Love At Last (Lily's Story, Book 3) (38 page)

Jessica nodded, irritated with Kyle that he was so late for their appointment, and wasn’t answering his cell phone. Taking a bite of the first piece, she frowned. Though she liked the way it tasted, she didn’t feel right about making the choice on her own. This was for
their
wedding. Kyle should be involved.

She tried to drag out the time, but finally had to make a decision without Kyle.
 

“Have you decided, ma’am?” the baker asked when he came to check on her.

“Yes. I’d like the chocolate with the raspberry filling.”
 

“Very good. And the design?”

Jessica turned to the page in the catalog where she’d found a design she liked. “This one.”

“Ahh. Beautiful.”

As she walked out to her car, she tried Kyle’s cell phone again, but again she just got his voice mail. “Kyle, I hope you like the cake I chose for our wedding.” She sighed. “Where are you?”

As the day went on and she didn’t hear from him, her irritation turned to worry. He’d never gone so long without responding to her calls.

When he called that evening she was so relieved to hear from him that she forgot her annoyance that he’d missed the appointment at the bakery. “Kyle, where are you? Are you okay?”

“Hey, Jess.”

He sounded really down, which was out of character, and Jessica felt herself go on high alert. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure how to tell you this.”

Alarm bells pounded in her head. “What is it? Are you hurt? Did something happen?”

“I’m not hurt, but I, well, I had a realization today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jess, I just can’t do it.”

Though he hadn’t said exactly what he couldn’t do, she had a pretty good idea what he was talking about, and she felt the blood drain from her face. “Can’t do what?”

He was silent for a moment. “Marry you.”

Her world began collapsing in on her. “I don’t understand,” she whispered.

“I’m just not ready.”
 

A huge knot had formed in her throat, and she found she couldn’t speak.

Kyle sighed. “I’m sorry.”
 

Jessica swallowed convulsively, trying to force the knot out of the way. When she finally found her voice, the phone had become completely silent. “Kyle?” When there was no response, she realized he’d hung up.

The phone slipped from her hand, and she felt like she was sinking. Tears flooded her face as the meaning of Kyle’s words began to penetrate her mind.

Jessica woke abruptly, her cheeks wet. Disoriented, she pushed to a sitting position and saw the outline of a lamp on the table next to her. She reached over and turned it on, and as her eyes took in the room, she remembered that she was at her aunt’s house.
 

Fragments of the dream filled her mind, and she frowned as she wiped at her face, wishing it was just a dream. But she remembered that day too vividly. Over the years she had tried to forget the devastation of that day, but seeing Kyle had brought it all back.

As she thought about the shock of seeing Kyle in her aunt’s kitchen, she almost wanted to pack up her things and move back to her apartment. But she knew that as long as her aunt needed her to be there, she would have to put aside her feelings. In the meantime, she would encourage her aunt to use the other contractor she’d been considering, and then she would do all she could to avoid running into Kyle Judd.

Over You Chapter Six

Early the next morning Jessica woke to the smell of bacon. Climbing out of bed, she pulled on a robe and made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ellen was in front of the stove, scrambling eggs.

“Good morning, Jessica.”

“You’re up early.”
 

“I’m always up early and today I’m feeling so much better, so I thought I’d make us some breakfast so you wouldn’t have to.”

“It smells delicious.” She watched her aunt move around the kitchen. “Are you sure you’re up to cooking?”

“I really am. I had felt so sick over the last week, but now that I’m feeling better, I feel like I have so much energy.”

“I just don’t want you to overdo it.”

Ellen smiled. “I promise not to.”

As they sat at the small table tucked in the corner of the kitchen, Jessica decided to broach the subject of choosing a contractor. “Have you come to a decision on who you’re going to hire to do the remodeling?”

Ellen set her fork down. “I think we both know the answer to that question.”

“We do?”
 

“Obviously, I’m not going to hire Kyle.”

A small smile turned up the corners of Jessica’s mouth. “Thank you.” Though immensely relieved, she was surprised to find that a small part of her felt disappointed. Confused, she pushed those feelings aside. “When will the work begin?”

