"No, they can't. And please, I don't want to fight with you about this. But it's the most important thing. You have to understand that. Yes, I need to get better, and I will, now I know what I'm dealing with, and I will rest, and I will eat. But the rebranding, and the timing—it matters. All of it matters. Your dad has this huge opportunity with the Sterling Hartman people. But from what Delaney said, they're not going to hang around. They want to get their new Provenance line set up and ready to go. The branding will be the deciding factor in whether they include the House of St. James." She sagged back in her seat. "It's going to be hard enough for me as it is. If I cost your dad this opportunity, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Surely you can understand that."
"Yeah. I guess I can." He parked the Land Cruiser close to the bottom of the steps. "We'll figure it out. But…"
He'd been about to say that he wasn't going to let Delaney push her. But he didn't bother. It hit him before he said it; that would be kind of an insult. Yeah, Delaney was pushy. But Alara's motivation was all her own.
~ ~ ~
As soon as they walked through the front door, Zia came running from the kitchen to greet them.
"What happened, Mom? What did the doctor man say?"
Alara didn't know where to start. Of course she wanted to reassure her daughter, but she knew she'd need to tread carefully.
What the two of them knew—and thankfully Reaves and the others didn't—was the underlying source of herundernourishment. There had been a long stretch before they'd arrived in Napa when money had been very tight. She'd always made sure that Zia had enough to eat, and that she had the right kind of food. They stopped at markets and bought fresh produce, and she shopped the marked-down shelves in the grocery stores. But even doing that, there wasn't always enough. And so Alara had gone without, whenever she needed to.
For the last month before she arrived in Napa, she'd had a couple of good jobs—doing flowers for weddings that paid well—and so buying groceries wasn’t such an issue anymore. But even when she'd started to eat properly again, she hadn't been able to put the weight back on.
She snapped back from her thoughts, grateful to see Reaves scoop Zia up to sit her on his hip. His voice got to her every time, with that easy, "Hey, little buddy."
Unfortunately, this time it didn't have the same effect as usual on Zia. She wrapped an arm around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek, but then her little gaze zoned right back in on Alara.
"Is he going to make you better? The doctor man?"
At least that one was easy to answer. "Yes, he is. I need to have some treatments—just a few appointments over the next couple of weeks—and then I should be fine again. Isn't that great?"
Zia's eyes grew wide and she clung a little tighter to Reaves. "What kind of treatments?"
"Some injections." She made a face. "I'll have to be brave, just like you did, won't I?"
"I'll go with you and hold your hand. What else do you need? And what are the injections for?"
Alara just stared for a moment. She should have taken the time before they arrived back to figure out exactly what to say. She was grateful when Reaves cocked an eyebrow at her, apparently seeking permission. She gave him a slight nod, just hoping that he’d be able to ease Zia's worry.
"Dr. Ambrose said that Mom needs to rest and eat well."
Zia's little eyebrows drew together. "That's not medicine."
"Yeah, it is," said Reaves, glancing at Alara. "It's the kind of medicine that everyone needs every day."
She knew damn well the unspoken second part of that sentence—it was the kind of medicine that she hadn't been getting.
Zia wriggled, and Reaves put her down. "You get good food here, Mom. And you eat it here."
She avoided Reaves's gaze when he shot her a puzzled look.
Zia gave her away anyway. "Do you remember how you gave me yours when we didn't have enough?"
The shame burned in her chest. But even that wouldn't stop her from agreeing with her loving daughter. "Yeah, Z. I do."
"You gave me all the good stuff so that I could grow big and strong." Zia's face was serious. "I can stop growing for a while. You can have my good stuff; it'll make you better."
She held her arms out, and Zia came and wrapped herself around her legs.
"That's okay, Z. You need yours, too." She met Reaves's gaze. "And there's more than enough for both of us here."
~ ~ ~
Reaves stood in the hallway, watching Zia tow Alara into the kitchen. Apparently, according to Zia, Mrs. Faye must have known what was wrong with Alara, because they'd spent the morning baking up some healthy snacks. Reaves hadn't pointed out that Faye often fell back to making healthy snacks when she felt guilty about a long run of cookies and cupcakes.
