Chapter 54
CHAPTER
FIFTY-FOUR
CHANCE
April looks quickly away, wraps an arm around her father and tries to steer him toward the hallway.
“Hey, stop pushing,” he rasps. Glancing over his shoulder, he arches a wiry brow. “Chance, don’t let them take me away.”
“It’s okay, sir.”
“No, it’s not. They’ll lock me up again. They think I’m senile, son. You can’t trust them.”
“I do trust them.” I stare at April for a long beat. “Especially this woman, sir. I trust her with my life.”
April finally looks at me. Tears glisten in her eyes and wet her thick, dark lashes.
Whoa. My heart jackhammers wildly and then stops beating altogether. That look is brutally soft and vulnerable and all I want to do is wrap her in my arms.
“Thank you,” she says in a quiet, broken voice.
“You’re welcome.”
Another nurse appears and takes April’s dad a little to the side, inspecting him for injuries.
April eyes me uneasily. “What are you…” She shakes her head and then says instead, “Where did you find him?”
“There’s a path outside the west gate that leads to a hidden grotto. It’s close enough that he can walk without getting too tired and needing his wheelchair. He took me there when we visited him last time. He said no one knew where it was so they never bothered him.”
April seems shocked. “He was on the property the entire time?”
“I checked that area first just in case, but I didn’t think he’d actually be there. Did the cameras not pick it up?”
“The cameras were down and there were construction workers in the garden. One of them admitted to leaving the gate open so everyone assumed dad had gone in that direction.”
I’m trying to listen, but only half of me is engaged. It takes patience not to step closer to her. To brush her hair away from her face. To hold her hand and give it a squeeze.
She looks as exhausted as I do. It grieves me to see her so torn up about her dad. Or maybe it’s not just her dad. I bet there are other things on her mind.
“Miss Brooks, would you like to come with us?” Another nurse asks, gesturing to a long corridor. “The doctor is waiting.”
April speaks to me without meeting my eyes. “I’ll go with them.”
“I’ll wait for you,” I assure her.
I watch as April and the nurses escort her dad away.
When they’re gone, a thick and pressing silence fills my ears. I realize I’m being stared at by a large group of elderly men and women.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be out there?” A gruff old man points to the television screen that’s turned to the sports channel.
My lips quirk. “Yes.”
“Then why are you here? ” Another asks.
I contemplate how to answer that. “Because my future is here.”
“What future?” An older woman croaks.
It feels like I’m being grilled by the most determined journalists in the world.
“That’s a secret.” I wink.
A woman waddles up to me and leans in. She smells of coffee and saltines. “Is April pregnant?”
I jerk back in shock. “No, she isn’t.”
The woman gives me a disbelieving look, but I’m spared from her questions when a shout goes up from the crowd.
“Someone’s talking!”
“They’re announcing it now!”
The sweet grandmother shuffles away from me on her walker. On the TV screen, a PR manager stands behind the mike and delivers a word salad of platitudes about the league and their hopes for the upcoming season.
I watch it with a wry grin.
Derek, Derek, Derek. I told my ex-agent I wouldn’t be at the press conference and he insisted that he would wait.
‘You’ll change your mind about firing me. There’s no way I’m cancelling the press conference.’
‘I won’t, Derek. You’re still fired and I’m taking the first flight back to Lucky Falls.’
‘You’re not an idiot, Chance. You worked so hard to get back on top. Why would you give it all up for a woman?’
I guess he really believed that I wouldn’t.
The PR manager refuses to answer questions after the conference ends. It’s a smart move, and I follow suit, slipping out of the nursing home while the residents are occupied.
In my car, I text April and ask her to meet in the parking lot when she’s finished with her dad.
Time ticks by, but I promised April I would wait and do so patiently.
Hours later, April jogs out of the nursing home’s front doors. I watch the way her hair floats behind her in the evening breeze and my lips curl up in a smile. Everything about the woman makes me incredibly happy.
