Crossroad to Love (Fab Five Series)

chapter 17

Morning dawned with the brilliant Texas sun shining brightly through Ryan’s bedroom window. He rolled out of bed and walked briskly into the kitchen, grabbing a phone book. He started the coffee pot and went to the desk to look for a florist. He located one and ordered two dozen yellow roses to be delivered to Katy at her suite. Will she be surprised? He wished he could be a fly on the wall to see her face when they arrived. Oh, but life is good and getting better all the time.

He walked back upstairs carrying his mug of hot coffee, singing to himself as thoughts of last night entered his head. Once he’d had a hot shower, he shaved, dressed, grabbed another cup of the steaming black coffee for the road, and headed out the door to work. As he drove down the expressway to the restaurant, he was already thinking of the next time he would see the beautiful little lady from Chicago. My yellow rose.

He entered the restaurant with a smile on his face and hugged a stunned Chloe, who had just walked into the dining room from the office. He picked her up and swung her around, and kissed her cheek when set her back down. “Good morning, sweet sister-in-law of mine.”

“Well, someone is sure in a good mood this morning. I take it y’all had a good time last night?” Chloe laughed as she looked up at her handsome brother-in-law.

“You could say that, Chloe, my sweet. Katy is wonderful.”

“Oh, Ryan, I am so happy for you. You deserve the best, you know.” Chloe could not have been happier for him. Ryan was more like a brother than brother-in–law, and she truly wanted him to be as happy as she and Shane had been all these years.

“And Katy is the best. I never knew women like her existed. I never ran across one before. Except for you, my love, and alas, my dear little brother found you first,” he teased her with a grin.

“What’s going on out here? Y’all flirting with my gal, bro?” Shane asked as he entered the dining room in time to hear the two of them laughing.

“Ryan was just telling me about his date last night. It seems your brother is quite smitten with a certain little gal from Chicago.”

“I never thought I’d see the day when my big brother was actually ‘smitten’ with anyone, let alone a Yankee gal.” Shane laughed as he patted Ryan on the back. “I’m happy for you, bro. Does this mean your playboy days are over? Whatever will the women of Dallas do?”

Laughing together, the three of them walked toward the office to begin the day’s work.

At about that same time, in their hotel suite, the ‘Fab Four’ were just forcing themselves awake after their few short hours of sleep when there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” yelled Lizzie as she poured herself a cup of hazelnut coffee.

“Who could be calling at this hour?” Angie asked sleepily.

“It is morning, honey, it just doesn’t seem like it to us.” Katy laughed at her sleepy friend. Angie seemed to be in a little better spirits this morning, although Katy could tell the evening’s events had taken a definite toll on her. Angie had dark circles under her eyes and her eyelids were puffy from crying most of the night. Poor Angie, she thought. What a mess she has created for herself.

Katy was sitting quietly on the couch, sipping her morning coffee, thoughts of Ryan running through her mind. She gestured for Angie to join her.

“I am dreading the phone call I’ll be making to Alex in a little while.” She looked at Angie for support.

“Hopefully he’ll understand your dilemma. I know you’d never want to hurt him.”

“He has been through so much and has grown up to be a decent young man, in spite of not having his dad and beloved big sister for the last ten years.”

Katy’s son had been eight when they lost Bill and Bree. He had been a very brave little eight-year-old boy, supporting his mother, never giving her any problems growing up. She knew that not all parents were so lucky, but maybe it was God’s way of evening the score. He took Bree away but gave her an angel on earth in Alex.

Lizzie had answered the door and returned smiling, “Wow, someone wants to make an impression this morning. Katy, sweetie, these are for you. Read the card to us.” Lizzie carried a vase of twenty-four of the most beautiful, yellow Texas roses she had ever seen. She sat the vase on the glass coffee table and handed the card to Katy. Katy blushed as she admired the roses. She opened the card, read it silently and smiled.

“Come on now, no holding out on us… We are the ‘Fab Four,’ you know,” Angie teased. “If I can come clean after all these years, there will be no more secrets between us.”

