Chapter 103. Call Him
Chapter 103. Call Him
Roxanne remains quiet after Madelyn ends the call. The screen slowly goes dark in her hand, leaving only her reflection staring back at her. Samantha promises she'll stay at the hospital until Robert returns from the ranch, keeping Madelyn company while watching over Caleb and updating Roxanne if anything changes.
Robert has gone back to the Stephen Homestead to gather a change of clothes, bring a few necessities for the next several days, and check on the livestock before returning to Cypress Creek Community Hospital. Knowing Samantha is with her younger siblings eases part of the fear weighing on her heart, but it does nothing to settle the question that has been lingering ever since Madelyn asks her to come home.
Alexandra notices the silence without asking what's wrong. She simply slips both arms around Roxanne from behind and draws her closer until the younger woman naturally relaxes against her chest.
For a while neither of them says anything. The only sounds inside the suite are the distant hum of the ship's engines and the gentle waves brushing against the hull outside their balcony. Morning sunlight spills across the bed, warming the blankets wrapped around them, yet Roxanne still feels cold inside.
"Call him," Alexandra says after several moments, her fingers absentmindedly stroking the back of Roxanne's hand.
Roxanne lets out a slow breath and shakes her head. "He'll tell me the same thing he always tells me," she replies, still staring at the dark screen of her phone. "He'll tell me not to come back to Texas. He'll say that I couldn't go back, at least until he saw me as a proper heir, and until then I should stay away."
Alexandra tightens her embrace slightly before leaning down to kiss Roxanne's cheek. "He'll say something different this time," she says with surprising certainty. "Trust me."
Roxanne turns her head just enough to look at her. There's no hesitation in Alexandra's expression, just assurance, and that alone makes her suspicious. "You know something, don't you?"
"I know why Brandon never allows you to go back to Texas," Alexandra answers honestly. "I know every conversation the two of you have had about it. I know why he keeps refusing, why he insists you stay away, and why he believes it's the only way to keep you safe. We have talked about your family more times than I can count."
She pauses for a moment, and for the first time since the conversation begins, something resembling guilt softens her features. "The only thing I never tell him and keep a secret," she continues quietly, "is you."
The words hang in the air, thick and weighted. Roxanne feels her pulse quicken, the implications threading through her thoughts like a tangled knot. Alexandra is married to Brandon—still married, even now—and this secret she has kept from him could unravel more than she wants to imagine.
“I’ll tell him somehow,” Alexandra continues, her voice dropping to a whisper. “But let’s wait. Is that okay with you?”
Roxanne knows that this conversation is sensitive, a tightrope stretched between them. They still need to talk it out, to lay bare the truth, but not here, not now, with Caleb’s life hanging in the balance and everything else happening between them.
She looks at Alexandra, at the careful set of her jaw, and she remembers the truth she has never spoken aloud. Alexandra seems to understand exactly what is going through her mind. She gently cups Roxanne's face, encouraging her to meet her eyes.
"I will tell him," she says softly. "I'm not hiding you forever. I just... need a little more time before I do."
Roxanne lowers her gaze. This conversation has been waiting for them ever since the night they finally admit their feelings for one another. Nothing about their situation is simple, and both of them know pretending otherwise would only worsen it.
"I can wait," Roxanne says after a long silence, although the words sound less certain than she intends. "I just..." She hesitates before letting out a small, embarrassed laugh. "Just don't sleep with him. Even if you must, don’t let me kn—”
Before she can say anything more, Alexandra leans forward and kisses her. The kiss is gentle, patient, and reassuring rather than passionate. When she finally pulls away, she rests her forehead lightly against Roxanne's and smiles with an affection that immediately dissolves the anxiety lingering between them.
"We haven't shared a bed in three years," Alexandra says. "Not once. Our marriage isn’t built by sex or love, if you must know.”
Roxanne blinks, surprised by how matter-of-factly the confession is delivered. "Oh."
"I know it probably sounds strange," Alexandra continues with a faint smile, "but you'll understand eventually. There are things about my marriage with Brandon that don't make sense unless you know how it begins, why it continues, and what it actually becomes. When the time is right, I'll tell you everything. I don't want you living with questions or imagining things that simply aren't true."
Roxanne searches with her eyes for several seconds before slowly nodding. She trusts Alexandra enough to know she isn't being comforted with empty promises. If the older woman says she will explain everything, then she will. Alexandra has never once lied to her, even when the truth is inconvenient or painful.
“And you’ll find out when the time is right.” Alexandra strokes her thumb across Roxanne’s cheek. “So please be a good girl and let’s just wait. Okay?”
"Okay," Roxanne says quietly.
Alexandra smiles, clearly relieved, and brushes another kiss against her forehead before glancing toward the phone still resting in Roxanne's hand. "Now call Brandon," she says.
"Tell him exactly what happened. Tell him what Madelyn asked you, and tell him how you're feeling. Let him answer before you decide anything. I have a feeling his answer is going to surprise you." She continues.
Roxanne looks down at Brandon's contact for a long moment. For years she has never questioned his refusal whenever she asks about returning to Texas. This time feels different, though, not because the circumstances have changed, but because Alexandra believes they have.
That certainty is enough to quiet the hesitation inside her. Taking a slow breath, she presses the call button and lifts the phone to her ear, wondering whether the man who has been her father for the past four years is finally ready to let her come home. Back to Texas.