Tea & Comfort (Madrona Island Series Book 2), page 9
When she looked up, Luke was watching her. Kyla knew he was going to ask her to dance next. Her eyes flew to the nearest exit. She couldn’t just drive off. Betty and John needed a ride home and were counting on her. The sound of clapping brought her focus back into the room. A new song started playing, and John asked Betty to dance.
Luke walked slowly in her direction. Kyla’s whole body flushed with heat as the room spun around her. He did a mock bow. “May I have this dance?”
Kyla wanted to say no, but her hand reached out to his.
He led her to the floor, and from the moment he put his hand around her waist, she was lost in the warmth of his arms. Their bodies melded together as one as they danced; she was unaware of anyone around them. His familiar scent and the feel of his strong body next to hers felt so right. To have and to hold as long as we both shall live, echoed in her mind. It was as if they’d never been apart and everything that kept her from him was just a dream.
When the music stopped, so did the illusion. Were her limbs trembling from weakness? From his closeness? She was not sure, but she had to sit down.
Kyla walked to her table. She leaned on the back of her chair and slid down into it. She noticed that Luke stood still on the dance floor, watching her. His eyes held so many questions but none she was ready to answer. She was not sure she would ever be.
The Bee Gees’ old song, “More than a Woman,” sent several older couples scurrying back to their seats. Luke moved out of sight and Kyla sighed with relief. She watched Becca dancing some flashy moves with Marco, Frank’s grandson from the bookstore. Ever since she and Becca had walked over to the bookstore with a welcome gift for Marco, he’d been a regular at her shop. He came for tea and Becca crossed the street for coffee. Marco was quite attractive with his olive skin and ebony hair brushing against the collar of his button down shirt. The women in the room were probably swooning, but Kyla could tell Marco only had eyes for Becca.
“Betty, do you remember disco?” Grandpa John asked. “My wife and I even took lessons. She loved to dance.”
Kyla would like to have seen that.
Betty shook her head. “I’m not the dancing type.”
The music stopped and the DJ announced it was time for the bride to throw the bouquet. “All the single women in the audience, please come forward,” he said.
Kyla was glued to her seat. Jude flew onto the floor and Audrey reluctantly sauntered out with a few other women. John and Betty looked at Kyla.
“Go,” Betty said.
“I’m tired, and I don’t really want it,” Kyla replied.
John put his arm around her shoulder. “Kyla, dear. Don’t be afraid. You’re too young to live without love.”
Kyla shivered and found herself standing up. Betty gave her a little push and she walked out onto the floor but hung to the side.
“Are you ready, ladies?” Shirley asked.
Shirley turned her back to the single women and the crowd slowly chanted, “One, two, three!” As if in slow motion, Kyla saw the bouquet fly up into the air and head her way. In front of Kyla, Jude jumped up to catch it, but the beautiful plum-red, and white bouquet ricocheted off Jude’s hands and landed perfectly in Kyla’s.
All eyes turned to Luke.
The room spun, and it was all Kyla could do to not pass out. Heat flashed through her body and the noise from the crowd became painfully loud. She could barely catch her breath. All she knew was that she had to get out of here now. Her eyes scanned for the nearest exit and her body followed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next day, Kyla closed the shop early and gratefully returned to her house behind the shop. She fell on her bed and curled up into a ball. Her fingers dug into her palms as she willed back the tears. “It’s too much,” she said into her pillow. “Make Luke go away.”
At the sound of his name, she burst into tears. Her body shuddered from impact. She was so tired. Bone-deep exhausted and it was getting worse. Every joint and muscle in her body ached. Depression wasn’t even the word for her mood today, and throwing up this morning hadn’t helped. Unlike Lily, she was definitely not pregnant. There had been no one since Luke. “Luke,” she whispered. Her head pounded. The room spun in reply, then everything went black.
From a far distance, she could hear a woman’s calling her name, “Kyla, Kyla, are you okay?”
