Vegas rich

by Michaels, Fern

  Simon rapped on the car window, two botdes of beer in his hands. "I heard the car. We're going to sit on the steps and drink this beer, and you are going to tell me exacdy what's wrong with my mother. I mesm it, Fanny. Let me tell you what I know, and you can take it from there. No bullshit, okay?"

  "Okay." Fanny climbed out of the car and followed him.

  "Mom's dying. You took her to the hospital last night. Why?"

  "Simon, I can't talk about your mother. I want to, but I can't. I gave my word. Yes, she's very ill. I can confirm that."

  Fanny watched, her eyes filling, as Simon crumpled into himself. "I want to be there for her. How do I accept that she doesn't want me around?"

  "Will it help if I tell you that when she's . . . gone, you'll understand?"

  Simon looked at Fanny, disgust written all over his face. However, his voice was gende when he said, "No, Fanny, it won't help. I want to know now, while she's ahve. I want to do something, whatever that something might be. If there's nothing I can do, that's okay, but I think I deserve more than a phone call when it's ... when she's gone."

  The torment in Simon's voice tugged at Fanny's heart. She almost gave in and told him everything. Instead she reached for his hand and brought it to her cheek. "She wants it this way. It's not so terrible. She's . . . she's okay with the ... the dying part. She really is. In the beginning, and Simon, the beginning wasn't that long ago, two weeks at the most, I had a hard time with it. I've accepted it because I don't have a choice. I love your mother too much not to respect her last wishes. She probably wants to spare you more grief Your father just died, and . . . you're going to need to recover from that. I'm sure that's what's on her mind."

  Simon caressed the hand on his cheek. It felt soft and gende. "How long does she have, Fanny?"

  "Not long at all," Fanny said in a choked voice.

  "Are we talking weeks or months?"

  "When I asked her, she said soon. She seems optimistic that she

  can . . . several months. My owni assessment wouldn't be that generous."

  "Hypothetically, what would your assessment be?"

  "A month. How did you know?"

  "My God, Fanny, all I had to do was look at her. I tried to cover up my shock, but she saw it. She patted my hand and said . . . and said . . . Fanny is going to need you, so be strong, Simon. What would you take that to mean?"

  Fanny didn't trust herself to speak for a long time. "When Sallie is laid to rest, I'm going away. My divorce will be final in another month. It's time for me to ... to as Sunny put it, spread my wings."

  "Can I come along?" Simon asked.

  "I'm not free, Simon. Do you remember the day Alvin Waring died?"

  "Yes."

  "I saw Devin Rollins look at your mother that day, and then again on another occasion, and I said to myself, I want a man to look at me like that someday. That look had everything. It literally stunned me. In the beginning I wanted Ash to look at me like that. He never did. I'm glad now that he didn't. Devin and your mother looked at one another with naked adoration. There was love, protectiveness, passion, gendeness, that, I-can't-wait-one-more-minute-to-take-you-in-my-arms look. There was no way to hide it. It seemed so right, and yet it wasn't right. Your mother never told me what went wrong between her and your father. I never judged her. I don't think anyone did. At least no one that I know. Devin told me once that Sallie said the first time she saw him she knew she was looking at her destiny. He said he felt the same way. I'm sorry, Simon, I shouldn't be saying these things, your father just died. It seems sacrilegious."

  "My father was like a stranger to me. I never really knew him. I regret that. I didn't even have a surrogate growing up. I had no male figure. I didn't want that to happen to your kids. I tried to pick up Ash's slack. He's going to fall apart when Mom goes. We always think our parents are going to live forever, and we have all the time in the world to right old wrongs. It never works out that way."

  "Ash won't fall apart. He'll be too busy counting the money he thinks he's going to get. He'll jump in with both feet and start that casino he's always wanted to build. That alone will take the edge off your mother's.. . passing. I'm glad you decided to stay on, Simon."

  "Me too." He squeezed her hand.

  420 Fern Michaels

  "Are you going to town in the next few days?"

  "Tomorrow. Can I get you something?"

  "A record if you wouldn't mind. Dusty Springfield singing 'If You Don't Love Me.'"

