Season of Sisters (46 page)

Kate nodded, then stopped. "No. Better not. He won't... well... we just better not. Thank you, Sue. It was nice to see you again."

"You, too. And Kate?" Her gaze swept down and up under a raised eyebrow. "I have no reason to suspect the worst, but just in case... just so you know... you've been away from town for a while so..."

"What is it?"

"Don't you think that dress is a little short for a Cedar Dell funeral?"

"Why, thanks, Sue. I'll remember that." Kate pasted on a smile and held it until Sue disappeared inside the ICU. When the door quit swinging and remained shut, she leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and fought back tears as all the old insecurities, regrets, and disappointments came roaring back.

Welcome home, Cedar Dell Slut.

She really, really didn't want to be here. But how could she be anywhere else?

What if her dad had died today? What if he died before they found a way to make peace between them? Could she live with that?

If he had died today, she'd be forced to live with that regret.

Her teeth and stomach clenched
.
Of course, you've already lived with it for half your life.

Kate and her father never had been close. Her childhood memories starred her mother—ginger cookies and bedtime stories, shared giggles and hugs, and cuddles in the rocking chair. Her mother was everything warm and loving and supportive. Her father was gruff, stern, aloof. An authority figure. A father.

Kate had always yearned for a daddy.

She did recall—and treasure—a handful of "daddy" times. They'd built the tree house at the lake together. Danced to birdsong together beneath it. He'd taught her how to repair a ball return at Harmon Lanes, and they'd played catch in the backyard once.

For the most part, however, her relationship with her father had always been one of distance. He didn't understand her. She didn't understand him. That unavoidable fact had become clear the night his stubbornness collided with her rebelliousness to destroy her most precious dream. She'd run off and done something spontaneous and stupid, and as a result, in one of those serendipitous lessons of life, from the dust of one dream another had been born. Kate had named him Ryan.

As always, the thought of her son lifted her spirits. Kate drew a bracing breath, tugged a tissue from her purse, and dabbed at the corners of her eyes, then headed upstairs to check on her sister.

Sarah. One more dysfunctional relationship in her life.

As she approached the open door to Room 238, she heard a rumble of voices. Her brother-in-law Alan. Her brother Tom. She found her sister's higher-pitched tones reassuring. At least, she did until she heard what was being said.

"What are we going to do about Dad?"

"I don't know," Tom said. "It's a problem. He simply cannot take care of himself. He can't live alone. Not until his injuries heal, and the doctor said it could take three months for his leg to be dependable. I have a vivid mental picture of his falling and lying on the floor for hours or days at a time."

Alan said, "I hate to be hardheaded about this, but I don't want Jack and Sarah in the same house, not under these circumstances."

"Alan!" Sarah protested.

"No, this time I'm having my way. Being put on total bed rest means just that. If Jack lived with us or we moved in with him and he needed something, you'd go crazy to get it for him."

"Don't you dare suggest that I wouldn't protect my baby," Sarah scolded. "If I'm supposed to stay in bed, I'll stay in bed."

"I'm not arguing that. I'm talking about stress. Stress brought on these contractions today, honey. Imagine living with your father under these circumstances. Talk about stressful."

Kate moved closer, stopping just outside the doorway. She watched Alan pause, shudder, then level an unyielding stare on his wife. "We've wanted this child for fifteen years. I won't have you going into premature labor because your dad drops the remote and whines his way through a reality TV show when he wanted to be watching the History Channel."

Tom cleared his throat. "I'd take him back to Houston with me, but—"

"He'd rather die than leave Cedar Dell," Sarah said.

And she would have died had she stayed in Cedar Dell, Kate thought, stepping into the room. That pretty much summed up the basic problem between her and her dad. "Hello."

Three heads jerked in her direction. Two countenances reflected surprise. Alan looked pleased to see her.

"Kate!" Sarah exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Kate stiffened. "I believe families usually gather when one of them has been seriously hurt in an accident."

Tom rubbed the back of his neck. "How did you find out about the wreck?"

"Obviously not from you."

Sarah gasped. "You didn't call her, Tom? We should have called her. I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't think about it."

It was only another small arrow through her heart. "You were busy saving your baby, Sarah," she said with a smile. "Alan phoned me."

