Page 56 of Sherry and Sunflowers
He made it sound so easy. But resting, and letting herself be taken care of? That was probably the bitterest pill to swallow.
He checked his watch. "Now. Any more questions? Anything at all? I don't want you leaving here worried or unsure about anything."
Alara shook her head, but Reaves leaned forward. "When you say rest, do you mean absolute rest? Like no working, restricted movement, hanging around on the sofa all day?"
She shot him a quick scowl, and Dr. Ambrose laughed when he spotted it.
"I don't think we need to be that severe, no. But certainly reduced hours at work. It's not physical work, is it?"
She shook her head. If she reduced her hours any more, she'd barely be doing anything, and this wasn't the time for that. "No, I sit at a desk. That's fine." She shot Reaves a meaningful look. "And I don't think cutting back at the moment is something any of us want."
"The new distributors will understand if we need to delay a while. You're more important."
She wasn't going to call him out on it in front of Dr. Ambrose, but that was the craziest thing he'd ever said.
"I think that's everything," she said, and started to get to her feet. "Thank you so much for this. And thank you for seeing me early."
He met her gaze. "You're welcome. And I'm sorry if it caused undue concern. Caroline will see you on Friday, and I'll stop in to check on you while you're here, in case you have any more questions."
"I have a question," said Reaves.
"What's that?"
"Will I be able to stay with her while they do the infusions?"
Alara finally relaxed a little when Dr. Ambrose winked at her and said, "I think he's asking the wrong person, don't you?"
Chapter Fourteen
When they arrived back at the estate, Reaves looked over at Alara while he waited for the gate to slide open in front of them. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the door handle. She'd been quiet all the way back.
"Hey."
She turned to face him but didn't speak.
"There are so many things I want to say to you right now. But they all boil down to—don't be so hard on yourself."
Her shoulders dropped. "That's easy for you to say. It's… I'm so mad, Reaves. Not at you. At myself," she added hurriedly. "I didn't just let this happen. I made it happen. And now, because I didn't take care of myself, it's falling on you." She made a face. "And we both know that your dad will think he has to take care of me, too. And Faye—she's already done so much. Makes sure she feeds me and Zia well, won't let me do anything around the house to help. It's not fair. To any of you."
He pulled forward when the gate opened. "That's not your decision to make," he said eventually.
"It is. I can see it. I know it."
"You only know how it looks from where you're sitting. I know you probably won't take it as any kind of consolation, but from where I'm sitting, I'm glad to be able to help. You're not forcing me to. If anything—and I hope this doesn't come out the wrong way—it's you that's being forced into accepting help. And I know that doesn't come easily to you. But I hope…" He glanced over ather. "I hope you'll be able to roll with it." He risked a small smile. "You might even find that you enjoy it."
"I know you mean well, Reaves, but I don't know how. It doesn't seem right. You're under no obligation to me whatsoever. Any of you. And I haven't done a damn thing to earn your kindness."
"It's not about obligation. And it's not even about kindness. It's about what I want. It's about what Dad and Faye want, too. See, the thing you skip over every time is that we care about you. And we want to be allowed to take care of you." He gave her a rueful smile. "Not take over. I didn't miss that little dig from Henry before we left. I'm not trying to tell you what to do or boss you around. Just hoping that you'll allow me—allow all of us—to help with what you need."
"I know. I don't mean to sound like I'm not grateful. I do appreciate it, Reaves. It's just… it's hard, you know?"
"Yeah. I get it."
They were almost to the house now. "When we get there, should we set you up in the family room? You could maybe watch a movie this afternoon or something." He raised his eyebrows. "I'm not flying. I could hang around. Watch a movie with you? Or Zia and I can play, if you want some peace."
She shook her head. "The first thing I need to do is talk to Z. And then Delaney's coming this afternoon. I put her off about coming this morning. But there's so much work to do, Reaves. She hasn't even seen the labels yet, and…"
He held his hand up. "Delaney can wait. The designs can wait."
