Chapter 14
Fourteen
T hey didn’t eat in the dining room, and no one dressed for dinner.
All her Downton Abbey-esque visions of the grandeur of being a Darcy were dashed as they huddled around the kitchen island eating burgers and drinking beer straight from the bottles.
Lowey watched them for a moment, taking in the easy way they all talked with one another, the comfort and camaraderie they had with one another.
She’d never had that, she realized. Not with anyone in her life had she ever been so at ease. The closest she’d come to that was with Quentin, but still, it was a revelation to see him in this light. Good natured, charming, as close to being at peace as she’d ever witnessed him.
“So, tell me, Lowey, have you hired a contractor to patch up the bar yet?”
The question had come from Bennett. “No, not yet. Until the insurance adjuster gets back to me, I won’t really know if that’s even feasible. It’s a lot of damage, and I’m fairly certain I am underinsured,” she answered.
“It’ll be all right,” he said. “I can drag Carter down there, and we’ll help you put it right. We work for beer, too. ”
“It will be put back together,” Quentin promised. “I’ll help, too. Even if it does mean hanging out with two Hayeses. Double the fun. Yay.”
Mia flicked a plastic fork in Quentin’s direction.
“Be nice, or you’ll pay for it.” Bennett laughed, but she tossed a glare at him.
“You too. I’m done with people in this family fighting and carrying on with each other and with the rest of the world…
and FYI, Quentin, I invited Ciaran tonight, but he couldn’t make it.
The next time you two are in a room together, if there’s any blood spilled, I will skin you both. Is that clear?”
Lowey watched Quentin duck his head to hide his grin as he muttered, “Yes, ma’am.”
When he glanced over at her, she saw it in him—the darkness that was simply a part of him.
He was in his element here, laughing and joking with his family, to the point that she was keenly aware of the fact that she was an outsider.
But with that little glimpse, she realized something else, something far more important than the fact that she didn’t quite fit in with the whole Darcy crowd.
There was a part of him that only she knew, a part of him that no one else would ever see.
It set her at ease, seeing that in him. It gave her a sense of relief because in that moment, she knew that whether or not she belonged with them , she still belonged with him .
He moved closer to her, leaning down to whisper against her ear. “You okay?”
“I am now,” she answered. “How are you? Ribs hurting?”
“Only when I laugh. Or breathe. Or move. Or think…but I’m good. Another beer, and I’ll be amazing, in fact.”
“Have all you want. I’ll drive us home…I could get used to touring around in your baby.”
“Whoa…hold up. He let you drive his car?” Clayton demanded, gaping at them both. “I’m his goddamn brother, and he won’t let me drive it!”
“Yes, but I have boobs,” Lowey answered.
“They do provide a lot of opportunity, don’t they?” Annalee observed. “Now close your mouth, Clayton.”
“On a more serious note and while we’re all here together,” Mia said, “We need to talk about Mama.”
Lowey was still looking up at him. She could see the muscle ticking in his jaw, could feel the tension that flooded him. It rolled off him in waves, and she sat back, waiting for the explosion.
Quentin tamped down the spark of hope, beat it down as brutally as Ciaran had beaten him. “There’s nothing to talk about, Mia,” he said. “Nothing has changed, and nothing is ever going to change. We just have to accept it and make the best of it.”
“But there is something to talk about, Quentin. And things are changing. There have been little signs, moments and glimpses where I could swear she’s right there with us…and then today?—”
She stopped abruptly, her lips trembling as she tried to regain her composure.
He hated seeing that, hated seeing the hope that would only be dashed again.
He knew that feeling, that dark and empty hole that just sucked you into it every time.
“Don’t do this to yourself, Mia. There’s no percentage in it.
If wishful thinking could cure her, she’d have been dancing a jig years ago! ”
“She knocked a lamp over today,” Mia stated softly.
“Bullshit. It fell,” he countermanded. It wasn’t possible. There was no way in hell it was possible.
“It happened, Quentin,” she insisted. “Bennett and I were both on the stairs, and we heard it. When we went into her room to check, she was lying there in the bed, with the cord between her fingers, and for just a second…I swear she was looking at me. She was seeing me , Quentin . ”
He could feel the air being sucked right out of his lungs. It was like Thanksgiving all over again. She’d been there. He’d felt her presence, if that was even possible. It was almost like being haunted by a woman who was still living.
“Mia, this sounds completely crazy,” he protested. He couldn’t let himself believe it. None of them would survive the heartbreak and disappointment.
“There have been subtle changes,” Annalee insisted.
“I’ve seen them. Movements, albeit small ones, especially of her facial muscles.
I don’t know the extent of the damage from the head injury…
none of us do. But I have been reading up on something called Locked-In Syndrome.
And I think before you all make any decisions about Patricia’s care, you need to consider that as an option. ”
Clayton was saying nothing, hanging back, weighing the options as always.
After several minutes of silence, a silence that seemed to stretch on forever, he finally spoke.
“We’ll get the best doctors. We’ll have her re-evaluated and see if there’s any change in her brain activity…
I’ve had my own experiences in the last month or so.
There has been a moment or two where I thought—well, that doesn’t matter.
Right now, we put it in the hands of the doctors and let them point us in the right direction. ”
“I still say it’s bullshit,” Quentin protested. “We’re seeing what we want to, and that’s all.” He couldn’t afford to let himself believe otherwise, even if the rest of the family had put on their rose-colored glasses. And he needed to go. He needed to get out before he lost it altogether.
Turning to Lowey, he said, “I’m ready to go if you are.”
“Sure,” she agreed before turning to Mia, “Thank you for dinner. It was a nice evening.”
“We’ll do it again soon,” Mia replied. “When someone gets his panties untwisted.”
Quentin flipped her the bird as they walked out into the night.