Page 78 of Dancing in the Rain

They met at Taqueria El Jojoto in their neighborhood, a simple place with red tile floors, wood paneling, and bright red booths. They ordered at the counter and found a table in the busy restaurant.

Chloe’s sadness radiated off her in waves of pain and Drew ached for her. When the basket of chips and pico de gallo arrived, she picked up a chip and munched desultorily.

Peyton filled them both in on some information about the hospice. “We can visit her anytime, twenty-four-seven, and we can even stay overnight if we want to. They have accommodations for families. They’ve changed her pain medication to a patch so she doesn’t have to take pills anymore and they’ll monitor that closely to make sure she’s not suffering. Tomorrow I’ll take more of her personal things so she feels at home.”

Chloe brought up school again. Peyton bit her lip. “I think you should go to school, sweetie,” she said quietly. “We don’t know how long it will be. But we can visit your mom every day. I’ll go see her during the day and take you back in the evenings.”

“I can take her in the evenings,” Drew said. “You don’t need to exhaust yourself going back and forth, and you need time to take care of other things. Would that be okay, Chloe?”

“Yes.” Her eyes were red and she looked like she was going to cry. “But I want to be with Mom.”

Peyton now looked like she was going to cry, too. “When it’s closer to the end, you can be with her as much as you want. I promise.”

Drew read the conflict on her face, though, because he knew that Sara had said she didn’t want Chloe to hang around watching her near the end when things were bad.

“What else can I do?” Drew looked at Peyton. “What about your job?”

She grimaced. “Yeah, not sure what to do about that. I’ll call Gord tomorrow. Maybe I can hang on a bit longer working remotely.”

They ate their tacos, Drew’s carne asada, Chloe’s pollo, and Peyton’s chile rellenos. The food here was awesome, but none of them were really enjoying it tonight.

Drew’s cellphone rang and he made a face as he reached for it. The call display showed Jack Shipton. Ah, hell. This wasn’t a good time for that conversation. So he muted it and let it go to voicemail.

Outside the restaurant it had grown dark. The crisp evening air smelled like autumn and Drew gave Chloe another hug goodbye on the street. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” he said to Peyton and she nodded. They both hesitated and once again Drew found himself reluctant to leave both Chloe and Peyton, and he sensed Peyton felt the same. They were drawn together into this turmoil.

“Okay,” she agreed, and with a brief smile she and Chloe turned away.

At home Drew listened to the voicemail from Jack stating he was happy to hear from him and how great it would be to talk about his rebranding. He saved the message but didn’t call Jack back. He’d do that tomorrow.

—

“I know this has been challenging,” Peyton said to her boss the next day. She’d gotten a miserable Chloe off to school, shed a few tears herself in private, then dried her face and squared her shoulders to deal with all the shit that had to be dealt with. “And I appreciate the support. My sister’s now in the end stage of life. I wish I knew exactly how long this is going to go on, but we don’t.” Her voice wobbled a bit and she fought for control. “I’m doing the best I can to keep up and keep our clients happy.”

“Well, they’re not happy,” Gord snapped. “We need you back here in New York, Peyton. Bev and John have taken over some of your accounts and they’re busting their asses. If we can’t count on you being here, maybe you need to rethink whether you still want to work here.”

Stunned, Peyton stared blindly across the sunny kitchen. “Of course I want to work there,” she said automatically. “But I can’t leave right now. My niece just turned twelve, my sister is in the hospital now. I can’t just leave her alone here.”

She could stay with her father.

Peyton closed her eyes. She had no idea if that was even an option. Drew was a single man who’d been living a life of parties, women, and golf games. Sure, he wanted to spend time with Chloe, but would he want her living with him full-time, being responsible for everything? Would Sara be okay with that? Her will stated thatPeytonwas to be Chloe’s guardian. Of course, that decision had been made long before Drew came into their lives. But Sara had reminded Peyton of that not long ago. She was the one Sara trusted to care for her daughter.

And did Peyton want that? She trusted Drew, but Chloe’s life was in enough turmoil without handing her off to a man who was a near stranger, to live in a house she didn’t know. Even if it was temporary. No. She couldn’t leave Chloe.

“I can fly back again,” she offered. “Spend another day or maybe two. But I really think it won’t be long before my sister passes away and then I’ll be back permanently.”

“Okay. We have an important meeting Thursday. Be here then.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

She was going to have to call Drew and ask for help again. He’d been wonderful, stepping up, and he’d even offered to do this if she had to go back to New York, but it was still hard for her to ask for help. But this was for Chloe and Sara, and so she would do it.

She found his number and called him. “So I just talked to my boss. They want me back there this week.”

“Damn.”

“I know.” She sighed and kicked her feet on the stool where she sat at the counter. “Apparently my job is at risk if I don’t go.”

“Ah, shit. I’m sorry, Peyton. I’m sure leaving right now is the last thing you want to do.”

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