Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(66)
“I don’t know. I should be cooking.”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
“Let me think about it.” She seemed to be fighting tears. “I have a guest list in the bedroom. Let me go get that.”
He waited until she’d left, Sophie at her heels, then pulled out his cell and dialed.
“Hey,” he said when Maya answered. “Are you free? Something’s going on with my mom and I need your help.”
He couldn’t deny the relief he felt at the sound of her voice when she said, “I’ll be right there.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“YOU SHOULD HAVE called me,” Maya said firmly from the chair by Elaine’s bed. “I told you I want to be here for you.”
“I know. I would have. I just kind of lost it and turned to Del. I have no idea why.”
Because he was back in town, Maya thought. Because he’d always been there for his mom, taking care of things when she couldn’t. Looking after his brothers, the family business. Being responsible.
Elaine relaxed on the bed, Sophie stretched out next to her. She stroked the beagle and looked at Maya.
“I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
“I think Del was more freaked than worried.” Maya had come as soon as she’d gotten his call. Together she and Elaine had reassured him that his mother would be fine after a nap.
Now she drew in a breath. “Elaine, you have to tell them. This isn’t right. I don’t like keeping this secret. I mean it. I love you, but this is wrong.”
Tears filled Elaine’s eyes. “Maya, please. I can’t. Not a week before Ceallach’s birthday. Don’t make me. After the party, we’ll talk. I promise.”
Meaning she and Elaine would talk. Not that Elaine would tell her family. Maya didn’t understand. Ceallach and her sons loved her. Sure the news would be upsetting, but they would rally around her. Give her support. That was a good thing. Being fussed over had a way of raising a person’s spirits.
“Has it occurred to you that part of the reason you’re feeling so overwhelmed is how much you’re having to do on your own?” she asked. “Not just the party, but Elaine, you’re dealing with breast cancer. You’re getting radiation. You have to tell them.”
“I will. Later. Help me get through the party. You have to understand why that’s important.”
Honest to God, she didn’t understand, but there was no point in going there. “I love you,” she told her friend. “How can I help?”
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, Maya and Del went over the to-do list.
“She has most of the party organized,” he said. “I’ve got a cleaning service coming in tomorrow. How did you get her to agree to have the family dinner catered?”
Maya thought back to conversation with Elaine and the other woman’s stubborn refusal to share something as important as her diagnosis and treatment with her family. “She owes me.”
“I’m glad.” Del made a few more notes. “Dellina has confirmed everything else. The tents, the food. The twins will be here in a few days and then we’ll be in party mode.”
Maya flipped through the guest list. Excluding those coming locally, most were names she didn’t recognize. Notes after some of them helped. Minister of Culture, France, had a way of clarifying who someone was.
“Your dad’s a big deal,” she murmured, noting a former United States vice president on the list and a couple of big-time actors. Not Jonny Blaze, she thought with a smile. Madeline would be disappointed.
“Always has been.”
She looked at Del. “What?”
“I didn’t know how big the party was. There are five hundred people on the guest list. Mom shouldn’t have tried to handle this on her own.”
“Dellina helped.” Although she knew that wasn’t what he meant.
“She never said anything. I know he didn’t lift a finger. It’s always been like that. She takes care of them. That’s the marriage they have.”
She put her hand on his arm. “She loves him. There’s no regret. It might not be what you’d want or what I’d want, but it works for them.”
“I can’t figure out why.” He turned to her. “I used to ask her why she stayed.”
“She told you it was because he was her world.”
“How’d you know?”
“She’s my friend and her love for her husband isn’t a big secret. You look at your dad and you see how he disappointed you. How cruel he’s been. She doesn’t see that. Not in the same way. It works for them.”
“I guess.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Did I ask you to the family dinner?”
“No. It’s for family.”
“I want you with me. Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
The evening would be highly charged and difficult, but she didn’t care. Time with Del was precious. Summer was drawing to a close. The changing leaves coloring the mountains moved a little lower every week. Soon fall would arrive. Del had said he was staying for the summer. With his father’s party over, there wouldn’t be anything to hold him here. Certainly not her.
“I’m going to change the subject,” she said.