Chapter 11
Keisha managed to wait several days, half expecting Jaxon to call, then realized he wasn’t likely to, not when she and Kelly were initiating all the negativity going on.
Keisha finally reached out to him, and, when he didn’t answer, she felt a sense of relief.
She would leave a message and then decided she didn’t know what to say, so she quickly disconnected.
When her phone rang not too much later, he was on the other end. “You called?”
She sighed. “I did, and then I didn’t know what to leave for a message, so I just … didn’t.”
“Yeah, I got that part already,” he replied, with a note of humor. “Your number is still in my phone.”
“Right, … of course it is,” she muttered, feeling foolish. “I was just …”
“Coffee maybe?” he asked in that same calm tone.
“Yes, that would be great.”
“I’m coming into town later,” he explained, amusement now in his tone. “Do you want to make it dinner?”
She hesitated briefly and then replied, “That would be awesome.”
“Perfect. I’ll meet you at the clinic. It’ll probably be closer to five. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s good because I’ve got more than enough to deal with myself.”
“Okay.”
And, with those plans set, she headed off to work. When she ran home later during lunch, Kelly was particularly irritable. “Now what is wrong?” Keisha asked. “It’s noon, and you know I’ve got to get back.”
“You don’t need to stop by at noon every day,” Kelly spat bitterly. “I’m not an invalid.”
Keisha took a slow calming breath and replied, “No, you’re not an invalid, but you did have a recent fall, and I’m not comfortable leaving you alone, especially if stopping by could help save your life.”
“Why would you even want to save this life?” Kelly asked bitterly. “It’s not one worth living.”
The breath whooshed out of Keisha, and she stared at her sister, wondering if she was suicidal.
It was one thing to talk about it and to use it for attention, but it was another thing with that note of absolute desperation in Kelly’s tone.
Keisha tried to analyze what she had heard, but it had come out so fast she wasn’t sure that she understood what her sister was even saying.
“Do you want to see the therapist again?”
“No, I do not need more therapy,” Kelly snapped, her voice rising in anger. “God, that’s the last thing I need.” She glared as she shouted out, “You know what I need? I need to get out of this freaking wheelchair. I need a life!”
Keisha frowned at that and then nodded. “I agree, and that would be absolutely awesome, but I don’t know how to make that happen.
So, when you figure it out, Kel, just let me know, and I’ll do everything I can to support you.
” With that, she walked out of the house.
As she got in her car and drove back to the clinic, she hadn’t told her sister she wouldn’t be home for dinner.
She sent her a text when she got back in the office.
I’ll be home late tonight. And she left it at that.
Whether Kelly approved or not was a whole different story, and Kelly would definitely not approve of Keisha going out to eat with Jaxon.
And that was just one more of those things that she had to deal with between her sister and Jaxon.
Although Jaxon appeared to have shifted in many ways, she knew without a doubt that Kelly and Jaxon would rub each other raw, and it would be a challenge to have them in the same room anymore.
Her sister had made it very plain when he’d come back that she didn’t like having him there, and that it was half her house, which it wasn’t, not technically anyway.
However, it was Kelly’s home, and that mattered.
Yet Keisha was unaware that Kelly had been mean to Jaxon, who was already dealing with his own demons, and the whole thing had put Keisha right in the middle again, leaving her completely overwhelmed and exhausted.
As she got back to work, the challenges of the day filled her mind, leaving room for nothing else.
When she realized it was five, and she headed for the reception area, she found Jaxon standing there, talking to her receptionist.
Tania looked up with a beaming smile. “Your husband is here.”
Keisha’s heart lurched, but she nodded normally she hoped and smiled at him. “I just need to lock up.”
“Good enough,” he said. “Good enough,” he said. “I thought I could drive and either take you home after dinner or bring you back here.”
She didn’t have a problem with that. Particularly as it seemed silly for both of them to drive.
As they walked out together, he asked, “You didn’t tell them about the divorce?”
“No, I haven’t told anybody, and it’s not exactly final, is it?” she asked, with a wry look in his direction.
“I have the papers,” he shared, “so I guess, as soon as I sign them, it’s final.”
“Yeah,” she muttered, not sure what to do with that comment. “That would probably complete it, but I don’t know. Maybe it has to be filed with the courts or something. I’ve never been divorced before.”
He chuckled. “I was never married before either.”
“No, me neither,” she agreed, “and we probably were way too fast on that.”
“I don’t know about that,” he countered. “I think we were in love, and now maybe it’s time to get to know each other instead.”
When she looked over at him in surprise, he shrugged. “It seems to be a good idea to me.”