  "But I do," Simon smiled. "Wasn't she appearing at one of the casinos recently?"

  "I don't know. Ash would know. He knows everything that goes on in town. Is it important?"

  "Nope. Just making conversation." He paused, then took Fanny's hand in both of his. "You're my kind of gal, Fanny Thornton. You're supposed to say, you're my kind of guy, Simon Thornton."

  "I promise to say it when the time is right."

  "Ah, promises, promises. My lot in life."

  Fanny smiled, and smiled. "Think about the time when those promises come true."

  Simon grinned.

  Fanny walked around to the back of Sallie's cottage when there was no answer at the fi'ont door. She smiled when she saw her playing gin rummy with the young intern. "He cheats," Sallie said. "He says I owe him three thousand cookies plus ten dollars. The pressure bandage came off at noon. I still haven't looked in the mirror. What do you think, Fanny, your honest opinion?"

  "One more day and I'd say you're going to look like the old Sal-lie."

  "Su Li's herbs are what did it. Even Tyler here agrees. He wants to order the herbs by the bushel."

  Tyler was a handsome young man with sandy hair, chocolate brown eyes, and a firm, no-nonsense chin. A smattering of freckles danced across the bridge of his nose. He was tall, well over six feet, muscular, with an infectious grin. "I hear you have a beautiful daughter. . ." he said, standing to greet Fanny. "Sallie said she's gorgeous, and has a mouth with no equal. I'm looking forward to meeting her."

  "Not until you break off with that nurse you're seeing," Sallie said. "I don't want my granddaughter compromised."

  "I agree," Fanny said, looking from one to the other. What was going on here?

  "Sunny can do anything. She can fly a plane, she graduated in the top three percent of her class," SaUie said.

  "Fm sold!" Tyler said. "I can't wait to meet her. This nice lady made me promise that face-lifts for all the females in the family are free if we get together. That was the jackpot last night when we played poker. She threw in the Coleman women this morning. Tell me she doesn't cheat!"

  "Never!" Fanny said dramatically.

  "Fll leave you two to discuss your business. Fm going to hike down the mountain. FU be back by noon. Can I get you anything from the kitchen before I go? How about a nice strawberry milk shake?"

  "Leave! Any minute now Fll start to moo like a cow."

  When he was gone, SaUie leaned across the table, her eyes bright and intense. "We have to do this just right. We'll invite Sunny up here and have Tyler ignore her. Sunny hates to be ignored. He's going to make a wonderful doctor, Fanny. He's charming, he's handsome in a casual kind of way, his bedside manner is divine, and his sense of humor is contagious. He reminds me of Devin. I think he's capable of a very deep love. I see things in him that remind me of Devin."

  Sallie leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them and sat up straight. "Down to business," she said matter-of-facdy.

  Fanny nodded. "Enough of this silly matchmaking. You need to talk to Simon and Ash. They're your sons, Sallie. Don't leave this earth with things in mrmoil. They have to go on."

  "Ash couldn't care less. Simon knows. I don't want anyone hovering. They should have hovered years ago. Now it's too late. Fm getting tired, Fanny, so Fm going to rush through this. My will is current. This is the combination to that monster safe at Sunrise. Until this moment, no one had it but me. It's your responsibility now. Fm leaving fifty-one percent of my e
state to your children. You are the sole trustee. What you say goes. You will distribute it as you see fit. Twenty-four and one-half percent goes to Ash, the same to Simon. I had the attorneys set aside three and one-half million dollars for Ash to build his casino. When it's completed it will belong to Thornton Enterprises. Ash and Sunny will operate it, if she agrees, and I think she will. The fashion business is beginning to bore her. I know that three and one-half million isn't enough to build the casino. It will be up to Ash to secure the financing. His twenty-four and a half percent won't be that much help. Most of the money is gone now—the sewage and power plants took most of it. Yes, revenues come in, but the big money days are gone. Believe it or not,

  422 Fern Michaels

  Thornton Chickens is my best moneymaker. Ash will want to sell the business. The decision will be up to you."

