Liv shook her head and tried not to chuckle. “No. Well, maybe. Sort of. He got some hellos. But what I’m wondering is if you’re okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I got the feeling there’s more going on than you’re sharing. I hope you know that Danny and I are here if you need anything.”
“You and Danny are already doing so much.” A flash of panic flitted across her face, crinkling the corners of her eyes.
“Mrs. L,” Liv half-whispered. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the wedding. The baby. And especially the house. It makes me very happy to know the two of you will be filling it with love and a family.” She took Liv’s hand, squeezed it. “You’ve given me something to live for,” she added in an uncharacteristically vulnerable voice. “The wedding is a wonderful way for me to say goodbye to my home.”
Something to live for. Liv let that sink in for a few quiet moments.
“It’s your lungs, isn’t it?” Liv asked softly. All the times she’d heard Mrs. L. clearing her throat, she’d chalked it up to a lingering cold.
With a small, reluctant nod Mrs. L. said, “Cancer.” Then taking a shallow breath before sitting taller said, “And that’s the last we’ll speak of it. No one knows except Tuck. I don’t need anyone making a big deal of it. I’ll be fussed over enough when I get to Florida.”
“Is it okay if I tell Danny?”
“Yes, but only because I believe a man and a woman in love should never keep secrets from each other. Now go take him his fritters.”
Olivia gave Mrs. L. a long hug before leaving with a heavy heart. She found Danny in the kitchen drinking a glass of water. He’d put a shirt on and set two place settings at the breakfast bar.
“Hey,” she said, taking a barstool. “Sorry I took so long. I stopped to give Mrs. L. some fritters. She told me something really upsetting.”
“What is it?” Danny took the other stool, then helped her dole out the fritters.
“She’s sick.” Liv turned, her knee bumping Danny’s. “Lung cancer.”
He rubbed his hand across his mouth and chin. Lines wrinkled his forehead.
“I think it’s a big reason why we mean so much to her. This house and our wedding are keeping her happy and her mind occupied. I’m sure her daughter wishes she’d move now, but Mrs. L. is one stubborn lady.” Liv swiveled back to face the counter. “I’m really glad I’ve gotten the chance to know her.”
“Me too,” Danny said stiffly.
“Tuck is the only other person who knows, and she’d like us to keep it that way.”
“No wonder he’s been sneaking out of the guesthouse more often. I thought it was just because Mrs. L. was moving, but it’s more than that. He’s got to be pretty upset. He’s really sweet on her.”
“It’s nice having someone take care of you when you’re sick or…” Liv watched Danny out of the corner of her eye. Neither of them had touched their fritters yet. “…things change with your health.”
Danny scowled at her.
“I know you’re nervous about—”
“You don’t know shit, Liv.”
She flinched at his cruel words and harsh tone.
He stood. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m going to head back into the garage.” Without another word he walked away.
“I’m sorry, too,” she somehow managed to whisper, despite her heart thrashing about at the back of her throat, nearly blocking her air passage. If marriage didn’t break them, she feared his disease would.
Chapter Eight
Danny kept his eyes closed as he slipped out of bed. He kept them closed walking out his bedroom door and down the hallway to the top of the stairs. Hand on the railing, his eyes stayed shut while he counted the stairs on his way down. Reaching the bottom, he made a left and headed toward the kitchen, still blind.
He did this all the time in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep and sought a glass of something cold to drink. Practiced. Practiced for that day when closing his eyelids wouldn’t make any difference.
A barely-there sound reached his ears, an intake of breath, maybe? He lost his bearings for a second and bumped into a piece of furniture, stubbing his toe. “Ow, dammit.”
“Ahhh!”
That sound he knew. He opened his eyes to find Liv sitting up on the couch, behind her the TV playing on mute. The glow from the television cut through the darkness, laying him bare to Liv’s wide-eyed stare.
He quickly crossed his hands over his junk, hiding, uh, most of it. “Hey, sorry I scared you.”