Faking It (12 page)

“He never mentioned any of that. He told me he got tired of eating out. He never really told me much about his family, other than that they were important to him.”

“They are. He visits fairly often. His mother still lives in the house he grew up in. Her sister lives with her. It’s a big house. The two of them rattle around in it. I visited with Jack over the holidays last year. His brother Bobby lives nearby. He keeps a closer watch, but he reports everything to Jack.”

“They sound like wonderful people.” Erin paused, then asked, “Why do you think he didn’t tell me about his heart condition?”

“I don’t think he’s told anyone but me. We power walk the beach together. It became apparent that he was having trouble. He didn’t want his family to know for obvious reasons. He said they’d just worry,
and since there wasn’t anything they could do, he didn’t want to burden them.”

“I understand that, but I wish he’d confided in me. I know I haven’t known him for very long, but I thought we were closer.” She had certainly felt closer to Jack than she’d ever felt to anyone else.

“Oh, he’s nuts about you, let me assure you. I saw him the other day after you’d dumped him. He was a mess. I’ve never seen him so distraught.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Erin, look, I’m not sure what made you go to see him today and I know you care about him and he cares about you, but I think the best thing you can do for Jack is to stay away from him.”

“Oh.” Erin straightened. “I was kind of thinking the same thing myself, but why do you think so?”

“I don’t know that you’re what he needs right now. We’re not even going to contemplate his not making it. Once he gets over this, he’s going to need lots of rest and relaxation. I get the idea the two of you haven’t exactly been relaxing.”

Warmth filled Erin’s cheeks. “We have a very strong chemistry between us. We both tend to get a little…out of control.”

“There you go. Well, I’m guessing he’s not going to be up to any of that for a while. That and I don’t know what you did to him, but he has been sick as a
dog since he met you. It isn’t what I thought would happen at all.”

“Excuse me?”

Amanda’s eyes widened. “I mean, I figured when he met someone new it would energize him. You know, give him a new outlook.”

“So he was better before we met?”

“He had the heart stuff—tightening in his chest, fatigue, occasional dizziness—but none of that other stomach stuff he’s had going on.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“Amanda.” A pretty woman with Jack’s coloring rushed up to them, followed by another woman and a young man. “How is he? Can we see him?”

Amanda rose and Erin followed suit, while Amanda made the introductions. “Grace Langston, this is Erin McClellan, another friend of Jack’s. She’s the one who found him. The doctor is with him now. Hopefully we’ll know something soon.”

“But what happened?” Grace asked. “We saw him Saturday night and he seemed fine.”

Amanda took her hand. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to find out like this. He hasn’t been well for a while. He didn’t want to worry you. That’s why he didn’t tell you.”

“So he’s seen a cardiologist and it’s a congenital defect?” Grace asked.

“He said that it’s the same as with his father and sister.”

“And his grandfather,” the second woman added.

Grace closed her eyes. “My poor Jack. He should have told us. What did his doctor say? Did he recommend surgery?”

“He did, but after what happened with Stacey, Jack was looking into alternative treatments,” Amanda explained.

“What kind of alternative treatments?” Grace asked. “You can’t treat something like that with herbs and diet.”

“No, but he was looking at different types of energy work.” Amanda’s gaze flickered over Erin. “Like reiki and acupuncture.”

A feeling of foreboding settled over Erin. Good God, what was Amanda saying? Surely Jack hadn’t known about her family when he’d walked into her shop that day?

“For Pete’s sake.” Grace seemed almost ready to collapse.

Amanda motioned to the chairs. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Jack’s mother extended her hand to Erin. “Please call me Grace, both of you girls. Erin, this is my sister, Rose, and my son, Bobby.”

Erin shook hands with Rose and Bobby, who
looked like a younger version of Jack. Bobby smiled. “You’re the one redoing his place, aren’t you?”

“Yes. We signed a contract just last week.” Last week. It seemed an eternity ago.

Grace cocked her head. “Oh, yes, the girl he mentioned at dinner. You must be very special to him, dear. Jack never mentions his girlfriends.”

“Why don’t we all sit down?” Rose suggested. “Bobby, maybe you can find us some coffee or something. Don’t all hospitals have cafeterias or those little vending machines?”

“I’m on it, Aunt Rose. What can I get for everybody?”

Rose and Amanda gave their orders, while Grace and Erin declined. Then Amanda left with Bobby to find the coffee. Grace turned to Erin. “So how long have you known my son?”

“About a little over a week, though it seems much longer.”

“Just like you and Stan,” Rose said to Grace. “The two of them had a whirlwind courtship. They were married within a month after meeting each other. I thought they were insane. Told them it would never work.”

