"How's the art going? Are you the next Picasso yet?"
"God, I wish! That was actually one of the things Greg and I always fought about. Having two artists in the same house just wasn't working. Our incomes are too hit-and-miss to really be comfortable, especially with a teenage daughter, you know? And then, with the stress on top of everything, it made our work suffer. Things are bouncing back now, though, and my little apartment is much easier to afford than the big house we had all been sharing."
"Well, we'll have to talk to the guys. Not much of the interior of the inn has been updated in decades. Maybe we could use some of your art to help breathe a bit of new life into the place." Holly still hadn't gotten a chance to do a deep dive into the inn's finances, so she had no idea how practical the idea was, but she figured she could make it work one way or another.
Family had to stick together. She had learned that much, at least since returning to the Keys.
Cara cackled and gave Holly a wicked smirk. That was a look Holly had seen on her younger cousin many times over the years. It usually meant some sort of chaos was about to follow.
"I like the sound of that! And I've already got some pieces I think would look great around the place." Holly could see the gears turning inside her cousin's head as she started making plans. She had spent almost as much time at the inn growing up as Holly had, so no doubt she knew the place inside and out. "Are the paintings in the rooms themselves still the same? Because if so, we really need to update those. They were cheap, mass-produced ones anyway. Having art from a local artist would be a good selling point too."
Holly smiled as she listened to Cara ramble. Cara really wasn't talking to her anyway, just getting her thoughts out to help make sense of them. Holly did the same thing sometimes, especially when she was getting overwhelmed and really needed to sort everything out mentally.
"So, how about you? How's life in Miami been?" Cara asked a little while later, once she had worked through her little planning session. Even before talking to her brothers, she had the entire thing planned out!
Blinking at Cara, Holly felt her heart rate picking up again. As her cousin looked at her, waiting for an answer, Holly couldn't figure out what to say. She should tell her the truth, shouldn't she? Eventually, everyone would have to know. This wasn't a secret she could keep hidden forever.
Besides, Cara would understand. She had been through a divorce herself. And if hers was a bit more amicable than Holly's, she understood what it was like to have your marriage and life fall apart around you.
And yet, Holly couldn't make the words come out, no matter how hard she tried. They sat there, stuck in her throat, refusing to budge.
Then, her phone rang, and Holly let out a sigh of relief. At least she had a temporary fix to her problem, though she knew it would still be waiting thereafter her call. When she glanced at the number, though, she frowned. It was the number for the front desk at the inn.
Had the guys finished early? Or had they found a major problem that needed to be fixed right away? No, that didn't make sense. If it was one of them that had needed her, they would have called her on their cell phones, not from the front desk.
Holding her breath, Holly answered the call. "Holly Archer," she said automatically.
"Holly, oh thank God! I wasn't sure who else to call!" Natalie said, her voice more frantic than Holly had ever heard it.
"Easy, Natalie. Take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong." Holly stopped walking and closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths herself. Whatever crisis had popped up this time, Holly was sure they could handle it.
She heard Natalie's deep breathing over the phone, and when she spoke again a few moments later, she sounded a bit less frantic. "It's your mom, Holly. She was in the office going over some paperwork when she collapsed."
Holly's heart had been racing before, but now it felt ready to burst from her chest altogether. She knew her mother hadn't looked great, but now she had collapsed, too? Her health issues were worse than Holly had thought.
"Call an ambulance. We'll be there in a couple of minutes." Holly ended the call, then stuffed the phone back into her pocket and took off running toward the inn. Cara, having only heard Holly's end of the conversation, followed along right beside her.
As they ran, Holly filled her in on what Natalie had said. Cara's eyes went wide, and Holly saw the same panic on her face that she felt inside her.
One step forward, two steps back.
Chapter Fourteen
Holly's entire body seemed to shake as she paced back and forth in front of the row of chairs. All of her muscles were wound tight, and her impatience grew with each passing moment.
The ambulance had rushed her mother to the hospital. She and Cara had followed right behind with Paul and Jason in tow. Now, the four of them were stuck in the waiting room, hoping the doctor would come to pay them a visit sooner rather than later.
Her mother had been conscious when the ambulance had driven her away, so that had to be a good sign. Maybe she had just gotten overheated or something with a similar fix. Maybe she had been dehydrated. Holly could make sure her mother drank more water every day if needed.
The guys sat in the hard plastic chairs, somehow not nervous wrecks. Cara was pacing along with her, though, so at least Holly wasn't the only one ready to have a nervous breakdown at any moment.
The entire time, Holly kept thinking about how different things might have been if she hadn't stayed away for so long. Even if she had just come back more often after her father had died, maybe she could've stopped this before it had really gotten started.
There was no way for her to deny the fault landed squarely on her shoulders. She was the oldest child. It had been her responsibility to make sure her mother was okay, and she had completely dropped the ball on that duty.
God, how was she ever supposed to live with herself after this? Just stopping by for a couple of weeks to spruce up the inn wasn't going to be enough. She had to do more. She had to figure out some way to make sure her mother was taken care of and the inn didn't start deteriorating the moment she left.
