Until Harry(72)

He answered on the fifth ring.

“Hello?” His voice sounded huskier than usual, and it was then that I remembered it was very early in New York City.

“Sorry, Ro.” I winced. “I forgot about the time difference. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s fine,” he assured me after a long yawn. “I’m glad you called. Are you okay?” I was about to answer, when he suddenly inhaled sharply. “Shit, sorry,” he breathed. “You just buried your uncle. Of course you aren’t okay.”

I sat on a lone chair next to the window across the room. “I’m as well as can be expected, but I didn’t call you to talk about that because I’ll just cry, and I’m so fed up with crying.”

“What did you call about then?” he quizzed.

“I don’t know where to begin,” I said on a groan.

“From the beginning?” Roman suggested. “That’s as good a place as any to start.”

“Kale’s son, Kaden,” I blurted out. “He died when he was ten months old, from cancer.”

“Oh, my God.”

“I know.” I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat. “And Kale made sure I didn’t know about it because he didn’t want me to come home unless it was my choice.”

“Holy shit!”

“Right?” I breathed. “And I just found out that my uncle died of a heart condition that he hid from me. I just found out about it. Like Kale, he didn’t want me coming home unless it was my choice.”

“Lane, fucking hell, that is insane!” Roman stated. “I thought my family was the only one with deep dark secrets, but yours takes the cake.”

I nodded in agreement. “But on a lighter note . . .”

“Girl, what?” Roman gushed.

“Lochlan is engaged!”

Roman sucked in a huge amount of air. “I’m fucking devastated!”

I couldn’t help but giggle. Roman announced his attraction to my brothers when he saw a photo of them on my phone and declared he was only my friend so he could one day meet them.

“The plot thickens,” I said, “because he is engaged to Ally Day.”

Silence.

“Please tell me there is more than one Ally Day in your town.”

I snorted. “Not that I know of.”

“Dude!”

“I know, I bloody know,” I said with a shake of my head. “She told me she was sorry for every mean thing she had ever said to me. I forgave her, but it will be a long time before I can shoot the shit with her, you know?”

“Totally,” Roman quickly said. “I’m proud of you for forgiving her in the first place. I know how much she and that Anna bitch messed with your self-esteem.”

“I’m just happy Layton isn’t secretly dating Anna. I would have exploded altogether.”

Roman laughed, which made me smile. “Are things okay with your family?” he asked.

“They are. I sorted things with my family. We’re all very good.”

“I’m so happy to hear that, babe. I know how much they mean to you and how much it hurt that you rarely spoke.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “That sucked arse.”

Roman chuckled, then said, “Are things with Kale any better?”

My shoulders sagged. “Yes and no.”

“Bitch, explain that,” Roman demanded. “I want to know everything.”

“He doesn’t hate me like I feared. He has spoken to me, joked with me, and he took care of me on the day of my uncle’s funeral. He was, as usual, his perfect caring self, but there is an emptiness in him, Ro. I see it in his eyes. I know that sounds crazy, but I can see the difference in them.”

“His son died. I don’t think that kind of pain will ever go away; it will just get easier to bear over time.”

I rubbed my face with my free hand.

“It feels like I’ve been home years instead of just four days.” I exhaled. “I’ve learned so much, and it’s draining.”

“Do you feel any better with your newfound knowledge?” Roman asked.

“Yes and no. It hurt to learn about Kaden and my uncle’s condition, but if I hadn’t been left in the dark, I don’t think I’d have made the decision I did.”

“What decision?” Roman quizzed.

Tell him, my mind urged.

“I’m staying, Ro,” I whispered.

He cleared his throat. “I had a feeling you would.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it for a moment. Roman had never given me any inkling that he thought I would ever return to York, so his admission stunned me a little.

“Can you repeat that?” I asked, my eyes wide, when I placed the phone back against my ear.

Roman chuckled. “You’ve been away from home for six years, and while you think you’re pretty good at hiding your feelings, I can see how much you miss your family when you talk about them. Throw in your uncle dying and finding out your best friend’s kid died . . . there’s no way you’re leaving your family – or Kale. You’re home.”

My throat was tight with emotion.

“I just want you to know that I’d have been lost without you. I love you with all of my heart – well, with what’s left of it anyway.”