”

  “Not to each other,” Francine replied.

  Kendall struggled to hide his smile.

  Aadi stepped forward. “I’m afraid Mr. Wallis doesn’t have any blood family around here. I’m Dr. Aadi Patel, retired, this is Kendall James and Francine Adams, and we’re all very close with Ray.”

  “We’re all he has,” Francine added.

  Softening, the doctor nodded. “I see. Are you all aware of Mr. Wallis’s medical condition?”

  “We know he has cancer,” Kendall replied. “And I have medical power of attorney.”

  She held out a hand toward the chairs. “That will work.” Once they were seated, the doctor shared the grim news. “The cancer is starting to affect Mr. Wallis’s organs. We’re doing what we can to keep him comfortable, but I’m afraid the rest is out of our hands.”

  Francine began to cry, and Aadi pulled her close. “Is there a chance he could recover enough to go home?”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe so.” Patting Francine’s knee, she said, “I’m very sorry. If there’s anyone out of town who might want to say goodbye, I suggest calling them right away. There isn’t much time left.”

  Nodding, Kendall said, “I’ll call her.”

  Chapter 26

  The waitress arrived with their meals. A club salad for Vanessa and a ham and cheese on rye for Liza. When they were once again alone, Vanessa repeated her initial argument.

  “I still say you should call this Kendall guy.” She stabbed a tomato with her fork. “You obviously fell for him.”

  “I’m not ready yet.”

  The fork waved before Liza’s nose. “You’re a thirty-two-year-old broke writer living alone in your grandmother’s old apartment—which still smells like her, by the way—who hates socializing and hasn’t been in a relationship in over five years. He is, by your own admission, a gorgeous thirty-something millionaire who owns half of a private island, is incredible in bed, and wants you. How are you not ready?”

  Well. When she put it that way. “I don’t think he feels the same way I do,” Liza said, airing her fear for the first time. “He could have stopped me from leaving, but he didn’t.”

  “You mean he let you make your own decision? What a jerk.” After plucking a shred of lettuce from her teeth, she added, “You should call him.”

  Liza really wanted to call him. “What would I say? ‘Hey, I know things got awkward there at the end, but look me up the next time you’re in New York.’”

  Her agent had the nerve to visually consider this suggestion. “I’d offer to fly down there.”

  She wanted nothing more than to go back to the island, but Kendall had to want her there. “Haven isn’t the kind of place where you make a surprise appearance.”

  As she picked up her sandwich for a bite, Liza’s cell phone rang out a tropical tune from her purse.

  “Maybe that’s him,” Vanessa said, dabbing dressing from the corner of her mouth.

  “This isn’t . . .” Liza stared at the glowing screen in stunned disbelief. “It’s him.”

  Vanessa’s fork hit the table. “No shit.”

  The phone continued to ring. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Answer it!” yelled Vanessa, nearly snorting avocado out her nose.

  Eyes wide, Liza did as ordered. “Hello, Kendall.” Her heart beat so loudly, she feared she wouldn’t be able to hear his voice on the other end.

  “Hi,” Kendall said in his sweet, wonderful baritone. “I’m sorry to bother you.”

  “No. No, it’s fine.” Her lungs suddenly forgot how to function, and Liza fanned her face, desperate for air. “I don’t mind. How are you?”

  His sigh raised the hairs on her arms. “Liza, Ray took a turn. I don’t know if that even matters to you at this point, but we thought you should know.”

  There was too much in that brief statement for her to process all at once. “I’m . . . Is . . . A turn? What does that mean?”

  She could almost see him run a hand through his hair. “That scratch on his head wasn’t a scratch. It’s melanoma. The disease is pretty far along.”

  Another lie. Another secret. How many could one man keep?

  Liza pushed back from the table, and Vanessa mouthed, “What is it?”

  Ignoring the question, she turned to the side and leaned forward, head nearly to her knees. “There must be treatment options. What does Aadi say?”

  “It’s too late, hon. There’s nothing they can do.”

  Heat rushed up her neck, and the food roiled in her stomach. “Are you sure? He kept bouncing back while I was there. Maybe he’ll do that again.”

  Liza barely knew him, but the fear of losing Elijah before reconciling her feelings—before even getting to decide if she wanted him in her life—was a cruel injustice.

  “We’re sure.” Kendall’s breath filled the silence as Liza ran through every emotion imaginable. How could she feel so connected to a grandfather she barely knew? One who’d removed himself from her life before she’d even been old enough to remember him.

  And still, Kendall waited. Patient. Loving. Supportive.

  A tear slid down her cheek as she asked, “Where is he? Is he in a hospital?”

  “Yeah. I can text you the information if you want.”

