Young Revelations (Young Series) (46 page)

“I remember that,” she says, her brow furrowed slightly. “I was distracted thinking about Tyler, but I remember him hitting on me a couple times during the night. I didn’t think anything of it and I certainly had no interest in him.” She frowns at me. “Was this before or after you cut him out of your business deal?”

“After,” I respond. “A few months after that party, Frank disappeared for a while. Years, actually. He got in touch with Leo a couple years back saying he’d gotten into some trouble and needed help getting out. Leo convinced me to help him; I didn’t want to. I should’ve just let the bastard get himself killed. Would have saved all of us trouble.”

“Do you think Frank was involved in what’s happened over the last few months?” she asks. “The whole business with the chip and the Russians and the plane crash…”

I nod slowly. “That and a whole lot more,” I say quietly. I remain quiet, wondering if she’ll connect the dots the way I’ve been connecting them. If she hasn’t, I’m not sure I want to do it for her.

Realization dawns slowly and her complexion pales. “The bombing?” she breathes. I nod tersely. “That was
Frank
?”

“I don’t know for sure,” I say quickly. “About any of it, really. There are a lot of coincidences when it comes to Frank and the things he’s been up to over the last year or so. The back of his travel agency—and I use that term very loosely—has been cleaned out of guns and drugs and a million other illegal items. I half-expected to be told he was trafficking girls.” I shake my head in disgust. “There is nothing I would ever put past him. But yes, he is currently a suspect in the plane crash and I consider him one in the bombing. Now he’s God knows where and nobody seems able to keep tabs on him. That’s what the phone call was about tonight. I got one yesterday around the time I got to Claire’s for our date telling me there’s a possibility Frank might be back in the state. Incidentally, Natalie is being extradited from Pennsylvania to New York to face kidnapping and murder charges. That’s the good news in all of this.

“What I do know is that if Frank shows his face anywhere near here, I’m going to know about it,” I say, turning in my chair to fully face her. “I also know that I will do whatever it takes to keep you, Tyler, and our baby safe. He’s not going to touch you so long as I’m around. You know that, don’t you?”

She nods. “I know,” she whispers. “Matt, I know you’re scared to tell me these things because you’re afraid I’ll run.” When I open my mouth to argue, despite her being dead right in her assumptions, she shakes her head and I keep quiet. “I can’t blame you for that. But I’m not going anywhere. I’m not letting them tear us apart again. I love you, and you are stuck with me until your last dying breath.”

Her words surprise a laugh out of me when all I can really focus on is how incredible this woman really is and wondering why the hell she’s wasting her time with me.
She told you, dumbass. She loves you.
Inwardly, I’m rolling my eyes at myself. Outwardly, I’m leaning over the arm of my chair and crushing my lips to hers, desperate for the contact so I can attempt to convey what it means to me that she puts up with this life and with me.

When she somehow ends up in my lap, straddling my hips, I assume our conversation is over for now and I take the opportunity to resume our plans from earlier.

––––-o––––-

Life is good right now. I’m content for a change when not long ago I assumed my life had gone to complete hell and that there was no more reason to wake up in the morning. Now that I’m somewhat recovered from that, I’m incredibly ashamed of some of the thoughts that ran through my head. I’ve never been at such a low a point of my life that I ever considered suicide as a final option. Samantha would never forgive me for that, for taking myself away from my children and never giving my daughter the option to know me or giving Tyler the right to have his father in his life. I don’t know whether it was one thing in particular that set those thoughts in motion or a combination of the events. Whatever it was, it was unacceptable and I’ll never be able to tell Claire how thankful I am that she showed up when she did to get some sense into me. If she hadn’t, I might have gone through with my thoughts and I might not be here right now.

We’re now two weeks away from Christmas and our wedding. Between Claire and Samantha every last detail has been finalized and the girls are getting their dresses fitted today. Of course, there’s the matter of Sam’s ever-growing belly so she’ll have to have her dress refitted the day of the actual wedding to ensure it fits her properly. I’d be fine with her showing up in sweatpants and one of my shirts, but I’ve learned to keep this opinion to myself—the one time I dared mention it, she gave me a glare that I’m pretty sure killed the potted plants all around the house.

