The Bachelor Boss (12 page)

It was a miserable day and an even more miserable night. Lily refused to go anywhere or do anything except see Clara.

Lily could be contrary in ways Hannah had never imagined.

Even Irene remarked about it. “She sent back both her breakfast and lunch trays. She hasn’t done that in a very long time.”

“How long?” Hannah asked wearily. Lily had also refused to bathe and dress or even brush her teeth, at least not unless Hannah agreed that she could visit her friend.

“When Ty’s grandfather was alive, she used to do it every once in a while. Of course, the men always give in right away. You’re much more determined to outlast her than they were. They knew better. They already knew they couldn’t outlast Lily.”

“Never?”

“Not that I remember.”

“Then I really blundered into it, didn’t I?”

“I think so.”

“What am I supposed to do, Irene? Ty doesn’t want her leaving the house.”

“He’s a little unreasonable, too, don’t you think? I see where he gets it. He’s bound to have inherited some of his grandmother’s traits.”

Only Danny was allowed into Lily’s room that evening. At about seven o’clock Hannah managed to have him “sneak” in some snacks for him and Lily—granola bars and ice cream cups, things she was sure Lily would think were Danny’s doing and not her own.

After Danny went to bed, Hannah decided it was time to confront this issue head on.

“I didn’t invite you in,” Lily said sourly when Hannah burst into her room.

“Sorry, but I don’t need an invitation. I’m hired to carry out Ty’s orders, remember?”

“Then you are both being silly. I’m not a prisoner!”

“Of course not. But I’m not comfortable doing something he expressly forbade.”

Lily must have seen the turmoil on her face because she said gently, “I realize that, dear, but Ty doesn’t know everything. My heart literally hurts for my friend. I have to see her. It’s as much for me as it is for her. Please understand.”

Hannah did understand. What’s more, she thought Ty was ridiculously overprotective. Of course, Lily was all he had left. Could she blame him?

“You didn’t eat today. Can I get you some soup? A sandwich?”

“I don’t plan to eat until I see Clara.”

“You can’t starve yourself.” Ty would be livid if that happened.

“I certainly can. You won’t force-feed me. He’ll only be gone a few days and that will convince him when he comes back that he can’t make such rules for me anymore.”

What would be worse? Taking Lily to see Clara, or having Ty come home to discover that Lily was on a hunger strike? She shuddered to consider.

* * *

Hannah slept little, thinking about what she should do. She prayed for an answer, but none seemed forthcoming. By morning she had a raging headache and no idea what would face her in Lily’s room.

Irene was there when Hannah arrived, concern written on her face. “She won’t get up, Miss Hannah!”

Lily was firmly planted in her bed, arms crossed, expression daring anyone to obstruct her.

“Lily, you can’t...”

“I can and I will. Take me to see Clara and I’ll be good as a lamb. Please, Hannah?”

There was a pleading note in the old woman’s voice that Hannah couldn’t miss. It might be worse not to take her, she realized. Lily was working herself into a tizzy.

“You’ll be a lamb? An angel? A perfectly obedient patient?”

“Oh, yes. You know me!”

That was the trouble—Hannah did know Lily. She wasn’t sure that Lily was even capable of behaving.

In for a dime, in for a dollar, Hannah thought, as she helped Lily dress for their adventure. She’d gone too far to back out now, even though she was afraid what this might cost her.

Chapter Fourteen

“I
’m so happy you finally saw reason, dear,” Lily said happily as they drove down the street to Clara’s house.

“I didn’t see reason. I just had to decide about the lesser of two evils,” Hannah said miserably. “You making yourself sick, or Ty yelling at me.”

“If my grandson fusses, I’ll tell him a thing or two. I know he’s being good to me, but it drives me crazy sometimes.” She turned to Hannah, her eyes twinkling. “Actually, I’m not nearly the spoiled old lady Ty thinks I am. I’m much more reasonable than he realizes, but he expects it of me so I give him want he wants.”

“Lily!”

“Don’t tell him, dear, and ruin his fun.”

Hannah groaned inwardly. Lily had both of them right where she wanted. And right now, she wanted to be with Clara.

They pulled up to the house and parked.

