Chapter 13
The cool evening air blew right through Jake’s unbuttoned red-and-black-plaid shirt. Hunching down, he rested his forearms
on the cold metal railing and stared across the full parking lot toward the busy highway in the distance. He tried to clear
his mind and focus only on the sound of the traffic and the hum of the hospital’s heating and air system, but flashes of his
father moaning in pain kept playing through his mind like a horrible home movie.
Footsteps sounded behind him, and his entire body tensed.
Go away, Claire!
But the footsteps were soft, not like Claire’s “Hey, look at me!” heels. So it couldn’t be her. He stood to his full height
and turned just as Emily approached him.
Her expression was hesitant, and her hands were stuck in the front pocket of her hoodie.
“Hey,” he said with a sigh of relief.
She shifted her weight on her feet. “You okay?”
Much better now. “Yeah.”
She nodded, and her gaze moved around the parking lot as if she were uncomfortable. Had he made things awkward by almost kissing
her?
Oh no. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin his most precious relationship.
He spotted a bench behind her and pointed to it. “Wanna sit?”
Emily nodded.
When they sat down beside each other, she seemed to study him. “I heard your mom say your dad has a broken arm. Is that right?”
“Yeah. They’re setting his arm.” He grimaced. “He’s in a lot of pain, but it could have been much worse.” He rested his elbows
on his lap and placed his chin on his palms, thoughts swirling through his mind. It was all too much. His dad was injured
and now—
“None of this is your fault.” Emily’s words broke through his thoughts.
He lifted his gaze to meet hers, and once again the compassion in her eyes blew him away. “It’s not my fault, I know that.
But I need to do a better job of being in charge of things.”
“What do you mean?”
He sat up straight. “I mean that I need to forget our ideas for the market. We should just keep things simple. Just the way
they are.”
“No.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “No?”
“No,” she repeated more emphatically. “We’ve done all this work, and our plans are finally starting to come together.”
“But the grand opening is in a week. How on earth are we going to pull that off?” He made a sweeping gesture toward the entrance to the hospital. “My dad is injured now. I can’t take care of him and get the orchard ready.”
“But you have me.”
He shook his head. “I can’t expect you to do everything.”
“Why not?” She lifted her chin. “You think I can’t handle it because I’m a girl?”
He snickered. “No, I know you can handle anything, but it’s not your responsibility.”
“What if I want the responsibility?”
He shook his head as a smile snuck onto his lips. “You’re impossible.”
“No, I’m stubborn, and I’m determined. And that means I can do this.” She tapped her finger on the bench seat. “I have a week
to bring it all together. And don’t forget that Vince, Andi, and Seth are helping us too. We got this. You worry about your
dad, and I’ll take care of the orchard.” She set her hands on his, her soft skin washing his own in a wave of comfort.
“Let’s talk about this later, okay? I need to find out the extent of my dad’s injuries and see what my mom and I are dealing
with. Then I’ll make a decision about the orchard.” He tilted toward her, and once again he worried that he’d somehow fractured
their friendship by almost kissing her. “For now, I think we need to talk about what happened earlier.”
The emergency room doors whooshed open, and Claire stomped out. “There you are! I went to the ladies’ room, and when I came
out, I found Diane sitting alone.”
Jake frowned at her. “What do you want?”
“We need to talk.” His ex gave Emily a haughty look. “Can we have a minute, please?”
Emily’s hand flew to her mother’s rings, moving them back and forth on the chain while she studied Claire with a dark expression. Jake wasn’t sure if Emily was preparing to tell Claire off or ignore her request.
He started to open his mouth to protest Emily leaving but then paused. The sooner he told Claire to beat it, the better. It
was time to clear the air and put her in her place.
He turned to Emily and touched her hand. “We’ll talk later, okay?” he asked gently.
Emily winced. “Okay.” The betrayal on her face nearly broke his heart in two, but she quickly fled back into the ER.
He would apologize to her later when they were alone. Right now, he needed to deal with Claire.
He stood. “Why are you here?”
“I got back in town earlier this afternoon. I was planning to come see you.”
“But why are you here?” He pointed to the ground. “At the hospital?”
“What a ridiculous question,” Claire began with a forced chuckle. “I’m here because I care about your family. Our family.”
He eyed her. “How’d you find out my dad had an accident?”
She waved him off. “That’s an even dumber question. Did you forget my best friend is a nurse here?”