Samantha’s little sister Lily has joined the fray as well. She flew out early after some audition she’d tried out for in Hollywood fell through. I didn’t listen too closely to the details, but from what I gathered, she’d mistakenly accepted an audition invitation for an adult film. After I heard that, Tyler and I retreated to the basement for a couple hours to avoid listening to Samantha’s shouted lecture about Lily being far too trusting and needing to be more careful. There are just some things neither my son nor I need to hear.

Marcus has returned to town to update me on things he’s already updated me on—Frank is still on the run; Natalie is under heavy security at my insistence. It would be far too predictable if she managed to escape police custody right before our wedding and it’s not a risk worth taking at this point. Marcus further suspects I haven’t weeded out all the moles in my company. We’re currently planning deeper investigations after the New Year.

“I don’t want this affecting my wedding,” I tell him firmly. “And I realize that’s probably incredibly unrealistic, but this has to go perfectly for Samantha.”

He nods understandingly. “I’ll do everything I can. You know that. I’ve got a security team arranged, people I’ve checked myself and you are free to accept them or deny them for any reason. That’s your call. I know you’re having some trust issues right now and I get why. Trust me or not, I do have your best interests at heart. I’m not going to let anything happen to you or your family if I have anything to do with it.”

I smile. “Yeah, I know,” I tell him quietly. “And I appreciate all of it. I really do. You’re coming to the wedding, right?”

He snorts a laugh. “Of course I am. Someone’s gotta get video of you trying to dance to post on YouTube.”

“Gee, thanks,” I grumble as the intercom on my desk buzzes. “Yes, Sandra?”

“There’s a Bonnie Harris here to see you,” her voice replies. I grin at the exasperation in her voice and know exactly where this is headed. “She doesn’t have an appointment.” I know Bonnie is grinning too.

“That’s fine, send her in,” I say, trying to keep the laughter in my voice.

I hear a sigh on the other end of the intercom and can imagine my receptionist pinching the bridge of her nose. “You know, I’m really starting to wonder what my role in this company is if people who don’t have appointments can just show up and be seen. It’s mayhem, Matt.”

Marcus laughs out loud. I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing myself. “Would you be appeased if I bought you an expensive lunch tomorrow?” I offer.

The other end is silent for several moments. “My choice of restaurants?” she barters.

“Absolutely,” I confirm.

“Done.” The line goes dead.

Marcus stands up, still laughing. “I think that’s my cue to go do some real work myself. Make sure Sandra gets dessert tomorrow, too.”

I give him the finger as he opens the door and we find Bonnie standing on the other side. “See you later, Marcus,” I say as Bonnie enters and the door closes behind her. I catch her look over her shoulder appreciatively trying to get another glimpse of Marcus. “Miss Bonnie, this is a surprise. I don’t think you’ve ever been here.”

“I haven’t,” she confirms. “Had to get someone to program that damn GPS system Mark bought for my car just to get here.”

I chuckle, walking around my desk to give her a hug. Immediately I notice her appearance had deteriorated since Thanksgiving when I last saw her. Then she looked tired; now she looks very ill. Her hair seems to be thinning out along with the rest of her body and her eyes are sunken in, her skin paler than ever. I do not like this… We sit down on the couch against the wall and I grab a couple bottles of water, mostly because she looks like she might crumple if she doesn’t have the hydration, but I know better than to say that to her so I’m covering by taking a large gulp before speaking. “So what brings you all the way out here?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light.

She raises an eyebrow at me, silently telling me she knows what I’m up to. “I wanted to talk to you about something and didn’t want to bring it to your home, mostly because of Samantha. I don’t want her worrying about me when her health is far more important right now.” My brow furrows at her words. “You’re not stupid and you’re not blind. If you haven’t worked out what’s wrong with me, it’s because you’re trying not to think about it.”

