Taylor Lynne: The Women of Merryton - Book Two (21 page)

“I’m sorry, Easton.”

“I am too, but I promise
you, nothing will ever come between me and Ashley again. I don’t want to end up
like Frank.”

“I think that’s
impossible,” I tried to comfort him.

“Frank really wants to
talk to you. He knows he can never make up for what he put you through, but
with the little time he has left he wants the chance to get to know you. And
Ashley.”

I could feel the anger
flood my cheeks. “He will never know Ashley.”

“If that’s what you
want.”

“It is.” I was holding
firm to that.  

“I know you don’t want to
depend on me, but I’ll be by your side if you want to see him.”

“Why do care so much if I
see him?”

“I know what it’s like to
miss out on my daughter’s life because of my poor choices, but at least I get a
second chance. He won’t get that. I’m not saying he deserves it, but the man is
dying and his final wish is to get to know his daughter. I know you don’t
believe it, and I don’t blame you, but I’ve never seen anyone more remorseful
than him.”

I squeezed his hand
harder. “I’ll think about it.”

Easton looked down at our
hands. “I miss holding your hand.”

“Me, too. But you know,
we can’t ever … you know … have a relationship like that again, right?” I don’t
know why I needed to say that out loud. Maybe to remind myself?

He thought for a moment
while rubbing his thumb across my hand. We won’t even talk about what that was
doing to my senses. “I know, Tay.”

I pulled my hand away
slowly. “So, no more alimony?”

“Are you trying to break
up with me?” he teased.

I leaned over and kissed
his cheek and lingered for a moment. I had forgotten how much my lips loved the
feel of his skin beneath them. I allowed myself to breathe him in one last
time.

 When my lips departed
from his cheek he turned and looked at me. His eyes bore into the very reaches
of my soul.

“I’m trying to move on,”
I admitted.

“Me, too.”

I chose not to see Frank
during the rest of his hospital stay. Easton kept me updated on his condition,
but I never made it down to his room again. After a week in the hospital he was
taken back to The Pines, where he was moved from assisted living to the nursing
home wing. Easton didn’t push me to visit him, but kept offering to go with me
if and when I decided to go.

I kept thinking about the
story Pastor Bates had told me about the holocaust survivor. She was obviously
a much better person than me.

I wanted to be that kind
of person. I wanted to be a good example to my daughter. My main objective in
being there was Ashley’s well-being. She deserved not to have the issues that had
plagued me my entire adult life. She deserved both parents in her life, and I
had to say Easton was being the father I always knew he could be. To be honest,
the more we were there, the more guilt I felt for leaving in the first place, and
for not having been honest with Easton about my feelings. I think if I had
spoken up more about my feelings, we would have stayed in Birmingham.
How
different would my life be now?

I threw myself into my
work. In addition to my one-on-one appointments, I started holding a group
meeting every Tuesday and Thursday. It’s always easier to stay on track when
you have a support group. Besides, when you’re a new mom, or even a seasoned
one, it’s always nice to know you aren’t the only one going through the
terribly hard but wonderful job of being a mother. I met with those that had
recently given birth on Tuesdays, and my other clients on Thursdays.

I was also getting ready
to teach the women’s group at church. Gloria Ryan was relentless. I was beginning
to think she asked me so she could get the scoop on my nonexistent relationship
with Easton. She kept saying things like, “You two look so good together.”

Jessie had warned me that
her mother thought of herself as cupid and believed everyone should be in love.

The night of the seminar
at church, I was pretty confident most women were there to find out more about
me than they were about how to eat better. Remember Amy, the woman who looked
more like she was always ready for the club and had hit on my ex-husband? She
showed up. She had the audacity to raise her hand during the class and ask if I
was seeing my ex-husband. It bothered me more than it should have. My response:
“Yes, I see him frequently.”

It was true, but out of
context. We shared a daughter together; we were going to see each other. It was
almost pointless to teach after that. Several heads turned together to discuss
what I meant by that. I should have clarified, but Amy wasn’t the right woman
for Easton. She had Kathryn written all over her.

Gloria Ryan caught me
after the meeting. “Jessie wanted me to tell you she’s sorry she couldn’t make
it. She and Blake had to head to Denver unexpectedly tonight.”

“I hope everything is all
right.”

She grinned subtly. “It’s
perfect.”

I wasn’t sure what to say
to that. I felt like there was more to the story that she was bursting to
share, but she held back. I didn’t press for further details. Instead I responded,
“I would be happy to leave you with my extra handouts.”

“That would be lovely,
dear. Thank you.”

“Thank you for asking
me.” I slid my laptop and projector back into my traveling case. I was so ready
to go home, but Gloria laid her hand on top of mine. I noticed how elegant her
hand was.

“I’ve been wanting to
talk to you about your mother. Do you have a few minutes?”

I was stunned. I thought
for sure she was going to say Easton. How could I refuse? “Yes,” I responded.

“Why don’t we go sit in
the chapel?” she suggested.

I followed her with my case
slung over my shoulder.

There was a bit of
evening sunlight cascading through the large stain-glassed window that depicted
the Sermon on the Mount. It was lovely, but Gloria decided we needed more light
and turned on a few of the overhead ones. We sat in the very back wooden pew.

I looked over Gloria Ryan
closely. She was what I used to imagine I would be like when I grew up. Married
forever to my own doctor and still madly in love with my retired husband, living
out our dreams together. Again, I picked up the wrong brochure. Don’t get me
wrong, I knew I had a good life and I supposed I should be content with it. I
thought I mostly was, but more and more I felt regret in ways I never thought I
would.

“How are you doing?” she
asked first.

I went the generic route.
I knew anything I said to her would find its way around the grapevine. “I’m
good. Thank you.”