April climbs into my convertible and, though it’s impolite, I can’t stop staring. She’s the only woman I know who can make a mechanic jumpsuit look stunning. The translucent glow of her skin, the thick fall of her silky brown hair, and the freckles that adorn her face is more than I can take.
I have to remind myself to breathe.
“Are you… not going to say anything?” April asks, reaching for one of my fidget spinners in the console.
She’s nervous, I realize.
“How’s your dad?”
The tenseness in her shoulders seeps away. “He’s sleeping.” There’s a long pause. “The manager seems a little embarrassed about reporting him missing when he was so close by. To be honest, so am I.” She folds her hands and sets them in her lap. “I had the entire town looking for dad.”
“The entire town chose to look for him,” I tell her.
She bobs her head. “I guess what matters is that he’s safe. I already sent a text to the neighborhood group chat. They’ll spread the word.”
I nod.
“Thank you again, Chance.”
“No need for that. I’m happy it ended the way it did.”
April looks straight ahead. “I’m not just thanking you for today. The nurses said you checked in regularly for a long time, long before we… before you and I…”
“Got together for real?”
She smiles slightly and my world brightens.
To my surprise, April places a soft hand on top of mine. It’s warm to the touch with a hint of callouses from all her years of working on cars. It’s a beautiful, feminine hand and I immediately turn my palm over to capture her fingers.
“Chance,” she says softly, “I’m sorry about that night.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I should have been there. This all started because I wasn’t.”
“Not necessarily.” She draws in a steadying breath. “I think… I was waiting for a reason to run away from you. I let my fear take over at the first sign of trouble.”
I lean forward, listening to every word.
“It’s true that I’ve never been in a long-distance relationship and that part was a little difficult for me. It’s also true that I felt like I was competing with hockey for your attention, but when I thought about it, you made every effort you could to keep in touch with me.” She stops and squints. “Except for that time I was in the hospital.”
“I can explain what happened.”
She waves it away. “My point is… even a machine isn’t perfect. Humans definitely aren’t perfect, so, logically, relationships can’t be either.”
I frown a bit at her conclusion. As someone who aims to be the best at whatever he puts his mind to, I do want a perfect relationship. At least, as close to perfect as it can get. And I want that for April too.
“I know way more about cars than I do about love.” She ducks her head sheepishly. “And as a mechanic, I warn people constantly about ignoring check engine lights or weird sounds. Still, most people only bring their vehicle to me after it completely breaks down. They ignore every warning sign because maintenance is expensive. It’s a lot of work. Sometimes, it feels like a waste. But in every case, a car that’s maintained well will outrun a car that’s not.”
I nod. At least this is a level of auto repair I can understand. What I don’t understand is what that has to do with us.
“You, Chance,” April’s green eyes sparkle at me as if she can read my thoughts, “you take great care of the car.”
Warmth rushes through me. I look at her, see the collision of sweetness and strength. Of beauty and intelligence. Of innocence and tenacity. And I know she’s going to be the mother of my children.
“April…”
“I can’t do it, Chance. I can’t break up with you.” Her voice is quiet but firm, like the strongest glass. “I support your dreams and I want you to live without regrets so…” She inhales deeply. “No matter how long it takes or how far you go, I’ll be here. I’ll wait for you.”
My heart slams against my ribs.
The love I feel for April Elizabeth Brooks is bone-deep, encoded in my DNA and one hundred percent immoveable.
“Alright then.” April sets the fidget spinner down and leans back like a great weight’s been lifted off her.
“Alright then,” I agree.
She peers at me. “Is that all you have to say?”
“Can anyone top that speech?”
A blush spreads over her face. She quickly changes the subject. “By the way, what are you doing here?”
“Here as in…?”
“In Lucky Falls. What happened to the press conference? Why didn’t you announce you were back in the league today?”
“Because I’m not back in the league.”
“What do you mean?”
“I made a choice.”
She looks at me uneasily. “What choice?”
“I chose you.”