Chapter Fourteen
When they arrived back at the estate, Reaves looked over at Alara while he waited for the gate to slide open in front of them. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the door handle. She'd been quiet all the way back.
"Hey."
She turned to face him but didn't speak.
"There are so many things I want to say to you right now. But they all boil down to—don't be so hard on yourself."
Her shoulders dropped. "That's easy for you to say.
It's… I'm so mad, Reaves. Not at you. At myself," she added hurriedly.
"I didn't just let this happen. I made it happen.
And now, because I didn't take care of myself, it's falling on you.
" She made a face. "And we both know that your dad will think he has to take care of me, too.
And Faye—she's already done so much. Makes sure she feeds me and Zia well, won't let me do anything around the house to help. It's not fair. To any of you."
He pulled forward when the gate opened. "That's not your decision to make," he said eventually.
"It is. I can see it. I know it."
"You only know how it looks from where you're sitting.
I know you probably won't take it as any kind of consolation, but from where I'm sitting, I'm glad to be able to help.
You're not forcing me to. If anything—and I hope this doesn't come out the wrong way—it's you that's being forced into accepting help.
And I know that doesn't come easily to you.
But I hope…" He glanced over at her. "I hope you'll be able to roll with it.
" He risked a small smile. "You might even find that you enjoy it. "
"I know you mean well, Reaves, but I don't know how. It doesn't seem right. You're under no obligation to me whatsoever. Any of you. And I haven't done a damn thing to earn your kindness."
"It's not about obligation. And it's not even about kindness.
It's about what I want. It's about what Dad and Faye want, too.
See, the thing you skip over every time is that we care about you.
And we want to be allowed to take care of you.
" He gave her a rueful smile. "Not take over.
I didn't miss that little dig from Henry before we left.
I'm not trying to tell you what to do or boss you around.
Just hoping that you'll allow me—allow all of us—to help with what you need. "
"I know. I don't mean to sound like I'm not grateful. I do appreciate it, Reaves. It's just… it's hard, you know?"
"Yeah. I get it."
They were almost to the house now. "When we get there, should we set you up in the family room? You could maybe watch a movie this afternoon or something." He raised his eyebrows. "I'm not flying. I could hang around. Watch a movie with you? Or Zia and I can play, if you want some peace."
She shook her head. "The first thing I need to do is talk to Z. And then Delaney's coming this afternoon. I put her off about coming this morning. But there's so much work to do, Reaves. She hasn't even seen the labels yet, and…"
He held his hand up. "Delaney can wait. The designs can wait."
"No, they can't. And please, I don't want to fight with you about this.
But it's the most important thing. You have to understand that.
Yes, I need to get better, and I will, now I know what I'm dealing with, and I will rest, and I will eat.
But the rebranding, and the timing—it matters.
All of it matters. Your dad has this huge opportunity with the Sterling Hartman people.
But from what Delaney said, they're not going to hang around.
They want to get their new Provenance line set up and ready to go.
The branding will be the deciding factor in whether they include the House of St. James.
" She sagged back in her seat. "It's going to be hard enough for me as it is.
If I cost your dad this opportunity, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Surely you can understand that."
"Yeah. I guess I can." He parked the Land Cruiser close to the bottom of the steps. "We'll figure it out. But…"
He'd been about to say that he wasn't going to let Delaney push her. But he didn't bother. It hit him before he said it; that would be kind of an insult. Yeah, Delaney was pushy. But Alara's motivation was all her own.
~ ~ ~
As soon as they walked through the front door, Zia came running from the kitchen to greet them.
"What happened, Mom? What did the doctor man say?"
Alara didn't know where to start. Of course she wanted to reassure her daughter, but she knew she'd need to tread carefully.
What the two of them knew—and thankfully Reaves and the others didn't—was the underlying source of her undernourishment.
There had been a long stretch before they'd arrived in Napa when money had been very tight.
She'd always made sure that Zia had enough to eat, and that she had the right kind of food.
They stopped at markets and bought fresh produce, and she shopped the marked-down shelves in the grocery stores.
But even doing that, there wasn't always enough.
And so Alara had gone without, whenever she needed to.