She wasn’t to be
deterred. She meant to get something out of this little meeting. “It must be
difficult moving back to the town where your ex-husband lives.”

I smiled cleverly. Two
could play this game. “It has its moments.”

She scooted closer and
smiled charmingly. She was upping her game. “Davis thinks Easton is by far the
best doctor in town.”

“That’s not surprising,”
I replied blandly.

“It’s so nice to see exes
getting along so well and willing to compliment one another. Just the other day,
Easton was saying how much he admired you.”

I wasn’t falling for the
bait. I smiled sweetly. “Did you say you wanted to talk to me about my mom?”

She didn’t seem put off
by the change in subject. In fact, she smiled like she knew she had been beat.
“Yes, dear.” She took my hand. “I don’t know if you knew or not, but your
mother cleaned our house for years.”

I shook my head. I didn’t
know. I knew she did a lot of things, from waitressing to being a maid at a
hotel, but I never knew she had worked for the Ryans. She was private about
those types of things. I think she was embarrassed.

“Your mother was probably
the hardest working individual I ever knew, not to mention kind.”

I wiped at my eyes. “Yes,
she was.”

Gloria squeezed my hand.
“She was so proud of you. She talked about you non-stop. You don’t know how
much it meant to her that you moved back here. I think she knew she didn’t have
much time left and you being back here was such a gift to her.”

“What do you mean, she
didn’t have much time left? She died of a heart attack.”

Gloria’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry, honey, I thought you knew your mother had had heart problems for
years.”

“She never said anything.
I knew she wasn’t well, but I thought it was stress and living with Frank.”

“I’m sure that
contributed to it, but Davis had been treating her for years. We tried to do
what we could, but your mother was stubborn and independent.”

The tears streamed
uncontrollably down my face. “If only she would have been more so with Frank.”

Gloria reached into her
purse and handed me a tissue, which I gladly took.

“Well … I can’t explain
that one either, but love—or the maybe the fear of being alone—can make people
do inexplicable things.”

“I wonder why she never
told me about her health. We could have helped her.”

“I’m sure she had her
reasons, but I know she died in peace. She knew you were taken care of. Boy,
did she love Easton and that little girl of yours.”

“She’s not so little
anymore.”

“They have a tendency to
grow up way too fast.”

I nodded in agreement.

“I know it couldn’t have
been easy for you to come back here, but I thought you should know it did more
good than you know.”

“And more damage,” I
admitted.

She smiled sadly. “Well,
maybe this time around all will be made right.” She stood up abruptly. “Have a
good night, dear. And thanks again for presenting.”

I barely acknowledged her
parting. I sat alone in the chapel staring at a stained-glass window, not
knowing how to make everything right. Was it even possible? My thoughts were interrupted
by my ringing phone. I pulled it out of my bag to see who it was and decided to
answer.

“Hello?”

Easton was laughing on the
other end.

“What’s so funny?” I
asked.

“I just got off the phone
with the fifth person that called to tell me congratulations.”

“For what?”

“You don’t know?”

“No. What?”

“Rumor has it my ex-wife
announced we were seeing each other again.”

I sighed in exasperation.
“I’m sorry, that was taken out of context.”

“Don’t apologize, I’ve
been accused of worse things.”

“I’ll straighten it out.
Don’t worry.”

“Are you okay, Taylor?
You don’t sound like yourself.”

His kindness started up
the tears again, which prevented me from speaking right away. “Easton, did you
know my mom was sick before she died?”

He paused, started
speaking, then paused some more. “I had my suspicions,” he admitted.

“Why didn’t you say
something to me?”

“Because I had a feeling
your mom wanted to use what time she had left to enjoy you and Ashley. She
didn’t want that worry getting in the way. She begged me to move you home. I
probably let that cloud my judgment. I’m sorry.”

“Maybe I’m glad I didn’t
know. It seems like I don’t know anything anymore.”

“You and I belong to the
same club then,” he responded.

“I’m sorry about the
phone calls. I’ll announce I’m engaged to someone back home.”

“Are you?”

“No, Easton.”

“Can I ask why you never
dated?”

“Who said I never dated?”

He cleared his throat and
admitted reluctantly, “Our daughter.”

“You’ve been talking to
Ashley about my dating habits?’

“Maybe … in passing.”

A small laugh erupted.
For some reason I found it funny he would ask Ashley about my love life, or
lack thereof. “I did date, but I kept it from Ashley.”

“How did you manage
that?”

“A lot of lunch dates,
and sometimes if she was out with friends or over at Grams and Harry’s, I would
go out with someone.”

“So you snuck around,” he
laughed.

“No. I was trying to
prevent any issues. I was only going to introduce Ashley to someone I felt like
would be a permanent fixture in our lives.”

“Thank you.”

I didn’t expect that
response. “For what?”

“Being such a good mom
and watching over our daughter.”

“You don’t have to thank
me for that.”

“Can I at least thank you
for making up the difference?”

I paused before I
admitted, “Here’s the thing, I could never replace you in Ashley’s life.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“Sometimes I used to be,
but despite everything that has happened, I’m happy she has you in her life.”

“There is no other place
I would rather be than in your lives.”

Did he say “your lives?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I thought for a second or two. “I should
probably get going.”

“Are you sure you’re
okay? Do you want to meet for bottled water or something?”

“Bottled water?” I
laughed.

“It’s your drink of
choice.”

“I’m fine. I need to get
home. I haven’t seen Ashley or Emmy all day.”

“Thanks, Taylor.”

“For what?”

“Letting Emmy be part of
your life.”

“She makes it easy.”

“I’ll see you Saturday?”
he asked with hope.

“I’ll be at the game.
Hopefully this time you’ll beat Riley Insurance.”

“We’ll do our best.”

“Goodnight, Easton.”

“Night, Tay.”