The Dragon's Gold (Exiled Dragons Book 12)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “I know. I want to. I can’t stay long, but I’ll enjoy the trip with you in the car with me.”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  They finished their food and packed their bags into the rental car he had been using, breezing down the highway back to their other life, which brought feelings of both dread at being without him and excitement at getting back in the city. They were barely up the stairs of the apartment when a familiar face greeted them on the landing.

  “Samuel.”

  She felt all the color drain from her face as she stood looking at the face of her ex-boyfriend. How long had he been there waiting for her and what could he possibly want after these months?

  Chapter 19

  “Claire, I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for weeks. My calls just go to voice mail. I need to talk to you.”

  Samuel sounded shaken. He looked horrid. Was he this distraught that she wasn’t responding to him? Did it matter?

  “Samuel, it’s not a good time. You need to go.”

  Claire moved past him toward her door, avoiding eye contact with Harper at the same time. This was incredibly awkward. He was going to think she had boyfriend troubles that she hadn’t shared with him. She had only moved into the apartment complex days before leaving for upstate New York to meet Harper. How had Samuel even found her here?

  “No, Claire. I need to talk to you now. Please?”

  “Samuel, I have been out of town for several weeks. I’m going to go into my apartment and get unpacked and then Harper and I are going out to eat before he must go again. I do not have time for your nonsense right now. I haven’t talked to you in months, so whatever your problem is can wait.”

  Claire knew it sounded cold – it felt cold, but she didn’t care if it was hurtful to him. Although, she was aware at how venomous it might sound to Harper. What could she do?

  “No, I’m not leaving until you—”

  Harper’s deep voice cut off his words. “The lady asked you to leave. I suggest you do so while you still have that option on the table.”

  There was nothing menacing about the tone of his voice. It was perfectly even and matter-of-fact, but the words themselves indicated a clear warning that this intruder didn’t want to test him. Samuel looked at him for a moment, sizing him up and then looked back at her.

  “I will come back tomorrow,” he told her as he made his way back toward the flight of stairs just beyond her apartment door and quickly disappeared down them.

  “I wouldn’t.”

  Harper’s words hung in the air as the other man slipped quietly down the stairs. She finished unlocking her apartment and stepped inside. Harper followed, dropping his bags near the sofa and turning to look at her as she closed the door.

  “Do you want to tell me about that?”

  His eyes seemed to pierce right through her as he waited for an answer. One thing she was sure of is that there was no skirting around an issue with Harper.

  “He’s my ex-boyfriend. We split up over nine months ago and I haven’t heard a word from him since then until the day I was leaving to come to the ranch. I hung up on him and he’s been blowing up my phone. I had to put him on auto-ignore. Then he shows up here. I don’t know why.”

  “Maybe he loves you. Maybe he wants you back.” His eyes were still fixed on hers, searching for a reaction.

  “It doesn’t matter if he is, Harper. I don’t love him. He threw away what we had for a fling with his neighbor.”

  “I’m sure that was hurtful, but feelings have a way of coming back once the hurt has passed.”

  “Harper, you have nothing to worry about. I’m over him and I love you. All I want to do now is get on with my life with you in it.”

  His gaze softened and a smile crept across his face. “Well, let’s get started on all that shall we? Show me around this petite palace of yours.”

  “Yeah, you could pretty much fit this place into one room of your whole house, I’m sure, but I like it. It’s cozy enough.” She smiled and winked at him.

  “It does have its charm, as does its occupant.”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her again, making her forget all about the unfortunate encounter with Samuel on the landing.

  “Let’s go get a bite to eat before you have me naked and starving again.” Claire wiggled free of his tight embrace and smiled up at him.

  “Oh, but I like you naked and starving.”

  “Incorrigible! Come on, let’s go down to the Greek Deli on the next block and grab something before you have to go.” She caught what looked like a slightly wounded look on his face as she reached for her bag.

  “If I didn’t know better, I would swear you were trying to get me out of here as quickly as possible. Do we need to talk about something?” His pursed lips spoke volumes about what he must be thinking right now.

  “Oh, no. Of course not. I’d love for you to stay, as a matter of fact. I just know you have a lot to get done before you leave for overseas and don’t want to keep you too long.” She reached up to stroke his face and smile at him again, trying to smooth over his feelings.

  “Are you sure? From the sounds of it, you are the one that might need to get back to something.” His meaning was clear and she was beginning to feel agitated with his insistence on making a mountain out of a molehill.

  “Stop it, Harper. There is nothing I need to get back to, except for work on our ads and that can wait until later. Please don’t let an already uncomfortable visit from my ex cause you to have doubts about us. I promise there is nothing you need to know about.”

  Her anger subsided with her words as it dawned on her that she was maybe a little more than pleased that he was jealous. It was sweet.

  “Okay. You’re right. I should trust you. I do trust you.”

