CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE FALLON
C HAPTER T WENTY -F IVE
FALLON
“Will you stop fussing over me?” Sully shoos my hand away as I’m fluffing his pillow.
“I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
“I’m perfectly fine, other than the fact that you’ve rolled up every rug in this godforsaken place. The wood is cold on my feet.”
“I’ll get you slippers, with grips. You’ll be fine. No more slipping hazards.”
“You treat me like a child,” he grumbles.
I take a seat on the edge of his bed, the overhead light shining above us.
We weren’t released from the hospital until late—and after two days there, we were itching to leave.
My dads wanted to take Sully back to their place for a few days, but Sully pitched a fit, insisting he wanted to be in his own home, where he could be with Joan.
We all decided it would be best to just bring him back to Canoodle.
“I don’t mean to treat you like a child—I’m just trying to make things safe for you, because I love you so much and I don’t want you to get hurt again. Can you understand that?” I place my hand in his good hand.
The scowl in his brow eases as he nods.
“Thank you. Now, if you’re comfortable, I’m going to go check on the Cove. Faye’s granddaughter, Minnie, has been running the front desk, and I want to make sure everything is good. Jaz gave her a quick and dirty rundown, but I’m sure it wasn’t enough.”
“Okay. I’m comfortable.” He squeezes my hand. “Thank you, Fallon. I’m sorry I scared you.”
“Please don’t apologize. I’m just happy you’re okay.”
“I am.”
I lean in and give him a kiss on the cheek before standing and heading to the door.
“You know, I feel very honored that you’re my granddaughter,” he says as I reach the door.
When I turn to meet his gaze, his eyes are wet, and the sight nearly brings me to my knees.
“You could have chosen a different life, but you chose me.” He wipes at his eyes.
I start to move toward him, but he holds up his hand, stopping me.
“Grandma Joan would be very proud to call you her granddaughter, proud of all the love and patience you’ve given me.
I’m not sure if I say this enough, but I’m very grateful for you, Fallon.
” He sucks in a sharp breath. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I say, my voice catching in my throat.
He nods and closes his eyes as he rests his hands on his stomach. “You know, sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for.”
Huh?
Where did that come from?
“There were multiple times I messed up with Grandma Joan,” he continues, “but I knew in the long run we built our love off a foundation of friendship, and that was a love worth waiting for. You waited for true love, so don’t let it slip through your fingers because of your partner’s self-doubt.
If Grandma Joan let that happen to me, we never would have grown the kind of love that lasts a lifetime. ”
I stand there, aghast. How on earth...?
He peeks one eye open and smirks. “I’m not completely inept.
I heard you speaking to your fathers. Not sure who this man is, but if he can cause you such pain, there’s a reason.
Like I said, Fallon, sometimes the best things are worth waiting for.
.. even if you have to sift through the mud while waiting for them. ”
Is that what Sawyer and I are going through? Some muddy waters?
He shifts on the bed. “Good night, Fallon.”
“Good night,” I reply softly as I close the door to his room, my mind swirling with what Sully is trying to convey.
His words hold truth, a heaviness to them that I wasn’t quite expecting.
Grandma Joan told me many years ago that Sully drove her nuts at times.
That there were more than enough occasions when he was “in the doghouse”—and then I remember her reaching over and squeezing my arm, a smile on her face as she told me it was just part of the joy that came with loving someone.
Love isn’t perfect.
Love is a challenge, and Grandma Joan and Sully were the perfect example of that.
I check my phone to make sure the monitor notifications are on and then slink into my room.
I change out of my clothes and into a pair of cotton shorts and a simple white T-shirt in an attempt to shed the memory of the hospital.
When I toss my clothes in the hamper, I spot Sawyer’s suitcase, open, his clothes still neatly tucked inside.
Unable to stop myself, I slide down to the floor and pull out one of his shirts. I bring it to my nose and take in a deep sniff. Memories flash through my mind at the scent.
Sawyer walking into the bar in that hideous powder-blue suit, missing one shoe.
Sawyer filling up his water bottle, a smirk on his face, knowing damn well I can’t stop looking at him with his shirt off.
Sawyer holding my hand on our first date, staring up at the stars in the hut he built just for us.
Sawyer telling me how much he loves me, making me feel the meaning of those words to my very core.
He might have hurt me, but Sully’s right: self-doubt can drive us to do and say stupid things. Things we don’t mean.
I need to talk to him. I reach for my phone but realize I can’t talk to him until I settle things with Minnie, who’s been more than a trooper about handling things during this mess.
Pulling myself together, I head downstairs and catch Minnie sitting at the desk, creating an Excel sheet on the computer of all the reservations and notes about each guest, notes she must have taken when talking to them.
“Hey,” I say as I walk up behind her.
“Oh, hey.” Minnie saves the sheet and exits out of it. “How’s Sully?”
“He’s good. Thank you so much for your help. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”
“Please, what are small towns for? Plus, this has been an amazing experience. I’ve been looking for an internship with a small business. I love my grandma and all, but the trolls... too much. This is perfect. I can’t thank Jaz enough for setting it up.”
Internship? Oh, that clever, clever Jaz.
“Not a problem at all. Once things settle down, maybe we can speak more about the internship and make it official.”
“That would be great.” She hops off the stool. “The lights at the picnic table are still on—I wasn’t sure how to turn them off.”
“No worries, I can go turn them off.”
“Oh, and I took it upon myself to do some Instagram posts for you. They seem to be picking up traction. It’s something we can talk about during our meeting.”
