Glancing around her condo, I could see her style everywhere; it was bright, just like her. Pictures of her family adorned the fireplace mantel, and the cream leather couch and chair were covered in various brown and burgundy pillows. There was also a tree in the corner, lit up with sparkling lights.
Giggling, she let me go. “Only the strawberries. I had to test them out with the heavy cream I just whipped up. I haven’t made a pound cake in years, but I figured we’d be burning off the calories tonight anyway.” She winked and bounced back into the kitchen. “We’re also having spaghetti and salad.”
“Smells great, love.” It felt like I’d been sucker-punched in the gut. She looked so happy dancing around her kitchen and here I was about to fuck everything up. I sat down at the bar and watched her, my appetite gone. “What all did you do today?” I asked her.
The water on the stove started to boil, so she placed the pasta in the pot and turned to me. “Met with some new clients. What about you?”
I shrugged. “Nothing much.”
“Nothing much? You need to be out getting your designs noticed. Do you need a manager? I can always help you. Not unless your family fortune can keep you sustained for the rest of your life.” She laughed.
“Actually, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” I hadn’t grown up with money, but my family wasn’t poor, either. My parents made sure that my brother and I were happy. My dad could be a hard-ass, but if it weren’t for him I never would have been as disciplined as I was when it came to football. His dream was for me to be a quarterback, but it wasn’t for me.
Bristol leaned against the counter, pinning me with her concerned gaze. “Is everything okay? You look like something’s wrong.” The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t look at her when I said them. Averting my gaze, I focused on the marble swirls of her countertop. “Jack, talk to me. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”
She had no fucking clue. Taking a deep breath, I lifted my head and faced her, but before I could get a word out, my phone rang. Fuck. I wasn’t going to answer it, but when I pulled it out of my pocket and saw my brother’s name, I just stared at it. The only time he ever called was to give me bad news. That was the last thing I needed.
“Who is it?” Bristol asked, rushing to my side. “Your face just turned pale.”
I swallowed hard. “It’s my brother.”
She rubbed a hand down my arm and it only made things worse. It was probably the last touch of hers I’d ever have. We both knew the phone call was going to be about my mother.
I answered the phone. “Brent, what’s up?”
“Hey, you got a sec?”
“Yeah, what’s going on?”
He sighed, and I dreaded what would come out of his mouth next. My biggest fear was that my mother had died and I hadn’t gotten to say goodbye. “Mom’s not doing good, Jax. Her kidneys are shutting down and she’s getting weaker. It’s like it all happened overnight.”
“Fuck,” I growled, slamming a fist against the counter. I expected Bristol to jump back, but she only held on to my arm tighter. “What are we going to do?”
“There’s nothing we can do,” he answered sadly. “Just get here as soon as you can.”
We hung up and I could feel the burn behind my eyes. I never fucking cried, but the thought of losing my mother ripped me apart. “Jack?” Bristol murmured. Her hand brushed my cheek and she turned me to her. When I looked into her eyes, she could see my pain. “It’s your mother, isn’t it?”
I nodded, hoping like hell I could keep it together. “It’s like everything changed in just a matter of days. She’s near the end. I didn’t think it’d happen so fast.”
“Then why don’t you go to her? Don’t wait until tomorrow. Go now so you can see her.”
There was so much I had to tell her, but I knew I had to go. “I’m sorry, Bristol. I know you went through a lot of trouble to fix this dinner.”
She waved me off. “I’ll have plenty of leftovers for the weekend. Your mother is more important right now.”
I got up and pulled her into my arms. “Promise me you’ll be here when I get back.”
“I promise,” she whispered.
I kissed her hard and leaned my forehead against hers. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
With those final words, I bolted out of her condo to the elevators. I had to get to Florida.
—
After grabbing my bag from home and changing my flight, I was up in the air in just two short hours. Everything moved so fast I didn’t have the chance to tell Brent I was on my way. The man who sat beside me probably thought I was a dick for ignoring him, but I wasn’t up for conversation. I just wanted to be in Tampa. As soon as we landed, I rented a car and rushed to my mother’s house. It was late, but there were lights on inside and Brent’s car was still in the driveway.
I knocked on the door and waited. When Brent opened the door, his eyes were red, his face tear streaked. “I’m not too late, am I?” I asked desperately.
He shook his head and stepped out of the way so I could enter. “I’m just exhausted. It’s not easy watching her die.”
I tossed my bag on the floor. “Where is she?”
“In her room,” he said, nodding toward the hall. “I’m going to stay with her until she goes.”
“What about your work? They don’t mind you being gone?” Brent was a financial specialist at Wells Fargo. Not exactly what my father wanted him to be, but his passion was for numbers. He was never into sports like I was.
Brent sighed. “They know what’s going on. I’ll be okay. Hospice was called in today and they gave her some morphine to keep her comfortable.”
I nodded and then hurried down the hall. Her door was cracked open and I could see the flashes of light coming from the television. I snuck in and sat down in the chair beside my mother’s bed. Her graying dark hair had gotten thinner since the last time I’d seen her and she looked much older than sixty-five. Cancer had taken its toll on her.
Her chest rose and fell with her breaths and I breathed a sigh of relief. She used to always say that when I was a baby, she’d check on me several times in the night to make sure I was breathing. Now I was doing the same thing to her.
I gently took her hand and held it between mine. “I’m here, Mama.”
Chapter 14
Jaxon