Katy laughed as she read, “Katy, thank you for a great evening, looking forward to seeing you soon. Love, Ryan.”

“She has definitely landed Dallas’s most eligible bachelor. This is one for the history books,” Marianne remarked in awe.

“The man does have good taste.” Lizzie touched one of the rose petals as she spoke.

“Katy, not to spoil the moment, but you really do have to tell him soon. The man is obviously very interested in pursuing a relationship with you,” Angie said seriously. “You can’t let it go on. The hurt will be that much greater. Take it from one who learned the hard way.”

“Yes, I will have to tell him very soon, before this goes much further. He asked me last night if I believed in love at first sight. You know, I never gave it much thought, but there was a definite spark the very first time I laid eyes on him that night at the restaurant. Why does there have to be a problem? Why does he have to be who he is and why do I have to be who I am?”

“It’s that old fate thing again, I’m telling you. But this time it was with a real twist. It was meant for you to come together at this particular time in your lives, just like it was meant for Angie and Michael to come together now, we just haven’t figured out why.”

“Marianne, you truly believe in fate. You always have and have taken your share of teasing for it over the years. But now… maybe you are right, after all,” Lizzie said.

“You know, I think I will give Chloe a call and see if she can get away from the restaurant for a few hours. Maybe she’ll meet me for coffee. She knows Ryan about as well as anybody. I’ll get some advice from her,” Katy said thoughtfully. I would have loved having her as a sister-in-law, she pondered wistfully. What fun the four of us could have had together through the years.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Lizzie agreed, bringing Katy back to reality.

“I need to call Alex first. He has a late class this morning, so I may be able to catch him right about now. Then I’ll call Chloe.” Katy got up, poured herself another cup of coffee and went into the bedroom to make her calls.

After she went into the bedroom, Lizzie asked the other two, “Do you think they can work through this thing?”

“Well, they certainly are attracted to one another. And from what I know about Ryan, that is very unusual for him. And we all know that Katy hasn’t been serious about anyone since Bill, until now,” Marianne responded. “But to be this man, of all the men in the world,” she added. “It’s sad, in a way, because Katy may never get to have a relationship with him.”

“If it’s in the cards, it will all work out,” Angie said. “Just like if it’s meant for me and Michael to be together, then that will work out too. I can’t drive myself crazy over it. I’ll just give him some space and if he doesn’t call me, I’ll call him. I can’t go back to work Monday with this hanging over us.”

“I’m proud of you, girlfriend.” Lizzie got up and gave her friend a hug.

“Ditto,” Marianne offered as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat back down to relax. “What’s on the agenda for today? Katy is going to see Chloe. So what are the rest of us going to do?”

“If you don’t mind, I really don’t feel like going out. You two can do whatever you want to. I’ll be fine. I just need to get my head together,” Angie answered.

“Let’s hit the mall again, Marianne. I need to pick up some things for the twins.”

“That’s fine by me. You know I love to shop. I’ll jump in the shower as soon as Katy is finished in the bedroom.” Marianne welcomed a chance to get her mind off her own troubles for a few more hours. The time was soon coming when she would have to face them head on.

It was not long before Katy returned, and she looked relieved.

“You look like that went well,” Lizzie ventured.

“He’s a great kid. The best son any mother could ask for. He was fine with the whole thing. He agrees that Ryan is not to blame for anything that happened. It’s just a freaky coincidence that he happens to be the husband of the woman in the other car. He can’t understand why Ryan would even feel guilty about the accident. He said that he was happy I had finally found someone that I thought I could be interested in. He advised me to tell Ryan the truth soon though. I called Chloe and she agreed to meet me. She mentioned that Ryan was in an exceptionally good mood this morning. I hope I don’t ruin that mood when I tell him what I have to tell him. But we all know that, in all likelihood, I will,” Katy replied with a touch of sadness in her tone.

Lizzie wished her friend luck, as did the other two.

I am certainly going to need it, she told herself sadly.

