Reckless In Love (The Maverick Billionaires #2)(27)

“I’d rather you two enjoyed chatting with one another.” She pointed to the whole bear claw he held. “That one is for you.” She handed half a bear claw to her mother and kept the other half for herself.

“We always share,” Francine explained. “I could never eat a whole one.” She took a bite, eating with a dainty sound of pleasure. “Aren’t they to die for?”

He couldn’t help but turn his gaze to Charlie as he said, “Totally to die for.”

As they ate, he noted that each of Francine’s feet was encased in an ankle brace, and her fingers bent at odd angles. When she spoke, her voice quavered as if the muscles of her throat didn’t quite work properly. Lines he associated with someone fifteen years older than seventy crisscrossed her face as though her pain had risen to the surface and marked her forever. Yet she chattered happily as if her body hadn’t turned against her, and she was dressed in her Sunday best, a pretty blue skirt with a flowered sweater. She told them stories about this resident or that, and they laughed good-naturedly at the antics of the people she lived with. She wanted to know more about his new headquarters and what Charlie would be doing for him. Her mind was sharp, and she was interested in everything.

Last night, after he tossed his sketchbook, he’d opened his laptop and read everything he could about degenerative osteoarthritis, from the Arthritis Foundation to WebMD. He’d looked up eminent surgeons, doctors, facilities. Sebastian understood how it felt to watch one’s mother live in such agony. His parents had brought their troubles on themselves, but he’d still felt the pain of watching them fall apart, the anguish of not being able to do anything. He didn’t want that for Charlie.

So he would fix it.

* * *

Her mother had been completely charmed by Sebastian, just as Charlie had known she would be. “Thank you for coming to see my mother. She loved the flowers and all the attention.”

“I see where you get your strength, and your joy for life.” He gave her a smile before turning his attention back to the road. “Your mother has both in spades.”

Sebastian hadn’t said a word about the state of the home, but she’d seen his eyes taking in everything, from the floor to the walls to the furniture. He would have had to be blind to miss any of the second-rate accommodations.

“I’m going to call Magnolia Gardens on Monday to put Mom’s name on the waiting list. I know she’ll love it there. The gardens are gorgeous.”

“How long before she’ll get in?”

Her own sense of guilt almost made her imagine for a moment that there was censure in his words. “Maybe a couple of months.”

“Do they have good doctors?”

They were adequate, but honestly, she was more concerned about the environment her mother would live in. “They’re good, but they can’t do much for Mom except manage her pain.”

He switched lanes on the freeway before saying, “I’ve been doing some research on the Internet. There’s a hand surgeon at Stanford who’s the top in his field in severe degenerative osteoarthritis. And an orthopedic surgeon down in Santa Cruz specializes in ankles.”

Staring was all she could manage. Charlie didn’t blab to everyone about her mother’s problems, but she had told a teacher or two, her dean, the secretary. None of them had tried to help before, though. Only Sebastian, who had immediately jumped in.

“I can’t tell you what it means to me that you thought of her, even before you met her. But I’ve taken her to all the doctors. She’s past anything they can do.” At least nothing she could have afforded beyond what Medicare paid for. Charlie couldn’t stop another stab of guilt.

They’d reached their exit, and he let the car roll to a stop at the light. “There could be new surgeries, new treatments that have been developed in recent months. Maybe it won’t help. But it couldn’t hurt to see the doctors.” He looked so earnest.

For her mother’s sake, she had to let Sebastian try. Somehow she’d find the money to pay for consultations with these new specialists. Putting her hand over his on the steering wheel, she looked straight into his eyes, held him there a long moment even though the light changed. “Yes. Let’s try.”

But the new worries about money were already twisting inside her by the time he said, “I’d like to help with Magnolia Gardens too—see if I can grease the wheels to get your mom in earlier.”

It wasn’t his fault that a chill ran down her arms. Sebastian was the kind of man who would always offer help when he thought it was needed. But he’d already given her a humongous check. She couldn’t take any more. Even her mother wouldn’t approve if she took money from him she hadn’t earned.

“The check you gave me will more than cover her move.” And only a few months after that, but she’d somehow figure that out too. “You’re doing enough already.”

As it was, she didn’t know how she’d ever pay him back.





CHAPTER TEN


Charlie clearly hated seeing her mother in pain, hated Shady Lane, hated that she couldn’t take care of her mother herself. But Sebastian could help her with all that. If she let him. Maybe he’d pushed too hard about her mother’s condition, but what good was his money if he didn’t use it to help a woman in pain? Especially when it meant a great deal to him that for one afternoon, she had made him feel he was part of their family, for a little while at least.