Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Two weeks later…
S carlett walked into Remy’s hospital room carrying a guitar in one hand and her music notebook in the other. She rubbed her hip where the bone marrow had been extracted. Her mother had explained she might experience some pain in the area while her body healed. The bruising made it look as if she’d taken a nasty fall, but it had mostly healed. All her discomfort was worth it if it helped save Remy’s life. She had just started to become acquainted with her brother, and she didn’t want to lose him.
She set the guitar down on a chair and plopped on the side of his bed. “How’s my favorite brother?”
“I’m your only brother,” he replied casually. “And I’m fine. They did another transfusion of red blood cells earlier. They’re not satisfied at how fast the bone marrow is reproducing on its own.” He gestured toward the guitar. “What’s that for?”
“I thought we could work on that song we started before you decided to become a delicate flower and crumble in the parking lot.” She had to take a humorous spin on it or she’d lose it. Remy’s health had been precarious before the transplant. Luckily, if it could be considered such, he’d gone through all the conditioning necessary for a transfusion beforehand. So, he was essentially ready to receive her bone marrow immediately after it was extracted. He’d been slowly recovering in the hospital ever since. They still were not certain that his leukemia had gone into remission, but the doctors were hopeful he had many years of life left. She picked up the guitar and handed it to him. “Do you feel up to it?”
“I did have an idea on how we could make the melody better,” he began. “I like what you have, but it’s missing a little panache.”
“All right, play it for me,” Scarlett demanded.
He pulled the guitar closer to him and started to play some chords. The music echoed through the room and blended with what she had heard before. He was right. This was much better. Remy stopped playing and tapped his fingers against the grain of the guitar. “What do you think?”
“It’s perfect,” she said. “Now we need some lyrics to go with it. I’m not sure where to begin.” Scarlett loved music, but she’d been having a little trouble with lyrics lately. Discovering she had a brother and almost losing him at the same time had unraveled her carefully crafted fa?ade. JD had been a huge help over the past couple of weeks. He’d been a rock when she needed one to lean on. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about him or giving him a second chance at least, but they were in a good place for once. Scarlett had decided to let things flow naturally and see where it took them both. There might be a chance for them to find their way back together. A part of her hoped they would, but she still held the scars from when he abandoned her before. It wouldn’t be easy, and perhaps that was for the best.
Remy tilted his head to the side and met her gaze. “I’ve been thinking about your diamond reference. It might make a good song.”
She crinkled her nose. “I’m not as unbreakable as I thought.” Scarlett had pretended for too long that she had what it took to take care of herself. “I’m not so sure it would be an accurate picture of real life.”
“But it is,” he insisted. “We all put up walls and try to protect ourselves. Trust me on this. People will respond well to it.” He started to play the melody. “I think it should go something like this…”
With resilience, I will defy.
Breaking will not happen today,
Because diamonds don’t cry,
Even amidst a hard goodbye.
“And you said you don’t do lyrics well…” Scarlett’s voice wobbled a little as she spoke. That could mean so many different things. They had gone through some tumultuous changes in a short time, and those words could mean they had to potentially face saying goodbye forever. Remy’s future was still uncertain, even if she wanted to pretend otherwise. There was no guarantee the transplant would work. This could be his way of leaving a permanent stamp on the world.
“It’s a decent chorus,” Remy said and blew out a breath. “We still need to write the verses and maybe add in a refrain or two.”
A knock echoed through the room. Scarlett and Remy glanced at the doorway. Their father, Thatcher Wyatt, leaned against the jam. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”
“Not at all,” Scarlett insisted. “We’re working on a song.”
“I heard a little bit. Do you mind this old man’s opinion?”
They both shook their head. “I’d welcome it.” Scarlett handed him the notebook she’d written the chorus down on. “It’s not every day you get advice from one of Southern Rock’s most well-known figures.”
Thatcher glanced over the lyrics they had so far, and the sheets of music. “This is brilliant.” He met Scarlett’s gaze. “Is this your work?”
“We both had input,” she said. “Remy is a wonderful musician.”
Her father smiled. “I’m starting to realize that.” He jotted a few things down and handed her the paper. “I think you should start it with this.”
“I like it,” Scarlett said and then handed it to Remy to glance over. As he was reading it, she turned her attention back to her father. “Would you like to help us with it?”
Thatcher Wyatt fidgeted a little and remained quiet. “I don’t wish to impose.”
“It’s not imposing if we ask you.” She glanced at Remy. “Would you mind?” Scarlett barely knew her father, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to become more acquainted with him, but she wouldn’t push if Remy was against it. They were both important to her.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Remy said quietly and handed the notebook back to her. “Let’s write a brilliant song.”