The woman shook Kyla’s body, but Kyla did not want to come back. Not to him. Not to a hopeless situation and an ugly disease taking over her body again. She floated somewhere far away, pain-free finally. A bright light pulled her into the distance and a warm voice filled her head.
“It’s not your time,” the benevolent voice said. “Go back…go back.”
Kyla felt herself whirl through space and wake with a jolt, lying in a speeding vehicle. Jude was by her side, her face lined with worry. A paramedic adjusted the IV line.
“You’re awake,” Jude said. “Thank God.”
Kyla stared into the face of her beloved friend. She reached out and clasped Jude’s hand. “How did I get here?”
“I came into the shop and no one was there. I called after you and wandered back to your house. The door was open and I found you in the bed unconscious.”
Kyla wondered how long she would have lain there if Jude had not come. It was Becca’s day off, and no one checked on her on a regular basis. She could feel the self-pity creeping up as the ambulance pulled into the Island Hospital emergency area. No more, she told herself. She would call on the same inner strength and guidance that had led her to Madrona Island and helped her achieve full remission. She did it once, she could do it again.
***
Luke pounded on the door of Grandpa John’s house. Ian would know what was happening. When in town, he’d seen an ambulance at Tea & Comfort and a woman being wheeled out by paramedics. There was a “closed” sign on the door. Panicked, he wondered if it might be Kyla. They may not be on the best of terms yet, but he cared. More than he wanted to admit to himself.
Grandpa John opened the door and his dog, Gretel, ran up to greet him. “Luke, come in.”
“Where’s Ian? I want to know what happened at Tea & Comfort today.”
John pointed to the old couch. “Sit down, Luke. I’m headed over there myself. Let’s talk a minute first.”
The dog followed Luke and sat at his feet. “Was it Kyla?” Luke asked.
“Yes, it was,” John said, patting Luke’s hand. “There’s no hurry, son. She’s fine.”
Luke stared into the old man’s compassionate eyes. He’d heard that John had been through a lot of loss in his lifetime. Everyone loved and trusted this man, and Luke could see why.
Luke leaned back on the couch. Gretel pushed his hand with her nose to get him to pet her. He ran his hand over the silky dog’s head. “What is it? What’s wrong with her?”
“That’s not for me tell you,” John said. “But I can tell you want to help her. She needs kindness right now, support, friendship. That is what will heal her.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Trust her, Luke. I’ve seen the way you look at her and she looks at you. There’s not a mean bone in the sweet lady’s body, I will tell you that. You’re hurting, she’s hurting, but right now you need to be the calm one.”
The tension drained from Luke’s body. He knew in the depths of his soul John was right. He’d let anger cloud his vision and his words. It was time to tell Kyla how he really felt and how much he wanted her back. No matter what. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit the truth…he’d bought a winery on the island just to be near her.
“I understand,” Luke said. “Why don’t I drive us over there? I’m ready.”
John’s smile lit up the room and Luke’s dark heart. “I see you are, and it makes me proud. I knew if Kyla loved you, you had to be a pretty good sort.”
Loved him. John just said Kyla loved him. Why had he ever doubted it? Luke had blamed his parents, then Kyla, and then hated himself. It was time to find out the truth.
***
Luke stood back at the doorway of Kyla’s hospital room and let Grandpa John enter. Lily, Ian, and Jude were huddled around the bed. Kyla was conscious but looked pallid and drawn.
“And here we all are,” Grandpa John said with a smile. “Everyone who loves you, sweetheart.”
Kyla’s eyes flew to the door and Luke froze. In that moment, the fire of his anger completely faded and all he saw was the question in Kyla’s eyes. He stepped in and stood at the foot of the bed.
“Hello, Luke. Thank you for coming,” she said.
Luke could almost hear the room sigh in relief.
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he said, reaching his hand out to her.
She wrapped her fingers in his. The room was silent as Luke and Kyla communicated with their eyes.
