by Lexy Timms
As they ate, Cayden continued explaining about muscles and building strength. Andrew really seemed to be listening; Lillian sat back and watched them as she curled up in the corner of the couch, warm mug of coffee in hand.
Finally, they reached a stopping point in the conversation. “Well,” she said, “it’s good to see you two not arguing anymore.” That was a lame attempt at making light of earlier.
“You aren’t in a silk nightdress anymore,” Andrew said. “What is there to argue about?”
“Hey.” Cayden pushed him enough that he nearly fell off the gym ball.
“I’m just saying!”
“How’s it going? All this, I mean.” She waved a hand at Andrew’s leg and the exercise instructions from the therapist.
“I think I’ve finally convinced him that this is all worth it,” Cayden replied.
The silliness faded from Andrew’s face. “He has, actually.”
Lillian gasped. “Is Andrew being serious about this?”
“I am,” he said. “I mean, your boyfriend has told me enough horror stories about bad recoveries from either not doing these dumb exercises or from doing them wrong, he could have struck fear into anyone.”
“So, you’re saying I scared you into recovering well?” Cayden asked.
“Something like that. The stories combined with what you say will happen if I don’t do them right—not being able to bend my leg much and limping and all—” he shook his head. “Really, there’s no other option now except to make sure I do this right.”
“I guess this is one of the few times that the fear tactic does work.” Lillian winked at Cayden.
“Whatever tactic I use, it always works,” he gloated. “This is a pretty inconvenient injury, but there’s absolutely no reason why he wouldn’t make a full recovery.”
“Awww,” Lillian grinned at Andrew. “Am I sensing a little bromance here?”
“No,” they said at the same time.
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, whatever.” Standing up, she stacked the plates on the trays. “You two have fun. I’m going to read until there’s something more fun planned.”
“Oh, there will be,” Andrew kidded in a mischievous tone. “It might not involve me, but it will definitely involve both of—oof!” He grunted as Cayden hit him in the chest. “What was that for?”
“Just for good measure, Drew,” Cayden replied simply.
Lillian, with a little chuckle, carried the trays into the kitchen, leaving the guys to their own devices. I think it’s going well, Amelia, she thought, hoping Amelia’s spirit would hear somehow. I think things are finally working between the two of them.
“ARE YOU ON THE PLANE yet?”
“Not yet.” Cayden sounded tired, but happy. “We’re lining up for boarding. It’s not moving yet, though. Are you driving?”
“I’m actually just sitting in the car, enjoying the sunshine.” She pushed her sunglasses up and leaned the seat back. The wind was blowing like crazy outside, but in here she was enjoying the warmth. “I’ll leave in a minute. I’m meeting Claire around lunchtime.”
“Is that the lady who always makes food for you?”
“Yeah. She likes to feed me. It’s sweet. It doesn’t make her any less draining to be around, but she’s very sweet.” Lillian yawned. “Are you meeting any clients today?”
“I’m heading to meet Katharina after I land.”
Lillian thought about the photos he and Katharina had taken together last week, and frowned. “Oh. Cool.”
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“Thinking?”
“Lil, she’s a client. Nothing more.”
“She’s a really hot client.”
“I’m not into her.”
“You just look so good with someone who’s as beautiful and refined-looking as she is.” In her mind, Lillian compared Katharina’s model self to her own fragile appearance.
“You’re welcome to think that, but I don’t agree.” His voice was hard. “I think I look best when I’m next to this sexy, mysterious, goofy—”
“Oh, stop,” she tried to interrupt.
“—successful person named Lil, who’s a world champion house organizer.”
“Stop feeding my ego,” she joked.
“When you miss me or when you start to think something ridiculous like that,” he said, “just remember last night.”
She hummed. “Oh, boy. Last night was fun.”
“Yes, it was. Can we do it again when I come back?”
“I wish we could do it again right now.”
“Don’t make me leave the airport and run out to your car.” In the background, a voice over the loudspeaker sounded and people started talking. “Hey, Lil, we’re starting to board now. I’ll text you when I get there, okay?”
“All right.”
“Drive home safe, okay?”
“I will. Have a nap on the plane.”
“Definitely. I’m still tired from last night, you monster.”
She smiled. “What can I say? You make me wild.”
“That was so corny, Lil.”
“I know,” she admitted. “Go board. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I love you.”
His voice saying those words still made her heart flutter every time. She never knew how to respond immediately, getting overwhelmed by the butterflies.
I have a big crush on this guy, she thought, feeling her mood rise to meet the fast-drifting clouds in the sky.
Knowing he was about to hang up, she took a little breath and felt her lips curl into a smile.
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 07
LILLIAN SAT AT THE desk with her calendar pulled up on her laptop. “I am so behind.” She sighed, feeling a migraine coming on. “How have I been functioning?”