Grace smiled a sad, tired smile. “Well, she was wrong. I was all of twenty when we married and we
were together for fourteen glorious years. I’ve no doubt we’d be married still if Stan was with us.”

Grace’s pain drew Erin and she reached for her, placing her hand on the older woman’s. “He’s going to be all right.”

Jack’s mother nodded. “We have to believe that, don’t we?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Whatever happens, please don’t be upset with Jack for not telling you.”

“Oh, of course not. He was trying to take care of me, just like he always has.” Her gaze warmed and she placed her other hand on top of Erin’s. “I’m not sure what you are to him, but I have a wonderful feeling about you. I’m so glad you’re in his life and you can be here for him right now.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure what I am to him either, but I promised him while we were waiting for the ambulance that I’m not going anywhere,” Erin said.

The doors that led to the care units swung open and a nurse called the name Langston. Erin waved her over. The nurse stopped in front of them. “Are you Jack Langston’s family?”

“I’m his mother and this is his aunt and this young lady is a very good friend of his. How is my son?”

“He’s stable, but we’re keeping him for observation. You can see him two at a time. I’ll take you back.”

“You two go,” Erin said to Grace and Rose. “I can wait.”

Grace nodded and gave her hand one last squeeze before she stood to follow the nurse.

T
HE DOOR TO THE HOSPITAL
room scraped and Jack opened his eyes. His mother and aunt moved beside his bed. He smiled and tried to sit up but got tangled in the IV and wires connected to his chest. “There are my two favorite sweethearts.”

His mother sank into the chair beside the bed. She smoothed his hair from his forehead. “Look at you, all plugged in.”

“Doctors. They have to run all their tests. How are you doing?”

Her eyes widened. “Do you hear that, Rose? He asks how am
I
doing? You’re always looking after me, aren’t you, Jack? I’m hanging in here, dear. The question is how are
you?
”

“Tired. Having people wait on you isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Rose leaned on the bed rail. “We understand why you didn’t tell us you were having trouble, but what did the doctor say?”

He blew out a slow breath. God, he was exhausted. “Seems I had just a very small…minor…heart attack, but I’m okay for now.”

“For now.” Grace exchanged a worried look with her sister. “And what about surgery, Jack? Did you talk to the doctor about that?”

“The E.R. doctor actually got my regular cardiologist on the phone. The two of them talked. Dr. Carmichael had already recommended that I have the surgery months ago. I’m going to stay here overnight for observation, then he’s going to work me in tomorrow so we can talk about options.”

“What options? You have to have the surgery,” Grace said.

He gave her hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry, Mom. I promise I’ll take care of this. I see the surgery as a last resort.”

“Sweetie, what happened to Stacey doesn’t have to happen to you. That was a fluke, a bad reaction to the anesthesia or something. Who knows? They do valve repairs all the time. Every surgery has its risks, but in this day and age the odds are in your favor.”

He fisted his hands at the worry in their eyes. How could he have let them down like this? “I do understand that. I just want to make sure that I’ve exhausted all alternatives before I let them cut me open.”

“What alternatives? What is this about you looking into—what was it?” Grace asked Rose.

“Energy work. Acupuncture.”

“Acupuncture. Thank you. How is that supposed to help? What did you do? Did you let some quack doctor stick needles in your chest?”

“He stuck them all over my body, actually. Very strange experience, not nearly as bad as I anticipated. The needles are really sharp. You can barely feel them.”

“Jack, that’s nonsense. You can’t be serious about any of that,” his mother said.

“Amanda’s been telling you a little too much.” A sense of unease gripped him. “Where’s Erin? Did she come?”

“She’s in the waiting room. She’s a wonderful girl, Jack. She’s very worried about you. Surely she doesn’t support you in this quest for…alternative treatments.”

“She didn’t know I was defective.”

Rose patted his leg. “You’re not defective, pet. Your valve’s defective. That’s not quite the same.”

“Thank you, Aunt Rose.”

“Bobby and Amanda are both here, too, but the nurse said you could only see two of us at a time.”

“I would really like to see Erin, if you two don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” His mother leaned over him and
kissed his forehead. “I love you, my big, sweet boy. You get yourself better. Please call me later and let me know how you’re doing.”

“I will. ’Bye, Aunt Rose. Don’t forget to send Erin back.”

He closed his eyes again as they left, the weariness taking him. He could sleep for a week after this. Then maybe he’d wake up to find it had all been a bad dream and he was as healthy and hearty as ever. All a dream except the part about Erin, of course.

“Jack?” Her soft voice drifted to him as if from the dream.

