Always(Time for Love Book 4)(29)

*****

Brenna’s bottom lip jutted out when her phone indicated there were still no messages from Ash. How had his association board meeting gone last night? Did he have to do some work today? He’d said he’d let her know.

She hoped he wasn’t upset anymore. It bothered her that she was doing something that Ash wasn’t happy with. But she felt she was doing the right thing for Patty—as well as for Darren, who also needed her support.

Patty had had a rather tough day yesterday at Sally’s birthday lunch. The poor woman had had to lie down, complaining of a general feeling of discomfort.

Patty had called her to her room and told her again how grateful and relieved she was that Brenna and her son were back together. Patty had said that part of her stress was worrying about how Darren was coping, and how lighthearted she now felt that Brenna was there for him.

Guilt had hit Brenna as she nodded at Patty’s misapprehensions. But she’d pushed it away, believing that her guilt was far outweighed by the fact that she was lifting the spirits of someone who desperately needed it. When Patty was strong enough physically and emotionally, she’d tell her the truth. She could only pray it wouldn’t be too long before Patty got to that stage.

Her phone rang in her hand and her heart jumped. But it wasn’t Ash. It was Darren. Worry washed over her.

“Darren? Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Hey, Bren. Yeah, everything’s cool.”

She heaved a sigh of relief.

“Could I could pop in for a few minutes? Mum wants me to give you something.”

“Oh, you guys don’t have to give me anything.”

“You know my mother, Brenna,” Darren said with a laugh. “I’m five minutes away from your place, okay?”

“Okay,” she said resignedly.

*

“What’s all this?” Brenna asked in disbelief as she opened the door to Darren, who was carrying a big bunch of flowers on one arm and a bag on the other.

“She was very specific,” Darren said dryly as he walked into her apartment. “A bunch of gerberas and lilies, and some brand new food storage stuff that she thinks you’d like.”

Brenna shook her head in dismay. “This is so wrong,” she lamented.

“What is?” Darren asked, placing the items on a table.

“Those,” she said, gesturing towards the stuff he brought.

“These are thank-you gifts, Bren. There’s nothing wrong with them.”

“But she’s giving these to me because she thinks I’m with you!”

“No. She’s giving them to you because she’s grateful you’re around.”

“Darren, you know it’s more than just that.”

Darren let out a loud sigh. “It probably should bother me that we’re lying to her, but it’s not. She’s probably hoping for a wedding and grandchildren, and if that’s the case, they’re the only things that are keeping her interested in life. Bren, I’d lie to her every day if it means she wouldn’t give up the fight. You understand where I’m coming from, don’t you?”

Compassion hit Brenna again like a ton of bricks and she nodded. Put like that, she could empathise with Darren about keeping up the pretense.

“I know this is a big ask, Bren,” Darren continued, his voice softer. “You don’t know how much I appreciate you doing this.”

“I care about her too, Darren. She’s been—”

She stopped talking when her phone rang. Ash! She rushed to answer it.

“Hi,” she said, just as Darren’s phone rang loudly.

“Hi,” Ash said. “Is that another phone ringing?”

“Yeah. It’s Darren’s,” she said a tad nervously, cursing bad timing. “He's here to drop some things that Patty wanted me to have.”

Silence.

“Ash?”

“Are you free at all today?” he finally asked.

“Yes.” she said eagerly.

“Can I come over?”

“Of course.”

“What time?”

“Anytime you want.”

“In about forty minutes or so?”

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll see you soon. Bye.”

Brenna’s heart pinched at the flatness of Ash’s voice.

“Bren, was that Ash?” Darren asked.

“Yeah. He’ll be here in about forty minutes,” she said absently.

“Everything okay?”

She paused, trying to find the right words. “Ash understands what you and your mum are going through, Darren. That’s why he’s okay with us pretending to be a couple. But he’s not exactly happy about it, and I’m sure you can understand why.”

Darren stared at her. “If he asked you to stop our pretense, would you?”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that. Because I honestly wouldn’t know what to do. I have to consider his feelings, too. I’ve already hurt him enough in the past.”

Darren’s face clouded, but he gave her a small smile.

“Hey, you know how we took a video of Mum’s fiftieth birthday party?” he asked.

“Uh-huh,” she answered, surprised by his sudden change of topic.