Sighing, I give her a half-smile. “You’re not wrong,” I agree. “I take it you’re about to tell me?”

She nods. “And I don’t want to put you in a bad position with Samantha, but I would prefer for this to stay between us right now. I certainly understand if you tell Samantha and I’m not asking you to keep it secret if you feel she should know. I just believe it would be better for her right now to not know.”

I frown. “Okay…” I say slowly. “I’ll use my judgment.”

“That’s all I ask,” she says quietly. “I have a malignant brain tumor that is inoperable due to its location. They can’t safely operate without risking further problems and to be truthful, Matt, I’m okay with that. That being said, I have been receiving radiation treatments, but it’s not affecting it quickly enough and it’s growing. I’ll be lucky to make it to next fall.”

Even if there was some way to describe how I’m feeling about this news, I’m not sure I could vocalize it. I try to just focus on the facts of what I’ve been told rather than thinking too far down the line. “I’m beyond sorry to hear that,” I tell her, clearing my throat in an attempt to keep my voice even. I take her hand that rests closest to me, squeezing it. “There’s nothing they can do?”

She shrugs as though we’re discussing something completely innocuous. “They’ve given me a list of options,” she informs me almost dismissively. “But let’s be realistic about it. I don’t want to go through that bullshit. I want to live out however long I’ve got left in comfort, not going from treatment to treatment feeling sick and being in pain. Besides, I’ve had a good life up to now with the exception of losing my husband and maybe this is just my time.”

My vision is slightly blurred and my eyes are burning as I force myself to look away from Bonnie. She sounds like she’s completely accepted whatever will happen to her and that’s something I don’t understand. I’d be a complete wreck in her shoes, desperate to find anything to save my future with my family. But she said it herself, didn’t she? She’s lived out her life and though I didn’t know her when her husband was still alive, I’ve been told by other residents of the town that she’s not the same as she had been back then. If down the line I lost Samantha to illness, I don’t think I’d want to go on after that. Forget trying to pick up my life and move on; there’d be no point for me.

And speaking of Samantha, I now realize why Bonnie never told Samantha about the nature of her illness and I’m very glad she didn’t. “I can’t tell Samantha about this,” I say to Bonnie. “Not yet.”

She nods understandingly, squeezing my hand. “I thought as much,” she says quietly. “I think you told me once about her mom, that she died from the same thing. I don’t want to risk her health or that baby’s. My news can wait until she’s in a more stable place.”

I run my free hand through my hair, inwardly thinking selfish thoughts that I would never voice aloud to anyone, let alone Bonnie. Haven’t I lost enough? Why do I have to lose another friend? And Bonnie has become more than that to me—she’s become a second mother. The thought of losing Bonnie is devastating.

“I didn’t come here to ruin your day with bad news,” she tells me. I turn back to her. “But I needed you to know before we discuss what I came here to discuss.”

“And what’s that?” I hate that I can’t seem to raise my voice above a whisper.

She sighs. “I’ve been trying to get all my affairs in order now so I don’t have to deal with it later. For the most part, I don’t have anything worth leaving to anyone. The one thing I do have is my bookstore. It’s my baby; you know that.” I nod slightly jerkily. “I wanted to ask your opinion on whether Samantha would want to run it for me completely. And I know the two of you have the baby coming, so her free time is about to be down to nothing. The only thing she would really have to do until she gets back to a place that she can work is sign off on a few deliveries, maybe write a work schedule for the employees. I’d be happy to give her whatever tools needed and I’m sure you’d be right there to help as well. But of all the people I’ve met in my life, that girl is the one who I would be happy to leave my baby with. She’s smart, she’s dedicated, and she knows her books. I want her to have it.”

I’m flabbergasted. This is certainly not what I was expecting, but I have to agree with her that Samantha would flourish running a bookstore. Well, if she stopped reading the books long enough to actually open the store every morning. “I would have thought that would be something you wanted to keep in your family,” I respond tentatively.