I smile despite the ache in my heart. “Sounds great. Thank you, Minnie.”
“You’re welcome.” She tosses her small backpack over her shoulder and heads toward the front door. With her mom jeans and platform shoes, she has Gen Z written all over her. She might be exactly what we need to keep modernizing the Cove.
The night is still and quiet as I make my way down the pathway and past the cabins.
It seems like everyone is either tucked in for the night or enjoying a few more drinks down at Beggar’s Hole.
I’m sure Jaz is there, slinging drinks as usual.
I spoke to her before we left the hospital—she kept insisting she’d messed up and begged me not to be mad at Sawyer.
And she actually called him Sawyer. I could hear the regret in her voice.
The pleading. The hope that she hadn’t messed up anything.
I can feel her pain. As I make my way past the bench Sawyer fixed, all I can think about is how I was unfair to him, not letting him explain, sending him away when all he wanted was to make sure I was okay.
Stress and fear really do a number on your emotions, your thoughts, and your heart.
I round the corner to the picnic tables, and the whole area glows golden, the string lights shining brightly against the dark night sky. I stop in my tracks, because sitting on one of them, holding a single daisy, is Sawyer.
My pulse picks up at just the sight of him, but when his gaze meets mine and those soulful eyes cut right through me with a pleading stare, I nearly lose all the air in my lungs.
He hops off the picnic table as I draw closer. When we’re a few feet apart, he holds out the daisy, and I take it, amazed that he remembered my favorite flower, the same flower Grandma Joan used to love.
“How’s Sully?” he asks as he stuffs his hands in his jeans pockets, his black T-shirt bunching in the center as his shoulders turn inward.
“He’s good. Settled. Tired.”
“I can only imagine how exhausted he is.” He shifts on his feet. “And how about you? How are you?”
“Been better,” I admit.
“Yeah, no thanks to me.” He heaves a heavy sigh. “Can I speak with you?”
“Sure.”
He nods toward the picnic tables, and I follow him over to one. We both take a seat, me on one side, him on the other. In other circumstances, before all of this happened, there’s no doubt that we would be sitting next to each other rather than apart.
Once we’re settled on our benches, his eyes connect with mine.
“I’ve spent the last two days thinking about this moment, when I’d get to see you again.
When I had a chance to apologize for the awful way I treated you.
I thought of these film-worthy apologies.
The ones where the world stops around the characters, and the hero organized an all-hands-on-deck-style apology with fanfare, a live band, and a parade.
That’s what Roarick wanted me to do—the typical grand gesture—but I realized you don’t need that kind of apology.
Not that you don’t deserve it, because you do, but I thought you’d appreciate this more.
Intimacy, under the dim yellow lights of the picnic table area, the place where your grandfather first told me about the love of his life. ”
Anxiety, nerves... love bounce and ping through my chest, making my stomach flip and my breath come out in short spurts as I stare into his sorrowful eyes.
“So, beneath the stars and where I fell in love with you, I want to tell you how sorry I am for assuming the worst about you and Peter. Instead of getting jealous and throwing around accusations, I should have been grateful for his friendship, for being there for you. The words I spoke to you were inexcusable, and the only thing I can do is grow from the moment and do better. Try better. Continue to strive to be the man you deserve.” He swallows hard as he nervously reaches his hand out to me.
Needing to feel his touch, I take his hand, and his shoulders visibly relax.
“My father once told me a smart man is a man who can admit when he’s wrong.
I was wrong, Fallon. And I can only hope that you’ll be able to forgive me enough that I can make things right. ”
And this is why I love him—because I know deep in my very soul that he’d do anything, and I mean anything, to make me happy. He’d move mountains, he’d part seas, he’d trudge through a foot of sludge wearing one powder-blue shoe in order to give me the world.
I drag my thumb over the back of his hand.
“What you said, Sawyer, it was hurtful. I’m not going to deny it.
With all the distress of the day, the anxiety, the fear of the unknown, I can see where it was coming from, but I need you to know something.
” I stand, still holding his hand, and walk over to his side of the table, straddling the bench so I’m facing him.
He does the same. “I’ve told one man, and only one man, that I love him.
That man is you.” I reach up and stroke his cheek softly.
“I can’t imagine a moment in time when I’d ever stop loving you, because this feels eternal, you and me.
You don’t need to worry.” I press my hand against his chest. “I’ll protect the beautiful heart that beats beneath my hand, and I will make sure it’s never hurt again. ”
He brings our entwined hands up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles before bringing them to his cheek, hugging them close. “I’m not sure you understand the kind of impact that has on me, how that makes me feel protected... cared for.”
“I have an idea, because it’s the same way you make me feel.” I lean in close and press my forehead to his. “I love you, Sawyer.”
His hand comes behind my neck as he holds me in place. “I love you, Fallon. To my dying day, it will be you and me. I promise you.”
I bring my hand to the back of his neck as well. “To our dying day.”
And then he nudges me with his nose, lifting my chin slightly and placing a sweet kiss on my lips. Before he can go any deeper, I ask, “Is this when the camera starts spinning like Dad suggested?”
He lets out a low chuckle. “Nah, this isn’t a spinning moment; this is a zoom-in moment.”
“Both are fine with me.” And then he leaves no space between us as he pulls me onto his lap and presses me into his body, his mouth on mine.
As I savor this beautiful moment with Sawyer under the lights, Sully’s words echo through my mind. Sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for.
Sawyer was worth the wait.