  “Good, now let’s go eat. You’re going to need your energy before I let you get out of here.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  Harper smacked her on the ass as she walked toward the door, causing her to jump and giggle. After a quick lunch, they returned to her place, strolling arm in arm down the sidewalk toward her apartment. It felt good to be back in the city, but she was going to really miss him when he left and Claire didn’t know when she would see him again, due to the crazy overseas schedule he had planned.

  “Well, I guess I’m going to have to get out of here and get ready to head to the airport.” He looked at her, his melancholy showing on his face.

  “You can’t stay just even a little while?” Her words were laced with innuendo as she placed her hands on his chest and slid them seductively downward to hook her fingers in the waist band of his jeans.

  “I would love to, but I can’t afford to miss my plane. I have a meeting almost as soon as I land over there with some clients coming in from Singapore. I have to make sure everything is ready for them and greet them when they arrive in one of the airport hotel conference rooms.”

  “When will she see you again?” She already found herself missing him in advance of his departure.

  “Soon. I’ll call you later tonight and we’ll get our schedules synced up. Plus, you will be talking to me daily at the office.”

  Then, he was pulling her toward him in a hug. It felt like heaven as she leaned against him, letting her head rest against his proud chest. They snuggled there for a while before peeling apart and saying their final goodbyes. She leaned against the door after he left, already feeling the emptiness of being without him. Just as she was beginning to step away from it, she was startled by a knock.

  Chapter 20

  “Did you forget some…?”

  Her words trailed off as Claire opened the door to see Samuel standing there. Her smile suddenly faded as she scowled at him through the open doorway.

  “What are you doing here again, Samuel? How did you know that Harper was gone? Are you stalking me now?” He didn’t deny it, but didn’t answer either.

  “Please, Claire. Let me in. I need to talk to you.”

  O
nce again, Claire was struck by how unwell he appeared. His usually tan complexion was almost translucent, with dark circles beneath his eyes and sunken cheeks. He had lost weight. Her resentment told her to send him away, that he had nothing to say that she wanted to hear. His appearance made her think twice. The part of her that had once loved him wanted to know why he looked this way.

  “Fine. Come in. Just know that I have a low tolerance for bullshit with you, Samuel.” She stood back and let him inside. “Have a seat.”

  “I… I was sitting in my car waiting to see you. I’m sorry. I know that sounds creepy, but you will understand in a minute. First, though, can I use your bathroom?”

  She waved her hand silently toward the hallway. He could figure out which door it was on his own. She waited, perplexed, while he took care of whatever his business was in there and then returned to the living room.

  “Thank you, Claire. One more thing. Can I get some water? I’m taking some medication that makes my mouth so dry. I drink water constantly and go to the bathroom all the time. It’s my life.”

  “Sure.” Claire looked at him, now really wondering what was going on with him.

  Claire felt an impending sense of dread at whatever was to come as she grabbed him a bottle of water from the fridge and brought it to him. He never had bothered with a glass before, so she didn’t offer him one now. “So, sit down and tell me what it is you have to say, Samuel.”

  “Okay. Claire, you know you were my family when we were together and with you gone, well, I just don’t really have anyone.” He bit his lip for a moment as he seemed to consider his next words.

  “Well, that is your fault. I was always there for you. You threw it all away by cheating on me.” She quickly lost any sense of generosity she was feeling toward him as the memories all came pouring forward again.

  “You’re right. I made a mistake. I’m sorry. You have no idea how much.” He looked down at his hands, studying them for a few moments before speaking again.

  “Listen. Just spit out what you came here to say, Samuel. I have moved on and am losing patience with you already.” Claire knew it sounded harsh and she intended for it to. There was nothing she owed this excuse for a man. The chill in her veins turned to ice as she heard the next words to come from his mouth, freezing her in place and numbing her mind too much to speak.

  “I’m dying, Claire. The doctors have diagnosed me with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. There isn’t much they can do except chemo to try to extend how long I have left. I wasn’t going to even consider it, but I’m just not ready yet. I guess I want to be here for as long as I can.”

  His eyes darkened a little as tears began to fall down his face. Watching him cry was what finally melted the ice that she felt she had become encased inside and she reached out for him, pulling him against her and holding him for a moment before pulling away and looking at him again.

  “I’m sorry, Samuel. I’m so sorry.”

  Claire felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. All this tim,e she had despised the very memory of Samuel Watson and now, it felt like a part of her was broken and would never be repaired. She heard her words as if they were coming from someone else.

  “I’m here for you, Samuel. I won’t let you go through this alone. What do you need from me?”

  “I know this isn’t fair, Claire. I know I’ve put you through hell already, but you are the only one I have to turn to here. You don’t have to come to treatment with me, but if you could maybe help me afterwards for a few hours…just until I feel a little better. They make me so weak and sick and I’m scared to be alone. I know it is asking a lot, especially considering our history.”

  He was studying his hands again, tears falling on them as he struggled to regain his composure. It broke her heart to see him like this.

  “How long have you been taking them alone, Samuel? And why are you here in New York instead of home?”

