35. Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Five
Leo
A fter overnight observation, Dad is finally cleared to go back home and live out what days he has left there.
It’s the best thing that we can do for him at this point. He would hate to die at the hospital like Mom did.
“Are you comfortable? Any pain?” Juliet asks as we get Dad settled back in his bed.
He shakes his head slowly. All of his movements have been really slow and shaky like they take every ounce of effort he has. They probably do.
Sadness winds around my throat and pulls so tight that it’s hard to breathe .
“They always give you good stuff at the hospital,” Juliet says, flashing Dad a playful smile.
Dad lets out a noise that kind of sounds like a laugh. He extends his arm out and weakly pats her arm.
“Piper is going to stay at her friend’s house tonight for a sleepover. I’ll probably stay here if that’s okay,” Juliet tells me.
I nod. “This is your home too.”
Her face softens as her hand brushes my arm. “I just want to be around to keep an eye on him.”
“You’re always welcome here,” I assure her. She doesn’t have to have any reason to stay here.
“Will you be here? Any plans?” she asks.
I think for a moment before I click my tongue. “Well, there was that volunteer gala thing you got invited to. That’s tonight.”
Her eyes widen. “I completely forgot about that. It’s not really a big deal. We can just skip it. ”
“No,” Dad says forcefully. He coughs for a few seconds before drawing in a weak inhale. “You’re going. Both of you.”
Juliet places her hand on his arm. “It’s fine, Frank. They’re just going to thank the volunteers and serve champagne and finger food.”
“You’re not putting your lives on hold for me,” he tells us with a stern look. “I’m not dying tonight.”
Even on his deathbed, he’s still stubborn.
“I don’t want to be away from you for long,” Juliet says.
Frank takes her hand. “If I go, I go. You can’t change that.”
“You sure are doubting my skills.”
Frank lets out a wheezy chuckle. “Go. Take him with you. Get him to lighten up.”
“I’ll do my best,” Juliet replies, giving me a small smile.
“Dad…”
He directs his gaze to me. “Go. Support her. Show everyone who a Galloway really is.”
“You really want me to represent us? You?” I question him .
His face softens just a tiny degree. “I can’t think of anyone better.”
I look at him, speechless. I never thought I’d hear him say something like that.
Dad looks over at Juliet. “Can you turn the TV on? I want to watch my Westerns.”
Juliet nods and breezes past me to get the remote.
If Dad wants me to represent our family tonight, then I’m going to do that. I just hope I do it well.
~*~
More people than I expected show up at the gala.
That’s my own fault, though. I forgot how giving and compassionate the people of this town are. Of course, a bunch of them are being honored tonight for their volunteer work.
Juliet holds my bicep as we roam around the large room in the town’s little convention and community center. The event organizers hired a live band to play covers of well-known hits, and there are servers walking around with glasses of champagne and small plates of appetizers .
“Do we sit anywhere?” I ask Juliet as we walk through the round tables with red tablecloths scattered throughout the space. Other guests sit, chat, eat, and drink at them.
Juliet nods. “Yeah, this is pretty casual. We don’t have to be here if you want to go back home.”
“Pretty casual? You don’t look pretty casual,” I tell her as I look down at the stunning cocktail dress she has on. “You look gorgeous, Juju.”
Her face reddens. “Thank you.
I lean closer. “I’m serious. Half the room has been staring at you since we walked in.”
Juliet lets out a laugh. “You're making that up.”
“I wish I was.”
“You realize you're biased, right?”
“Maybe.” My eyes drift over her again. “Or maybe you just look that good.”
She rolls her eyes, but her smile grows. “Careful, Leo. People might think you're trying to charm me.”
“I am trying to charm you. ”
Her cheeks turn an even deeper shade of pink. “Well, it's working,” she admits quietly.
Something warm settles in my chest.
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” she says.
“Thank you for inviting me. I should probably get out of the house for a little while,” I admit, slowing my pace so that we can grab two glasses of champagne off one server’s tray.
“Leo…”
I shake my head as I turn to her. “We don’t have to talk about it anymore. Not right now.”
She nods in understanding. “I’m here for you. That’s all. Even when you leave, I’ll still be here if you ever find your way back.”
The idea of turning my back on Evergreen Heights forever has become an impossibility to me at this point.
The web I’m in is far too tangled for me to fully free myself from.
