Nate had always found the sibling interaction of the Collingsworth family interesting. Given that he was an only child, he'd had no experience with brothers or sisters. He could tell that the relationships had grown and deepened over the years. He still had a clear memory of the night he'd gone into the bar to try and get Cami to come back to the manor. She'd certainly changed since that encounter.
"Hey, Lily."
Nate fought the urge to turn around when he heard Amy call out. He heard the kids greeting her and then she was standing on the other side of the counter.
Trying to keep his expression neutral, he said, "Done for the day?"
"Yes. Made a good dent in it."
She turned to Cami and said something that he couldn't hear. Since she stood between him and Cami, he didn't know what her response was, but right away Lily turned and walked slowly from the kitchen.
He looked at Cami. "Is she okay?"
Once again, he saw her exchange looks with Will and then Josh. "She's alright. She's just going to rest for a bit before supper."
Rest?That didn't sound like the Lily he knew. She'd always been full of energy, raring to go. He couldn't recall if she'd ever told him she needed to rest during the day. "What's wrong with her?"
Amy moved away from Will. "Hey, kids, why don't we go out back?"
Nate watched as Amy herded the kids out the back door. A pit formed in his stomach. Somethingwaswrong with her. He could feel it. He looked at Cami and then at Will. "What's wrong with her?"
"She has MS, Nate," Will said.
"MS?" Nate asked, shock spreading through his body. "Multiple sclerosis?"
"Yes." Cami crossed her arms, her hands gripping the sleeves of the t-shirt she wore.
His chest tightened as if it were in a vise. Nate fought to take a breath. "Is that why...she left?"
"Yes, it was."
"Why didn't she tell me?" His heart broke again as he imagined Lily dealing with this diagnosis all on her own. "Did you know?"
"None of us did. Not until she came back. That's when shetold us." Cami came around the counter and slid an arm across his shoulders.
Weakened, Nate's head dropped forward as he tried to process this news. It wasn't because she hadn't loved him. It was so much worse. Right then, he wished it had been because she hadn't loved him anymore. At least that would have meant she was okay.
But why hadn't she told him? He would have been there for her. He'd already agreed to marry her, which would have been in sickness and health. Did she think he would have walked away when he found out? Surely she knew him better than that.
He felt Cami's arm slide from his shoulders and looked up. "How bad is it? I don't know anything about MS."
"None of us do," Will said. "We've all been trying to learn what we can about it. She's had almost three years to process and adapt to the news, it's going to take a while for the rest of us to catch up."
"The one thing she has told us is that it's very unpredictable," Cami added. "It could be years before she really experiences the more debilitating symptoms."
"Or it could be tomorrow?" Nate asked.
"Unfortunately, yes." Cami leaned against the counter, her expression pensive. "But it seems she knows what to look for and how to avoid situations that may exacerbate things. I think she's still recovering a bit from her trip here. It was long and draining on her."
Nate still couldn't believe what they'd revealed. "I wish she'd told me."
"She had her reasons for leaving and not telling any of us." Will sighed. "I can't say I agree with them completely, but it was her decision to make."
"We're just glad she's back home," Cami said.
Nate nodded his agreement. Home was where she needed to be while dealing with something like that. But what did hedo with the knowledge? Did he confront her about it? Wait to see if she told him herself? "So what do I do now?"
"I told you just so you'd be aware. I don't think there's anything you need to do. She's still pretty set on the decisions she made three years ago being the right ones."
