Chapter 2
Chapter Two
E stelle pushed open the front door, juggling her bag, keys and cell phone. “Mom?” she called out as she entered. “Dad?”
Something crashed from the family room area, and Estelle hurried to shut the door and head that way.
“Estelle!” her mother cried, reaching over to pick up a book that had obviously fallen to the floor. “I thought you were working today.”
Estelle shrugged, setting all her stuff on the dining table. “I was, but Maeve showed up so I came home.”
Emery Harrison frowned. “Don’t you have work to get done?”
“Yeah, but I can work from home.” Estelle walked over and kissed her mother’s cheek, noting that it was damp. That heavy weight tightened across her shoulders. “I’m just doing some cake design today.”
“Oh?” Emery shifted in her chair, and Estelle noted the heavy bags under her eyes, causing her mother to look much older than she was. “Are they for anyone I know?”
Estelle shifted her weight and glanced around the room but didn’t see her father or Antony .
“Your father’s sleeping,” Emery said softly, picking at a seam in her slacks. “And Antony hasn’t wanted to come downstairs yet.”
Estelle nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from sighing. “That’s alright. I’m sure Antony still needs a lot of rest.”
“Hmmm…” Emery hummed. She glanced up from under her lashes.
Estelle tried to keep from fidgeting, but the look said her mother saw more than she was supposed to. Estelle hardened her resolve, however, when she noticed her mother’s pale skin and shaky hands. “In fact, why don’t you take a nap yourself, Mom? I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
One eyebrow rose.
Estelle returned the look. She was an adult. She wasn’t going to let her mother bully her, nor was Estelle going to let her mother take on all this alone. It was easy for anyone to see how much Emery was struggling, both physically and emotionally. Wet and sunken cheeks were only the beginning.
“Are you calling me old?” her mom chided.
“I would never!” Estelle teased, forcing a smile. “But I’m fully aware of how hard you work and I know that you stay up late with dad, so now that I’m here, why don’t you put it to good use and go get a little sleep?”
Her mother didn’t move for a moment, but finally, she nodded. “You’re right. Some sleep would do me good.” Slapping the arms of the recliner, Emery stood and closed the distance between her and Estelle, folding Estelle in a warm hug.
Tears pricked Estelle’s eyes, and she hugged her mother back, careful not to squeeze too tightly. Her mother must have lost weight because Estelle felt as if she were hugging an itty, bitty doll. Emery’s thin, frail body sent yet another weight onto Estelle’s shoulders.
I need to make sure she’s eating.
As her determination to take care of the family ratcheted up yet another level, Estelle fought back the sense that she was drowning. It seemed impossible to be able to keep up with everything she needed to do, but there was no room for failure.
They needed her, and Estelle couldn’t let them down.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Estelle’s mom whispered. “I’m so grateful for you.” Leaving a quick kiss on Estelle’s cheek, Emery walked slowly across the room to the new addition they’d added a couple years ago with Ethan’s help.
Having a master bedroom on the main level had been the most wonderful blessing, and Estelle would forever be grateful to her brother-in-law for helping them get it together.
As her mother’s door shut, Estelle glanced toward the stairs. They actually needed two bedrooms downstairs now, since Antony couldn’t go up and down by himself. At least, not easily, though it wasn’t as if he was willing to admit that. Antony wasn’t willing to admit anything at the moment, which only made Estelle’s job harder.
Give him time, she reminded herself as she walked toward the stairs. “How would you react if someone took your leg?” she whispered to herself.
Estelle panted when she got to the top of the stairs. She hadn’t exercised in far too long. If she was going to take care of her family, she better get back into using the elliptical and quick.
Sure… her sarcastic side muttered. Tell me how you’re going to find time for that.
Estelle ignored the voice, just like she’d done a million times in the last few weeks. She’d find time. She had to.
Putting her ear on her brother’s door, she listened for movement, but nothing seemed to be happening. There was no way he could still be sleeping, though. Antony might be healing, but he didn’t sleep fifteen hours a day.
Knocking gently, Estelle called out. “Antony? Are you awake? Can I come in?” She paused, then knocked again…and again. It took four rounds before he grunted at her.
“I am now.”
Taking that as an invitation, Estelle turned the knob, plastered a smile on her face, and stepped inside. “Hey, sleepyhead,” she teased. “Good to see you up.”
Antony was propped up with several pillows that had been stacked against his headboard, his covers pulled up to his waist with the frown that had become a permanent fixture on his face. He huffed. “Up. Good one.”