Her phone rang as she paced up and down the row of seats. A quick glance at it showed her daughter's picture, and Holly sent the call to voicemail. With everything going on, she couldn't talk to her right then.
If she did, Holly wasn't sure she would be able to contain herself. And while she had no doubt she would have a breakdown sooner or later to get her emotions out, the middle of a hospital waiting room wasn't the place for it. She had to keep herself together at least until she knew her mother was okay.
She could do that much, couldn't she?
Gabby called a few more times while Holly waited for the doctor, but she ignored each call. Every time she saw her daughter's face, a pang of guilt stabbed her right in the heart. Part of her felt guilty about not answering the calls, but with her mind racing and the panic really starting to set in, Holly doubted she could focus on anything Gabby said. And that was assuming she didn't have a breakdown.
Holly would call her back, she promised silently. Once everything was squared away, she would make time for whatever it was her daughter needed. But, until then, she had to devote what little attention span she had left to her mother.
When the doctor finally appeared in the doorway of the waiting room, Holly almost collapsed with relief. She rushed over to him, eager to find out what his diagnosis was, praying she would be able to take her mother home.
"Your mother is extremely fatigued," the doctor said, jumping right in and not mincing his words. "She hasn't been eating properly. Her weight is down considerably, she's been dehydrated for a while at least, and if something doesn't change soon, she's liable to have a stroke or worse."
Holly's mouth went dry as she listened to everything the doctor said. Deep down, she had known all of this already. She'd known it the moment she had laid eyes on Nelly that first day back at the inn. But she hadn't realized how bad things had gotten.
; "She's also extremely depressed," the doctor continued. "Which would explain a lot of the problems. I'm going to write her a prescription for some medication, but she's going to need to see a doctor regularly to maintain it. And I want to keep her for at least a night or two, just to make sure she's stable. Keep her on IV fluids and eating to rebuild her strength. Then, she should be fine to go home, provided she makes the necessary changes to her diet."
Holly nodded. It sounded like it was going to take more than just sprucing up the inn and getting it back on track for her mother to see any improvement. She was going to need a lot of rest and someone to keep an eye on her.
"How long do you think it'll be before she's one hundred percent again?" Holly found herself asking, needing to know upfront. She couldn't keep her head buried in the sand anymore. Whatever problems were going on, she needed them out in the open. She needed to face them head-on.
The doctor paused and frowned, thinking the question over. He looked at the clipboard he carried, flipping through a few pages, no doubt reviewing Nelly's chart. "Other than the severe fatigue caused by the depression, she's in pretty good health. A month or two of taking it easy, eating and drinking like she needs to, and she should be on her way to a full recovery. And if she really takes this seriously, there shouldn't be any lasting side effects, either."
Again, Holly nodded. A month or two, at least. And that was just to get her on the road to recovery and out of the danger zone. It was going to take longer for her to fully get back to her old self.
And there was no way she would be able to run the inn and take it easy at the same time. That meant someone else would have to step in and take over the full-time operation of the place, even if it was only temporarily.
After the doctor left, Holly gave her cousins the news. They all relaxed a bit, but Holly could see the concern in their eyes, alongside the guilt. They had been here, they had seen the state the inn had been in and knew Holly's mom hadn't looked great, and none of them had done anything about it until it was too late.
Holly didn't blame them, though. There was only one person she blamed, and that was herself. She had purposely cut herself off from her family and everyone else in the Keys, trying to chase an unsustainable lifestyle in Miami.
It wasn't their fault the inn had fallen apart. Sure, they were Archers, but they were only related to her mother through the marriage to her father. Nelly wasn't their responsibility. They had their own issues to deal with, their own families to focus on.
This issue was Holly's, and the blame rested squarely on her shoulders.
Sitting around, feeling guilty, wasn't going to solve anything. As Jason drove her back to the inn, Holly made up her mind once and for all. If someone had to take over the inn and care for her mother, it needed to be her.
This was her responsibility. And now that there wasn't much left for her in Miami, there wasn't any reason for her not to stay here. Whether it took two months, six months, or a year, Holly was going to make sure everything was right, one way or another.
Jason looked at her with surprise when she told him her decision. Then, he smirked and nodded. "Well, everyone else may have given up hope of you ever returning, but I always knew the truth. You couldn't stay away from this place forever. You are an Archer, after all."
Chapter Fifteen
Sitting at the dining room table, Holly stared at her phone. She knew she needed to call Gabby back still, but she figured she should call her siblings first. After all, if their mother was in the hospital, they deserved to know about it. She would have wanted someone to call her if she had been in their shoes.
Dialing their numbers, on the other hand, was much harder than just thinking about it. In the end, she opted to call Randy first. She had already scratched the surface of the ice between the two of them, at least, so she figured he would be the least likely to bite her head off.
