A Glimpse of the Dream (26 page)

“Sounds like a plan.”

Kane

My hands were actually shaking as I reached for my phone to call my mom. Ever since my meeting with Mr. Lawson, I had played countless versions of the conversation I was about to have in my head. I was angry and bitter, and yet I could no longer ignore the fact that I had acted similarly toward Tea. My intentions had been in the right place, so had my mom’s been too?

Resolving to actually have the conversation didn’t make it any easier. Realizing there was no point in dragging out the moment, I dialed her number. Along with memorizing the floor plan of my house, I had also mastered the keypad on my phone.

My heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest when the call connected. The line was answered on the second ring. “Hello.”

Mom. Her voice sounded exactly as I remembered, and the memories that voice stirred were countless.

“Hello?” she said again.

Emotion tightened my throat but I did manage to say, “Mom.”

A gasp sounded over the line, followed by a few seconds of silence before a whispered, “Kane?”

I heard disbelief in her tone, but I also heard hope and what sounded an awful lot like longing. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Oh my God, Kane.” Her voice broke and the sound of her crying filled the silence. Her pain came over the line, so intense and heartbreaking that I felt my own eyes stinging with tears. Her reaction was so unexpected, so raw, and, on top of that, confusing as hell. If she hurt so badly at the sound of my voice, then why did she stay away for so long?

“Please don’t cry, Mom.”

“I’m sorry, I just never thought I’d hear your voice again.”

I was confused and, honestly, pissed too. She never thought she’d hear my voice again, but she’d been the one to walk out. “Why not?” I asked curtly.

“I don’t deserve to be near you.”

A shock went straight to my core. There it was . . . she had left me for my sake, just as I had done to Tea. My eyes were no longer stinging but actually filling.

She asked, “How are you?”

I couldn’t answer that, not over the phone, and drop the shitload of suck that was my life on her, so I lied: “Good.” But I immediately followed that up with, “Actually, not good. I’ve spent my life wondering why you walked out. I’m all grown-up now, not the boy I was; I think you owe me an explanation.”

“I do, you’re right.” There was silence for a beat before she added, “My intentions were in the right place, but you’re right, I owe you an explanation. Maybe you would like to come here for dinner?”

I hadn’t expected her to be so willing to see me, regardless of her intentions, after she had stayed away for so long. I answered almost out of shock. “Okay.”

“Oh, Kane, sweetheart.” Hearing her endearment for me sent tears rolling down my cheeks. She asked, “Are you doing okay?”

“Honestly, Mom, there’s just so much we have to say, and I’d really rather we say it face-to-face.”

“That’s fair. You have my address?”

“Yes.”

“I love you, Kane. I never stopped.”

The sincerity I heard in her voice touched a place in me that had been empty for far too long. I needed to end the call, because I was about to lose my shit. I hastily offered a few days that I was free for dinner, and she picked one. Then I said, “I’ll see you soon.”

“I look forward to it, Kane, more than you can possibly know.”

“Bye.” I hung up before she could reply. Dropping the phone, I sat back in my chair and let the tears fall, because the impossible had happened twice. Not only had I gotten my Tea back, but I had just spoken to my mom for the first time since I was nine years old. And what was even more shocking, it sounded as if she had missed me as much as I had missed her.

Teagan

Hearing noise coming from the back of his house, I walked around it and saw Kane. When he’d called the house earlier, he’d mentioned that he’d called his mom the night before, and a visit was scheduled. It wasn’t enough information for me, which was why I had sought him out. I suspected he was working out his issues through exercise. His high bar seemed to be his fallback. The way he so effortlessly pulled himself up, I suspected he used it often. The second he realized I was there, he dropped from the bar and turned to me.

“Tea.”

“How was the call with your mom?”

“She sounded genuinely happy to hear from me. She asked me to visit even before I could suggest it.”

“That’s good.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of odd.”

“Not odd, not if she really was doing as you did, staying away because she really believed it was better for you.”

“Maybe.” He sounded conflicted, and I understood what he was feeling. I understood what it felt like to be denied seeing someone, someone you wanted in your life, all in the name of what was best for you. It sucked even if her heart was in the right place.

“Her voice sounded the same; I felt a flood of memories just hearing it across the line.”

“You’ve missed her.”

“Yeah, and I think she really missed me too.”

“Not surprising,” I said and saw the smile that flashed over his face.

He said, “I’ve missed you more.”

