A Forever Family (Forever #6) (20 page)

Collin

A couple of weeks had passed since my dad got back from Vegas and he was still acting weird. He told me it was because a business deal went sour, but I didn’t believe him. I knew every business deal Black Enterprises was in negotiations with and from what I could find, not one of them had gone bad. I knew he was up to something and I was sure it involved Julia.

“Dad, can I come in?” I asked as I slowly opened his office door.

“Sure, son. Have a seat.”

I walked over and took a seat, not caring what was about to come out of my mouth.

“What’s up, Collin?”

“You’ve been a real asshole lately, Dad. I’m sorry, but I want to know what the hell is going on with you. I know you made up that story about the bad business deal and I want to know what’s going on. Did you find a donor for Julia?”

His eyes diverted up at me as he threw his pen across the desk and leaned back in his chair.

“I thought I did, but he won’t do it.”

“Who?”

“Lucas. He’s the same blood type as your sister.”

“You talked to him?” I asked in shock.

“Yes. He lives in Las Vegas. He flat out said no and then called me a few choice words.”

“Do you blame him, Dad? I mean, come on. You don’t know him. He doesn’t know you or Julia and you just show up one day and ask him for a kidney. To be honest, I’m surprised he didn’t punch you.”

He arched his brow. “Thanks a lot, son. Don’t you dare tell your sister about this. Do you understand me?” His tone was authoritative.

As I got up from the chair, I sighed. “Yeah. I understand. I have a meeting to get to.” Before walking out, I looked at him with sympathy. “You can’t save the world, Dad. Some things just are the way they are. You can’t fight every one’s battle.” He turned around and faced the window as I walked out of his office.

I was already running late for my meeting downtown, and Ralph was being occupied by my mom, so I hailed a cab. I climbed in and looked at my watch.

“Sorry, buddy, but you need to step on it. I can’t be late for this meeting.”

He nodded his head and gave me a small smile through his rearview mirror. I sat back and checked my phone as he moved in and out of traffic with finesse. He didn’t drive like the normal cab drivers of New York City. He drove with precision and seemed to glide on the streets of New York like a swan glides gracefully across the water.

“How long have you been driving?”

“About ten years now. I just moved here last month from L.A.”

“So you’re used to this kind of traffic.” I smiled.

“Yeah. I am. The family I used to drive for back in L.A. split up. He went to prison for embezzlement and the IRS took everything they had. Needless to say, they didn’t need a driver anymore.”

Now he had really caught my attention. “What’s your name?”

“Tommy. Tommy Johnson.”

“Nice to meet you, Tommy. I’m Collin Black.”

He looked at me through his rearview mirror. “I know who you are, Mr. Black, and it’s nice to meet you.”

He pulled up to the curb of the Waldorf where the meeting I was attending was being held in one of the conference rooms. I pulled some cash from my pocket and paid the fare, then looked at my watch.

“You got me here with five minutes to spare. Thank you, Tommy. How would you like to work for me as my personal driver?”

“Seriously, Mr. Black?”

“Yes. I’ve been looking for one for a long time and no one seemed right. But for some reason, you do. Here’s my business card. Come by my office tomorrow morning around ten o’clock and we can discuss the details of your employment. That is, if you’re interested?”

“Why, yes. Of course I’m interested.”

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I smiled as I shut the door and strutted into the Waldorf. Jackpot! I finally found myself a driver and I couldn’t wait to tell Amelia.

Connor

I took Julia to her dialysis appointment and spent a couple of hours with her before I had to attend a meeting at work. Jake was at the office and, as soon as I got back, he was going to spend the rest of the day with Julia. I took hold of her hand and brought it up to my lips.

“How are you doing, princess?”

“I’m okay, Dad. Listen, you don’t need to be here. You’re so busy at work and I’m fine.”

“Collin can handle the company. The way I look at it is, this is some good father/daughter bonding time. We really don’t get to spend any time alone together.”

“I talked to the doctor and I’m thinking about doing dialysis at home. Jake and I talked about it and we think it would be better and more manageable.”

