Page 87 of Unraveled

“Did the closet finally get decided on?”

“Yep. Cedar. I’ll take a picture because I think you’d like it.”

“For my five-hundred-square-foot walk-in closet, the one I’ll have someday?” The Williamses’ house was over six thousand square feet and absolutely gorgeous. But I didn’t see in my future a closet the size of my last apartment.

“For you. Anything. Did you talk to your HR folks today?”

“Sure did.” That had only added to my bad day. “I’m officially on long-term disability. Family and medical leave has ended at my job, and I’m positive they already have me replaced. I know I said I don’t miss it, but making it official feels very final.”

“I’m sorry, babe. It really is their loss.”

Yes, it was, although I couldn’t fathom going back to my job or my old life. I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing after this whole cancer thing, but I did know it wouldn’t be back in LA. I was done there. I’d found my home and the man I wanted to spend my future with here in Seattle.

“What about medical coverage?”

“I’m lucky. The studio has elected to continue to pay for my medical benefits for up to a year. I like to believe it’s the one way Julian took care of me in the end.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Me too, since medical coverage would’ve been astronomical. But in the short term, I had some hard decisions to make. Unless I wanted to completely deplete my savings account, I couldn’t afford to stay in my apartment longer than the next three months. Perhaps if I sold some of my designer dresses and shoes, it would give me a few more thousand. That wouldn’t last long, though, so I might have no choice but to move temporarily up to Bellingham and in with my brother. I was sure Kellan would be okay with me staying with him during the days I needed to be in Seattle for treatments.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Just tired.”

“You’re adorable as always, but a terrible liar.”

Just one more way he knew me best. “Now that I’m on long-term disability, I may need to move out of here and up to Bellingham with Russ. It’ll be temporary until I can get back to work. Hopefully by spring time.”

“Your brother is great, don’t get me wrong, but wouldn’t you rather move in with me?”

I blew out a breath at the way he made it sound so easy. “I want to move in with you because the time is right, not because of money.”

“How long do you have left in this place?”

“Two, maybe three, more months. It’s a month-to-month rental.”

It occurred to me we’d never talked about finances. It certainly didn’t matter to me what Kellan made at his job. And now that the subject had turned to me, I felt very awkward, to say the least.

“How about we discuss this once you’re feeling better in a couple of weeks. I can plot out how to woo you into saying yes to moving in with me in some very delicious ways.”

Of course he made me laugh. He always could. And somehow, I had to believe everything would be okay.

Chapter Thirty

Kellan

Icouldn’t wait for this house remodel project to be finished. Here I was on a Tuesday morning, waiting on the second refrigerator to be delivered when I would rather have been with Layla on her day after chemo. Given their decisions to change everything from the wood of the floors to the brand of appliances, the Williamses were fickle with their choices. And Carly seemed to be an influence in that regard. But I wouldn’t let it break me. I was in the homestretch now. Only a few days more, and we’d wrap up this job. After that, I could move on to my next couple of projects. At least the word of mouth regarding this remodel had lined up plenty of new work.

Although I sensed Layla was up in the air about what she wanted to do after the cancer treatments, I hoped she’d choose to stay here in Seattle. Finances and logistics weren’t things we’d discussed, but at least she’d shared her concerns about her apartment last night. The fact she wasn’t working and was now on long-term disability would certainly make it difficult to afford the rent in Seattle. I wished I’d realized the situation before she’d spent a moment stressing about it.

I wanted her to move in with me. Wished to come home each night to her in my bed. Perhaps our living together would demonstrate how invested I was in our future. It would show her how much I hoped she’d be open to staying with me here in Seattle even after the treatments. I was determined we wouldn’t be robbed of that future. Not the way Shelly with her three kids and husband had been robbed. Not the way Layla feared she might, too. Not the way I secretly did when she wasn’t able to witness it.

Fuck. I took a moment outside on the rear balcony of the house, rubbing the palms of my hands against my eyes to keep from getting emotional about it. I needed to be the strong one. The one who looked on the bright side and maintained positivity. Not the one who was absolutely petrified of losing the love of his life. We’d work out the logistics in the next couple of weeks. I’d figure out a way to convince her to move in with me. Once we put the cancer treatments in the past, we could talk about the future and then the life I dreamed of could happen.

We were in such a great place at this point, I couldn’t imagine anything coming between us. I had to believe it would all work out. It just had to.

Yet the moment I woke up two mornings later with a sore throat, I experienced a new level of fear. With Layla’s immune system completely compromised, especially this week after her chemo treatment, I couldn’t afford to be sick. That meant the chance she might get sick. I dialed her first thing.