Clara’s sister greeted them at the front door. “Hello, Hannah. Who have we here?”

“This is Clara’s friend, Lily. Mr. Matthews’s grandmother.”

Margaret clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, my goodness! I’ve heard so much about you! Please come in.”

They made their way slowly to Clara’s room because of Lily’s bad foot—and, Hannah thought—because Lily was taking her time, eyeing the place. It was tidied up as it usually was, but the ever-present grime was still there. It looked as though someone had spilled grease on the hallway carpet recently and it was in dire need of a cleaning.

At the door, Lily turned to Hannah, “I’d like to be alone with her if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” Hannah knocked, opened the door and helped Lily to a chair. The cry of delight from Clara assured her that they’d both be all right.

Hannah returned to the living room and Margaret handed her a cup of coffee. “It sounds like my sister was glad to see her friend.”

“It seems so.” Hannah accepted the cup.

Margaret seemed as hungry for conversation as her sister, but after an hour of chatting, Hannah decided to check on Lily and Clara.

The two women were sitting together, poring over an old photo album, gray heads touching.

“It’s probably time to go, Lily,” Hannah said gently.

Lily put her hand over Clara’s. “I’ll be back, don’t you worry.”

The look they exchanged nearly broke Hannah’s heart.

Lily said nothing until they were back in the car. Then she laid her head against the seat and closed her eyes. “It’s worse than I thought. She’s so lonely and stuck in that tiny room. That lazy nephew does nothing for her. Oh, Hannah, it breaks my heart! We have to do something to help her.”

“Did she
ask
for help?”

“No, of course not. She’s grateful to have a place to live.”

“Then what can you do?”

“I don’t know yet, but I will figure it out.” There was steely determination in Lily’s voice—and something else, something Hannah hadn’t heard before. “There are homes, facilities, places where Clara will get better care. I just need to find something suitable.”

She looked sharply at the old woman who sounded as though she was short of breath. She was pale and clammy and rubbing her arm as if it hurt her. “Lily, are you okay?”

“Just upset, dear. I’ll go home and lay down for a bit and everything will be fine. I didn’t mean to become so worked up but... Oh!” Lily pressed her hand to her chest.

“Are you having pain?”

“No, dear, just a little heaviness. I do believe that someone
can
actually have a broken heart.”

Hannah made a quick decision. She turned the steering wheel to the right and headed for the emergency room.

“Where are we going?” Lily asked. Her voice wasn’t as strong as it had been.

“To see a doctor. I should never have taken you to that house. You’ve gotten yourself all worked up.”

Lily didn’t respond. Instead, she settled her head against the backrest and closed her eyes. That frightened Hannah most of all.

It didn’t take long, once Hannah told the E.R. receptionist that Lily was having chest pains, for them to find themselves in an examination cubicle with Lily hooked up to an EKG machine.

A doctor entered the cubicle carrying Lily’s chart. Both women looked at him expectantly.

“The good news is that Lily seems to be doing fine now. It could have been an anxiety attack she experienced, but I want her to spend the night in the hospital so we can watch her. We’ll hook her up to a monitor that will give us an idea what her heart is doing. If things look good, she can go home in the morning.”

“That’s not necessary!” Lily protested. “I have Hannah if I don’t feel well.”

“You’re staying,” Hannah said bluntly. “I feel bad enough for taking you to Clara’s. I will not take you out of this hospital before the doctor discharges you.”

“It’s so much more comfortable at home. And I promised Danny we’d play checkers after school.”

The doctor suppressed a smile. “I do think she’s going to be fine, but I have to make sure. Twenty-four hours, that’s all.”

Lily gave him the same look she used with Hannah and Ty when she didn’t agree with one of them.

For once, Lily didn’t get her way.

* * *

Hannah, who had chosen to remain at the hospital with Lily, tried Ty’s cell phone at least once an hour, but he didn’t pick up. She didn’t want to leave him a message about Lily. She needed to explain things herself. Trisha and one of her roommates had promised to stay with Danny and get him off to school in the morning.