My heart sank at the thought. It would be more manageable for her, but it would also seem more permanent, and it saddened me that there was nothing I could do. Actually, there was something I could do, but I made a promise to Julia that I wouldn’t get involved and I’d never broken a promise to my daughter.

After a couple of hours had passed, Jake walked into the room. I gave Julia a kiss on her forehead and headed to the office.

“Good bye, princess.” I winked.

“Bye, Dad.” She smiled.

****

Julia

I kissed Jake goodbye before he left for work and took Brayden back to bed with me. I took the next couple of days off because the exhaustion was overwhelming. In a few days, I would start in-home dialysis and I was thrilled. Not thrilled about the dialysis part, but thrilled that I could do it in the comfort of my own home. After Brayden and I slept for a couple of hours, I decided to take him to Central Park since it was a beautiful day. He loved it there because he loved to be outside. I didn’t tell anyone in my family that I was going because I just wanted to spend some time alone with my son. I packed the diaper bag, put Brayden in his stroller, and headed to Central Park.

I found a spot in the plush grass, spread out a blanket, and took Brayden from his stroller, setting him down amongst some of the toys I brought. The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. It was a warmer than usual day for this time of the year and, for the first time in a long time, it felt peaceful. As Brayden was playing with his toys, I pulled my ringing phone from my purse.

“Hey, Collin.”

“Hey, sis. What are you doing?”

Shit
. If I told him where I was, he’d want to come.

“I just put Brayden down for a nap and I’m going to lie down for a while.”

“Oh. I was going to see if you wanted to grab some lunch.”

“Maybe another time, Collin.”

“Are you feeling okay, sis?”

“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

“Okay. Get some rest. I’ll talk to you later.”

I felt bad for lying to him, but I just wanted to be alone in the park with my son. If I would have told him I was here, he would have told my dad, who would have called my mom, and the three of them would have shown up. As much as I loved my family to death, I just needed some time alone. An hour passed, and as I fed Brayden his bottle, he fell asleep. I adjusted his stroller seat and laid him down so he could sleep comfortably. Bringing my knees up to my chest, I looked around the park at all the people who were there relaxing, sunbathing, exercising, and just enjoying the beautiful day. I noticed a man jogging by and suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, falling to his knees. I got up and ran over to him, taking hold of his arm.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He turned his head and looked at me while trying to catch his breath.

“Thanks. I’m fine. I think I just need some water.”

“I have plenty of water over here. Come with me.” I helped him up and took a bottle of water from the small cooler I had brought. “Here, drink this.”

“Thanks.” He gave a small smile as he opened the water and took a sip.

“You shouldn’t be running on this warm day with no water. Please sit down and rest until you’re hydrated.”

He sat down on the blanket and thanked me. “I left my wallet at home and I didn’t realize it until I went to buy a bottle of water.”

He finished the bottle and I handed him another one. “Drink up.” I smiled.

“Thank you. Is that your baby?” He pointed to the stroller.

“Yeah. That’s Brayden. He’s my world.” I yawned.

“Am I boring you?” He chuckled.

“Oh my God, no. I’m so sorry. I’m just really tired. I’ve had a major life change recently and it’s really taken its toll on me.”

“I’m sorry. Do you mind if I ask what happened? That was rude. I’m a complete stranger and I shouldn’t have asked that.”

He was right. I didn’t even know his name, but that was okay. There was something about him that made me feel comfortable. I couldn’t tell you what, but it was just something I’d felt.

“Sometimes talking to a complete stranger is the easiest. I was in a car accident a few months ago and both my kidneys were severely damaged. The doctors had to remove one of them and, as for the other, I’m on dialysis.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. I’m trying to adjust but between the exhaustion and the other effects from it, I just feel crappy all the time. I think a lot of it is depression as well. I put on this brave front for my family, especially my husband, because I know how bad this is hurting him to see me go through this. But on the inside, I’m a total mess.”