Jessica Watson! Why hadn’t he thought of her earlier? He’d spotted her in the ER, but he was so worried about his dad that
he hadn’t made the connection. “Isn’t she breaking some privacy law by calling you every time my dad’s in the hospital?”
“Well, I’m not planning to report her. I hope you’re not either.” She sank down onto the bench and touched the empty spot
beside her. “Sit.”
“I’m fine standing. Say what you need to say, and then I’m going back inside to be with my mom.”
“Fine.” She cleared her throat. “I’m not only here to comfort you and your family.
” She took a dramatic breath. “I’m here to beg you for another chance.
Let’s work this out.” She dabbed her eyes with her fingertip, careful not to mess up her makeup.
“I’ve lived without you for the past few weeks, and I just feel sick.
All the time. I can’t stand the thought of losing you after all these years. ”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know how else to say this since you haven’t been listening.” He paused. “There’s
nothing to work on. Our relationship is over.”
“How can you give up on us so easily?” Her voice was throaty, and her eyes filled with tears.
He grimaced. Great, the waterworks. Here we go.
“I’m not giving up,” he began. “We both need to face the fact that we’re not kids anymore. We want different things, and that’s
okay. We’ve grown up and moved on.”
“I haven’t moved on. You’re the love of my life, Jake. And I’m ready to fight for us.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t getting anywhere with her. She wasn’t listening, and he didn’t have the emotional
strength to deal with her after all the events he’d endured today. “Now is not the time to have this conversation.”
“But when will be?” she asked. She grabbed a tissue from her purse and gingerly dabbed her eyes and nose.
He threw his hands up. “I don’t know, Claire, but it’s not right now.”
“This isn’t over,” she said, sniffing. “You’re like my family.”
“If I’m supposedly like family to you, then I need you to respect what I’m saying. Now isn’t the time to try to talk about
us. My dad is my focus, not you. So back off.” He held his hands up like a traffic cop. “Just . . . just give me some space,
okay?”
She nodded, but the hopeful look in her green eyes felt like a warning.
Clearly, she had no intention of backing off whatsoever.
Emily stalked over to the vending machine area and slumped against the wall while trying to swallow her heartbreak. It was
bad enough to have Claire show up and then ask for a moment alone with Jake. But having Jake ask Emily to give them privacy
was like a slap in the face. It was clear that he wasn’t over Claire, and that knowledge nearly ripped Emily to shreds.
But Emily was here for Jake and his family, not for herself. She was being selfish, thinking about her own heart instead of
Diane and Leon, who had treated her like their bonus child since she was five years old.
Squaring her shoulders, Emily pulled her wallet from her purse, purchased two bottles of water from the vending machine, and
then hurried back to the waiting room, where she sat beside Diane. The woman’s face was crumpled in a frown while she stared
at the muted television on the wall.
Emily held out the bottle of water. “I thought you might need this.”
Diane gave her a weak smile. “Thanks, sweetie.” She took a long drink from the bottle and then gave Emily a glum expression.
“I don’t know how I’m going to tell Ally that Leon broke his arm. She’ll be so upset that she’s not here with us.” Her lip
trembled.
Emily’s heart squeezed, and she touched Diane’s arm. “I can call her if you want,” she offered.
Diane shook her head and wiped her eyes. “Thanks, but no. I’ll talk to Jake about it. He might want to call his sister.”
The door opened with a whoosh, and Jake strode toward Emily and his mom. Emily hugged her arms to her middle while she tried to decode his dark expression.
He came to stand behind them and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Any news?”
Diane shook her head and drank more water.
Emily held up her unopened bottle. “Here.”
Jake wrapped his hand around the bottle, and when his fingers meshed with hers, her pulse flittered. “Thanks,” he said softly
before opening it and taking a long drink.
A few moments later, Claire joined him, and Emily’s stomach roiled. She’d hoped that Claire had left, but she knew in her
heart that her archnemesis was still there. Claire wouldn’t give up a chance to be at Jake’s side. Her expression was a mask
of indifference, and Emily longed to know what Jake and Claire had discussed.
Had they gotten back together? Emily felt sick at that notion.
Claire sat on the other side of Diane and rubbed the woman’s arm.
Jake sipped from the bottle and stared off toward the treatment rooms. When the doors opened and a nurse emerged, Jake’s posture
stiffened.
“The family of Leon Hughes,” the middle-aged woman called.
Jake gave Emily’s shoulder a light squeeze. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be here,” she said. She craned her neck over her shoulder just as Jake rested an arm on his mother’s shoulder and guided