Estelle pinched her lips, fighting the urge to scream and cry. She wasn’t even really sure what she wanted to say, she just…she couldn’t…Sighing, she locked down her emotions. “I wasn’t trying to crack a joke, I’m sorry.”
Antony’s eyes turned to his window, and he didn’t speak.
“Mom said you haven’t been downstairs yet,” Estelle continued. “I’m sure you’re starving. What can I fix you?”
When Antony didn’t answer, Estelle fought the urge to fill the silence. His lack of response since coming home had her on edge. Antony needed help and more than what a physical therapist could give him.
He needed to speak to a therapist about his mental state, but the one time Estelle had brought it up, her brother had nearly gone purple in rage and she’d backed down immediately. Estelle had tried to mention it to their mother, but she’d shook her head and said ‘He’ll let us know when he’s ready’, and that had been that.
“Did you have an idea of what you wanted?” Estelle finally pressed. “Or should I surprise you?”
Several long heartbeats passed before his shoulders shifted ever so slightly. If Estelle hadn’t been watching so closely, she would have missed the minute shrug.
“A surprise it is,” she declared, keeping her voice light and perky. “Give me a few minutes. I won’t be long.”
Leaving his door slightly ajar in case he needed something, Estelle turned and walked away, trying hard not to appear as if she were running.
But she wanted to run.
She wanted to run out the front door and never return. To leave behind this house that had once been filled with joy and laughter, only to now be a tomb of broken dreams.
Her legs felt wooden, and it took a great deal of energy to keep moving toward the kitchen rather than the front porch. “They need you,” she reminded herself, pushing against the anxiety and loneliness threatening to overwhelm her. “There’s no one else who can help.” Estelle swallowed her tears. “Just keep it together. It’s going to be okay. Someday, it will be okay…it has to be.”
Crew lifted his feet and put them on the coffee table, nearly knocking over his bottle of water. Cringing, he shifted ever so slightly before relaxing back into the cushions. “Ahh…” Closing his eyes, Crew allowed his muscles to relax for the first time in several days.
The week had been extremely busy, and he was glad the weekend was here. Surfing tomorrow morning was tempting, but getting up early wasn’t. Maybe he’d sleep in and then go for a late morning run instead.
He groaned when his phone buzzed, but when Crew peeked through his eyelids to see who it was, he jumped to answer the call. “Layla!” he signed as soon as the little girl’s face lit up the screen. “How’s my favorite princess?”
Layla laughed and clapped her hands. “Hi, Uncle Crew!” her hands flew through the words so fast that he barely caught it, though her spoken language had gotten pretty good over the last couple of years.
Not one-hundred percent deaf, Layla hadn’t been diagnosed with hearing loss until she was a toddler, and only after a tragic accident took her mother’s life, who happened to be Crew’s sister. Mason, Crew’s brother, had been named guardian in the will, and after a rough fight with Crew and Mason’s parents over custody, the will had been upheld and Layla had finally gotten the medical care and loving, stable attention she desperately needed .
“I’m so glad you called,” Crew said and signed. “I’ve missed you.”
Layla’s grin grew wider. “Me too!” she chirped in her slightly strangled voice.
“Sweetie, are you going to ask him the question?” a feminine voice called from behind Layla.
Layla’s hair swung as she spun to look at her mother.
“Wassup, Harper?” Crew called out. “Is my brother still living up to his end of the marriage vows? Or do I need to come and pummel him?”
Harper’s laughter grew louder as she came up behind Layla and waved at Crew.
“As if you could.” The deep challenge came from off screen.
Crew tried to hold back his smile, but it was useless. He loved antagonizing his brother. Mason rose to the bait so easily.
Mason’s bearded face came into view beside Harper, glaring at Crew.
“Oh my word!” Crew signed to Layla. “Look, honey. Sasquatch does exist!”
Layla frowned and looked at her father, then her uncle. “Sasquatch?” she garbled, spelling the word slowly. “What’s Sasquatch?”
Harper roller her eyes. “Crew,” she warned.
Mason’s growl was a low rumble.
Crew was no slouch at six-foot three, but Mason had somehow inherited viking genetics that their family didn’t actually boast. A couple inches taller than Crew, Mason also dwarfed his brother by at least thirty pounds. Add the beard and the fact that Mason lived in the Pacific Northwest, and the name Sasquatch had been a natural nickname.
“See?” Crew argued. “He even growls like an animal. Layla. You want to come visit Uncle Crew, right? Cause your dad is really, really, scary. It’s safer here.”