Jude stood and stretched. “I think it’s time I got back to the café. But I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Jude. For everything,” Kyla said.
“Anytime.” Jude walked toward the door then turned. “Lily, perhaps you should go home and get some rest.”
“Right,” Lily said. She leaned over and kissed Kyla’s cheek. “Take care, my friend.” Lily grabbed Ian’s hand. “Come on, husband.”
Ian looked from Kyla to Luke and back again. “Go on home,” Kyla said. “I’m fine.”
“Wait,” Grandpa John said. “Can you two drive me home? I rode over with Luke.”
“Come on, Gramps,” Ian said. He looked back one more time and Kyla waved him to go.
It was just Luke and Kyla now, and he had no idea what to say. A monitor beeped softly as his thoughts drifted. If he lost her now…no, that was not an option.
He leaned forward. “What happened?”
“Luke,” she said, her voice strained. “I’ve been ill.”
Ice filled his veins as fear surged through his body. “Are you…are you?”
“Probably not dying yet,” she said. “Not if I take good care of myself. I have lupus. SLE to be exact. It is a chronic autoimmune disease, but the symptoms can be controlled most of the time and I can live a normal life.”
“Why are you in the hospital?”
“The disease can flare if I get too tired or stressed and then the symptoms get worse. I remember having some chest pain and must have passed out. Jude found me and called 911.”
Kyla had always seemed so strong. He remembered his parents talking about one of their friends suffering with this disease. But Kyla?
“How long have you known?” he asked.
“I found out in New York.”
New York. He sat back in his chair. That long. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Tears filled Kyla’s eyes.
Luke handed her a Kleenex. “Please don’t cry. You don’t have to tell me anything now if you don’t want to. I just want you to feel better.”
She wiped her eyes. “I want to tell you. No more lies. No more running. It’s only hurting both of us.”
Her green eyes looked up at him and all he saw was love. For a moment Luke did not want to hear the truth. He just wanted to sit in the small, sterile room with Kyla forever and pretend everything was perfect.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was so afraid of ruining everything we had. And of course that is exactly what I did.”
Luke shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“You loved Darcy Deveraux…supermodel. My hair was falling out and I could barely get out of bed in the morning. My career was over and, with it, the life I’d known with you. And you hadn’t even met my family. I couldn’t bear seeing your face when all of the truth came out. So I ran.” She blew her nose. “And not just from you, Luke: from my career, from the public, from myself.”
“I see.” And he finally did.
“I now realize that coming to Madrona Island helped me to heal. I had been in remission for over a year.”
Kyla looked so weak and fragile. When Luke had shown up on the island and given her a hard time, it must have set off her relapse. He didn’t want to make it worse; he only cared about the woman in front of him, the woman he loved. “Kyla, nothing you tell me will change the way I feel about you.”
To his dismay, she broke out in tears. “It’s okay, Luke, they’re happy tears.” Her tears turned to laughter. “All this wasted time…”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. “That is behind us. We’ll work it all out.”
Her beautiful, emerald eyes stared up at him, and he had no doubt she loved him the same way he loved her.
“Lie back and rest, Kyla. I’ll be back tomorrow and every day until you’re better and back home.”
He stood to go, but hesitated. He hated leaving her alone.
“Go,” she said. “I’ll be here waiting for you in the morning.”
***
Luke laid back on his leather recliner in his living room and stared out the window at the dormant vineyards. Exhaustion had set in the minute he got home from the hospital. Seeing Kyla so sick filled him with guilt and remorse. He’d been so damned self-righteous about her leaving him, he’d never stopped to think there might be a good reason why she’d disappeared.
He thought back to the day he realized that she wasn’t just ignoring his calls, texts, or emails; she was gone. Just the memory made his heart race. Shock, anger, denial, blame, and finally the choice to bury himself in a life he hated. He’d drunk anything that came his way at every jet set party he could find. Women came and went in a blur from his Manhattan apartment. No one and nothing had any meaning for him. He’d cut off his parents, assuming they’d either scared her away or paid her off, and hated them even more. Most of all, he hated himself. Maybe she didn’t love him. He’d tortured himself with every scenario. Surely if she were dead the media would have picked that up. At times he wished she were. At least it would have been over.