Tears were imminent—I needed to change the subject. “Mrs. T is making you a triple chocolate cake. Will you come up for dinner?”

“Tempting.” The fact that he was able to switch gears so easily meant the phone call hadn’t upset him as much as I feared it had.

“Need me to sweeten the pot, Kane?”

“Yeah.”

“How so?”

“A night on the sofa in the library with you.”

My heart twisted at the memory. “Done.”

His smile faded. “I want a life with you, Tea. I don’t want to know another day when you’re not near me.”

“I want that too.” I’d make it work somehow, having both Kane and the life I started in Boston. When there was a will . . .

There was time before dinner, so Kane and I visited Mrs. Marks. She had been so agitated the last time I saw her that I thought it might bring her comfort to see us together, working on fixing what had been broken.

She was sleeping when we arrived, her head turned slightly, her hair down around her shoulders. She looked so frail lying there; it scared me to think that she might not recover. Kane’s hand tightened on mine, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

A nurse entered to check on her IVs. Seeing us, she smiled absently. “Evening.”

“Hi. Has she been awake at all today?” I asked.

“A little this morning. Her lawyer was here. He seemed awfully itchy to talk to her. But she doesn’t stay awake for very long.”

“He been here before?” Kane asked.

“I don’t think so, at least not during my shift.”

At that moment, Mrs. Marks’s eyes fluttered opened and, though she was looking right at us, she didn’t see us immediately. It was clear the minute she did, since a smile touched her lips.

“That’s a sight,” she whispered.

Moving closer to her bed, I reached for her hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Her focus shifted to Kane. “Kane, you told her?”

“Yes.”

“Thank God.”

“I’m sorry we put you through that. I didn’t agree, but I believed it was his dying wish. It broke my heart to keep you out of the loop—but I understood his intentions. Watching him struggle, the agony, it would have been very hard on you to watch that.”

I was happy to hear that her speech was more clear and her words less disjointed. Zeroing in on her last comment, I replied, “Not as hard as it was for him to live through. I would have been there every second if he had let me.”

“I know, but it would have broken this old lady’s heart having the ones she thinks of as hers hurting so. Kane in pain and you watching that pain.”

What could one say to that?

Her gaze moved to Kane. “Kane, did you speak to Lawson?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, your mother made me promise.”

“I did the same to you with Tea.”

Surprise crossed her face. “I guess you did. You okay? Your mom?”

“I called her. We’re meeting next week.”

“Good. She loves you. This I know.”

Sensing that Kane didn’t want to discuss the topic any further, she changed it. “Mr. Clancy told me Simon went home. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to chat with him.”

“He’ll be back. We have another person completely in love with Mrs. T’s cooking.”

She chuckled.

Kane asked, “Is it true you want to sell Raven’s Peak?”

“I’m getting older, so are the others. We’re having trouble maintaining such a huge house, as you know, Kane.”

“So you asked Mr. Sl—I mean, Falco, to inventory your house?”

An odd look moved over her face, suspicion maybe, reminding me that this woman didn’t let anything pass her notice. “Yes.”

“And?”

“And what, dear?”

“There’s more to what you asked of him, isn’t there?”

Surprise greeted that answer before she smiled. “I didn’t realize I was so easy to read.”

“You’re not, but you’re also not a fool. Falco is a fool.”

“There may be another reason behind my request of him, but we don’t need to get into that now.”

“He’s inventorying in the event you need to sell. What are you hoping to do with the place?” I asked.

“I would like to give it to Kane and you. His inn idea is brilliant.”

Turning my attention to Kane, I could tell he was startled by the news. “You still want to turn the place into an inn?” I asked.

“Yeah. Most of the foundation is already in place, and, with the elegance of the place and its location, I think it would be a very successful inn.”

“I absolutely agree. I’m just surprised.”

Kane’s voice turned noticeably cooler. “Surprised at the idea of a blind man running a business?”

Whoa. What the hell? That pricked my temper. “Surprised because the first and last time I heard you mention the idea was when we were kids, and the fact that you knew yourself that well at twelve surprises me. I didn’t figure myself out until I graduated college.” I stood. “Suddenly, this room is just a bit too small. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Marks.”

“Teagan, don’t leave upset,” she whispered, and I felt terrible that she had to witness that when the whole point of the visit was for her to see that Kane and I were mending our fences, but Kane had been out of line.

“I’m sorry,” was all I offered as I started from the room.

“Tea?” Contrition laced through Kane’s words, but I was angry, so I just kept on walking.