  "Sallie .. . why don't you he down for a while. I can come back after lunch."

  "That's too risky. I could ... go in my sleep. I can nap all afternoon." Her voice was weaker, her eyes shghtly glazed. "I'm leaving all my jewelry to you. Everything is in a box in the Hvdng room along with the insurance pohcies. They're paid up until next year. Pass it along to Sunny and Bilhe when they get older. My sister Peggy told me over the hohdays she wanted nothing left to her. I'm going to respect her wishes. There's a bank account in Texas that I started with a miUion dollars. It's in her name. She doesn't want that either, so I put your name on the account. The bankbook is in the jewelry box. I've given Chue his house and some extra property for his children. He didn't want me to do that. He cried. Actually, we cried together. The greenhouses are his. He made a nice little business out of his seedlings. He and his family can hve out their lives in comfort. Su Li, like Peggy, refiised to accept any kind of gift. Red has been taken care of See that she gets my fur coats. She's always admired them. I would like you to keep Sunrise in the family. Your children love it here. Soon they'll have children of their own, and this place was meant for a family. There's so much room on this mountain that five more houses wiD only be dots on the landscape."

  "I'll do whatever you want, Sallie."

  "Sooner or later there will be trouble in town even though I've tried my best to ward it off". In the jewelry box there is a small leather folder with a phone number. If there's ever a problem with the casino or with those people, call the number."

  "Who do I ask to speak to?"

  "The man who answers the phone. Remember, Fanny, if there's trouble, you will have the power to shut down Las Vegas. All you have to do is turn off a valve and no one flushes. You snap a switch and the Bright White Way goes dzurk. Use that power carefully, and only as a last resort. Did I forget anything?"

  "No, Sallie."

  "The truth now. How do I look?" Sallie asked, her voice thinner and more weary. "What. . . what should I wear?"

  "Wear?"

  "When I go to meet Devin. You know my wardrobe, what would be appropriate? Do you think my summer flowered dress would be good? With my pearls."

  Fanny bent over to tie her shoelace that didn't need to be tied. She broke her fingernail in the process. The crazy urge to upend the table and smash everything in sight swept over her. She righted herself and was saved from a reply when she saw that Sallie was asleep in the chair. She couldn't help but wonder if Sallie was confusing her mother's burial dress with her own.

  She tiptoed into the house to check Sallie's closet. Her hand flew to her mouth when she saw a sheer flowered dress with a delicate lace collar. She fingered the material: voile. The price tag still hung from the hem of the sleeve. In all the years she'd known Sallie Thornton, she'd never seen her in such a dress.

  Fanny leaned against the doorframe, her shoulders shaking. She heard the front door close, and stood straighter.

  "Is there anything I can do?" Tyler asked quiedy, his hand on her shoulder.

  "If you could work a miracle, I'd appreciate it. How much longer do you think she has?"

  "I don't know, Mrs. Thornton. It amazes me that she's as lucid as she is with all the medication she's taking. I think, Mrs. Thornton, you should have the family close by."

  Fanny nodded, choking back her tears.

  "I've come to love your mother-in-law," Tyler said. "I'm sorry it's under these circumstances."

  "Me too. This is tearing me up. I feel so helpless. She's handling it so well. My God, she has everything planned, she's taken care of everything."

  "Some people do that. My own father did the same thing to make it easier on my mother and us kids. Sallie—and by the way, she's the one who told me to call her Sallie—is a public figure. I think the whole town will want to come out to pay their respects. She told me how much she loves the Cotton Easter Memorial Church. She told me she used to sing in that church."

  "Yes she did. She had a glorious voice. She wants Dusty Springfield to sing at her service. A record. Simon got it for me. I'm trying to do . . . this is my first experience with death. I'm afraid I'm not handling it very weU. I wish ... so many things."

  "You're handling it very well, Mrs. Thornton. Everything you're doing and feeling is natural." The young doctor patted her back reassuringly. "Let's go see if Sallie is awake. By the way, Mr. Thornton is sitting on the front steps. I saw him when I came around the back. He looked to me like he was in the need of some comforting."