Andrew had been scheduled for appointments almost every day this week, and they were the he-can’t-miss appointments to check in how he was doing with acclimating to ‘normal’ life again. The osteopath and the cardiologist had praised his strength, and the physical therapists were impressed with how much he’d learned. And how hard he’d been working at getting his strength and motion back. Lillian tried not to roll her eyes when one female therapist marveled on and on at how in one week he had gone from very little knowledge of muscles and bones to understanding why these particular exercises were vital for recovery. And if he ever needed a dinner partner, she was available.
His head’s inflating, Amelia. I can literally see it getting bigger.
Aside from Andrew’s appointments, Lillian had to somehow fit all her clients into one week. She hadn’t expected being away for two weeks to set her so far behind—not that she wasn’t behind from L.A.—but she quickly realized that her clients here in Hanneston really depended on her more than she thought. Every day she had at least two meetings in addition to taking Andrew to his appointments.
“Thursday,” she said out loud. Today was the first day she and Andrew didn’t have anywhere to be. Staying at home all day had never appealed to her so much. She had woken up early enough this morning that she could stand at the kitchen window and watch the birds in the tree, but late enough that she could enjoy sleeping in. Winter was fully setting in now, and the days lacked the life and noise of nature as it prepared for its cold nap. Even the cats seemed less active.
Her phone also beeped less. Cayden had been largely missing this week.
She knew he had a lot of meetings and workouts in addition to finding replacements for all his clients. After he landed, he had given her a call on his way to Katharina’s. Since then, he sent her one or two messages a day. Not anything of enough substance to get a conversation going. Lillian had tried to ask how his week was going, but he hadn’t replied. This morning there were no messages from him, either.
She didn’t want to think about what was going on with his life in Los Angeles. He had told her to remember their steamy weekend if the thoughts were getting bad, and she had certainly g
iven that a try. It didn’t help much. It seemed that the longer he was in Los Angeles, the more she started to overthink about him being around so many rich, successful, good-looking people.
He doesn’t belong here in Hanneston, she told herself for the umpteenth time this week. He deserves to be in a more thriving place like Los Angeles. He’s clearly wanted there, after all.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “Stop thinking about it, Lillian. You have work to do. Get on it.”
She ate a small breakfast, her heart sinking just a little as she scrolled through the messages she and Cayden had sent this week. She barely had to scroll, there were so few, and his were short. He wouldn’t ignore me for no reason, she told herself. He loves me. He means it, too. And now that he and Andrew are hitting it off much better, he shouldn’t be letting his thoughts get away with him either. She sighed, and logged her breakfast into her food journal. Her stomach grumbled. Please don’t have a flare-up, she begged her body.
Right as she sat down to check her email, she felt her body temperature rise so much that sweat droplets formed on her skin.
Oh, no. Please, no.
The light-headed feeling swept over her. She stumbled to the bathroom, catching a glimpse of her pale reflection in the mirror. It was happening. Everything had been so good for the past while. With all the stress and work, nothing had happened. Why now?
For half an hour she stayed in the bathroom, hugging her body and doing breathing exercises to stop the first flare-up in a couple of weeks. Gradually, the roaring of her insides subsided and the sweat evaporated. She hoped Andrew didn’t come around to hear her moaning.
Too drained to stand up straight, she trudged like a zombie back to her food journal and marked the time, mood, and triggers with a red pen. She flipped back to the start of her log, when she was having one or two flare- ups every week. Back then, she was on the wrong meds and hadn’t figured out her main trigger foods. Seeing so much red on those pages and so little on the current pages made her realize how much about her health she had to be grateful for now. But I’ve pushed myself too hard and let myself get too stressed.
She slumped in her chair, but knew she wouldn’t be able to get any work done in a sitting position. I should be napping, she thought, taking her laptop into the living room and lying on the couch with a cushion behind her back. I can answer a few emails.
One email got half-written before she faded off, her laptop still resting on her legs. The sleep was dreamless and black, and just what she needed. When she pulled her heavy eyelids open, her laptop was closed on the coffee table and a blanket was covering her.
Andrew. She listened for him, and heard something move on the back porch. Twisting her body to see outside, she saw him sitting in the chair in the sunshine, typing on his phone with one hand and holding a cup of coffee in the other. One of the cats was on his lap, and his crutches were leaned against the railing. She thought she heard the faint sound of music playing, but was too tired to figure out where it was coming from.
She groaned and sat up; her body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. The room was spinning just enough that she sat still for a few minutes, zoning out, until she felt strong enough to get some water. The glass was drained in three gulps; she refilled it and joined Andrew on the back porch.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” he greeted cheerfully as she walked out, but a look of concern shadowed his face as soon as he saw her. “Whoa. What happened?”
“Nothing,” she muttered, sitting in the other chair.
“Something happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re really pale, Lillian, and you’re walking like you haven’t slept in weeks.”
She rested her head on her knees. “I had a flare-up this morning.”
“Oh, no.” Andrew put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it softly. “I’m so sorry. What caused it?”
“Stress, I think. Busy week.”
