To Have It All(68)

“Good morning,” she stated quietly. “Did you sleep well?”

She seemed . . . awkward. Or I felt awkward. Or, it was just really awkward. I’d agreed to go along with all this for one more day, but that didn’t mean there weren’t reservations. Maybe I was insane for wanting to believe Liam, and maybe Helen was, too. Or maybe I was insane and Helen was smart playing on a mentally ill man to have him pay her brother’s hospital bills.

“Yeah, I slept good,” I finally answered. “Hi, baby,” I cooed to Pim as I bent down and ate a piece of pancake out of her hand, making her giggle.

“There’s coffee.” Opening a cabinet, she pulled out a mug and handed it to me.

“Thanks. Where’s Ma . . .” I paused. Did I have to call him Liam with her, too? I blinked a few times, embarrassed. “Where is he?”

“He left about an hour ago. Said he’d be back soon.”

I frowned wondering where he could have gone. Helen busied herself washing dishes while I made my coffee. The silence between us was awful. There was so much I wanted to say to her; ask her, but I had no idea where to start.

Helen let out a loud sigh as she turned off the faucet. “Would you like to talk about it?”

“Yes,” I practically groaned, thankful she brought it up and I didn’t have to. She chuckled a little. “I’m sure you can understand my skepticism here.”

“Definitely,” she agreed as she pulled her hair tie out, letting her red hair billow down before gathering her locks to tie up again. “When he first came to me as Max and told me this story . . . I didn’t know what to think. Liam had been lying in a bed, half dead for days and this man shows up and tells me he’s my brother.”

“How did you end up believing him?”

“I didn’t believe him. At least, not right away. Then, I don’t know. He knew everything about me, things only Liam would know,” she explained as she wiped the counter. “I was scared,” she admitted. “Was I crazy to believe it? I knew I was devastated. My brother was dying. Was I just so desperate for him to live that I’d buy into this crazy story just to have him back, no matter what form he was in?”

I bobbed my head once in understanding.

“But it wasn’t just the stories. There were other signs. He moves like Liam. He even quirks his mouth on one side and smirks just like my brother. The mannerisms, the humor . . .” she shook her head. “It was all Liam.”

“You know how this looks, though, right?”

“How’s that?” she questioned with a speculative brow.

“I mean . . .” I twisted my mouth while I tried to decide how to word what I wanted to say. There was no way to put it delicately. “Like you’re using a mentally ill man to pay your brother’s medical bills.”

Her brow lifted slightly as her head reared back. I’d offended her. Slowly her features relaxed as I watched her absorb what I’d said. “I hadn’t thought about that, but I guess it might look like that to someone who didn’t believe him.” Then, she fixed her intent gaze on mine. “I guess that’s why he’s lucky that we do.”

Her expression went stoic as she stared at me. It was a challenge. She wanted me to confirm it. She wanted me to voice I’d picked a side in the Max is insane versus Liam is Max war.

That was fair, I guessed, but there was a problem. It was hard to say it, and I realized I couldn’t. Not until I believed it wholeheartedly. I just wasn’t ready to say it out loud. I would stay and spend this day with him. I’d stay until they took Liam’s body off life support. But saying I believe? To make my tongue curl around the words as they poured out of my mouth? I wasn’t ready for that.

Since I couldn’t say what she wanted me to, I said something else, something honest. “I’m scared.”

It was the most honest thing I could say. Before I knew it, Helen had her arms wrapped around me, her body wracking gently with quiet sobs. “If it makes you feel better,” she wept. “I’m scared, too.”

And for a moment, I let my suspicions about Helen slip away as I put my arms around her. What if she wasn’t a scammer? What if she was just like me; incredibly doubtful but tremendously hopeful. Was it that impossible to believe we were two women wanting to believe in Liam—to believe in the impossible? Even though I doubted her—hell, I doubted myself—it was nice to believe that whatever happened we were in it together.

When she pulled away, she wiped at her face. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re his sister,” I noted before taking my mug from the counter and sipping. “I know this must be awful for you.”

“He’s my best friend,” she agreed.

My chest tightened with her words. I couldn’t imagine losing Matt. I opened my mouth to say something, comfort her, but the front door opened, and Liam announced in his best imitation of Ricky Ricardo, “Honey . . . I’m home!”

Helen and I both chuckled as she rushed to finish cleaning up her face before he made his way into the kitchen. By the time he entered, she’d done a decent job of pulling herself together, but as soon as he saw her, his smile dropped. She smiled brightly, a little too brightly to hide she’d just been in tears as he glanced from her to me, then back to her.

“Oh, Waverly,” she preened as she grabbed both my hands. “I have something to show you.”