Nantucket (13 page)

W
hen Liam opened his eyes, a sliver of sunlight was streaming through a small opening at the top of the curtain. He looked over at Cadie—she was still asleep, but her cheeks had a little more color than they'd had the night before. He stood up and looked out at the blue sky and tall buildings.
This is such a far cry from the world I know.
He pictured Tuck, at that very moment, nosing around Sally's shop, looking for crumbs and hoping for handouts; then he pictured Moby, lazing in the morning sunshine; and finally, he pictured the boathouse, locked up and silent, waiting for him to get back to work. He couldn't remember a summer day when the boathouse hadn't opened—even on the day of Coop's funeral, he'd stopped by, sat outside, and drank a couple beers in his honor.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by music and he looked around, searching for the source. Then he realized it was coming from his pocket. He pulled Cadie's phone out and looked at the screen; just as Levi said, there was a bar across the bottom that said
SLIDE TO ANSWER
. He slid his finger lightly across the surface, looked at the screen again, and then held the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“I knew you could do it,” Levi said.

Liam smiled. “Well, don't expect me to call
you.
. . .”

Levi chuckled. “We'll have that lesson later.” He paused. “How is she?”

“Still asleep.”

Just then, a nurse came into the room, and when she adjusted the intravenous tube taped to Cadie's arm, she stirred. The nurse hurried out. “I'll be right back.”

“Hang on,” Liam told Levi. “I think she might be waking up.”

“Okay,” Levi said. “We'll be right over.” And then he was gone.

Liam looked at the screen; it said
CALL ENDED
. He slipped the phone back in his pocket. Gently, he touched Cadie's hand and she moaned and moved her head; then her eyes opened and she looked around.

“Hey,” Liam said softly.

“Hey,” she replied with a weak smile. “What happened?”

“You had a stroke.”

“I did?”

Liam nodded.

“Where are the boys?”

“They went home to get some sleep, but they're on their way back.”

Cadie nodded, looking around again.

“What are you looking for?”

“Water.”

“I'll get the nurse,” Liam said, standing up, but when he turned to walk out the door, he almost bumped into Carlton Knox.

Despite the years, the two men immediately recognized each other. “Great!” Carlton Knox growled. “What the hell are
you
doing here?”

Liam swallowed. “It's nice to see you too,” he said, biting his tongue before he used the word
asshole.

The nurse reappeared with a doctor in tow, but when she saw how many people were in the room, she immediately frowned. “I'm sorry, but there's only one visitor at a time allowed in ICU . . . and right now, you
all
need to step out.”

Liam nodded. “I was just coming to tell you she was thirsty.”

“I'll take care of it,” the nurse assured him as the doctor walked over to the side of the bed. “In a few minutes, one of you may come back . . . but as I said, only one at a time.”

Liam smiled at Cadie as he walked out, but as he passed the Knoxes, he felt his heart pound—the last thing he wanted was a confrontation—so as soon as he got outside, he headed down the hall and, without looking back, took the elevator down to the main entrance, hoping it would be the way Levi would come in. He paced back and forth, glancing at his watch, and then remembered he had Cadie's phone. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the black screen....
How the hell do you turn this damn thing on?
On a whim, he pushed the button at the bottom and the words
SLIDE TO UNLOCK
appeared. He slid his finger across the screen and stared at all of the icons before noticing a small green phone. He touched it, and a list of recent calls appeared—all from Levi. He tapped one of the calls and the words
CALLING LEVI
appeared. He put the phone to his ear and Levi answered almost immediately. “Wow! I'm impressed!”

“Thanks,” Liam said with a smile. “I guess I'm not as dumb as I look.”

“I guess not.”

“Listen, your grandparents are here, so I came down to the main entrance. Which way are you coming in?”

There was a pause. “I must've just missed you because we just got off the elevator.”

“Damn,” Liam said, shaking his head. “Well, consider yourself warned.”

“Thanks. I see my grandmother now; my grandfather must be in the room.”

“Do you want me to come up and get Aidan?”

“No, I can handle it,” Levi assured him.

“Okay,” Liam said. “Well, I don't want to upset your mom, so just call me when they leave.”

“Sounds good.”

Liam looked at the screen as it went black, felt his stomach grumble, and looked around for the cafeteria. He saw a sign for it and the restroom—both of which he needed.

L
iam had just devoured a breakfast wrap and was taking the top off his coffee when he heard music again. He looked around the cafeteria and then remembered it was coming from his pocket. He pulled out Cadie's cell phone and smiled sheepishly at everyone who was looking to see who had “Love Shack” for their ringtone.

Liam lightly swiped his finger across the screen, and answered, “They left already?”

“Yes,” Levi said angrily. “But not without upsetting her first.”