Andrew thought for a minute. “I’m sorry. I probably haven’t helped at all, with you having to drive me places and—”
“Don’t even start,” she snapped, regretting her tone immediately. She tried softening it. “You know I want to take you places.”
He pressed his lips together. “Well, it’s almost the weekend. Cayden’s back this weekend. I can get him to take me anywhere. I’m almost ready to drive myself. That’ll help a ton. Plus,” he grinned, “Cayden will make you feel better,” he teased.
Lillian didn’t say anything.
Andrew frowned. “When is he getting back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Have you talked to him?” Andrew asked slowly.
“Not much.”
“I haven’t either. He’s messaged me about some exercises, and I sent him some new ones they gave me to do. That’s all.”
Lillian didn’t have the energy to reply.
“You’ll hear from him soon. He’s probably just busy. Probably this morning.”
“What time is it?”
“Ten-thirty.”
She nodded slightly. “Okay. I didn’t sleep too long.” She’d lost time on the bathroom floor and sleeping. That was a good part of her work day.
“You, miss, need to take it easy today.”
“I’m working from home today.”
“Good.”
Andrew’s phone vibrated, and he turned his attention to that. “Ah, crap. Lillian, I have to take a call. Just ignore me.”
“I need to finish some emails, anyway.” She braced herself on his shoulder and stood. “Probably should eat a snack, too.”
“Yeah, do that.” He shifted in his seat and stuck his phone to his ear. “Andrew Waters.”
Lillian sighed, and stared vacantly at the garden. I feel dead. She walked inside and got some soda crackers out of the pantry, eating them very slowly. Four crackers in, she began to feel some energy come back. Checking her phone, she saw that nothing monumental had happened while she was asleep.
She returned to the couch and opened her laptop, trying to remember what her train of thought had been when she was typing this email. Just as she put her fingers on the keyboard, her phone rang.
Cayden’s name and a photo of them lit up the screen. Her heard thudded, and she snatched up the phone.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, forgetting any of the negative thoughts that had passed through her mind this morning.
“Hi, darling!”
That’s not Cayden. “Katharina?” she asked, bewildered.
“Yes, I’m here!”
What the heck? “Uh, hey. You’re calling from Cayden’s phone.”
“I know I am, dear. He and I just finished a workout. I had to talk to you immediately.”
“Don’t you have my number in your phone?”
“I got a new phone, a better one.”
Better? She already had the latest one.
“I haven’t put my contacts in the new one yet. Call me lazy or whatever, but Cayden was here, and I have been telling him all morning about this amazing little guest house I have.”
“You have a guest house?” Lillian wasn’t sure what Katharina was trying to get at.
“I do now!” she squealed, taking a drink of something. “I just bought it last week and had it moved into my backyard.”
“That’s nice... Wait—you had it moved?” She blinked, trying to focus better.
“Yes.”
“As in, it was someplace else, and you physically moved it?”
“Yes! On one of those silly trucks that moves houses. Don’t they look ferocious? Anyway, the house isn’t very big, which is why I will use it as a guest house. For short-term guests only.”
“That’s great, Katharina,” Lillian replied, hoping she sounded enthusiastic enough to make the woman happy. “I bet it looks beautiful.”
“Actually, it looks like shit.”
Lillian’s eyes popped. “You say that very casually.”
“Well, it’s a fact. What can we do about it? Fix it
up, of course.”
Oh, this is why she called.
“This is why I have called you, Lily of the Valley.”
Please don’t call me that. “I’m really glad you called, and I’m also really happy that you like my work so much!”
“So, can you come?”
Don’t beat around the bush, Katharina. “Um, when were you thinking? Because—”
“This weekend. I have company arriving in two weeks, and it must be beautiful for them. It greatly needs your touch.”
“This weekend?” she repeated, surprised.
“Yes, this weekend.” Katharina never sounded taken aback by anything.
“I’m not sure. Andrew’s still wearing his brace and—”
“There is no one else in the world I would trust to transform my space but you,” Katharina interrupted. “And Andrew’s leg is going to be fine.”
Lillian had no idea how to respond. She looked outside at Andrew, who was still on the phone. His leg sat straight out in front of him, propped up on the edge of a clay flowerpot.
“Katharina, Andrew can’t really move around much. He’s still using crutches.”
“Can he shower?”
Lillian paused, wondering if she heard right. “What?”
“Can your brother shower?”
“Uh, yes, he can. He’s actually—”
“He can shower by himself?”
“Yes...”
“Do you have frozen meals that he can warm up for himself?”
“I mean, I have leftovers and—”
“He should be fine for a few days by himself. I’m sure he has plenty of things to keep himself occupied.”
Lillian’s brain collapsed. There was nothing else she could say that would be a valid excuse to not come back to Los Angeles. “Let me give it a think, all right?”
“You think and tell me later. By tomorrow morning. This is plenty of time for you to arrange your house and pack to come.”
“Um...”
“I’ll talk to you in the morning, then. I do miss you, Lillian!” The phone shuffled around for a few seconds until it cut off. Lillian stared at the screen. It faded to black.