Not only do I have the company and the estate to deal with, but I also have a connection with Juliet and Piper that I can’t see myself completely cutting off .
Now, on top of it all, the Galloway reputation actually means something to me again. When people hear about us or think about us, I don’t want them to think about the father and son who hated each other and split apart.
I want them to think of something better.
But I have to show them what has changed. I have to show them that we’re different now.
“I’ll come back,” I assure her.
Juliet raises her eyebrows in surprise. “Really?”
“I’m still deciding on what I’m going to do next,” I admit. “But you’ll be the first person who knows when I figure it out.”
A touched expression fills her face before her mouth wilts slightly.
I don’t want her to be upset, but I don’t see any decision that I make bringing her much happiness. I don’t even know if she wants me to stay.
For all I know, she’s counting the days until I hop on a plane and head back to the city. Once Dad passes, I’ll really have to decide on what to do. My board will be on my ass before his body even gets cold .
They’re already annoying the hell out of me blowing up my phone every hour.
“I’d like to toast,” I tell her as I hold up my glass.
“To what?”
“To the people we love,” I reply, a crooked smile finding its way across my face. “And the people we used to hate but no longer do.”
“I can think of two people in that category,” she says, playfulness glinting in her eyes as she clinks her glass against mine.
I can’t even blame her for that one.
As I sip on my drink, my eyes stray to the front of the room where couples are heading to the space between the stage and the tables to slow dance to the music.
“Dance with me.”
She stops mid-sip. “What?”
I take a long drink before setting my glass down on a nearby table with empty seats. “I know you can dance, JuJu. Remember how we staged our own prom because we couldn’t go to the real one together? ”
Our “prom” was a few streamers and taking sips of whatever liquor I managed to steal from my dad’s liquor cabinet. We held it in the library and slow danced while sharing a pair of earphones so that nobody could hear the music.
It was perfect.
“How could I ever forget?” Juliet replies as a nostalgic look fills her face. “I’m finally wearing a nice dress this time.”
She looked beautiful back then too in a skirt and a shirt tucked into the waist. We had to wear normal clothes to not draw any attention to ourselves.
I hold my hand out to her. “There’s no denying that. You’re finally wearing the dress.”
A slow smile spreads across her face.
“Leo…”
“Come on, Juju.” I wiggle my fingers. “Let’s finish our prom.”
Amusement lights up her eyes as she takes my hand and lets me lead her to the dance floor with all the others .
I pull her up against me, one hand caressing the small of her back and the other holding her hand. We move together to the slow rhythm, eyes locked.
“I’m glad you’re back home,” she tells me. “I wish the circumstances were different, but I’m glad you’re here.”
“Did you ever think you’d hear yourself say that? After all that happened,” I ask her, guilt still stirring in my stomach.
I went about it all wrong like just another stupid eighteen-year-old.
The side of her mouth turns up. “I don’t know. Probably not. I really thought I’d never see you again.”
I didn’t think I’d ever come back.
I’m glad that I did.
“I always missed you, Juju. Not a day went by that I didn’t think about you.”
She lowers her eyes. “You don’t have to say that.”
I release her hand and cup her chin instead, coaxing her eyes back up to mine. “I mean it.”
Her expression becomes unreadable. Maybe there’s pain. Maybe there’s hope .
“There were days when I tried not to think about you, but I failed,” she admits. “It was infuriating.”
My fingers trace her jaw, my palm caressing her cheek. We’re barely even dancing anymore. We’re just lightly swaying together in each other’s grasps.
“I’m sorry.”
“We were young.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“I forgive you,” she says, her eyes glistening.
My heart aches. “You don’t have to say that.”
Her fingers slide up my neck into my hair. “I mean it.”
I break. There’s no fighting the surge of need in my body that I feel for her. Like I need oxygen in my lungs and blood in my veins.
My lips capture hers, firm and slow.
She wraps her arms around my neck, her chest pressuring flush against mine.
My fingers sink into the soft material of her dress, and I wish I could somehow pull her closer than she already is .
Gradually, our kiss softens as the music comes to a close. Her forehead rests against mine for a second, and I breathe in, settling in the moment.
Was kissing her a mistake? Deep down in my chest, it doesn’t feel like one. All I feel is comforting warmth like some broken part of me finally clicked back into place. Like everything is going to be okay in the end.
But given Dad’s upcoming death and the hard decisions that I’m about to have to make, that’s probably a na?ve thing to believe.