“Why? What happened?”

Levi was so angry all he could do was sputter something incoherent.

“I'll be right up,” Liam said, putting the lid on his coffee. He threw out his trash, and as he pushed the button for the elevator, shook his head—he definitely wasn't used to being caught up in this much drama.

Liam came around the corner and saw Levi sitting in the waiting area while Aidan drove a toy John Deere tractor across the windowsill, but as soon as he saw Liam, he got up and walked toward him. “You aren't going to believe this. My grandparents are filing for custody of Aidan.”

“What?!” Liam said. “That's crazy! What right do they have?”

“They tried to sugarcoat it—they said they could give him a better home, and that I was too young to be tied down.”

Liam raised his eyebrows. “Your mom will never go for that.”

“I know,” Levi said, shaking his head. “She was so upset, I thought she was going to have another stroke, and then the nurse came in . . . and she was livid. She told them to leave and not come back, but as my grandfather was walking out, he said his attorney would be in touch.”

Liam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Why don't you go in and see her and I'll stay with Aidan.”

Levi nodded and Liam sat down. Carlton Knox was an even bigger ass than he thought—his daughter was dying of cancer and he was more concerned about who was going to get custody of her little boy. Liam watched Aidan playing quietly—he was such a sweet little kid . . . and smart, too—it would be tragic if the Knoxes won custody.

“She wants to talk to you,” Levi said, coming back.

Liam walked toward Cadie's room, his heart pounding. “Hi,” he said, peering around the clear partition.

“Hi,” she said with a tired smile. “I'm
so
sorry I dragged you into all this. I bet you wish you'd never gone to that art show.”

“You didn't know,” Liam said with a sympathetic smile.

Cadie sighed. “You're right, I didn't know what a mess it would be . . . and how everything would turn out and I
never
expected my parents to show up.” She shook her head. “My father is so well connected—he has friends in low
and
high places. I should've known he'd be keeping tabs on me.” Her eyes glistened. “He does have a point, though—it's not fair for me to burden Levi with Aidan, and I certainly can't afford a lawyer to fight him.”

Liam swallowed, not knowing what to say.

Finally, Cadie broke the silence. “Liam, I'm not winning this battle.”

“You don't know that, Cadie. You can't just give up.”

“It won't help denying it,” she said resignedly. “I'm going to die and someone else is going to raise Aidan.”

Liam looked out the window.

“I'm glad I got to see you again, though,” she said with a smile, “and I'm glad you finally know about Levi.”

Liam nodded, tears filling his eyes. “I'm glad too.”

“It's funny, the first night I found out I had cancer, I couldn't fall asleep . . . and when I finally did fall asleep, I had this crazy dream that I was walking across a frozen pond, and all of a sudden, I fell through the ice. I was frantic—I kept pushing on the underside of the ice, but it was pitch-black and freezing cold and I was being pulled along by a current. I woke up crying, and every night after that, I had the same dream. It was so real I became afraid to fall asleep.”

“Do you still have that dream?”

“No, my doctor gave me a prescription to sleep and it broke the cycle. But now I'm afraid to fall asleep because I might not wake up.” She looked around the room. “I wish I wasn't going to die in a hospital.”

“You don't have to,” Liam said softly.

Cadie shook her head. “The only alternative is my tiny apartment, and I can't expect Levi to take care of me.”

“It's not the only alternative,” Liam said. “You and the boys can stay with me . . . and Levi doesn't even have to stay the whole time—he can come and go.”

Cadie looked shocked and shook her head. “That's crazy! You can't just put
your
life on hold.”

“I don't have anything pressing going on,” he said, searching her face. “Cadie, don't you see? I've spent most of my life thinking about you and wanting to be with you again . . . and I never had the chance. Now I have that chance, and I want to make the most of it.”

Cadie eyed him skeptically. “Do you realize how hard this will be . . . waiting for me to die?”

“Honestly, I think it might be the only meaningful thing I do in my life.”

“That's not true,” she said, shaking her head. “I'm sure you've brought light to many lives. You just don't realize it. Look at all the boats you've built and restored for people . . . not to mention all the lives you've touched by just being a good guy.”

Liam laughed. “That's very kind of you, but I honestly don't think I've touched that many lives . . .
and
this isn't a pity party for me!”

Cadie smiled. “Well, it's not going to be a pity party for me either! If you really want to do this, I don't want sad, gloomy men tiptoeing around me.”

Liam nodded. “Deal.”

“T
hey're here!” Aidan hollered at the top of his lungs as Tuck hurried over to the car.

Cadie opened her door and the big dog put his paws on the edge of the seat and slobbered her with wet kisses while Aidan stood behind him, smiling. “C'mere, Tuck,” he said, pulling on his collar so he could give her a hug too.