In fact, he sounded almost jovial when he answered the phone. "I hope you're not stuck on the side of the road again. Otherwise, I'm going to have to charge you like a taxi would," he joked.
Holly snorted and rolled her eyes. Even if she had been on the side of the road again, he would've come and gotten her, just like he had done the first time. "I wish. At least that would be an easy fix."
"Okay, then what crisis has you calling me this time? Because I know you didn't just call to chat."
There was an edge to his voice. Maybe if she had called just to chat once in a while over the years, this conversation would have been easier. But while her cousins may have forgiven her for running off practically the day she turned eighteen, her siblings still hadn't.
"You should see this place. You remember how it was when we were kids. Dad never let so much as a scratch on the walls linger for more than a day. Now... it's a wonder the place is still standing."
Jason and Paul had given her a rundown on the things they'd figured out before Nelly had her incident. And while she remembered some of it, most of it had gone in one ear and out the other. She hadn't been in the right frame of mind to actually listen to what they'd been saying, even if it had been a good distraction from everything for at least a few brief moments.
What she did remember was the sheer scope of this project. It definitely wasn't a weekend of hard work. It was going to take a couple of weeks, if not a month or two, to really make the place shine again. And while she knew Jason and Paul wouldn't think twice about pitching in, she couldn't expect them to do it all. They would need to bring in their crews, and those crews weren't going to work for free, nor would she ask them to.
"Dad's probably rolling over in his grave," Randy replied. He tried to sound amused, but Holly could hear the pain in his voice still. This place had been Dad's pride and joy. It probably killed Randy to see it falling apart just as much as it killed her, maybe even more so because of just how close he had been to their father.
"I doubt it. You know him; he always took everything on himself and never held a grudge against anyone." Holly smiled at the memory of her father. He'd always been a good man. If they'd done something wrong, he'd chastised them, but he'd help them do better next time. And he'd never been afraid to admit when he had made a mistake. "But the inn isn't the problem. It's Mom."
"What's wrong?" Randy's voice changed again. Now, there was no sign of the lightness. He didn't even pretend.
"She's in the hospital. The doctor says she's severely depressed and hasn't been eating or drinking enough. She collapsed today, and they're keeping her for a couple of days just to make sure she's okay."
"Jesus," Randy said at once. Then, he was quiet for a moment, and Holly wondered just what was going through his mind at the news. "She'll recover, though?"
"The doctor thinks she will, provided she gets some rest and starts eating better. You should come out and see her, though. I'm sure it would help get her spirits back up."
"I doubt it," Randy shot back. "You know I was always her least favorite. She always preferred you, girls, over me."
Holly bit her tongue, wanting to argue on her mother's behalf, but it seemed pointless. Randy had made up his mind about his treatment long ago. Nothing she would say now would be able to change that.
"You should still come to see her."
Randy was quiet for a moment. Well, more like a minute than a moment. Holly had to check and make sure he hadn't hung up before he finally responded. "Let me know if she gets any worse. If she does, then I'll see about coming down. But otherwise, I've got work to do."
That time, Randy did hang up before Holly could say goodbye. She sighed and slumped down in her chair. If that was the easy call, then she was definitely not looking forward to calling her sisters.
But she did. It took her a couple of minutes to build up the courage, but she tapped on Rina's name in her contacts list. Then, she held her breath as the phone rang, wondering if her sister would answer.
They were only a year apart. As kids, they had been best friends. They had done everything together. But as
they had approached their teen years, things had quickly changed. It had been like they were constantly at odds with each other.
Usually over boys, if Holly recalled correctly. Being so close in age, they often sought the same guys. And when they were both interested in the same boy, there was no outcome that could please both of them. And there was only so much tension and arguing a relationship could handle, even one between sisters.
The line connected, but there was silence for a minute. Then, Rina's distinct voice came over the line with a single word. "Yeah?"
"Hey Rina," Holly said, forcing a neutral tone into her voice. If this was how they were starting off, Holly didn't want to give her sister any more ammunition than she already had. "It's Holly."
"Yeah, I know. What do you want?"
Yikes. Rina was not in a very good mood, though Holly hadn't actually expected her to be. It was why she had called Randy first, after all.
"Mom and the inn aren't doing well. She's in the hospital and the place is falling apart." No sense in dancing around--might as well just get straight to it.
Rina snorted. Holly envisioned her rolling her eyes. "So, what, you decided to swoop in from your fancy life and save the day?"
"No, it's nothing like that. I just don't want to see the family inn falling apart. Nor do I want our mother working herself into an early grave. We already lost Dad. I don't want to lose her too."
"What did the doctor say?"
She listened quietly while Holly relayed everything the doctor had told her. Then, she sat and waited for Rina to respond. Randy hadn't been eager to come back home, but that was because of his own issues with Mom. Maybe Rina would be more agreeable since she didn't have that same decade long tension.
"Well, then she'll be fine. You're there to take care of her, so what more could she need? I'm not gonna drop everything in my life just because she needs to eat better."
The Archer House (The Archer Inn Book 1) Page 8
