Angel Falls

“He says he’s here to see Mikaela. ”

“Send him in. ”

Sarah bobbed a quick nod and disappeared.

And so it began. Liam tried to steady his nerves. He had taken such care with himself this morning. Put on his best black pants and the blue flannel shirt Mike had given him for Christmas last year, but now he saw the pointlessness in it all. The white coat he wore would deflect only the measliest blow.

The door opened.

Liam turned.

The man standing in the open doorway smiled—just that—and Liam felt ill. The photographs didn’t do Julian justice; no lens could capture the magnetic power of that face.

“I’m Julian True,” he said unnecessarily, and Liam could tell that he enjoyed acting as if there were people on this planet who didn’t know who he was.

Liam rose slowly to his feet. He pulled the glasses from his face—as if that would help—and tucked them in the pocket of his lab coat. “Hello, Julian. I’m glad you could come. I’m Liam Campbell. I wanted—”

“Can I see her now?”

Liam sighed. He didn’t know why he’d wanted to put it off; it wasn’t as if Julian was going to leave. Still, the thought of bringing them together made him feel sick. “Follow me. ”

He led Julian down the hallway toward Mikaela’s room. Slowly he opened the door.

Julian pushed past him and went to the bed. He stared down at Mikaela for a long time. “What happened?”

“She fell off a horse and hit her head on a fence post. ”

“How long has she been like this?”

“A little more than a month. ”

Julian brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Heya, Kayla. It’s Jules. ” Then he looked up. “Can she hear me?”

Liam stared down at Mikaela. “That’s why you’re here. ”

“What do I do?”

Liam felt like Grandpa Walton giving advice to Robert Redford about how to talk to a woman. “Just talk to her, Julian. ” His voice fell to a whisper. “She sometimes responds to … memories … stories from the past. ”

“And my name. She responded to my name, right?”

It took an incredible effort to answer. “Yes. ”

Julian dragged a chair over to the bed and sat down. “Leave us alone for a while, will you, Doc? Heya, Kayla. It’s me. Jules. ”

She didn’t respond.

Liam let out a shaky breath. He realized he’d been afraid she would simply wake up, just like that, when she heard Julian’s voice.

Julian took her hand in his. “Kayla, honey?”

Liam couldn’t stand the sight of Julian touching her, so he turned and walked out of the room. In the hall, he leaned back against the wall.

It wasn’t until almost a full minute had passed that he realized what he’d done … or hadn’t done.

He hadn’t told Julian that he was Mike’s husband.

Julian had never been any good at writing his own lines.