Brayden woke up and started to fuss. “Excuse me a moment,” I said as I got up and took him from his stroller. “Not too long ago, I was hospitalized with a bacterial infection and couldn’t see him for a few days. I think that was the absolute worst thing I ever had to do. A woman came forth and she was going to donate one of her kidneys. Once all the initial workup was done and everything was all set, she got a call from the lab saying they thought they had made an error and asked her to come back in to be retested. It turned out she had cancer, so she could no longer be a donor.”

“Wow. How unlucky for her and you. You must have been devastated,” he spoke as he looked at Brayden and lightly touched his hand.

“To say the least. It felt like my whole world came crumbling down once again.” Brayden was smiling at the stranger and cooing. “He seems to like you.” I smiled.

“He seems like a great kid.”

“He is and sometimes—” I looked down as tears started to form in my eyes. I set Brayden down on the blanket and handed him a toy before gently wiping away the tear. “Sometimes the thought of not being here for him scares me.”

“You’re not dying.”

“I will if I stop the dialysis. He has his whole life ahead of him. There will be little league, music lessons, art classes, and school. How am I going to be able to keep up with all that? I can barely manage life now. I’m sorry,” I spoke as I wiped another tear away.

“Please don’t apologize. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. You seem like such a nice woman and this just isn’t fair. You said you were putting on a brave front for your family. How are they doing with all of this?”

Brayden started to fuss, so I grabbed a bottle from the diaper bag and gave it to him. “My family is destroyed about it, especially my dad. He and I are very close and I see how much this is killing him every time I look in his eyes. He wants to help me so badly, but he can’t. My mom is being overprotective and my brother is putting on a brave front for me. But I can see right through him.”

“I can imagine that there’s nothing your father can do,” he spoke.

“He’s been through so much in his life with my mom having cancer before I was born and not knowing if her experimental treatments were going to work. Then he had an issue with a woman who stalked him. She burnt down his office building in Chicago and then tried to hurt my mom.”

“Are you serious?” he asked with surprise.

“Yeah. Then his driver, who was like a father to him, passed away several months ago, and he took that very hard. In fact, he’s still trying to cope with it. Then his own father passed away recently and he just found out that his father had an affair with a woman and they had a child together. A child that was kept secret from the family. I can’t believe I just told you all that.”

He softly placed his hand on my arm. “Like you said earlier, sometimes talking to a total stranger is easy. Sounds like your dad has been through the ringer.”

“He has, and now with what I’m going through, he feels helpless and I hate seeing him like that. He’s a good man and a very giving man. If you need help, he won’t even hesitate. My brother, Collin, met a woman and her very sick son on a plane to Chicago. Her husband had passed away and she lost her job. She spent what little savings she had for her son’s medical care.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He has cystic fibrosis. When my brother told my dad about their situation, he hired her as his secretary and gave her full health benefits so she didn’t have to worry about her son’s medical bills anymore. Then, when he was getting worse by living in the city, my dad moved her and Jacob to California and is letting them live in our beach house there and gave her a job at the art gallery he and my mom own.”

“Why California?”

“The saltwater and ocean air helps Jacob’s lungs and he’s doing much better there. We just saw them at my grandfather’s funeral and at my brother’s wedding reception. He’s doing really well. I’m so sorry. I must be boring you to death.” I gave a small smile.

“Not at all. Your family sounds like they’re really caring people.”

“They are.” I looked at my watch and noticed the time. “I better get Brayden home. My husband will be home soon.”

I picked up Brayden and sat him in his stroller. “I’m sorry, I never asked you your name.”

He smiled as he folded the blanket for me. “If I told you my name, then we would no longer be strangers and maybe you’d regret telling me everything you did.”

“You’re right. It was nice talking to you, stranger.”

“The pleasure was mine, stranger. Thank you again for your help. Obviously, it runs in the family.”

“You’re welcome. Next time, make sure you have water on you.” I pushed the stroller and headed home.

As much as I wanted to be alone, I found comfort in talking to the man who had collapsed in front of me. It felt good to tell someone my story. I decided not to tell Jake or anyone in the family about my encounter with the stranger. It was a moment that made my day a little better.