“Missed you, sweetie,” she murmured, breathing in his lovely little-boy scent.

“Missed you, too, Mom. Wait 'til you see your new bed—Liam put it in
his
room.”

“I can't wait,” she said as Levi reached into the back for her bags.

“Where do you want to be?” Liam asked, helping her out of the car. “Would you like to sit out on the porch for a while?”

“I think I better just lie down for a while,” Cadie said, leaning on him.

Liam nodded, realizing how featherlight she felt. He guided her to his room and she looked around at the new arrangement—Liam's bed was up against the wall and a hospital bed was near the windows so she could look out over the yard and see the ocean. Levi pulled down the covers and Liam propped up the pillows behind her. “How's that?” he asked, opening one of the windows.

“It's perfect,” Cadie said, wincing as she tried to get comfortable.

Liam frowned. “What hurts?”

“Nothing,” she lied. “I'm fine.”

“Can I get you anything?”

She leaned back wearily against the soft pillows. “Nope, I'm all set.”

“Okay, well, the bathroom's in there when you need it—equipped with railings and such, and I found out that Nantucket actually has hospice care—who knew?” he said with a smile. “So a nurse will be coming to check on you.”

Cadie smiled weakly. “You probably never heard of hospice before this week,” she teased.

“You're right,” he said with a grin. “But I know
now.
”

Cadie looked out the window and saw Aidan throwing a tennis ball for Tuck. “Aidan has a new friend,” she said.

“He does,” Liam said. “Tuck's never really been around little people before, but he loves Aidan—he's even been sleeping on his bed.”

She smiled. “That's so great—he needs that.”

 

Cadie didn't remember falling asleep—the only thing she remembered was watching Aidan throwing the ball—but when she woke up, there were streaks of pink across the dark blue sky. She shivered and reached up to shut the window. “Need help?” Liam asked, appearing in the doorway, drying his hands on a dish towel.

“I was just trying to . . .”

“If you need anything, call me,” he instructed, shutting the window. “That's what I'm here for. How about a blanket?”

“That would be great.”

Liam reached into the top of his closet, pulled out a soft, blue fleece blanket, and as he did, a stuffed animal tumbled to the floor.

“What's that?” Cadie asked.

“That's Teddy,” he said, picking up his old bear.

“What an original name,” Cadie teased.

“I know,” Liam laughed, looking at it. “Would you like him to keep you company?”

“Sure,” Cadie said with a laugh. “Where'd you get him?”

Liam sat on the bed and propped Teddy up against the pillow next to her and she lightly touched his frayed fur and worn pads. “My goodness, he looks like he's been through the war.”

“He has,” Liam confirmed. “He was the only Christmas present my parents had bought for me before they died. Cooper found him when he was going through their things.”

“That explains his much-loved appearance,” Cadie said with an understanding nod.

“I don't hold on to many things, but somehow, I could never let Teddy go.”

Cadie nodded, trying to picture Liam when he was younger. “Do you have any old photographs?”

“Some . . . not many.”

“I'd love to see them.”

“Well, first, I need to know if you'd like some supper—we had spaghetti, and I managed to save some before your boys ate it all.”

Cadie smiled. “Okay,” she said with a nod. “I'll have a little . . . not too much.”

“Something to drink?”

“Tea?”

“With milk?”

“A little.”

“You got it.”

“Mommy, you're awake!” Aidan said, running into the room with Tuck at his heels and hopping onto the bed. “Did you know there's no TV here?”

“There isn't?” she said. “How're you going to manage without
SpongeBob
?”

He shrugged. “I don't know, but there're lots of books about shipwrecks and pirates and he's”—he pointed to Liam—“going to find them for me.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Aidan nodded and then looked up as Levi appeared with a tray.

“That was quick,” Cadie said.

“The water's still heating,” Levi explained. Then he looked at his brother. “Hop off, Aid, so Mom doesn't spill.”

Aidan moved to Liam's bed while Tuck sniffed the air and edged closer to Cadie. “That's not for you, Tuck,” Aidan said, tugging on his collar.

Tuck backed away reluctantly and then climbed up on Liam's bed next to Aidan and put his head on his paws. Levi sat next to him and scratched his ears. “You already had some spaghetti,” he consoled softly, but Tuck just sighed.

“Sheesh, it's a regular party in here,” Liam said, coming into the room and carefully setting the tea on Cadie's tray. “I didn't make it too full,” he said. “There's more in the pot.”

Cadie looked at each of them. “Boy,” she said, smiling. “If I knew I'd be taken care of by so many handsome men, I'd've gotten cancer sooner.”

“Yeah, that's a good reason,” Levi said, rolling his eyes.