They settled in and worked on the lyrics. The end result was a song that had a little bit of each of them in it. The one thing that would make it better was if they could record it together. She’d work on that idea another day though…
Scarlett strolled toward home. There was an inherent weariness inside of her. It had been a good day. They finished the song, and she had to force herself to leave Remy alone. He needed rest, and she was a little exhausted herself. She stopped short when she found JD leaning against her door. “What are you doing here?”
“I had hoped we could talk.”
She sighed. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’m exhausted.” She’d let him in when she needed him most. Maybe it was a little bitchy to push him away now. He’d been so good… She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to let him in and thought perhaps she should start erecting those walls she had in place again.
He shoved his hands into his pocket and glanced away. Scarlett hadn’t done well to keep him at a distance lately. She’d been too grateful when he’d been willing to take care of her. She had closed herself off to him emotionally, or at least she tried to. He had been at her side through every step of the transplant process. He’d held her hand while she was in recovery after they removed her marrow, and he’d taken her home afterward. JD had gone so far as to secure an actual car for her comfort too. She’d offered to let him use hers, but he had declined. JD had wanted his own car, but he never explained why. He loved his motorcycle, and for him to leave it behind to take care of her said a lot. JD had wanted to make sure she had all the comfort he could manage. He’d been kind, thoughtful, and sweet. Still she couldn’t let go of all her animosity or mistrust. “I understand,” he said softly. “I’ll leave you be.”
He walked away from her with his head down. How much more punishment did she have to inflict on him? Scarlett blew out a breath. “JD wait…”
At the sound of her voice, he turned slightly and glanced over his shoulder. “Yes?”
“Please come back. I think it’s time we talked.” She could manage to keep her eyes open a little longer. Otherwise, they’d keep returning to this point with no resolution.
She opened her door and went inside. JD followed behind her and closed it with a soft click . She tossed her keys and purse on a nearby table and then turned to face him. “I realize that it was a decade ago, but I need to understand why you left me.” He’d wanted to explain before, but she kept stalling. She had to face it all now.
“Besides the fact I was a fool?” He lifted a brow. He raised both hands in the air and shrugged. “I was young. I thought I knew what I was doing. In my mind, if I didn’t leave right then, I’d never make it in baseball. I didn’t stand a chance at ever seeing all my dreams come true. I realize now that it was impulsive and rash. I regretted it almost immediately, but I’d carved my path and I had stay on that path.” He paused and took a breath. “If I could go back and change things, I would.”
“That all sounds nice in theory,” she said. “I want to believe you.”
“But you can’t,” he said with a hint of remorse-filled-with-acceptance in his voice. “I guess I don’t expect you to forgive me. I had to try.” He glanced away from her.
“So you’re going to give up that easy?” Anger boiled inside of her. Perhaps it was a little unreasonable of her, but she wanted to punch him in the face. “Did I mean so little to you?”
“No,” he shouted. “I mean yes. God, I don’t even know what I’m saying any more.” His hand shook a little as he brushed it through his dark locks. “You mean everything to me. Tell me what I need to do to make this right, and I’ll do it.”
“Even if I asked you to stop playing baseball?”
He froze at her words, then slowly walked toward her. JD dropped to his knees in front of her and leaned his head against her waist. She placed her hands on his head, afraid she might have pushed him too far. He loved baseball. That stupid game had been the reason he’d left her. She understood now that it hadn’t ever been Shayla that had taken him. Scarlett believed him when he said nothing happened between them. Shayla may not have been his mistress, but baseball certainly was.
JD lifted his head to meet her gaze. “It might not be easy to do it, but if that is what you want, I’ll try my best to leave it.” He took a deep breath. “By that, I mean I’m under contract. It might not be so easy to break it, but I can have my manager start the process.”
Her mouth fell open in surprise at his words. “You would really do it?”
“I’d do anything to have you back in my life. If it means leaving baseball behind, I’ll bankrupt myself to end my contract. You’re more important to me than baseball ever could be or ever should have been to begin with.”
As far as grand gestures went, this one topped the charts. She couldn’t believe he’d let it all go. This couldn’t be real… “I can’t let you do that.”
“Please,” he begged. “Give me a chance to prove to you that I love you. If leaving baseball isn’t enough, then what is?”
Scarlett dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re enough,” she said. “I love you too.” She kissed him lightly. “I can’t promise I won’t be insecure from time to time. This isn’t going to be easy, but I’d like to try to find our way back to each other. Can you promise to be patient with me and take things slow?”
“I can do anything if it means I’ll have you in my life.”
“Good,” she said. “I intend to hold you to that.”
JD pulled her tightly against him and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss went wild and passion erupted between them. It had been brewing since the moment they first crossed paths again. It was inevitable that they would find their way back to each other. Scarlett didn’t know why she had bothered to fight it. JD was the love of her life. She needed him as much as she needed air to breathe.