Page 54 of Jordan

He simply stared at her for a few minutes without saying anything.

"She told you? Why?"

"She wanted to make amends and knew that I would be suspicious if she just had a change of heart."

"She has been calling me."

"And?" She prodded gently.

"I've been ignoring the calls." He closed his hand around her wrist. "She's ill."

"How do you feel?"

He shrugged and realized that he was feeling conflicted. "I wanted so much for a sign that she loved me--loved any of us and it never came. She was always so cold. So distant and unapproachable, that I simply gave up." He closed his eyes briefly. "Now I don't know how to feel."

"Will you go and see her?"

He nodded. "I received a text message saying she's calling a family meeting as soon as I can swing it."

"Want me there with you?"

He gave her a look of surprise. "We're a unit, that's a given."

*****

"You wanted to see me?"

Staring at him through her mirror, she felt the regret at the remote look on his face. They should have been friends, instead of strangers living in the same space. He had opened himself to her several times only to be rebuffed and she could wish things were different now. So many wasted years, she mused sadly.

She had tried calling her son several times, but he was not picking up. Her sources told her that he was back in town and had not bothered to drop by.

"Jacquline." The deep voice had a hint of impatience. "I have somewhere to be."

"To your mistress?" She shook her head at the ominous scowl on his forehead. "I did not call you here to argue." Turning around, she rose and went to sit on the rose-colored chaise beneath the window. Wrapping the silk robe around her, she patted the space next to her.

He hesitated slightly, before perching on the edge, staying as far away from her as possible. "What is it?"

She pleated the lapels of her robe and avoided his eyes. "I have called a meeting. As soon as Jordan--Well, he's back, but I am hoping he will pay us a visit."

"What is this about?" He had finally resigned himself to the fact that the woman he spent his life being in love with was a cold shell and there was nothing he could do about it. He was not certain he was still interested.

"I have been to the doctors. Three in fact."

The heart he thought had hardened against her, shifted. "What's wrong?"

Her lips trembled once before she controlled them by pressing them together. The tears burned the back of her eyes and for the first time in her life, she felt vulnerable and all alone. "I have cancer."

He stared at her in shock. "That's--" His eyes wandered over her delicate face; the fine bones more pronounced. He had noticed the changes and had not paid them any mind. The way she picked at her food and how tired she looked. "Christ Jesus. When did you find out?"

"A week or so ago." She held up a hand as his eyes flashed. "I need you right now. I know I have no right to ask that of you."Her lips trembled and this time she did nothing to hide the vulnerability. "I just need you."

Chapter 15

He felt an overwhelming surge of protectiveness and love as he moved towards her. She had never allowed him to touch her before. And he had gotten used to it. Wrapping his arms around her, he inhaled her delicate scent, the cream she uses on her skin, the scent of her bath gel. A shudder went through his body when she simply held on, her face pressed against his chest.

Everything they had done to each other, every painful word that had been spoken between them, just disappeared. She was ill. And she needed him. He had to be there for her. It mattered not how many times she had rejected him. Right here and now was all that counted.

As she clung to him, an unfamiliar warmth began to spread through her, slowly melting the icy barriers she had built over the years. The realization that she was not alone in this battle, that someone cared enough to stand by her when she was at her weakest, brought a flicker of hope to her heart.

---