dying, and there was no way she could make things right. The weight of her guilt settled around her heart like an iron fist, threatening to crush it.
She sucked in a sharp breath as another pain shot through her and sent dizzying stars spinning through her head. The bum hip, or was it somewhere…higher…?
A wave of cold sweat and nausea rolled throughher and she clenched the arms of the chair, willing it to recede. She had no time for this.
It was her son that mattered now. Only her son.
She would hang on and make sure he didn’t give up. She didn’t tolerate quitters. She had the strength, the iron will, to make sure he didn’t let go. Not like Ellsworth, who’d so easily given up.
She gritted her teeth until her jaw ached, and fixed her eyes on the clock.
Three minutes to go and then she could march to Jared’s bedside and will him to fight for his life.
He wouldn’t dare defy her.
She wasn’t weak, not like the woman he’d rebelliously taken for his wife. Sylvia’s old anger and disappointment threatened to surface but she held it at bay. Kate meant nothing. It was Jared who mattered now. He needed her.
And this time, she wouldn’t fail him.
The Past
S YLVIA ADJUSTED her smart little hat and took another close look at her lipstick in the entryway mirror of her home. There would be many old friends at the country club this afternoon, all there in celebration of Jared’s engagement to the youngest Hastings girl.
Sheila was a prime catch, with her boardingschool education and her recent graduation from Northwestern. Her new position as assistant buyer for her father’s chain of upscale department stores was icing on the proverbial cake.
What could be better than an alliance such as this?
Smiling at herself in the mirror, Sylvia straightened her pearls, then glanced back into the cavernous front hall and breathed a sigh of pure relief.
The past few years had been a desperate struggle to keep the place going. Taxes and repairs and the abominable groundskeeper who charged far too much had drained her investments, but keeping up the show had been worth every penny.
The Hastings girl hardly would’ve been impressed by a young man living in a little rambler in the suburbs. And now, with her future guaranteed in her father’s company and her substantial trust funds, Jared would be stepping into the world for which he’d been destined, and his ten-year-old sister, Julia, would still have her chance to shine someday.
And Sylvia would no longer need to fear financial ruin. Ellsworth had managed his money poorly, leaving her with far too little, but the children would soon be able to provide for her. She had no doubt about that.
Jared’s footsteps sounded on the staircase and she smiled in his direction as he approached.
“Well, dear…are you ready for your big day? This will be—” Her voice failed when she took in his haggard expression, his sweatshirt and faded jeans. “Good heavens. It’s time to go. Why aren’t you dressed?”
“I can’t go through with this, Mother. I tried, but I can’t.” He dropped into a chair and rested his forearms on his thighs, his head bowed.
Panic rushed through Sylvia with lightning speed. “Don’t be silly. You’ve asked this girl and she accepted. Everyone gets cold feet—it happens all the time. But it’s nothing. ”
He lifted his weary eyes to meet hers. “But that’s exactly what I feel. Nothing.”
“But she’s a sweet, smart girl. Educated. Lovely to talk to. Don’t get so wrapped up in yourself that you forget just how special she really is.” Hearing her own voice rising, Sylvia took a steadying breath. “This is just a silly case of nerves, darling. Go get dressed, and we can be off.”
“No, we can’t. This was just a bad case of rebound, on both sides. Sheila’s longtime boyfriend dumped her. We both just needed a friend.”
Sylvia curbed her rising anger. “Kate? You didn’t lose that little tramp. Nothing so sad
She sucked in a sharp breath as another pain shot through her and sent dizzying stars spinning through her head. The bum hip, or was it somewhere…higher…?
A wave of cold sweat and nausea rolled throughher and she clenched the arms of the chair, willing it to recede. She had no time for this.
It was her son that mattered now. Only her son.
She would hang on and make sure he didn’t give up. She didn’t tolerate quitters. She had the strength, the iron will, to make sure he didn’t let go. Not like Ellsworth, who’d so easily given up.
She gritted her teeth until her jaw ached, and fixed her eyes on the clock.
Three minutes to go and then she could march to Jared’s bedside and will him to fight for his life.
He wouldn’t dare defy her.
She wasn’t weak, not like the woman he’d rebelliously taken for his wife. Sylvia’s old anger and disappointment threatened to surface but she held it at bay. Kate meant nothing. It was Jared who mattered now. He needed her.
And this time, she wouldn’t fail him.
The Past
S YLVIA ADJUSTED her smart little hat and took another close look at her lipstick in the entryway mirror of her home. There would be many old friends at the country club this afternoon, all there in celebration of Jared’s engagement to the youngest Hastings girl.
Sheila was a prime catch, with her boardingschool education and her recent graduation from Northwestern. Her new position as assistant buyer for her father’s chain of upscale department stores was icing on the proverbial cake.
What could be better than an alliance such as this?
Smiling at herself in the mirror, Sylvia straightened her pearls, then glanced back into the cavernous front hall and breathed a sigh of pure relief.
The past few years had been a desperate struggle to keep the place going. Taxes and repairs and the abominable groundskeeper who charged far too much had drained her investments, but keeping up the show had been worth every penny.
The Hastings girl hardly would’ve been impressed by a young man living in a little rambler in the suburbs. And now, with her future guaranteed in her father’s company and her substantial trust funds, Jared would be stepping into the world for which he’d been destined, and his ten-year-old sister, Julia, would still have her chance to shine someday.
And Sylvia would no longer need to fear financial ruin. Ellsworth had managed his money poorly, leaving her with far too little, but the children would soon be able to provide for her. She had no doubt about that.
Jared’s footsteps sounded on the staircase and she smiled in his direction as he approached.
“Well, dear…are you ready for your big day? This will be—” Her voice failed when she took in his haggard expression, his sweatshirt and faded jeans. “Good heavens. It’s time to go. Why aren’t you dressed?”
“I can’t go through with this, Mother. I tried, but I can’t.” He dropped into a chair and rested his forearms on his thighs, his head bowed.
Panic rushed through Sylvia with lightning speed. “Don’t be silly. You’ve asked this girl and she accepted. Everyone gets cold feet—it happens all the time. But it’s nothing. ”
He lifted his weary eyes to meet hers. “But that’s exactly what I feel. Nothing.”
“But she’s a sweet, smart girl. Educated. Lovely to talk to. Don’t get so wrapped up in yourself that you forget just how special she really is.” Hearing her own voice rising, Sylvia took a steadying breath. “This is just a silly case of nerves, darling. Go get dressed, and we can be off.”
“No, we can’t. This was just a bad case of rebound, on both sides. Sheila’s longtime boyfriend dumped her. We both just needed a friend.”
Sylvia curbed her rising anger. “Kate? You didn’t lose that little tramp. Nothing so sad
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