  Liza didn’t know what she wanted. “That would be good, thank you.”

  There didn’t seem to be anything else to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to end the call. Listening to him breathe, she could close her eyes and pretend he was there. Beside her. Making everything right again.

  “I guess I better go,” he said.

  She nodded before remembering he couldn’t see her. “Thank you, Kendall. Thank you for calling.”

  He hesitated so long Liza thought he’d hung up. “I’m here, Liza. Anytime. I’m here.”

  The call beeped dead as she stared at the half-eaten sandwich on her plate, blurry from her tears.

 
; “What happened?” Vanessa demanded. “What did he say?”

  “It’s my grandfather.” Looking up, she met concerned green eyes. “He’s dying.”

  Vanessa tossed her napkin on her plate and rounded the table. “Do you want to go see him? Do you want me to go with you?”

  The offer made Liza cry harder, so she took a deep breath, using her own napkin to wipe her eyes. “I don’t know. I need to think about it.”

  The other woman let out a long breath. “How much time does he have?”

  Liza hadn’t thought to ask, but based on Kendall’s tone, not long. She had to tell the family. They needed to know.

  “I have to go,” she said, rising to her feet.

  “Of course. I’ll call Hayley to book the plane tickets right now. And we’ll hire a private driver to get you from the airport.”

  Shaking her head, Liza pushed in her chair. “No, I don’t mean that. I mean . . . I just need to go.”

  “Oh. Okay. Do you need money for a taxi?”

  Shaking her head, Liza rushed through the tables and into the hot July sun, dreading the conversation ahead.

  “How did she take it?” Francine asked.

  “Okay.” Kendall rubbed the back of his neck, trying to purge the sound of Liza crying from his mind. “She didn’t say much.”

  The longer Liza had taken to answer the call, the more he’d convinced himself that she wouldn’t pick up. Kendall, Francine, and Aadi had debated what to do if she didn’t take the call. No one felt good about sharing the cancer diagnosis through a text, but if Liza refused to talk, she’d have left them no choice.

  And then she’d answered, and Kendall’s heart had fallen to his knees.

  Francine kept her eyes on the patient. “At least she answered. That’s a good sign.”

  “Yeah. That’s good.” He’d have given anything to be spared the hurt in her voice. As Kendall had known she would, Liza had begun to forgive the man lying pale in a hospital bed. That’s the only reason she would have broken down like that. “I sent the hospital info in a text, but I don’t know if she’ll come.”

  God, he hoped so. Even if only for a day or two. Kendall just needed to see her.

  “Don’t count her out yet, Kendall. No matter how hurt she is, he’s still her grandfather.”

  He nodded. “I know.”

  The door slid silently open as Aadi returned from his mission. “Two more chairs are on the way, and I collected a list of menus for restaurants within walking distance of the hospital.”

  Other than the bed, the only furniture in the room had been one beige chair and a padded bench beneath the window. Since all three of them intended to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, Aadi had volunteered to apply his years of hospital experience to making their impending sit-in more comfortable.

  “Did you make the call?” he asked. “Is Liza coming?”

  “She knows his condition and where he is,” Kendall replied. “The rest is up to her.”

  Francine straightened the blanket over Ray’s chest. “I think she’ll come. I just hope it won’t be too late.”

  The weight of the situation had been hanging like a dense fog all afternoon, and the longer Ray remained unconscious, the more somber they all grew. At first, they’d tried staying positive. With more prodding, the doctor had admitted to a slim chance that Ray could rally and surprise them all. Slim was better than none, and they’d clung to that hope while waiting for him to be placed in a room.

  But once they were finally allowed to see him, with tubes and cords attached to various parts of his body, reality had set in quickly. Ray Wallis would not be leaving this hospital. At least not alive.

  As Francine leaned against Aadi’s side, Kendall caught her rubbing her stomach. “You two go eat,” he said. “I’ll stay with him.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “What if . . .” Her eyes lingered on Ray’s pale face.

  “The doc said days, not hours,” he reminded her. “Go on. I’ll get something when you come back.”

  Aadi shot Kendall a grateful glance above Francine’s head as he eased her out of the room. Alone with the man who’d shaped his life more than any other, he brushed a wisp of gray hair off Ray’s forehead.

  “This is a lot of drama, even for you, buddy.” Clasping the old man’s gnarled hand, Kendall willed him to open his eyes. “If you wanted round-the-clock attention, all you had to do was say so. We could have found a pretty nurse for you to waltz around the kitchen island.”

  No response.

  “Come on, Ray. Open your eyes. Be the fighter I know you are.”

  Still nothing.

  Jaw tight, Kendall turned to pull the one beige chair closer to the bed.