He opened his eyes, his lids seeming to weigh two tons each. Erin stood beside his bed, her face drawn with worry, her green eyes watery. He reached for her and pulled her toward him, but the damn bed rail got in the way. He let go of her to wrestle with the thing and she helped him to lower it.

Then she sat beside him. “Oh, Jack, you scared the hell out of me. Your mom said that you had a heart attack.”

“Just a teeny-tiny one.” He pinched his fingers together to show her. If this was how he felt after a minor heart attack, what would happen when the real thing came along?

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He took her hand, savoring the warmth that
flowed into him. “You really do have magic, you know. I can feel it now. Your touch is golden.”

“What if my touch put you here?” Tears glistened on her cheeks.

“Oh, baby, is that what you think?” He moved his arm to hold her, but his IV got in the way again. “If anything, you probably kept this from happening sooner.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Erin, listen, I understand how you feel, but you have to understand that I don’t care if being with you made me a little queasy afterward. It was well worth it. It always passed, and I swear to you when the nausea was over I felt energized and vibrant. Other than making love to you, there isn’t a better feeling.”

“Jack—”

“I’d been having symptoms—tightening in my chest, shortness of breath, sometimes I’d get dizzy and feel like I was going to fall over and I didn’t have any energy. That all stopped the moment I met you.” He stroked her hand. “I don’t care what you say. You have magic and I know it’s helped me.”

“You knew, didn’t you?”

The hurt in her voice drew his gaze to her, tightened his throat. “I knew what?”

“You knew about my family. You came to my design studio looking for me that day not because you
wanted to have your house redone. You came looking for a sexual healer, didn’t you?”

He closed his eyes as his world crashed down around him. “Yes.”

She didn’t respond. He glanced at her, remorse choking him. She sat with her head down, her shoulders shaking with silent tears.

“Baby, don’t cry. I’m so sorry. I should have told you. I just… I didn’t want to lose you.”

“Why?” She looked up and tears streaked down her face.

She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her tears brightened the green of her eyes, and it wrenched his gut to see the misery he’d caused her.

He struggled with the IV and gripped her arms. “Please, Erin, don’t be upset with me. I was desperate enough to seek you out and hope you might be able to help me. I didn’t have a plan when I walked in your door. I didn’t know how these things worked—if we’d strike up some kind of business deal.

“You were so upset at just the mention of your family, and when I realized that you were in denial about being a sexual healer, I knew I’d made a mistake,” he said. “But it was already too late for me to walk away. From the minute I laid eyes on you I knew I had to make you mine, not just for a quickie miracle lay but for however long it might last. You
completely captivated me with just one touch. I want to be with you. We don’t have to be lovers if that upsets you, but please…don’t leave me. I need you.”

Tears continued to stream down her face. “I’m so sorry. I can’t be what you want. I can’t give you what you need.”

“Erin, no—”

“I know I said I’d be here, but I’m afraid if I stay I’ll only cause you more misery.”

“No, you won’t.” His throat burned. The room blurred.

She rose from the bed. “Goodbye, Jack.”

“Erin, wait.” He clenched his fists as the door closed behind her.

“E
RIN
? O
H
,
MY GOODNESS
, what is it?” Aunt Sophie stepped back from the door.

Erin moved, her legs numb. She collapsed in the closest chair, one of the big overstuffed ones in her aunt’s living room. Thomas and Maggie turned to her from their place on the couch. Thomas clicked the remote, and the TV they’d been watching silenced.

“What’s happened, girl?” he asked.

Erin’s gaze swept across their worried faces. “I’m a fraud. A fake. I don’t deserve the name McClellan.”

Maggie moved beside her, perching on the cushion, while Thomas and Aunt Sophie hovered nearby.
Maggie smoothed her hand on Erin’s knee. “Now take a deep breath and tell us what’s happened.”

“I’m not a sexual healer.” She hiccuped and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m the opposite of that. I’m a sexual antihealer. That’s it. I’m the antihealer.”

“Why would you think such a thing?” Sophie asked. “It can’t be.”

“I make men sick. All this time everyone thought I was heartbroken over my breakup with Ryan, I was just mortified. The man puked his guts out for four days in my bedroom. He was too sick to leave. And he wasn’t the first. But by then I couldn’t deny it anymore. It was me. No freak coincidence. No stomach bug.” She looked at all of them through the tears in her eyes. “Just me. I sleep with a guy and it makes him positively ill.”

“You don’t say?” Aunt Sophie glanced at Maggie. “Have you heard of this before?”

“No, but these girls are taking the gift to a whole new level.”

“Gift? Aren’t you listening? I don’t have the gift. I’m some freak of the genetic pool. Some sick joke in the McClellan family.”

