“What do you do with the paintings when you’ve finished them?”
“I’ve kept some of them.
“And the others?”
Carly smiled to herself. “I donated them—anonymously,” she grinned at Mick.
Mick took a bite of his hotdog and wiped some mustard that gathered at the corner of his mouth. “How do you do that?”
“I drop them off at places when no one’s around. Mostly at night.” She laughed at how insane it sounded just saying it out loud. As if she were a sleuth or something. She’d dropped many paintings off to many different places. And to this day, no one knows they were from her. At least she didn’t think anyone knew.
“No way! Have I seen any of your paintings around?”
“Maybe,” Carly shrugged. “They’re all around town.”
“And no one knows you’ve painted them?”
“Nope.” She was quite pleased with herself. After all these years and no one has ever been able to identify her. “Except for you now.”
“Do you ever want to tell people that you painted them?”
“I’m not bothered. I don’t need for them to know.” They sat together in a moment of thoughtful silence. She enjoyed hearing the buzz her paintings created when a new one turned up somewhere. Hearing people wonder when theirs would come drove her to paint more. And she enjoyed it—the solitude gave her peace.
“Do either of your parents paint?”
“Not that I’m aware of. I’ve never seen them do anything of the sort.”
“Where do you think you get it from?” Mick crumbled his hotdog wrapper into a ball and took a sip of his drink.
The cancer, Carly thought. Having stared death not just once, but twice, had trained her senses to see beauty and to not take things for granted. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I think it’s really cool. And don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
Carly studied Mick’s face. She would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy his attention. It’s been a long time since any man has shown any genuine interest in her. All she needed to do was to mention the c-word and they would slowly—in some cases, swiftly—walk away. A twinge of sadness pinched at her heart when she wondered what Mick might think once he finds out.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Plenty, Carly thought. Carly shook her head and smiled. “This is nice,” she said, as she took the last bite of her hotdog and crumpled the wrapper and passed it on to Mick who reached for it.
“It is, isn’t it?” Mick stood up. “Wanna go for a stroll?” he asked, reaching for her hand.
Carly sighed at the touch of his hand. It wrapped around hers perfectly, just like a woolen glove on a cold winter’s night—warm and comforting. It was like they fit flawlessly together.
“So tell me... why hasn’t anyone snapped you up yet?”
“What do you mean?” Carly laughed.
“You know what I mean... you’re a great woman. Any man would be lucky to have you. I mean, I’m glad you’re here with me. I’m just curious.”
“I guess... I don’t know. There aren’t too many guys to choose from. Willow’s such a small place, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that you didn’t already know.” And there isn’t anyone strong enough to deal with the possibility of my cancer returning, she thought.
“I can see that being a problem,” Mick agreed. “So, are you saying you haven’t had a relationship in... what? How long now?”
“Let’s just say, I haven’t found anyone worth putting myself out there for,” Carly said. “How’s that?”
“Lucky me, I guess,” Mick said with a grin.
Chapter 26
The next day, which was day two of their six, was even better than Carly could have ever imagined. Mick had again picked her up from the Strawberry Fare cafe and took her to the White Willow B&B where he’d been staying.
When they got to the B&B, Mick led her to the indoor garden, which was as peaceful as one might imagine it to be. Carly gasped when she saw it. While she’d been into the B&B before, she’d never seen the inside of the greenhouse. The B&B owners, Amy and Sam, had done a wonderful job with the place. The high ceilings and glass-framed walls of the greenhouse allowed the light to pass through freely. On one side of the room was a small pond in which healthy goldfish swam in and amongst plants of varying shades of green.
Mick took Carly’s hand and led her to a table laden with an intricate three-tiered tea tray, filled with dainty sandwiches, scones and jam, and dessert slices.
Carly looked up at Mick and held his gaze. “Did you do all this?”
“With a bit of help from Amy and Sam.”
“You did all this,”—Carly motioned to everything around her—“for me?” She couldn’t believe the trouble Mick had gone to. No one had ever done anything like this for her.
Mick walked up to Carly and took her in his arms. “I’ve never been more myself than I am with you, Carly. I want you to know how much you mean to me.”
With her heart soaring, Carly held his gaze.
Mick leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
Carly closed her eyes and let herself go in the moment. Without care or worry, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. The touch of Mick’s skin on hers sent shivers up and down her spine. All she wanted was to remain in that moment forever. Mick was like no one she’d ever known. At that moment, he was all that she wanted and needed.
As they sat down to enjoy the high tea spread, Carly asked Mick a question that’d been on her mind. “How is it that you get to stay here? I mean, in Willow Oaks. What about your work?”
Mick popped a tiny sandwich in his mouth and chewed it quickly. “I can look after things from here. As long as I’ve got my laptop and phone, I can pretty much do my work from anywhere.”
Carly chewed thoughtfully on a cucumber sandwich. It was the first cucumber sandwich she’d ever had. It wasn’t something that she’d order off a menu, but she actually quite enjoyed the clean, crisp taste. “What is it you do, anyway? I’ve heard people say that you’re some property mogul now.”