  “Did you say ‘pretty nurse’?” rasped the man on the bed, voice weak but steady.

  Dropping the chair, he spun back around, afraid he’d imagined the words. “Ray? Are you with me, big guy?”

  Dry lips smacked. “Seems that way. What happened?”

  “You scared the hell of me, that’s what happened.” Watery eyes opened, squinting against the bright lights. Kendall pulled a chain behind the bed to cut off the strongest offender. “There you go, buddy. That’s better.”

  Taking in his surroundings, Ray rubbed a hand over the large needle taped to the back of his left hand. His head fell slowly back to the pillow. “So this is it, huh? My last hurrah.”

  The calm acceptance tightened Kendall’s chest. “Doesn’t have to be. We can walk out that door anytime you’re ready.”

  He shook his head, a subtle, almost imperceptible movement. “Not this time, son. Not this time.”

  Teeth clenched, Kendall ignored the burning in his eyes. “Don’t you dare give up, old man. Not yet.”

  Pale-blue eyes met his. “Does Liza Ruth know? Does she know I’m here?”

  Kendall nodded. “She knows.”

  “Do you think she’ll come?”

  Willing to give him any reason to hold on, he said, “She might.”

  Ray closed his eyes as the hint of a smile curved his lips. “I hope so.”

  So did Kendall.

  Liza arrived at the offices of Mitcham, Douglas, and Teller, Public Accountants with a knot in her stomach and her heart in her throat. For the entire cab ride over, she’d debated the best way to tell a man that his long-deceased father was still alive . . . but dying.

  Rushing into the reception area, Liza still didn’t have the answer.

  “Hi, Martha,” she greeted the receptionist. “Do you know if Dad is free?”

  The older woman clicked a computer mouse as she checked her screen. “He has a meeting in fifteen minutes. Should I tell him you’re here?”

  Since Liza rarely visited the office, she didn’t want him to worry that something was wrong. Then again, something was wrong. Very wrong.

  “I’ll just go on back. Thank you, though.”

  In the years since Liza had returned to New York, she’d invaded her father’s workplace only a handful of times, and never uninvited. On those limited occasions, she’d never given much thought to how old the company was. In fact, the firm had been founded by Elijah Teller more than forty years ago and left to his son upon his death.

  A death that never actually happened.

  Rarely had the saying Truth is stranger than fiction been more accurate.

  Approaching the door marked EPHREM TELLER CPA, Liza took several seconds to steady her nerves before knocking. Three quick raps on the door were met with a command to come in. Another deep breath and she crossed the point of no return.

  “What a surprise,” her father said, coming around the desk to give her an awkward hug. Liza held out hope that they’d someday get past the awkward stage. “Is everything all right? You don’t usually show up without warning like this.”

  She couldn’t tell if that was a reprimand or a simple inquiry. “I have something important I need to talk to you about.”

  “Can’t it wait until tonight?” He checked his
watch. “I have a meeting in a few minutes.”

  In all her life, Liza had never demanded anything from this man. Never inconvenienced him in any way. But what she needed to tell him now required a bit of inconvenience.

  “No, I’m sorry, it can’t wait.” She took a seat, determined to get this over with.

  Clearly perturbed, her father returned to his own chair. “Okay, what is it?”

  Liza’s determination faltered. She didn’t know her father well enough to even guess how he was going to take this news. Remembering her own drawn-out experience, she decided on the direct approach.

  “You remember why I’ve been out of town, right?”

  “For one of those books of yours.”

  Annoyed at the way he made her work sound like a silly hobby, she replied, “Yes, for one of my books.” Letting the slight go, she continued. “It turns out that the gentleman who hired me to tell his story isn’t the person he portrayed himself to be.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” He cast another quick glance at his watch. “I’m sure your agent can deal with any legal ramifications. And it’s better to know now, when you can move on to something else.” As if this was an obvious conclusion to their talk, he rose to his feet.

  “Dad, sit down.”

  Brows drawn, the agitated accountant locked his hands on his hips. “Liza, I told you I have an appointment.”

  She fought for patience. “The appointment can wait. I’m trying to tell you something important. Something that affects our entire family.”

  “Why would a book you’re no longer writing affect our family?”

  Liza snapped to her feet. “Because the man who hired me is Elijah Teller.”

  Father and daughter stared in silence for several seconds. Heart racing, she tried to gauge her father’s expression. Shock? Disbelief? Liza couldn’t be sure.

  And then he let out a breath, flattened his hands on the desk, and shook his head. “After all these years . . .” He slowly sat back down. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to contact you.”

  The earth tilted beneath Liza’s feet. “You knew,” she muttered, lowering into her chair. “You knew he wasn’t dead.” Were there any men in her family who didn’t lie with every breath?