Layla scrunched her nose and shook her head. “Daddy isn’t scary. ”
“Ha!” Mason barked. The camera danced around as Mason sat down and pulled Layla onto his lap. Harper settled beside him. “Quit trying to break up my family, Crew. Just because you’re too chicken to get your own doesn’t mean you can have mine.”
Crew huffed. “Can I help it? You found the last of the good women on Earth. There’s no one left.”
Mason grunted and shook his head. “Layla,” he said clearly, getting his daughter’s attention. “Ask Uncle Crew your question.”
“Oh, yes,” Crew signed, nodding his head. “You had a question. What can I do for you?”
Layla’s cheeks turned pink, and in that moment, she looked so much like Crew’s sister that his stomach pitched. He missed Aimee, despite how much trouble she’d been.
Their family life growing up had been less than ideal, and Aimee’s, as the sole daughter of a socialite, had been the hardest. After graduation, she had disappeared and not surfaced until her death, making Layla’s very existence a shock to the entire family, but a welcome one for Crew and Mason who had adored their sister and mourned her loss.
“Uncle Crew?”
“Yep?” He pushed his mouth into a smile and mentally shoved away his morbid thoughts.
“Would you come to my birthday party?”
Crew’s eyebrows shot up, and he slapped his forehead. “Birthday party? It’s your birthday already?” He gave her a look. “Are you sure? I thought that was last year?”
Layla giggled. “I’m gonna be seven.”
“Seven?” Crew shook his head. “That can’t be right. Seven is too old. You’re my little girl.”
Layla laughed again and buried her head into Mason’s chest, sighing.
“We’re having a big party,” Harper said, then glanced at Mason who gave her a slight nod. Harper gave Crew a shaky smile and rested a hand on her abdomen. “And we’ll have a second celebration as well.”
This time Crew’s surprise was genuine. He knew Mason and Harper would have more children some day, but he still hadn’t been expecting this, nor the reaction he was feeling inside.
Excitement and happiness fought for dominance with that same restless boredom he’d been fighting for weeks. “Wow!” he exclaimed, his voice a little louder than it should be. He pulled back and cleared his throat. “That’s amazing, guys. I’m so happy for you.” Crew focused on Layla. “Are you going to be a big sister? Are you ready for that?”
Layla nodded, but didn’t respond verbally.
“When’s the big party?” he asked.
Layla turned her head to look at her mother.
Harper leaned in. “June fourteenth.”
Crew nodded. “Awesome. Maybe I’ll…” He paused. “Hang on.” With a quick scroll of his fingers he looked at his schedule, mentally calculating the last time he’d taken a decent vacation. Coming back to the conversation he said, “What would you think if I stayed for the month?”
Mason’s thick eyebrows shot up, and Layla squealed with delight, leaving Harper smiling. “Are you serious?” Mason asked.
Crew shrugged. “I haven’t taken off in awhile, and I know you both have festivals over the summer. I can spend time with my favorite princess and celebrate everything at once.”
“Must be nice to have a job where you can take a month off,” Mason grumbled.
Crew’s smile grew. “Yeah, well…if you wanted that kind of time off, you shouldn’t have put your security in the hands of your chainsaw. She’s a prickly mistress.”
Harper’s hand landed on her mouth, but she couldn’t hide her smile and laughter.
Mason scoffed. “As opposed to teeth? I still haven’t figured out how a dentist stays in business. If you’re so good at your job, then people shouldn’t even need to come in. Not to mention the tooth fairy should put you out of business without even trying.”
Layla bounced on her dad’s lap. “I have a loose tooth!” she signed and squealed, making Crew wince a little at the volume. Leaning up toward the phone camera, she showed him a tooth that didn’t appear to move at all, but Crew ooh’ed and ah’ed appropriately.
“When it’s time,” he told her seriously. “Make sure and let me know. I’m an expert at getting those pesky teeth out. We’ll have it in prime condition for that fairy.” While the conversation continued, Crew let his mind wander to the vacation he’d just committed to.
He’d have to do a little finagling at work to get the time off, but it would be fine. Kids were out of school, and patients tended to miss their appointment during the summer months anyway. Closing the office for a few weeks wouldn’t hurt anybody and would give his aides a nice break as well. Yeah…this might be the exact thing he needed to shake off the melancholy that had been dogging his steps lately. A change of venue and time with a cute girl had never hurt anybody. In fact, it sounded like they were exactly what the doctor had ordered.