“Firstly, I would never call myself a mogul. Sounds like I’m in the mafia or something.” Mick laughed. “I’m a property developer. I basically purchase land and develop it to either sell or invest in.”
“Is that something you learned from that family you stayed with?”
“I guess you could say that. I learned a lot about property when I worked with Jeremiah.”
Carly took a sip of her tea. “Are you still in touch with them?”
“Absolutely. They’re like my family.”
Carly wondered what Mick’s real family might say if they ever heard him say that. She knew that Mick’s mother was heartbroken when her oldest son left home. But as with everything, over the years, many versions of the story had been told.
“I’ve got another surprise for you,” Mick said when they had finished eating.
“There’s more?” Carly wiped her mouth with a white linen napkin and put it next to her plate. There was no way she could hide her smile.
Mick took her hand and led her to the back of the greenhouse where there stood two easels, each with a canvas propped up against it.
“Mick...” Carly’s voice faded to a whisper. She turned to look at him and found him watching her. “How did you...?”
“Take a pick—I thought you and I could spend the afternoon painting.”
Carly grinned widely. “What should we paint?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Mick laughed. “How about I try to paint you... and you can paint me?”
THEY’D SPENT THE REST of the day painting each other, sneaking kisses in between. Mick couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so carefree. It was as if he’d walked out of a long, dark tunnel for the first time.
That night, they’d exchanged paintings. Carly’s was a handsome rendition of Mick. She had laughed sweetly when Mick showed her hi
s painting of her.
“Is this supposed to be me?” Carly asked.
He was by no means an artistic person, much less a painter. But he’d put all his heart into the canvas, as he tried to capture the essence that was Carly—beauty, truth, and light. “You’re not going to tuck it away in the garage or something, are you?”
“I love it,” Carly said, as she tip-toed to give him a kiss. “I’m going to hang it up in my bedroom.”
“I hope it doesn’t give you nightmares,” Mick said of the abstract painting. “Think of it as a Picasso.
“It was painted with love. And with that will come good dreams.”
“You bring me good dreams.” Mick took the canvas from Carly and set it down gently on the table. He pulled her close and gazed into her honey-brown eyes. “What have I ever done to deserve someone like you?” As cliché as it sounded, he meant it. Carly was everything he had ever hoped for in a woman. He didn’t want to waste any more time. He wanted her to know exactly how he felt about her.
“Must’ve done something good then,” Carly chided.
“So it seems.” Mick bent his head down and kissed her gently on the lips, savoring the sweet taste of her cherry lip balm.
Carly tilted her head back, allowing Mick to reach the hidden part of her neck, just behind her ears. And when Carly sighed, he closed his eyes.
As twisted as it seemed, the scent of Carly’s neck, as he nuzzled her, made his heart clench so much that it hurt. This. This was where he wanted to be.
Chapter 27
On the sixth day, Mick waited for Carly, but she didn’t come out the cafe to meet him. Thinking she was working a bit later, he went in to Strawberry Fare only to learn that Carly hadn’t been to work that day. Mick asked Charlotte if he knew where Carly was, but she was hesitant in her response and told him that he’d have to ask Carly himself.
He called her a number of times, but Mick couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t pick up.
After several phone calls, Mick drove to Carly’s house, where her mother answered the door. Mick followed her to the kitchen where he’d accepted a cup of tea.
Fletcher, Carly’s father, joined them. “So she didn’t tell you?” Fletcher asked.
Mick couldn’t hide his confusion. “Tell me what?”
CARLY LAY BACK ON THE hospital bed and looked out the window. She was angry. Angry with the world. Angry with God. “Why me?” she asked repeatedly. “Why save me, only to take it all away again?” It was a cruel joke, and she wanted no part of it.
Tears rolled down her face. Enough was enough. That was the last time she was ever going to fight it. Agreeing to the surgery was her last move. She wanted out of the battle. If it ever showed its ugly head again, then she would forfeit defeat.
She didn’t want to fight any more. She had nothing left to give.
If you want to take me, then you should just do it already, she challenged God. Her chest felt tight and her heart banged against it, begging to be freed.
When she sat at her doctor’s office six months ago, she didn’t think that she would be lying in a hospital bed today. Despite the worries she faced with every annual visit to the specialist’s office, something inside of her thought—hoped—it would never return. After all, it had been thirteen years.
“I’m sorry, Carly,” Dr. Bennett said, squeezing her hand after he’d told her that the cancer had returned.
Carly couldn’t quite understand what he was saying. Did he say that the cancer had returned? she kept asking herself.
She should have known.
It started with a regular check-up.
Then the diagnostic mammogram.
The biopsy.
The awkward phone call from the nurse telling Carly that Dr. Bennett wanted to see her. Carly had asked if everything was okay. In hindsight, she shouldn’t have asked. The poor nurse had stammered, using a much practiced professional but sympathetic tone over the phone.
