Ending the call, Jessica tossed her cell on the chair, addressing them without turning. “Langston, your sister-in-law is going to need her own room soon. They’re taking Killian into surgery to cauterize a bleed next to his kidney, and she’s falling apart.”
“Her son is in intensive care.”
“Yes, and this is the time she needs to be strong for him.” Turning, Jessica realized Lana and Rick were with her husband.
“Lana, you’re just in time,” Jessica said, sounding relieved. Hustling over, she hugged Lana tightly, then did the same to a surprised Rick. “Rick, you’re a dear for coming too. I’m Jessica. It’s so nice to meet you.”
Rick mumbled a reply, thrown by the hug and—Lana assumed—how much cleavage her mother had squashed into his chest. Jessica was a stunningly beautiful woman, and Rick wouldn’t be the first one of her dates to drop a jaw when her mother walked by. In a different situation, she would have teased him mercilessly.
“Your cousin is going into surgery,” Jessica continued. “Silas is keeping me updated, but Langston and I are headed over to the hospital after the ball.”
“The ball?” Lana had no idea what her mother was talking about.
“I had a few things brought over for Rick. I’m sorry. There’s obviously no time to have anything tailored for him, but I doubt anyone will notice.”
“I’m sorry. I’m here for Killian, not a holiday party.”
“A holiday party being hosted by Forester and Dunning. We have too much at stake to offend the Foresters by not showing up. I know you’ve been focused on your Moose Springs project, but the rest of us have been up to our ears in this. We can’t afford any mistakes now, and not having the majority of the board of directors attend is the kind of insult they won’t forget.”
“My cousin is dying.”
Jessica sighed. “Unfortunately, F and D couldn’t care less. What they do care about is the show of power for their major shareholders, all of whom will be there tonight. Rebecca, your uncle, and Killian were all supposed to be there. You and Rick will be their stand-ins.”
Lana’s composure finally slipped, shock filling her voice. “This is absurd—”
“Your mother and I don’t like it either, Lana,” Langston said. “Unfortunately, fulfilling our obligations to the group doesn’t stop because we’re in the middle of a family crisis. You know that better than anyone.”
“And you don’t believe that’s a little harsh? Killian—”
“Killian wrapped a quarter-million-dollar sports car around a brick wall because he never put the family first,” her father said firmly. “I am brokenhearted at his prognosis and sick to my stomach at how much this is hurting the family, but we all know this call was coming. The boozing, the women, the fast cars.”
“We kept hoping he’d settle down,” Jessica added sadly. “Apparently, he took too long to grow up.”
Lana didn’t know how her parents managed to say those things and still sound compassionate.
“Go to your party,” she said, bristling. “We’re going back to the hospital.”
Lana’s mother sighed. “Silas said you might feel this way. We’ll manage without you if we have to. Silas can stand in for you if he must. He’s been the family’s rock throughout all this.”
The fact that those words were spoken without a hint of sarcasm made Lana’s blood run cold. Of course. Of course Silas would take advantage of a tragedy to ingratiate himself with her parents. He couldn’t have been less subtle about his intentions.
Langston caught her eye, and Lana knew without saying a word that she wasn’t the only one aware of Silas’s machinations.
And with Moose Springs on the line, the less power Silas had, the better. Langston patted her shoulder.
“It’s only an evening,” he promised. “A Montgomery can withstand anything for an evening.”
* * *
“One of these days, I’m going to figure out how to not look like an idiot in a tie,” Rick told Lana as they dressed in their borrowed finery. This time, Rick was fighting with a bow tie, one of the most complicated objects he’d been forced to deal with in his adult life.
He missed his simple snowflake tie dearly.
“Did this have to be a tie-on? They make clip-on bow ties.”
“Yes,” Lana said from inside the largest closet Rick had ever seen. It was almost the size of his living room. “Montgomerys never clip on.”
“Hardings always clip on. Black works, right? I tried on the white one, and it looked stupid.”
“The black will be perfect. Stop fretting; you look good in anything.” Lana stepped out of the closet, and Rick’s ability to breathe simply stopped. He stood there, staring, knowing he should say something and unable to force his tongue to move, let alone make a coherent sentence.
She was wearing the kind of gown he’d only seen in movies.
“I’ve missed this dress,” Lana said to herself, running a hand down her hip. “It was always one of my favorites.”
“You should wear that all the time.” Running through his memory, Rick couldn’t remember ever seeing a woman look as beautiful as Lana did right now.
She flashed him a quick grin. “Even when moose catching?”
“Especially when moose catching.”
Her parents had already left for the party, so Lana and Rick took a separate car. At least that saved Rick from the distressingly low-cut gown Lana’s mother was wearing. Few first impressions were as bad as checking out his date’s mother…even if accidentally done.
The drive through Chicago was surreal. Rick had toured the lower forty-eight while playing billiards, but it had been a long time since he’d been surrounded by skyscrapers. Where Anchorage felt crowded, this city was overwhelming.
Lana wasn’t the only one nervous about tonight, but Rick tried his best not to let it show. He didn’t want her to have to help him or worry about him. She had enough to worry about.
He could tell by her reaction to her cousin’s name that Lana wasn’t happy with Silas…not that anyone could be happy around the noxious man. But Rick didn’t understand how Silas’s presence was enough to make Lana leave her cousin for the evening. There was more to her worries than she would tell him, and Rick was having a hard time not asking.
He wanted her to be open with him, but he wasn’t going to push. But damn, it bothered him that she was pulled between her job and her family, and it made him wish there was something more he could do.