“I’m planning on calling Ben, that’s the name of the fellow I’ll be hiring, first thing this morning. When he gave me the quote, he was getting towards the end of another job, so I’ll see how close he is to finishing.”

“Okay.”

“Now, have you decided where you want to set up your computer?”

“I was planning on using Uncle Patrick’s desk in the library, if that’s all right.”

“That would be perfect.”

While Jessica organized her work space in the library, she could hear Ellen talking on the phone. A few minutes later her aunt walked in the library.

“Looks like you’re getting settled in all right.” Ellen paused. “It’s been a long time since anyone has used that desk. I’m glad it’s you.”

Jessica smiled. “I remember sitting here as a child, drawing pictures or writing letters to Mom and Dad when I was here for a visit.”

“Yes. Your uncle Patrick and I always loved it when you would visit. When you were here it was like we had extra color in our lives.”

“I’m sure Mom appreciated it too. That way she didn’t have to worry about what I was up to while she was at work.”

“Yes, I know your mother has always worried about you. But enough about that. I spoke to Ben and he’s going to come over tomorrow morning and get started on the master bathroom.”

“I’m surprised he’s able to start so soon.”

“Apparently he finished that other job early, so he’ll be able to start right away.” Ellen smiled. “I’m so excited to finally get this project started. I hope you don’t mind if I share your bathroom with you.”

“Not at all.”

The next afternoon as Jessica worked on her programming project, she found she had trouble concentrating. Ben was in the process of ripping out the existing master bathroom and he and his assistant were making multiple trips up and down the stairs, carrying out the sink, toilet, and everything else that they were tearing out. When Jessica sat at the desk, she faced the foyer, and every time the two men walked out the door, she became distracted.
 

Sighing, she decided to take a break and see what her aunt was doing. She hadn’t seen her since the men had arrived. Jessica went upstairs and wasn’t surprised to find her aunt in the master bathroom, supervising the demolition work.

“You’re being careful not to scratch the walls when you go down the stairs, aren’t you?” Ellen asked the men as they set some debris on a tarp.

“Yes, ma’am,” Ben said.

Jessica suppressed a smile as she watched the exchange. “It’s looking good in here.”

“Yes. These men are doing a wonderful job.”

“Ellen, are you getting hungry?” Jessica asked. “It’s getting close to dinner time.”

“I suppose,” she said. “Ben, what time do you stop?”

Ben wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “I think we’re about done for the day.”

“All right,” Ellen said. “Well, I sure appreciate how hard you’ve both worked.”
 

The men began gathering their tools. “We’ll be back bright and early in the morning.”

~*~*~

The next morning Jessica woke to the sound of her aunt calling for her, and she sounded like she was in pain. Jessica hurried to her aunt’s bedroom to see what was going on and found her aunt on the floor, her hands gently holding her ankle.

“Ellen! What happened?”

“Oh, Jessica. It’s my own fault.”

Jessica knelt next to her aunt and saw that Ellen’s ankle had begun to swell. “You’re hurt. I’m going to call an ambulance.”

“An ambulance? No, no. If you can just help me get to the car, you can drive me to the hospital.”

Jessica shook her head. “I don’t know if I can get you down the stairs on my own.” She looked around frantically, trying to figure out a way to help her aunt. “What about Ben? Isn’t he going to be here soon? He can help me get you to the car.”

Ellen sighed. “He called and said he had to take care of some things and that he wouldn’t be able to be here until after lunch. After I hung up I just had to go into the bathroom to see how it looked and I tripped on something that was left on the floor. That’s when I did something to my ankle.”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Well, it’s not going to kill me, but I don’t think I can walk.”

“I’m sorry, Ellen, but I’m going to have to call an ambulance.”

“It just seems so silly to have an ambulance come for something like this. It’s not life-threatening. It just hurts.”

“Well, do you have a phone number for a nearby neighbor? We really just need someone to come help you down the stairs.”

