The Do-Over(53)

I didn’t know if my text would actually reach his phone or just float around in the ether for a while until we were back in civilization. I hadn’t realized that I would feel so incomplete without him by my side and that made me both happy and sad. I couldn’t help but wonder what he and Julien were doing. Pushing that thought immediately from my head, I didn’t want Julien anywhere near my thoughts. It had been so pleasant not having him around.

“So. what’s new, Tara?” Frank asked as I sat down next to him and CB.

“Not a damn thing.” I certainly wasn’t going to share my personal life with him. At least not yet or he’d be counting down the days until he could stop paying alimony. “I’m going to pull up my car as close as I can get it to Scarlett’s bunk. I need you to load her stuff into my trunk.”

“You can’t do that?”

“No. I can’t. Don’t worry, Countess, you won’t break a nail.” I pointedly looked down at Frank’s manicured fingers and wondered how I’d ever been married to him. Immediately I was slammed with a painful pang. I missed Wes so much. Had he been here, we would’ve just loaded up Scarlett’s stuff, it all would’ve been positive and there would have been none of this negative energy expended trying to get the ex to get off his pampered butt.

It annoyed me to no end that I had to tell him to load the car. This was the fifth summer we’d done this. The man knew the drill.



Around the time we hit the interstate, cell signal had returned and Scarlett began texting her camp friends. Lifting my phone to check for texts, I was surprised not to see any. Julien certainly must’ve been keeping Wes very busy.

“So we need to start school shopping.” I attempted to get my daughter’s attention.

“Okay. Can we ask Aunt Laynie to come with? She literally has like the coolest taste.”

“Text her and ask,” I said, silently laughing at my daughter’s vernacular and wondering if I’d ever hear a sentence for the next five years that didn’t include the words like and literally.

“She says of course and wants to know if you want to meet for dinner tonight.”

“Tell her yes. After this drive, I’m sure as heck not cooking.”

We were still an hour and a half out of New York City, when my cell signal chirped. Finally! Lifting my phone, I was surprised to see it was from Stacy.

Just admitted to Memorial Sloan-Kettering

“Oh my God.”

Alarmed, Scarlett turned to me, putting down her phone. “What’s the matter?”

“Wes’ sister Stacy just got admitted to Memorial Sloan-Kettering.”

“The cancer hospital?”

“Yes, she’s being treated for breast cancer. Will you do me a favor and text her back on my phone. I don’t want to text and drive at the same time.”

“Sure.”

“Okay, say OMG, are you okay? What happened?”

Cough got worse. And I’m running a fever. Going down for a CT Scan in a few.

“Tell her I’m on my way back to the city with Scarlett. Will drop her off, then be by to see you.”

“Are you okay with just dinner with Laynie?”

“Sure.”

“Okay text Aunt Laynie and tell her the situation.”

As we continued down I-91 heading toward New York, my stomach was in knots for Stacy. And for Wes. No wonder why I hadn’t heard from him.

Please let this be nothing more than an infection from being run down by chemo. Please, I prayed. Trying to keep my thoughts positive, I knew I needed to keep my strength and energy up to lend support to both Stacy and Wes.





Chapter 19


I was nauseous as the elevator ascended to Stacy’s floor, begging a higher power to please let her be okay, please let this be something antibiotics could fix. By the time the doors opened, there was an acidic burning at the back of my throat.

Wes was standing next to Stacy’s bed when I reached the doorway. My heart sighed in relief at the sight of him. Turning toward me, he began to approach. Something looked different. What was it? I had just crossed the doorway’s threshold into Stacy’s darkened room when he reached me, ushering me back out into the harshly lit hallway. Under the fluorescent light, I could finally see what had altered his appearance.

My hand immediately shot up to caress his swollen and bruised left cheek, but he caught my arm just before it reached his face and led me down the hall, finding a small waiting room that was empty and steered me inside.

“Wes, what happened? Are you okay? What’s going on with Stacy?” My senses were on high alert. He had not yet uttered a single word to me and the sinking feeling in my stomach was becoming more pronounced. Whatever was going on was not good. “Talk to me,” I begged. “Please talk to me.”

With a deep exhale, he began. “Things are not good with Stacy. The cancer has metastasized to her right lung and she has an infection in there on top of that.”

“Oh God.” Hot tears, that were impossible to control, spilled from my eyes. “That’s what that damn cough was about, wasn’t it? Shit!” I closed my eyes.

Wes just nodded.

“Oh Wes, I’m so sorry,” I continued. “What are the doctors saying?”

“Nothing yet. They need to clear up the infection. But, it’s not good. The chemo didn’t stop it from spreading.” He gazed at his hands as he spoke.