  No matter what he had done, the thought of him going through them alone cut her to the bone. There was nothing he had done to her that warranted this kind of devastation.

  “There are better doctors here in New York, and I thought maybe there was some off-chance. You know? I guess I was, well, I am grabbing at straws. Anyway, I’ve only had three. They get worse as I get weaker. The doctors said it would get worse before it gets better.”

  He laughed a little as he made the last statement and brushed away the tears on his face as he looked up at her.

  “They have a strange idea of what better means, I’m afraid. Perhaps they should say less intolerable.”

  “How long…?” Claire couldn’t finish the thought. It was too hard to say.

  “I don’t know. It could be a year. It could only be a few months. Something might fail and it could be tomorrow. There are a lot of variables.”

  His eyes filled with tears again. He took a deep breath and bite his lip again to regain control of his emotions.

  “Okay. Well, the first thing we need to do is get some meat back on your bones. You’ve lost so much weight.”

  Claire tried to be as delicate about his appearance as she could, though she was sure she wasn’t telling him anything he couldn’t see in the mirror.

  “I haven’t had much of an appetite, and when I do, I don’t feel much like cooking. I tend to eat a lot of junk food.”

  “That’s going to stop. You will eat here and I will make you extra meals that you can pop in the microwave when you are at home so that you are getting proper nutrition. We’ll find a way to beat this. It can’t be hopeless. It can’t.” She was near tears herself.

  “Don’t get wound up in false hope, Claire. I’ve given that up and you should, too. I will just be grateful to you if you help me make it to the end, whenever that is.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  She leaned over and hugged him again, pulling him tightly to her. All of this felt so surreal. They stayed that way for a while before he finally pulled away.

  “Come on, let’s go cook you some food,” she told him.

  He sat in the kitchen and told her a bit more about his life since they had parted and what the doctors were telling him now as she prepared a quick dish of sautéed frozen vegetables and chicken from her freezer. He ate most of it, as she was still full of her late lunch. They began to say their goodbyes after clearing the dishes to the sink.

  “Thank you, Claire. I know that I have no right to come here and burden you with this. I just need your help. I will try not to ask for too much.”

  It was the first time he had looked directly into her eyes and she couldn’t help but see how haunted they appeared. They said their goodbyes and she closed the door behind him, the tears falling down her face as she allowed herself to grieve for him.

  Claire felt deflated at first, but then found her inner strength. Sitting down in front of her laptop, she began researching nutrition, prognosis and everything else she could find to help Samuel. She was completely unaware how much time had passed until the phone rang.

  Chapter 21

  “Hello, beautiful. I miss you already.” The sound of Harper’s voice made her feel better instantly.

  “I miss you, too.” Though her words were sincere, she still felt a cloud of gloom about the afternoon’s events. Apparently, it came across in her tone.

  “Is something wrong, Claire? You sound a little down.”

  “No, I’m fine. I just am readjusting to being here without you.”

  Claire mentally chastised herself. Why hadn’t she told him the truth? She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Though she wasn’t sure about her reasons, there was just something that told her not to share this just yet. Their relationship was too new and she didn’t want him worrying about her getting emotional over an old flame.

  “Well, good news. I have a lull in my schedule already due to some conflicts on behalf of one of the other CEOs. So, I’m going to fly back this weekend and spend a few days with you and then return if that is okay.” She could hear the
excitement in his voice.

  “Fantastic! When will you be here?” She had been afraid it would be weeks before she got to see him again.

  “I’ll have to wait to leave early Saturday morning and will head back first thing Monday morning after I drop you off at the office and pick up a few things from there. Perhaps if you have something to show me on the ads in progress, we can do it at the office before I go so that we aren’t wasting our private time on business matters.”

  Claire wondered if there was ever anything that Harper wasn’t in complete control over, one way or another.

  “Sounds great. The rest of this week is going to go by much better knowing I’ll see you on Saturday!”

  Her excitement was genuine, but she was also mentally calculating all she needed to get done before he arrived.

  “Great. I’m going to have to get off here for now, but we’ll talk again soon.” There was a slight hesitation, as if he wanted to say something else, but then decided against it. “Okay, bye.”

  Claire responded in kind and ended the call, smiling at the phone in her hand before laying it to one side and looking back at her screen. The smile quickly dissipated as she read the statistics on the site she had pulled up in front of her. The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer was less than one percent. She closed the laptop and walked away from it.

  “Claire, how are we doing on the Turner campaign? Did you get a lot done during your trip?” Ida asked from the doorway of Claire’s office the following day.

  “Yes, I’ve got a good handle on the campaign. I just didn’t have the resources there to complete the final drafts for Harper’s approval. He has the ad mockups to go with the sketches and will be here on Monday to nail everything down I think.”

  It was basically the truth. She had gotten the lion’s share of the work done while Harper had been tending to things around the ranch with Taylor. She just needed to polish up the rough work he’d already approved.