As her sister beamed a thank-you toward her husband, Alan said, "Chief Perkins told me the police notified Tom since he was listed as next of kin on a card in Jack's wallet."

Tom hadn't bothered to contact his youngest sister.
So what else is new? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Annoyed with herself, Kate dismissed her brother and took a good long look at her sister. Sarah, looking pale and exhausted, lay with her feet propped slightly higher than her head.

Kate's concern must have shown because Sarah smiled with reassurance. "I'm all right. The baby is all right."

Kate closed her eyes, said a quick prayer of thanks.

"Daddy's situation is more serious, but Dr. Hardesty assures us that it's reasonable to expect he will have a full recovery."

"I barely saw him. The nurse said something about surgery?"

Tom nodded. "He had a deep puncture wound in his thigh. Lucky he didn't sever an artery and bleed to death."

Kate's knees suddenly felt weak, and she sank onto the black vinyl chair beside her sister's bed. "What exactly happened? He turned in front of a car?"

"A truck," Sarah responded. "He was making a left turn into the Dairy Queen parking lot. A pickup hit him broadside." She continued with a seemingly unending list of muscle damage, cuts, abrasions, bruises, and bumps suffered by their father. When Sarah started talking about heart arrhythmia, blurred vision, blackouts, and delusions, Kate began massaging her forehead between her fingers. Delusions? Strong-minded Jack?

"Dr. Hardesty expects he'll be here for three to four days," Sarah concluded. "After that... well... he can't live alone anymore. At least, not for the time being."

For a few moments, a contemplative silence descended on the room. Then Tom folded his arms and frowned. "It's too bad Cedar Dell doesn't have an assisted living center. I hate to put him in Colonial Valley."

Colonial Valley was the town's only nursing home. It was a nice enough place, but people went there to die. "Dad would never forgive us."

Sarah plucked at a loose thread on her blanket and nodded her agreement. "He doesn't want to leave his home."

"He may have to leave his home." Tom lifted his hands, palms up. "What choice do we have? I spent all afternoon on the phone trying to hire home health care. This town only has a handful of full-time providers, and they're all committed."

"What about Jenny Wilson?" Alan asked. "Ben Wright passed on last week. Jenny should be free."

"I tried her. She's already accepted another position. With Alma Peters."

Sarah sighed loudly. "Alma Peters will outlive us all."

"I do have one name I haven't tried... Bertie Ellis."

Kate shot her brother an incredulous look. Bertie "The Narc" Ellis had gone to school with Kate. The nickname stood for narcolepsy rather than narcotics and arose from an incident during their senior year when Bertie, a second-string tight end, had nodded off during the Class 3A football playoff between Cedar Dell and Bowie High.

"Tom, we can't use Bertie," Sarah said. "I wouldn't trust him to watch my cat, much less my father."

"I thought we could hire Bertie to tend to Dad's personal needs until he's up and around, but also call upon The Widows to take up the slack."

"The Widows?" Kate sent a beseeching gaze toward the ceiling. "Oh, jeez. They'd casserole him to death."

"Well? Can you think of a better solution?"

Actually, Kate had thought of something better—actually, someone better—but the thought, the commitment, froze on her tongue.

Alan West, insightful brother-in-law that he was, pinned her with a challenging look, and casually observed, "Seems to me y'all are overlooking the obvious."

No, Alan.

"What about Kate?"

Thanks, Alan.

Sarah's eyes rounded. Tom wrinkled a puzzled brow. "Kate?" he repeated, darting a skeptical gaze toward his sister. "What? Do you know someone who could stay with Dad? Do you have connections in the health-care industry?"

"Don't be thickheaded, Tom." Sarah turned a hopeful gaze toward her sister. "Would you do it? Would you come home and nurse Dad?"

"Kate!" Tom exclaimed, gaping at Sarah. "You're kidding. Dad's going to need help for at least three months, if not permanently. She'd rather milk rattlesnakes for a living than move back to Cedar Dell, even for the summer."

Kate offered a saccharine smile. "Thank you so much, brother dear. I find it terribly taxing to speak for myself."