He sipped a glass of Madrona red, a popular product in his tasting room. The oak-beam ceiling with the track lighting sent a golden glow over the rustic furniture and massive living room. A small fire burned in the river rock fireplace that reached through both stories of the house. Luke longed for a dog like Gretel to curl at his feet. One like he’d had as a little boy. A big dog, maybe, to take hiking. But most of all, the emptiness would never be filled without Kyla.
There was no doubt in his mind he could handle her illness. The man he was now could forgive her and let the past go. But would that really have been his attitude if she’d told him the truth a few years ago when they were engaged? She was a dynamic creature then: a top model and ardent partner in bed. How would he have reacted to her diagnosis? The pedestal he’d put her on was so high, would she have fallen off when he knew the truth? Were her doubts about him justified? After two years of hell and soul searching, he was not the same man anymore. Thank God.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“I’m fine,” Kyla insisted as Jude and Lily rushed around her, trying to make her room comfortable. “Ladies, they released me from the hospital, I’m home now, and I can go back to work. And besides, I have Becca to help me in the store.”
Lily fluffed up Kyla’s bed. “How about a little nap first?”
“Good idea,” Jude echoed.
Kyla stood her ground. “I appreciate you both being here for me, but I don’t need fussing over. I promise I will take good care of myself.”
“And call us if you need anything?” Lily asked.
“Yes, I will. Now why don’t you both head home? You’ve got businesses to run.”
Kyla watched her friends walk down the driveway. How could she have ever considered leaving here? She knew who she had to call next. He’d come every day while she was in the hospital. Her heart fluttered as she called his number.
“Madrona Island Winery,” Luke answered.
“I’d like to order a thousand cases of your best wine,” she said.
“Kyla? I’m sorry. I forgot I was answering my cell phone. Are you home?”
She hesitated for a moment. Why hadn’t she waited until the business day was over? “I’m fine. You’re obviously busy. Give me a call later when you can.”
“Hold on,” he said. “You are not escaping that easily.”
Her laugh rang in the air. Relax, she told herself. It’s okay. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” she said.
“Is that a promise?” he asked.
Without hesitation she answered, “Yes. Yes it is.”
“All right then. How about I pick you up at 6:00 and whisk you off for a nice dinner?”
“I’ll be ready and waiting,” Kyla said. It felt like the last years apart melted away and they were back where they started…in love. Only this time the secrets—well, most of them—were out on the table.
***
After a long afternoon nap, Kyla put on her favorite lime-green cashmere sweater. It was a few years old but still soft and flattering. She wondered where Luke would take her for dinner. It really didn’t matter. All she wanted to do was be with him.
She heard him knock and steeled herself for the confrontation. This time she would be honest with him no matter what happened. He stood at the door, his sandy brown hair curled slightly against his cheek, setting off his sculpted jaw and beguiling smile. His black pullover sweater hugged his body and made her want to do the same. In his hand was a bouquet of stunning deep pink-and-white lilies. They’d always been one of her favorites.
“Come in,” she said. “I’ll put these in some water. Have a seat.”
She watched Luke sink into her sofa and take in the quaint living room with her overstuffed couch, oak rocker, and slow-burning flames in the brick fireplace. She felt his eyes follow her into her cozy kitchen. She loved the faint scent of lavender from the dried bundles hung from her ceiling.
“The cottage is charming,” he said. “And so are these two,” he said pointing.
Oz and Merlin had leapt in his lap, and he was stroking both of their furry little heads. “Yin and Yang,” he said. “One black and one white.”
“They keep me good company,” she said. Kyla placed the flowers in a vase and laid them on the dining room table. “They add enchantment to the room,” she said.