“Look in my address book.” Ellen pointed toward her bedside table. “Look up Harold Michaelson. He lives closest.”

“Let me get some ice for your ankle first, okay?”

Ellen nodded and Jessica could see she was in more pain than she was admitting. Hurrying down to the kitchen, she created a make-shift ice pack, then wrapped it in a kitchen towel. She raced back up the stairs to her aunt’s side and gently placed it on her aunt’s ankle. “How’s that?”

“It’s cold.”

Jessica bit her lip, worried about the pain her aunt must be in. “I’m going to call your neighbor now.” A moment later she was explaining their situation to the neighbor, who promised to come right over with one of his teenage sons to get Ellen down the stairs and into the car.

Within twenty minutes Jessica was on the way to the hospital with Ellen lying on the back seat. They pulled up to the emergency room door a short time later and a pair of attendants brought out a wheelchair, and soon Ellen was being examined by the on-duty doctor.

Two hours later Ellen had had her ankle x-rayed and it was determined that she would need surgery to repair a torn ligament. The surgery was scheduled for later that week, after the swelling had gone down. In the meantime, the doctor wrapped her ankle and placed a brace on it, then sent her home to rest and to keep her foot elevated.
 

“Can you believe this?” Ellen said as Jessica drove them home. “What a stupid, stupid accident.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through this. I know it must be very frustrating.”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to set up a bed for me in the living room. I don’t think I can navigate those stairs right now.”

“Don’t worry about a thing, Ellen. I’ll take care of it for you.”
 

They pulled up to the house, and Jessica helped Ellen out of the car and up the few steps to the porch, then helped her settle into a chair in the sunroom, elevating her foot.

“Oh, Jessica. What would I do without you?”

“I’m sure you would manage fine without me.” But secretly Jessica was glad she had been there. The thought of her aunt getting hurt when no one was home to help her was frightening.

When Ben arrived that afternoon, Jessica had him and his assistant move some of the living room furniture into one side of the room, and then carry down a twin bed from one of the unused guest rooms.

The remodeling work continued, and Jessica tried to work amid the racket, as well as taking care of her aunt, who mostly stayed in the sunroom where she read or napped.
 

The morning of the surgery Jessica woke early to help her aunt get packed and ready to go. Though the type of surgery she was having was often done as an outpatient procedure, the hospital had opted to keep her overnight, which made Jessica glad since she felt a bit overwhelmed at the idea of caring for the wound.

“I know Mom would have liked to have come,” Jessica said as they pulled up to the hospital.

“When she asked if I wanted her to come, I told her that there was no need since you’re here. This is really a very routine procedure.”

 
“I’m glad you’re not nervous.”

“Who said I’m not nervous?”

Jessica smiled as she pulled up to the entrance. “I’m going to get a wheelchair. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later, with the help of an orderly, she helped her aunt out of the car and into the wheelchair.

While her aunt was in surgery, Jessica tried to read a novel she’d brought along, but had trouble concentrating, worried how the surgery was going. Eventually the surgeon came out and told her everything had gone well and that her aunt was in recovery. Relieved, she read until a nurse came to let her know that her aunt was settled in her room and Jessica could come see her.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she sat at her aunt’s bedside.

“Pretty good, considering.” Ellen pointed to her leg, which rested on a stack of pillows. “But once the pain meds wear off, I might be singing a different tune.”

“I’m sure they’ll take good care of you.”

“Have you been here the whole time?”

“Of course.”

“Well, that was very sweet, Jessica.”

She smiled at her aunt and noticed how exhausted she looked. “I should probably let you get some rest.”

Ellen nodded. “I am feeling rather tired. Would you mind going home and checking on Ben?”

“Yes. You get some sleep and I’ll be back later to see how you’re doing.”

Ellen’s eyes closed before Jessica left the room.
 

As soon as Jessica walked in the house, she could tell something was different. Though she could hear Ben and his assistant talking, there were no other sounds. And then she noticed that it was darker than usual. She flipped the light switch at the base of the stairs, but nothing happened.