Of course. She should have known.
“Are you sure?” she had asked Dr. Bennett during their appointment.
“I’m afraid so,” Dr. Bennett replied solemnly.
Carly wondered how many patients the doctor had told that day that their cancer had returned.
They had tried to get the cancer out. At first, everything appeared to have been successful. But then it didn’t take long for another growth to appear. “It’s what we call a local recurrence,” Dr. Bennett explained.
They had discussed a number of options beginning with radiation and chemotherapy. But Carly wanted none of that. No. Not again. This time, she decided that a double mastectomy was the only way to go.
After telling her family what she had decided on, they all tried to talk her out of it, but in in the end, it was her choice. It was her body. “It’s my body”, Carly said flatly, as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving her stunned parents to digest the news.
There was supposed to be another week before her surgery, and Carly planned to break things off with Mick then. But when the doctor called and told her there had been an unexpected opening, she decided to take it. She wanted to get it over and done with. So she hadn’t been able to tell Mick that things between them were over.
As she lay in bed, she wondered whether Mick had waited for her. Or what he might have thought when she didn’t turn out for their sixth date. Carly had rejected all his calls, ultimately turning her cell phone off.
Carly took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly; tears stung her eyes. Mick’s face came to mind.
Carefully, she brought a hand to her chest. She could feel the drain lines on either side of her. Carly’s fingers shook as she ran her fingers along the surgical dressing that covered her chest area. Tears rolled down her face and into her ears as she closed her eyes shut.
Carly sniffled and wiped her eyes as she heard a knock on the door.
“Carly?” The door opened.
“What are you doing here?” Carly asked when Mick entered the room. He had with him a bouquet of brightly colored flowers.
“Your parents told me what happened.” He walked to her bedside. “You should have told me,” he said gently.
Carly looked away. She couldn’t face Mick. Not now. Not ever. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Mick set the flowers on the bedside table and pulled a chair close to her bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Mick—you should go.”
“No,” Mick said, taking her hand.
Carly couldn’t snatch her hand away, worried that the IV line might come out. Instead, she curled her fingers in, forming a fist. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you,” Mick said.
She could see the worry in his eyes. Or maybe it was disgust or pity. She’d seen that same look in the eyes of so many people and knew it all too well. “Didn’t my parents tell you that I didn’t want anyone coming to see me?”
“It’s going to take more than this to get rid of me, Carly.”
That was all that was needed for Carly to lose any composure she had left. “More than this?” she yelled. “What is this, Mick?” She tried to raise her arms, but couldn’t. “What do you want from me? I’ve got nothing to give you. Just go!”
MICK’S HEART TIGHTENED at the sight of Carly’s quivering lips. He desperately wanted to take her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. That he wasn’t going anywhere and that he would be right by her side. But every time he’d tried to speak, Carly shut him down. “I don’t want anything from you, Carly,” he tried again.
“Good, because I’ve got nothing to give you,” Carly spat.
Mick had never known anyone with cancer before. Sure, he’d heard about it—read about it, even watched some movies where the main characters had cancer. But never had he had someone in his circle—someone so close to him—have it. “Let me help you, Carly.”
“I don’t need your help, Mick.” Carly’s voice was filled with spite as she looked everywhere but at him.
/>
“Carly—”
“There’s nothing you can do, Mick. Don’t you see?” Tears spilled from her face. Mick tried to wipe them, but she jerked her head away. “I’ve got nothing for anyone. I can’t be in a relationship with you—or with anyone else. Not now, not ever!” Carly reached for the call button and frantically pressed it.
“I just want to—”
“Don’t you get it? I don’t know how long I’ll be around for. I could die tomorrow—or, or next week. Next year! My life is not mine to give to anyone. Heck, I don’t even have breasts now! I’m not a real woman,” Carly wailed.
Mick turned when a nurse came through the door asking if everything was okay.
“No, it’s not!” Carly said. “I would like to be left alone.”
Mick pleaded with her. “Carly, can we please talk about this?”
“I would like him to leave, please,” Carly directed the request to the nurse. “And I don’t want anyone else coming in.”
Mick sighed.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the nurse said.
Mick stood up and looked at Carly one more time. She refused to look at him.
“And you can take the stupid flowers with you,” Carly said. “I just gave you the six days so that I could feel what it was like. Give it to someone who actually has a chance at giving you what you want. ”
“I got those for you.” Mick turned to follow the nurse out. “Take care, Carly,” he mumbled. “I’ll check on you soon.”
“Don’t,” Carly said, her voice barely a whisper. But he heard her.
Mick stood outside the door to gather his thoughts.
“It’s normal, you know,” the nurse said gently.
Mick turned to her.
“It’s normal for patients to go through a series of emotions. It may take a while, but you’ll see. It will get better,” she smiled.
Chapter 28
In the days that followed, Mick used the time to make several big decisions.
Love Me Timeless--A Willow Oaks Sweet Romance Page 11