A short time later, Katy was out the door to meet Chloe, with Lizzie and Marianne right behind her, leaving Angie alone in the suite for the day. She soaked in a long, hot, lavender-scented bubble bath, her favorite, allowing herself to relax. After drying herself with an oversized, fluffy, white towel, she slipped into her robe, combed out her long, brown hair and fell onto the bed, exhausted. She was asleep within minutes, oblivious to the problems in her world for a few short hours.

As they got onto the elevator, Lizzie turned to Marianne and said, “We’re going to make a stop on the fourth floor. Are you with me on this?”

“You read my mind.”

The two friends got off on the appointed floor, found Michael’s room and nervously knocked on his door.

“Who is it?” a male voice asked wearily from within.

“Michael, it’s Lizzie and Marianne. May we come in?” They looked at each other and waited for his reply.

He opened the door and ushered them into the room. He looked about as bad as Angie did. With dark circles under his eyes, he looked like he had been up most of the night.

“Michael, we know what happened. She told us the whole story after she got back to the room last night,” Lizzie began.

“So, you all were in the dark as well. It should make me feel better that at least she kept it from you also,” he said.

Lizzie gave it to him straight, “Michael, I know you’re hurt and angry. You have every right to be. But please, do yourself a favor. Don’t let that anger destroy your chance for happiness. You and Angie belong together. It may not seem like it right now, but you have always belonged together. Angie is suffering too. She has suffered for fifteen years with this secret. You have to find a way to work through this and forgive her, for both your sakes.”

“Do you still love Angie?” Marianne asked.

“I do,” Michael answered.

“Then please don’t make any rash decisions,” Lizzie added.

“I know you two think you’re helping. But I am so confused right now, I don’t know which way is up. I just cannot face Angie right now. I’m too angry. I’m devastated, still in shock, grieving for a loss that I should have shared with her fifteen years ago. Instead, she shut me out of her life at a time when she needed me the most. I’m going to call Jackie in a little while and talk to her about it. Angie said that Jackie begged her to tell me before.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Jackie may be able to give you some insight as to how Angie was feeling at the time. Maybe it will give you a different perspective on the matter,” Lizzie agreed with Michael. “The one person in the world who would know how Angie felt at the time would be Jackie. Angie and her mother have always been close.”

“Thank you both for stopping by. I appreciate your concern and I love you both for caring. But if you’ll excuse me, I just need to sort this out, before I have to face Angie at dinner tomorrow night. I am still going to go, because it’s business as well as pleasure, but I don’t think it will be a very festive occasion for Angie and me.”

Marianne said, as she glanced at Lizzie, “We’ll leave you alone, now, Michael,”

“I will give it some thought, believe me.” With that, he ushered them out the door, closing it behind them, and sat down on the couch. He picked up the phone and dialed Angie’s mother’s number in Indiana. It rang four times before Jackie finally answered.

“Hello.” The familiar voice of his ex-mother–in-law came on the line.

Michael hesitated for a moment before he began, “Jackie, hello, this is Michael Gray.”

There was silence until, finally, she spoke, “Michael, dear, it’s so good to hear from you. What can I do for you, son?”

“I don’t really know where to begin. Jackie, I need your help. I recently ran into Angie. We’re going to be working together on a project at her hotel.” The words jumbled together as he spoke shakily.

“I see. And how is that going?” Jackie asked, thinking it must not be going well, from the state the boy seemed to be in.

“It was going great until last night. Oh, Jackie, this is so hard for me.” He broke down. After regaining his composure, he told Jackie the story from beginning to end, from last week when he had walked into Angie’s office to the gruesome way last night’s date had ended. He felt a great relief afterward, as if a giant burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

“My dear boy, I am so relieved that you finally know the truth. I tried so hard to reason with her back then. She was so devastated; nothing I could say eased her pain. She didn’t eat, didn’t sleep. She cried for days. She sat in the rocking chair she’d bought, for hours on end, just staring into space. I honestly thought I was going to have to take her back to the hospital. She wouldn’t let me call you, even though I knew she needed you with her. I worried myself sick about her. I couldn’t leave her side because I was afraid of what she might do. I practically had to force her to eat and when she did, it was very little. Her emotions were all over the place. I’m not sure she’s ever completely recovered from it. I think that’s why she’s thrown herself into her work for all these years. It’s all she has left. But she never discusses it, so I don’t bring it up for fear of opening up the old wounds. She moved away shortly after the divorce and then so did you. I always hoped the two of you would find your way back to each other, but when you both left town, I eventually gave up on that. She really thought she was doing the best thing for you by not telling you. She thought you would move on, marry again, and have the family that she couldn’t give you. She was in a very dark place for a good many years. She never got over it, or you, for that matter. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her. Obviously, you never remarried, never had a family?” Angie’s mother asked hopefully.

