Honor

with leukemia?”
Startled, Lacey shook her head. It was something the old Kevin would have done in the blink of an eye, but now? She wouldn’t have believed it, if she hadn’t known that Dana would never make up such a story.
“It’s true,” Dana said. “Jason told me he also gave the woman time off with pay to be with her son. And he sent the whole family off to Disneyworld for Christmas because the boy had always wanted to meet Mickey Mouse.”
“Kevin did that?” Lacey asked softly.
“He did. From what I’ve seen since I started working there, Kevin likes to make everyone believe that he’s all business, that the only thing he cares about is the bottom line. I don’t think there’s a worker at Halloran Industries, though, who hasn’t been touched by his kindness at one time or another.” She smiled at Lacey. “I thought you should know. Maybe it will help to put things in perspective.”
Lacey nodded. “Thank you for telling me. Kevin never did.”
“He wouldn’t. He takes it for granted that it’s part of his job. That’s what I admire so much about him. He doesn’t think that being considerate, that caring deeply about his employees’ welfare is unusual. It’s just the way he is.”
“Yes,” Lacey said, more shaken than she could say by the reminder of a generosity of spirit she had thought was lost, “it is the way he is.”
Was it possible that things weren’t quite as hopeless as she had imagined?
* * *
Kevin thought he detected something new and oddly hesitant in Lacey’s blue eyes when she came to visit him that evening. She regarded him as if she weren’t quite sure what to make of him. Her assessing glance puzzled him.
“I like your hair like that,” he began tentatively, wondering if it was past time to be wooing her with compliments, no matter how sincerely spoken. He yearned for the right to brush back the silken strands that had escaped the pulled-back style. “You look like a girl again. That sweater becomes you, too. It matches your eyes. One of Dana’s designs, I’ll bet.”
A blush of pink rose in her cheeks as she nodded, making him regret how long it had been since he’d told her how beautiful she was. “It’s true,” he continued. “Sometimes I look at you and it’s as if time had stood still.”
She grinned at that. “What’s gotten into you today? Is there a little Irish blarney in that IV?”
“They don’t tell me what sort of concoctions they put in there. Maybe it’s truth serum. I do know I’ve felt a powerful need to see you. I worried you might not come back.”
“I told you I would.”
“Are you here because I’m at death’s door or because you want to be here?”
She regarded him impatiently. “You are not at death’s door, so don’t try playing on my sympathy. You’re going to be just fine.”
“If I rest,” he reminded her.
“Exactly.”
“Who’s going to make me?”
“You’re a grown man. No one should have to make you listen to reason.”
“Maybe I’ve forgotten what it’s like to rest. Maybe I need someone around to show me.” He met her gaze and held it. “I need you, Lacey.”
Her lips parted, but before she could speak, Brandon slipped into the room. Kevin managed a rueful grin. “Your timing’s lousy, Dad.”
Brandon looked from Kevin to Lacey and back again, then nodded in obvious satisfaction. “Interrupting your courting, am I? I’m sure you’ll remember right where you left off. Just wanted to say goodbye before I go get some sleep. These old bones of mine can’t take another night on that poor excuse of a sofa in the waiting room.” He glanced at Lacey. “Remind me to order up some new furniture for this place.”
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it,” Lacey said, already edging toward the door. “Why don’t I leave you two alone. I don’t think Linc wants two of us in here at a time.”
“Lacey,” Kevin said, stopping her before she could flee, “I won’t forget.”
“Forget what?”
“I won’t forget what we were talking about,” he answered meaningfully.
She scurried out the door, reminding him of the only other time he could recall seeing her flustered—the day he’d asked her to marry him. She had wanted so desperately to say yes. He’d been able to read that much in her eyes. She’d tried to weigh that desire against the implications, from Brandon’s wrath to the certain end of his future in the family business.
“Yes,” she had said hesitantly, then before he could whoop for joy, “No. Oh, Kevin, I couldn’t bear it if our being together ruined your relationship with your father.”
“Dad will survive this little setback to his plans. He always does.”
“But there’s nothing more important than family.”
“We’ll have our own family. You and I. Our children. It’ll be enough for me. Will it be enough for you?”
“All I’ve ever wanted in my life was to love you.”
“Then that’s our answer, isn’t it?” Kevin had said with the naive faith only a twenty-year-old can have. “All I’ve ever wanted is to make you happy.”
For so many years love had been enough. Only lately had he realized that sometimes marriage took more than love. It took patience and understanding and a willingness to struggle through the bad times. It took listening and sharing and compromise.
Kevin knew, then, what he had to do, what it would take to win Lacey back, to convince her that what they had now was just as strong as what they’d had back then.
When Jason came in later, Kevin asked him to make arrangements to open their house on Cape Cod. “Call the caretaker and have him stock the refrigerator and put in a supply of firewood. I’m going there when I get out.”
Jason’s expression was concerned. “Shouldn’t you stay in town, closer to your doctor?”
“I need to get away. I can’t bear the thought of going back to that huge house again. Your mother hates it. Did you know that?”
Jason looked startled. “She does?”
“Always has.