Ryan's Place - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,42
told you,” Maggie teased.
Ryan seemed a little bewildered at being summarily made a part of the Monroe family, but he snagged Maggie’s hand and followed Letitia.
“You know,” Maggie began casually. “It’s an interesting thing about families.”
He regarded her warily. “Oh?”
“Some people spend a lifetime surrounded by blood relatives they don’t get along with much. Some have wonderful families like mine.” She gave him a pointed look. “And some get to choose the people they consider family.”
He gave her a wry smile. “I get it, Maggie.”
“I hope so,” she said softly. “I really do.” She figured their future depended on it.
Ryan hesitated again once they reached Lamar’s room. Despite Letitia’s insistence that he belonged there, he felt like an interloper at what should be a very private moment. But even if he’d wanted to hang back, there was Maggie watching him with that beseeching, hopeful expression. He couldn’t let her down. And he wasn’t too keen on being the recipient of one of Father Francis’s disappointed looks, either, to say nothing of another outburst of Letitia’s temper.
“You go in first,” Letitia instructed. “Tell my baby you have a surprise for him.”
“Me? Shouldn’t you be doing that?”
She glanced at Maggie, then regarded him with a steady look. “Something tells me it’s important that you do it.”
Recognizing that he was defeated, Ryan sucked in a sharp breath, then walked into the room. His nervousness eased the instant he saw Lamar’s face light up. Father Francis smiled at him and stepped aside to give Ryan room at the boy’s bedside.
“You came!” Lamar said. “Mom said you would, but it was getting late. They’ve already given me some kinda shot. I’m getting real sleepy.”
Ryan rubbed his knuckles over the boy’s head. “Don’t go to sleep just yet. I have a surprise, and you’re going to want to be wide awake for it.”
Lamar’s eyes widened. “A surprise? For me? What is it?”
Ryan nodded toward the door. “Look over there.”
Just as he said it, Jamal stepped into the room.
“Dad,” Lamar whispered, reaching for Ryan’s hand and gazing up at him with a grateful expression. “You found my dad. I knew you would.”
As Jamal reached the side of the bed, his eyes filled with tears. “Hi, son. I’m sorry for worrying you, for letting you and your mom go through all of this alone.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I knew you’d come back. I just knew it.”
Jamal bent down, his tears spilling onto his son’s face as he hugged him. “I love you, boy. Don’t you ever forget that. And once you’ve had this surgery and are good as new again, you and I are gonna do all the things we’ve always talked about. That’s a promise.”
Lamar looked at Ryan, his eyes shining. “And my dad never breaks his promises. Not ever.” He glanced toward his mother. “Ain’t that right, Mom?”
“Isn’t it, right,” Letitia corrected. Wisely, she didn’t mention the promise Jamal had made to her to be there in sickness and in health, in good times and bad. “Your daddy’s here now. That’s all that matters.”
Just then the nurse came into the room with an orderly. “Time to go, Lamar.”
He clung to his father’s hand. “You’ll be here after the operation, right? You’re not going to go away again?”
“I’ll be right by your side when you wake up,” Jamal assured him.
The next few hours passed in a blur of lousy coffee, tasteless food and pacing. There were a dozen times when Ryan would have made an excuse and escaped, but one glance at Maggie kept him right where he was. From the moment they’d met, she’d seemed to expect the best from him, the same as Father Francis. Now there were two people in his life Ryan hoped never to disappoint. He was surprised he didn’t feel more pressured by it, but the truth was, it felt good to know there were people counting on him and that, so far at least, he had never let them down.
Across the room Letitia and Jamal sat side by side, hand in hand, drawing comfort from each other the way they should have all these weeks.
“Looks like Letitia has forgiven him already,” he said to Maggie, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.
“Human beings make mistakes,” Maggie said quietly. “Wise human beings understand that and forgive them.”
“How the hell do you forgive someone for walking out when he’s needed the most?” Ryan demanded, his chin jutting forward.
Maggie regarded him with a penetrating look. “Are we talking about Jamal now, or