“No, Jackie, I could never marry anyone else. My heart has always belonged to Angie. You know that. You have known all along. I just don’t know how to forgive her. I don’t know how to make it right between us. I am grieving for her and for our little baby.”

“And she has grieved for fifteen years, for you, for that little baby, and for all the other babies that she will never have. I hope you can get past this, for both your sakes. But you will have to do it in your own time and in your own way.”

“Thank you, Jackie. I need to hang up now. I have a lot to think about. This is not going to be easy, but I have to make some decisions about my future, with or without Angie.”

“Well, I hope it is with Angie, but I understand your reluctance. Best of luck.”

“Goodbye, Jackie.”

“Goodbye, Michael. I hope to see you sitting around my dinner table with the family very soon. That’s where you belong.”

He hung up the phone and sat on the couch thinking for a very long time. He had all day today, tonight, and all day tomorrow before he had to face Angie at the dinner with all their friends and the O’Gradys. Maybe by then, he could bring himself to tolerate being in the same room with her. It will be torture for both of us. If they did have a chance to work this out, they would have to eventually have another very long and serious talk. And right at this moment, he knew neither one of them was up to it. Last night had taken its toll. He lay back on the couch, deep in thought.

Chloe drove to the Prava to pick Katy up. Katy had called and asked her to meet her for coffee. She had readily agreed. She liked Katy and was looking forward to the chance to get to know her better. Chloe had begun to give up hope that Ryan would ever be able to find happiness in his life. Now he had met a lovely woman and they would also be working together.

Katy was waiting when Chloe drove up. She walked toward the car and waved. She is a lovely creature, Chloe thought as she watched her. No wonder Ryan was so taken with her.

“Good morning,” Chloe said as Katy got into the car. “I trust y’all had a nice time last night.”

“I had a wonderful evening, for the most part. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Katy began.

Chloe sighed, hoping there was not going to be a problem. She did not know if Ryan could handle a rejection from Katy at this point. That would surely send him right back to the dark place where he had been for the last ten years. Chloe began to worry as she cast a sideways glance at her new friend.

“Anything wrong, Katy?” she finally asked her.

“Something happened last night that really threw me for a loop. I have to tell you I was not expecting it and I really need to get your opinion. I know you are the one person who knows Ryan really well. Don’t get me wrong, Ryan is wonderful. I really would love for our relationship to eventually develop into something more, but I really need your advice about something he said last night.”

They pulled into the parking lot of Chloe’s favorite little coffee shop and got out of the car. Her curiosity was certainly piqued. What on earth could Ryan have said that had Katy so worried?

“I thought you would like this place. It’s where I come for a quick getaway when I can take time from work. Let’s get a table in the back and then we can talk.”

“That would be great,” Katy answered gratefully.

They walked into the cutest little coffee shop that Katy had ever seen. She admired the design. Someone had really been thinking when he or she opened this place. It had such a calming effect. Chloe was right. It seemed like the perfect place for them to talk.

After they were seated and had ordered their coffee, Katy began, “Chloe, what I’m about to tell you is probably going to be a shock. I know it was for me. Last night was perfect from the moment Ryan picked me up at the hotel. He did all the right things, said all the right things. We really clicked. I had decided that if the conversation headed into the right direction, I was going to try and draw Ryan out, get him to talk about his wife and the accident. Get him to talk about all of the events of that awful time. I felt that if we stood any kind of a chance at moving on together, the past needed to be laid to rest. You know that I also suffered a loss. My circumstances were different than Ryan’s. My marriage was good, and I lost a daughter also. I was prepared to discuss that with him too.”