  424 Fern Michaels

  "He's wary about coming in. He doesn't know about the face-lift and . . . and the other stujff. Sallie wanted it that way. I feel terrible for him, and I don't know what to do."

  "I'll talk to her. I think she actually respects my opinion."

  "Oh, thank you. I'll go outside and sit with him. Call us when... when it's okay to come in the house. If SaUie isn't comfortable with this, just tell me. I don't want to upset her in any way."

  "Hi," Fanny said, sitting down next to Simon. She reached for his hand. "Your mother is sleeping. I stayed with her while Tyler hiked down the mountain. Tyler is going to try and persuade her to .. . receive visitors,"

  "My God, Fanny, is that what I am, a visitor?" The pain in his voice was palpable.

  "Simon, I think it's the medication your mother is t2iking. She says strange things and acts . . . unlike herself"

  "How is it you always know the right thing to say at the right time?"

  They sat in comfortable silence, smoking. From time to time they squeezed each other's hand.

  An hour later, Tyler beckoned them from the door. With no words needed between the two, Simon helped Fanny to her feet. "Let's go see Mom."

  Simon's eyes started to bum when he bent to hug his mother. He worked enthusiasm into his voice. '^You're looking gorgeous as usual. Mom. I don't know how you do it. You don't look a day over twenty-one. Okay, thirty-one," he said when his mother quirked an eyebrow upward.

  "It must be this new makeup. It guarantees a dewy complexion. A bloom in your cheeks, but I had to add rouge. I'm seventy-two, Simon. I did like your compliment, though," Sallie said in her new frgiil raspy voice. "Are you staying long?"

  "A month or so. Wall Street gets to you after a while. I was thinking of taking the boys on a camping trip to Big Sur in California."

  "You had better take Sunny with you. She was a Girl Scout." Sallie made a sound in her throat that was supposed to be laughter.

  "I wouldn't have it any other way." Simon laughed.

  They visited for the better part of the afternoon, reminiscing, talking about the future, and finally about the gaming industry. Sallie dozed ofTsmd on while Fanny and Simon struggled to keep the conversation going, with Tyler poking his head in the door every few minutes to check on his patient.

  "I hate to mention this, Fanny, but what does this guy know about Mom's condition? Didn't you say he was interning in plastic surgery?"

  "Sallie adores him. At this point that's all that matters. Su Li has been coming up every day to help Sallie take a bath. She's quite frail underneath all those layers of clothing. She's struggling very hard to be positive and upbeat
. She never says a word about her condition," Fanny whispered behind her hand.

  Sallie woke, her eyes going immediately to Fanny and Simon. She smiled. "I think you should mow the grass, Simon. Chue's been too busy this past week. I like it to look like a velvet carpet."

  "Sure, Mom. Is there anything else you want me to do?"

  "If I think of something I'll call you. Fanny 2ind I will visit."

  "What did you forget to tell me, Sallie?" Fanny asked, leaning closer to her mother-in-law.

  Salhe's shaky hands fumbled with the pocket of her skirt. "This letter came the other day from that private detective I hired so long ago ... to find my brother Josh, your mother, and that person Jake you met on the bus. He's been working on this for what seems like forever with no results. He says he might have a lead on my brother, but only dead ends on your mother and Jake. I promised him a sizable bonus if he could find them. Will you promise to follow through when I'm gone?"

  Fanny folded the letter and stuffed it in her pocket. "Of course."

  "If you find Josh, tell him all about Seth, and teU him how long I've looked for him. He could be dead, but if he is, he might have left a family. If they need anything, Fanny, I'd like it if you'd help them out."

  "I'll be more than happy to do that, Sallie."

  "If that detective does succeed in finding your mother, you give her a piece of your mind for going off and leaving you like that. You tell her I loved you more than she did. Promise me you'll do that."

  Fanny choked back a sob. "I promise, Sallie."

  "Simon never mowed a lawn in his life," Sallie said as she struggled with her laughter that left her gasping for breath.

  "You're tiring my patient," Tyler said from the doorway. He was carrying a tray with a glass of water and some pills.