He had the grace to look ashamed. "I'm sorry. It's just that... well... you know Dad. With the trouble between the two of you... he'd hate having you care for him."

Kate wanted to blame the hospital's antiseptic smell for the nausea churning in her stomach, but she couldn't. "So in your opinion, he'd rather go into a nursing home than have me help him?"

Tom shifted and looked away. "I didn't say that."

"Oh, didn't you?"

Anxiously, Sarah said, "Please, let's not get ugly."

"What?" Kate snapped, pinning her brother with an angry gaze. "And break family tradition?"

Kate had never forgiven her brother for the way he'd treated her when their mother died. The horrible scene outside the church following her mother's funeral had haunted their every meeting since—all five of them. The whole Harmon clan didn't gather if they could avoid it.

"Hey, I'm not the one who made a scandal of our family name. I'm not the one who—"

"That's enough." Alan stepped forward. "This isn't good for any of us, particularly Sarah and the baby."

"That's right." Lying flat on her back, Sarah still managed a regal pout. "Stress is detrimental to a woman in my condition. Now, personalities and old feuds aside, this family is in a bind, and if Kate is willing to step into the breach, I, for one, think we should be graciously grateful. Can you do it, Kate? Will you do it? Will you come home and take care of Dad?"

Kate's pulse kicked up a notch on an adrenaline rush. She forced herself to think. This decision involved other people. "I have to consider Ryan."

"If you bring him to Cedar Dell, the gossips will eat him alive," Tom warned.

Maybe. Probably. That's why she'd stayed away for fifteen years. The gossips would gnaw on her hard-won peace of mind in several ways.

"Ryan wouldn't necessarily come with me," Kate said, thinking out loud. "He has friends at home. His Select baseball team plays through July, and we've lined up an internship for him at Loring Engineering. He'd be fine at home with Adele."

Sarah's teeth tugged at her bottom lip. "I hate to separate you from your son. It's been obvious the times we've spent together at the lake house that you and Ryan are close."

"Bring him, Kate," Alan encouraged. "Bring him and Adele. She'll keep Jack stirred up, and it'll do the boy good to spend time with his grandfather."

Nodding in agreement, Sarah said, "That's right. Dad thinks a lot of Ryan. He'd want him here. He'd want you here."

Her brother's lips twisted in a doubtful grimace, but Kate barely noticed. Deep inside, a dormant seed of hope blossomed. Maybe, just maybe, some good could come from this near disaster.

"And of course, you should bring Adele," her sister continued, "Dad's house has plenty of room, and she'll be good company for him."

"If she can refrain from telling him off," Kate muttered. Adele had strong opinions about Jack Harmon's treatment of his daughter and grandson.

Tom shuffled. "I still think Colonial Valley might be a better option."

That was just the push Kate needed. She took a deep, bracing breath. "I want to clear it with Ryan, but yes. Yes, I'll do it. I'll come home for the summer and see to Dad."

Sarah's eyes went bright with pleasure. Alan grinned. Tom scratched at his five o'clock shadow, his mouth set in a frown. "All right, then. It's settled."

They spent the next few minutes hammering out the details of the arrangement. Because Kate would continue her accounting work during the summer, she'd need an office. They agreed that before Tom returned to Houston in five days, he would have phone lines and office equipment installed in his old bedroom. Tom would also hire Bertie and talk to The Widows about covering for them the days between their father's release from the hospital and the two weeks until Ryan's school let out for the summer. Alan promised to drop by the house often to make certain The Narc didn't spend too much time sleeping on the job.

With the plans made, her brother walked to the bed and pressed a kiss against Sarah's brow. "I'm whipped. I'll see you in the morning. You get some sleep tonight, you hear?"

"I will."

He spoke a moment with Alan, then turned toward Kate. He gave her an awkward handshake. "Uh, thanks, Kate."

She met his gaze, so much like Jack's, briefly. "Uh, sure."

Tom left the hospital room just as a nurse arrived to take Sarah's vital signs. Suddenly exhausted, Kate seized the chance to escape. Standing, she said, "I need to be going. I want to visit Dad before I head back to Dallas."

"You shouldn't drive all that way tonight," Sarah protested, as the nurse wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her upper arm. "Stay at our house or at Dad's."