Page 37 of Full Circle

“Wesley, you did this?” Mr. Hendricks asked.

Leveling him with a look, I replied, “I keep my promises, sir.”

Realization dawned and Mr. Hendricks nodded slowly. “Thank you, Wes. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to thank your dad, too. I don’t mean to be so much trouble.”

“Of course you’re not any trouble, darling!” Desiree cooed, mussing the pillows behind him. “Everyone wants to take care of you!”

The doctor looked uncomfortable as he shuffled on his feet. “Well, I’ll send the nurse in with the paperwork to sign off on the transfer. The paramedical flight staff should be here shortly to prep you. I assume other transportation arrangements have been made for family?” A glance to Desiree and then to me left the room in an awkward silence.

If there was a perfect moment to exemplify just how much Celeste Renee Hendricks changed me as a person, this was it. Every bone in my body wanted to drop Desiree like a bad habit and let her fend for herself. She didn’t deserve to fly on my father’s private jet, nor receive any of the accommodations Phillip made at what was sure to be a five star hotel suite. I wanted nothing more than to throw in her face the fact that I had the money and means to take care of Mr. Hendricks while pampering Celeste in the process. The idea of Desiree cursing my name as Celeste, her nana, and I drove off in a sleek car that left her in the dust sent physical jolts of joy to my chest.

But as I looked down at Celeste’s sweet face, her eyes brimming with hope and tears, I knew I couldn’t do that to her. As much as I wanted to drop Desiree and her annoying daughter into a twelve foot pit filled with venomous spiders, Mr. Hendricks chose to make her part of his family. And that meant Celeste considered them family, too.

My jaw clenched together as the two sides of my brain warred with each other, all while keeping my eyes on Celeste. She must have read the change in my expression when one side finally gave in to the other because she offered me a grateful smile as she assured the doctor, “Yes, travel arrangements are made.”

Was it my fault if I gave Desiree a smug smirk afterwards? Yeah, probably.

The doctor nodded as though everything was settled and swept from the room, clipboard in hand. Tension wove through the space for a moment. Hillary’s eyes were growing wider by the second, darting back and forth between her mother and me in abject horror. It was sickening how she didn’t even try to hide her crush. Why were teenage girls always so desperate?

Now, though, all of my attention needed to be on my girlfriend. She looked nearly dead on her feet and even though she would always remind me of an angel, the heavy bags under Celeste’s eyes and messy hair couldn’t be a good sign. I would make her take a nap on the plane, but for now we could at least run out to her house so she could grab a quick shower and some clothes. Nana, too.

“Mr. Hendricks,” I said, letting go of Celeste’s hand to step closer to his bedside, “I’m going to take Nana and Celeste home to get ready for the trip to Atlanta. We’ll meet you at Emory after you arrive. Have a safe flight, okay? I’ve got our girl.”

Doug’s face brightened with a wane smile. “Thank you so much, Wesley. This takes a real load off my shoulders.” He tried to shake my hand, but his grip felt weak in mine where the effort to do so taxed him.

“Be sure to thank your father for us, too,” Desiree cut in, her voice hard as nails. “After all, he is the one footing the bill for all this, right?” A heavily manicured eyebrow arched in challenge.

Bitch, I thought.

Celeste stepped up to take my place at her daddy’s bedside. “I love you, Daddy,” she croaked in a whisper. Tears were cascading down her cheeks again, though she tried to brush them away. “You’re gonna get better, okay? I just know it!”

He pulled her hand up and placed a soft kiss on top. “From your mouth to God’s ears, sugar bee!”

Nana stepped up to say her goodbyes, so I used that as a reason to grab Celeste’s hand again and steer her out into the hallway. Hillary’s voice echoed behind me in a panicked whimper, “Mother, I thought you said she had to stay away from him!”

Loud clacking heels sounded behind me as we whirled around to face an incensed Desiree. “You two won’t go anywhere without a chaperone and Hillary!” she snarled.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Celeste visibly wilt as Desiree’s words were enough to squeeze the air out of her. My rage boiled over. Rather than cracking her across her makeup-caked face, however, I rocked back on my heels and poked my tongue out through my cheek as I sized her up.

“So you’re willing to let your daughter—who is no blood relation of Mr. Hendricks’ at all,” I emphasized the last two words in case my point didn’t come across, “miss her first few days of school because of his illness? What makes you think the school board will allow that?”

Desiree’s nostrils flared as her skin grew blotchy. “You two?—”

“—Have both had to make up schoolwork for things like this before and have special arrangements in place with the superintendent,” I finished smoothly. “He won’t bat an eyelash to our request. But for Hillary to do that for a man her mother isn’t even married to yet…” I let my voice trail off, wincing for effect. “People are definitely gonna talk. And the rumors won’t be pretty. What if the rumors get to the judges of her next pageant?”

I was a dead man, that much was obvious on that hateful witch’s face. An angry flush coated her face and neck, and her glare made me think of Medusa. She pointed a long, manicured nail in my face and opened her mouth to deliver another weak threat when Nana came out of the room and joined us at Desiree’s side.

“Now, what’s all this?” Nana asked. Her gaze locked on me as if she already knew I was the culprit.

This was my saving grace, however. I gave Nana and Desiree both a cocky smile, drawing Celeste’s and my clasped hands up across my chest. “Nothing. Celeste and I were just making our way to the car. See you soon, Ms. Stanbrooke.”

Once again steering Celeste away, we both power walked to the elevators as fast as was socially acceptable. Nana stayed to talk to a screeching Desiree, so we were able to get in the elevator car without anyone else. Celeste let out a boom of raucous glee the moment the doors closed behind us, then slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Wesley Carter Madden, you are evil!” Her peals of laughter filled the space and I willed myself to commit the sound to memory. A grin spread across my face as I pulled her to my chest, wrapping my arms around her waist and burying my head in her hair. She sighed in contentment as her arms folded around my neck. It was probably the first time she had been able to let go of her fear in the past 24 hours. I wanted to always be the reason she could let go of her heavy feelings. To always be the one she could hold onto with a deep sigh because I was her anchor in the storm. That’s what loving her felt like for me.

“We’ll get through this,” I promised her, pulling back enough to kiss her forehead.

Instantly, her smile melted into a frown and I internally kicked my own ass for spoiling the moment. I pulled her closer to me, one hand gently rubbing her back. The tension in her body softened and by the time the elevator landed on the ground floor, Celeste appeared more relaxed. We walked hand in hand out to the parking lot, pausing only so I could wave at Happy Duck Lady scowling at me from reception.

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