“No, you’re not.” Maggie handed her a handkerchief from Thomas. “Now exactly what happens to these men? What are the symptoms?”

“Mostly they throw up. There’s sweating and
stomach cramps and all that other gastrointestinal stuff. It’s horrible. I couldn’t believe it the first couple of times, but believe me, there’s no doubt about it. I make men sick.” Fresh tears coursed down her cheeks. “What the hell kind of gift is that?”

“I don’t know, Sophie, what do you think? Sounds like some kind of purging to me,” Maggie said.

“Yes, I think you’re right. Erin, after they get sick, what happens?”

“What do you mean what happens? Either they leave or I leave. It’s a little hard to carry on a relationship if your boyfriend ralphs every time you…you know.”

“So that’s why you always dump them so fast.” Maggie pursed her lips.

Thomas shook his head. “Poor bastards.”

“Thomas, that’s not helpful.” Sophie turned toward the kitchen. “We need some honey cakes and tea. Let me see…I think I know the perfect blend.”

“I know she means well, but how is tea going to help?” Erin asked her mother.

“Oh, your aunt’s teas always help. It isn’t just the herbs, you know. Sophie has another magic all her own.”

Thomas nodded. “Amen.”

Erin stared at both of them. “My life is ruined. I have likely put a man in the hospital and all you can suggest is that I drink tea?”

“What man? What hospital?” Maggie asked.

“This new guy I’ve been seeing. Jack. I really like him.
Really
like him. I thought at first that he was different. I didn’t mean to sleep with him. When I realized I was Typhoid Mary, I swore off men. I’d rather be celibate than keep doing that to them.

“But with Jack, I don’t know…I couldn’t help myself. I lost control. We both did, especially that first time, and then it didn’t seem like he was getting sick. I didn’t find out until later that he had, but for some reason he hadn’t told me,” Erin explained.

“Anyway, he has a bad heart.” Erin wiped her nose. “Something he was born with. His grandfather and his father and his younger sister all had the same thing. His grandfather and father both died at an early age because of it. And his sister had surgery when she was just sixteen to fix it, but she died on the operating table.

“It’s just horrible, and I didn’t know any of this, but when I found out he was getting sick I broke things off with him. Then I went to see him, really I went to measure his place for the redesign. I didn’t think he was home because he hadn’t answered the phone, and I found him in his bed.”

Her throat burned with the memory. “He had a heart attack. I called nine-one-one. I just left the hospital. I broke things off with him for good.”

“Oh, my God, angel. Come here.” Maggie opened her arms and Erin fell into them. She cried until she couldn’t cry anymore.

When at last she pulled back, Aunt Sophie had arrived with the tea tray and a plate of honey cakes. She smiled warmly at Erin, her eyes filled with compassion. “Good thing I bake these regularly.”

“Here.” Maggie handed Erin a cup of hot tea.

Erin breathed in the steam, then took a tentative sip. Whatever her aunt had brewed, it warmed her from the inside out. She blew on the hot liquid, then drank some more, while Maggie retold her sad tale to Aunt Sophie.

Aunt Sophie shook her head. “Oh, sugar, you know you didn’t have anything to do with his heart attack.”

“No,” Maggie agreed. “He had issues with his heart long before you met him. And a heart attack doesn’t fall along the same lines as the other symptoms you’ve described. No, the more I think about it, the more I believe you have the gift of purging. I’ll bet if we were to look up any of your young men we would find them hale and hearty and a world better for having made your acquaintance.”

Maybe it was the tea, but a small ray of hope opened over Erin. She sniffed. “Really? You think that maybe it isn’t a bad thing?”

Her mother cocked her head. “We can’t always answer the whys or hows, but the one thing I can promise you is that the gift has always been used to heal. It seems to have manifested in quite an unusual way with you, but it sounds like the gift to me.”

“Definitely,” her aunt agreed. “Why don’t you call one of your young men and see what happens?”

“You’re kidding. Call some guy I dumped or who dumped me because every time after we slept together he ended up stuck in the bathroom, hugging the toilet?”

“That’s right.” Sophie handed her the phone. “Do you have any of their numbers?”

Erin stared at the phone. Call them? “No. I don’t have any of their numbers. I was never with anyone long enough to memorize them.”

“Or program them into your cell phone?” Thomas asked.

“No, I never programmed any of them into my cell phone.”

“But you have their numbers somewhere at home?”

She paused, considering. “Yes. I have one or two of their numbers.”

“Good, then you’ll call them and let us know what happens.” Aunt Sophie raised her teacup with a satisfied nod.