Chloe asked, “And I take it, the conversation did go down that path?”

“Yes, it did. And everything was going fine. Ryan really opened up to me. He told me everything. He told me about his bitterness and his grief. He told me about how he had never been able to move on, how he had sworn off women, because he thought they were all basically like Marnie. He told me how meeting me had changed his mind. He feels he could move forward with me. He feels we have a special connection. I felt it too, from the first moment I laid eyes on him. It should have been a dream come true to hear those words from him. It was exactly what I had been hoping to hear. But now I think I know why I felt that connection.”

Confused, Chloe looked at Katy’s distraught face. “Katy, I’m afraid I don’t see the problem here. It sounds to me as if the evening turned out exactly the way we had all hoped it would. Shane and I were rooting for you, you know. And judging from the way Ryan was acting this morning at the restaurant, he is on cloud nine and not going to come down off it anytime soon.”

Katy smiled at Chloe. “Thank you for the vote of confidence. It was something that Ryan said at the end of the conversation that really threw me. I tried not to let on to him when I realized the implications of the details he was telling me. Chloe, the car that Marnie and her lover hit head on that night was the car that my husband and daughter were in. Ryan has no idea that I am the widow named Kathryn that he tried to contact ten years ago to offer his condolences to. He talked about how guilty he felt for their deaths and how he had never gotten over the fact that Marnie and her lover had not only taken their own lives that night, but also the lives of two innocent people, a husband and father, and most of all, a little girl in a Girl Scout uniform.” Katy wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at her new friend with sadness in her eyes. “The man was my Bill and the little girl in the Girl Scout uniform was my Bree.”

Shock registered on Chloe’s face. After several minutes of silence, she said, “Oh, my God, Katy, I just don’t know what to say. You must have been stunned when you realized. Do you blame Ryan? How do you feel about him now? Surely, you realize it was not his fault?”

“Of course I don’t blame him. I came to terms with what happened years ago. I will love and miss Bill and Bree every day of my life, but that doesn’t mean I could in any way blame Ryan. I feel a very strong connection to him, especially now. I feel, as my friend Marianne would say, it was fate that brought us together at this time of our lives.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“I need to tell Ryan who I am. I’m not sure he will be able to handle it, with all the guilt he feels. I don’t want to lose him, Chloe, but he needs to know the truth and soon, before we move any further in this relationship. Maybe we weren’t meant to be lovers. Maybe we were just meant to meet each other.”

“Honey, he is already in way over his head with you. But you are right about one thing. You need to tell him, get everything out in the open. And if you can let him know that you don’t blame him for any of it and be honest about your feelings for him, it should be all right. I know he will be shocked, like you and I were, at hearing this news. But, knowing Ryan as I do, I think that once he is over the shock, and he is sure of your feelings, he will come around. He cares so much about you already. But I think you’re wrong thinking that you were only meant to meet to deal with the past. I think there’s more there. And I really don’t think Ryan could handle it if he lost you now.”

“Wish me luck, then, my friend. I will tell him soon.” Katy sighed as she stirred her coffee that the waitress had brought, and took a sip of the hot, rich liquid.

“When are you seeing my handsome bro again?” Chloe queried.

“I’m not sure. Dinner with everyone, if not sooner, I suppose. Roses arrived with a card this morning, so I’m expecting a call from him.”

“Wow, he really can be a romantic, who would have thought it?” Chloe laughed at the thought of Ryan sending roses to a woman. Silently, she wondered how he would take the news Katy was going to give him.

They finished their coffee and Chloe drove Katy back to the hotel. Chloe needed to get back to work and Katy needed to figure out how she was going to break the news to Ryan in the gentlest way she could.

“Goodbye, Katy. I wish you all the best,” Chloe said as Katy got out of the car.

“Thank you, Chloe, you’ve been a good listener. Keep in touch.” Katy walked into the lobby of the hotel and headed up to the suite. Her heart was heavy with dread at having to tell Ryan who she really was, but she knew it was the only way the two of them stood a chance at happiness, or at the very least, closure.