Lily was already sleeping peacefully when Hannah settled herself with a pillow and blanket on the recliner in the room that she’d made into a quasi-bed. She tried to sleep, but all she could think of was that Ty would be furious once he heard that his grandmother had spent the night in the hospital. Her thoughts raced in circles. Lily had been desperate to see her friend. Still, Hannah was the one in change of Lily’s health. Even though Lily could talk paint off a wall if she chose to, Hannah knew she had caved in way too soon.

Ty would fire her and she deserved it. Even though it seemed that something special was growing between them, that shouldn’t prevent him from firing her. She’d let him down. Lily could die, for goodness’ sake! And it would be Hannah’s fault. Just when she needed the money to cover Trisha’s negligence, Hannah had made the poorest decision of her career. The longer she thought about it, the more convinced Hannah was that
she
was the one for whom a heart attack was imminent.

Lord, You’ll have to work this out for me. I put it in Your capable hands. I pray that, whatever happens, it is Your will.

Finally, she slept.

* * *

Ty was exhausted. He’d had late meetings and early ones, too much coffee and too little sleep. He was looking forward to getting home and sleeping in his own bed, having breakfast with Danny before he went to school and a relaxing second cup of coffee with Hannah prior to going to the office. They’d fallen into that little routine gradually, and now it seemed almost wrong not to have the ritual to start the day.

It was difficult to go to work with a bad attitude after spending time with Hannah and Danny. They were both excited for every new day and took nothing for granted. Sunshine, rain, fresh muffins, stale cookies, it didn’t matter, they were thankful for it all. Being short on money had not made either of them bitter, only grateful.

There was a lesson to be learned there, Ty realized. Of course, there were a lot of lessons he could learn from Hannah. Cheerfulness, patience, transparency, kindness, goodness, persistence, lack of complaint. What’s more, her son modeled exuberance, joy and curiosity. Being poor didn’t mean having to go without the things that really mattered. He was filled with unexpected warmth and anticipation at the notion of seeing them again. He’d really missed them. His days had felt empty because he couldn’t see them.

What was he going to do when Hannah and Danny moved out?

He pulled into the garage and, feeling like a lovesick puppy, grabbed his bag and ran into the house. The kitchen was clean and silent, but the patio door into the backyard was cracked open. His heart beat faster.
Hannah...
Ty put down his things and stepped outside.

Irene and Danny were working together in the late-afternoon sun, picking debris out of the garden. Danny’s towhead glinted pale and golden in the sunlight. His earnest, eight-year-old face was expressive, as if he were telling Irene the most important tale in the world.

“Hey, you two!” Ty yelled.

They looked up in unison.

To Ty’s surprise, neither of them looked happy to see him. In fact, they appeared downright dismayed.

He walked across the lawn that was Lily’s pride and joy. She and the gardener spent hours every summer hatching up new plantings and coming up with ways to foil ash borers and encourage the roses. “What’s up?”

Irene and Danny stared at him as if he’d asked them to quote all of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Danny spoke first. “We’re cleaning up out here.”

“Yes, cleaning,” Irene echoed.

“Aren’t you here kind of late today, Irene?”

She looked confused and glanced at her watch. “I suppose I am. It’s a, er, special occasion.”

“What’s that?”

“Cleaning the yard,” they both said.

“Okay, what are you two up to?” Ty chuckled. “You’re acting as if you didn’t expect to see me.”

“We thought you were coming home
lots later
tonight. You’re early,” Danny said accusingly.

“I was done and there was space on an earlier flight. Are Lily and Hannah upstairs?” He couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

Ty saw the pair glance at each other as if they were wondering how to answer.

“They aren’t home yet.”

“Not at home? Where did they go?”

Before either of them could answer, they heard the honk of a horn out front.

“That’s Mom!” Danny chirruped and bolted off.

Ty and Irene followed at a slower pace.

Why, Ty wondered, was Irene wringing her hands?

Chapter Fifteen

H
annah’s heart sank when she saw Ty exit the house. She’d hoped to have Lily home and back in her room before Ty arrived. Oh, well, it was what it was. And it was too late now.

“Hey,” Ty greeted them cheerfully. He went to Lily’s door and opened it. Then he gave his grandmother a peck on the cheek and lifted her out of the car as if she were a toy. “Do you want to go to your room or be downstairs?”