Page 13 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
“Don’t even try,” she retorted. “I love you guys. However, stop trying to think I can’t offer. This is something I truly want to do for all of you. Plus, Andrew wants you to take your trip, and I do, too.” She looked at the floor. “Maybe it’ll make up for lost time together. Amelia would want you to go.”
Cayden remembered that Lillian mentioned going two or three years without any communication with Andrew or his parents, largely because the heartache of losing Amelia was too much for her to bear.
“Don’t even try to change her mind,” Andrew mumbled from the bed, fading fast into sleep. “I would be shocked if you haven’t realized yet that once she has set her mind to something, there’s nothing anyone can do to change it.”
Frances, realizing that Andrew was right, let the frustration slide from her face. “All right, then,” she surrendered, and looked at the doctor. “Hanneston, it is. For the time being, at least.”
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Lillian protested again. “I’m going to take care of him and make sure he recovers in no time. I have a spare bedroom, my house has the perfect layout for him to get around on crutches, and it’s not a huge city so getting to his appointments won’t be a problem.”
Cayden felt his heart stop beating. What is she doing?
“I’ll need to have some appointments for him shifted over to Hanneston,” the doctor interrupted, making some notes on Andrew’s record. “He needs to see the cardiologist, the physio—”
“Anything,” Lillian put in. “It’s all no problem. And I can keep working through it all, too. So that’s a big issue we don’t have to worry about anymore. I’m not leaving anytime soon, so I’m good for however long it takes.”
So, he’s moving in with her? Cayden couldn’t find words to speak, but he quickly realized now wasn’t exactly the best time to have a discussion with Lillian. He clamped his teeth down on his tongue to keep from blurting anything. He couldn’t argue. She was doing the right thing, but still...
The doctor took a breath, made a final note, and closed the file. “All right, then,” he boomed. “I guess we have that figured out. I’m going to see about shifting his appointments over there. Will you be here later?”
“I’ll be here.” Lillian nodded.
“Okay. I’ll be back a little later this afternoon to go over everything with you and talk about the car situation.”
“Car situation?”
“Getting him back home, since he can’t bend his leg. And he definitely has a long one.” With a smile, the doctor said goodbye and left the room. Lillian focused on Andrew’s parents; they brainstormed how to fit him in her small car, where to stretch out his leg, and other details that Cayden missed. He stayed silent, trying to deduce whether it was all real or not—Andrew coming to stay at Lillian’s? For how long, the next few months? How long did a femur break take to heal? How would they know when he was ready to go back to living on his own, or would Lillian want him to stay even longer than was necessary?
Am I even going to get any time with her? The idea of her being so caught up in caring for Andrew—not to mention her dedication to her work and clients back home—made his heart feel like it was shriveling up into a prune. Did all this really have to happen now, right when they’d gotten back together?
Between her work and Andrew, I don’t see any way that she would even have time for dinner with me. Stop it! I’m being ridiculous. This isn’t about me. Lily and I will be fine. I think. Again, he tried to force away the thoughts of Andrew coming between them yet again, but memories of his last girlfriend, whom he dated several years ago, kept resurfacing. The buildup to their breakup was not entirely unlike this situation. One of her ‘best friends’ had been a guy, too. Then, as it turned out, they were much more than best friends.
He was just coming out of his absentminded state when Andrew’s parents were walking out of the room, saying goodbye and that they would be back soon. Lillian had turned her eyes to her phone. Andrew had succumbed to the deep sleep that had long been building up.
“Where are they going?” Cayden asked in a flat voice.
“To eat,” Lillian replied, slightly confused. “Didn’t you hear?”
“No.”
She looked at him blankly. “Oh. Yeah, they’ve been here since early this morning. They’re hungry.”
“Can I talk to you for a second?” She looked up at him, and he nodded toward the door. “Maybe out there?”
Raising an eyebrow she nodded, and they went outside. Cayden gently shut the door behind them and leaned against the wall, trying to figure out what to say.
“Is something wrong?” Lillian asked after he had been quiet for a bit too long.
“I don’t know about this, Lil,” he confessed. “Taking care of Andrew is great, and I think you’re an amazing person for offering to do it, but his whole recovery might take a long time. Several months, maybe.”
“I’m prepared for that,” she said.
“I know you are.” He was beginning to get flustered, seeing that she obviously wasn’t getting the point. “I just have a lot of thoughts about it all. I mean, I’m about to be moving back, and I’m wondering—”
“Wondering what?”
“I’m wondering if this is really the right thing to do,” he said, unable to find a better way to put it. “I don’t know how it will affect us as a couple, or our work...” he trailed off. “I wish we could have talked about it beforehand. I don’t know if this is actually the best thing for us to do.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