For the last month before she arrived in Napa, she'd had a couple of good jobs—doing flowers for weddings that paid well—and so buying groceries wasn’t such an issue anymore. But even when she'd started to eat properly again, she hadn't been able to put the weight back on.
She snapped back from her thoughts, grateful to see Reaves scoop Zia up to sit her on his hip. His voice got to her every time, with that easy, "Hey, little buddy."
Unfortunately, this time it didn't have the same effect as usual on Zia. She wrapped an arm around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek, but then her little gaze zoned right back in on Alara.
"Is he going to make you better? The doctor man?"
At least that one was easy to answer. "Yes, he is. I need to have some treatments—just a few appointments over the next couple of weeks—and then I should be fine again. Isn't that great?"
Zia's eyes grew wide and she clung a little tighter to Reaves. "What kind of treatments?"
"Some injections." She made a face. "I'll have to be brave, just like you did, won't I?"
"I'll go with you and hold your hand. What else do you need? And what are the injections for?"
Alara just stared for a moment. She should have taken the time before they arrived back to figure out exactly what to say. She was grateful when Reaves cocked an eyebrow at her, apparently seeking permission. She gave him a slight nod, just hoping that he’d be able to ease Zia's worry.
"Dr. Ambrose said that Mom needs to rest and eat well."
Zia's little eyebrows drew together. "That's not medicine."
"Yeah, it is," said Reaves, glancing at Alara. "It's the kind of medicine that everyone needs every day."
She knew damn well the unspoken second part of that sentence—it was the kind of medicine that she hadn't been getting.
Zia wriggled, and Reaves put her down. "You get good food here, Mom. And you eat it here."
She avoided Reaves's gaze when he shot her a puzzled look.
Zia gave her away anyway. "Do you remember how you gave me yours when we didn't have enough?"
The shame burned in her chest. But even that wouldn't stop her from agreeing with her loving daughter. "Yeah, Z. I do."
"You gave me all the good stuff so that I could grow big and strong." Zia's face was serious. "I can stop growing for a while. You can have my good stuff; it'll make you better."
She held her arms out, and Zia came and wrapped herself around her legs.
"That's okay, Z. You need yours, too." She met Reaves's gaze. "And there's more than enough for both of us here."
~ ~ ~
Reaves stood in the hallway, watching Zia tow Alara into the kitchen.
Apparently, according to Zia, Mrs. Faye must have known what was wrong with Alara, because they'd spent the morning baking up some healthy snacks.
Reaves hadn't pointed out that Faye often fell back to making healthy snacks when she felt guilty about a long run of cookies and cupcakes.
Whatever the reasoning, he was glad that Alara would be able to get something to eat.
He squeezed his eyes tight shut. He didn't want to think about her not having enough to eat. What Zia had said just now…
No. He had to tuck that thought away for now. He'd examine it later, when he was alone.
The first emotions that had hit him as he heard Zia talk were pity and anger.
Neither of them were healthy, and Alara didn't need to even know he'd felt them.
She didn't need his pity. And his anger wasn't at her—it was at a life that put people in circumstances like that.
And at her family, whoever they were, that she hadn't been able to turn to them.
He clenched his jaw. Her family. And whoever should have been Zia's, too.
He turned on his heel to go find his dad. He'd promised he'd report back after Alara's appointment.
He knocked on the study door before going in.
"You've been a while. How did it go? What did Henry say? Is she all right? Is it anything—"
The slight tremor in his voice and his white knuckles on the arm of his chair hit Reaves hard. He knew his dad cared about Alara and Zia, but…
"She's gonna be all right." He went with the most important fact first.
Some of the tension left his dad's shoulders. "Well, that's good news. But what's the root of it?" He sat up a little straighter. "Are you just breaking something to me gently?"
"No, Dad." Reaves came in and took a seat across the desk from him. "It's nothing as bad as we feared. She's anemic. Iron deficiency. And B12 deficiency. Henry talked about undernutrition."
His dad frowned. "That doesn't sound bad. From the look of her, I'd thought it would be something much more…" He shook his head. "Not that I'm making light of it. I'm relieved. Of course I am. But is he sure?"
Reaves smiled. "You're really gonna question Henry's assessment? A man you've known for probably longer than I've been alive? And who you trust with your health and mine?"