Chapter 28
CHRIS
Iwas a mess. There was no way to deny that fact.
But as I held Beth’s hand in the hospital room, it was hard to remember the dirt I had ground under my fingernails and the muscle aches that raged through me.
Beth was right there. She had almost slipped through my fingers, and now I was holding onto the hope that everything I had been doing meant something.
I knew she would need time and space to work through things.
And I was going to be a better man than I had ever been before to make sure she had everything she needed.
“Is there anything you want right now?” I asked her when the beeping from her monitors had slowed. “I mean, anything within reason. I’m sure the doctor will come tell you what you can and can’t eat.”
“I’ll probably just sleep for a bit.” She opened her eyes and looked over at me. There was a hint of something in her face I couldn’t name, and I knew better than to ask about it. It wasn’t my place to force her to share emotions right now.
“Can I do anything while you sleep? Or will you want me to wait here?” I didn’t want to be away from her if she needed anything, but I also didn’t want to crowd her while she rested.
“You can go home for a bit, if you need. I know you need sleep, too.”
That surprised me a little. I didn’t realize she had been thinking about how exhausted I might be, but she was right.
I needed a few hours of sleep, or I was going to crash, too.
And there was so much to do the following day.
“I’ll get you some water and a nurse to check in on you.
If you need anything, just call for the nurse. ”
I gently let go of her hand and stood up from the uncomfortable chair in her room.
The bed was pushed up slightly, giving me a great view of her tired face.
But as I moved towards the door, a thought occurred to me, so I turned around and knelt down next to her so we were closer to the same eye level.
“I love you,” I whispered, making sure my voice was soft enough to not make her feel uncomfortable.
“You, too,” she whispered in reply, but her eyelids were already getting heavier.
I backed out of the room quietly and closed the door behind me, not wanting to wake her again if I could avoid it.
Out in the hallway, it was a different world.
It wasn’t nearly as peaceful as her room had been.
There were doctors and nurses moving around, patients being checked out, and all kinds of sounds.
There was one other person who stood out in the hallway, someone who didn’t belong and was looking into all the rooms as she passed, looking for something.
Jessica’s high heels were loud on the polished linoleum of the hospital halls, though she probably wasn’t thinking about that.
Her whole presence was more of an intrusion on Beth than anything else right now.
She was dressed to impress, which meant that the town doctor and nurse were looking her over in confusion.
“Chris! I’m so glad I found you.”
I rolled my eyes and walked right up to Jessica, grabbing her elbow to lead her further from Beth’s room. “How did you even know I was here? And why are you here? I thought I made myself clear at the hardware store.”
“There’s been some talk among the investors in Seattle.
Your disappearance caused some concern. And some rumors about you having a baby and running off into the countryside.
I’m just trying to control the damage to your reputation and the company as best I can.
You just vanished without any information. What am I supposed to tell the board?”
I clenched my jaw. “You aren’t an investor or a business partner anymore, Jessica.
So I really don’t care what you do or what the company does at this point.
You made your decision. And I think you should leave now.
” There were far worse things I wanted to say to her.
It would be satisfying to yell at her, but I didn’t want that sort of scene in a hospital.
Besides, I wasn’t that kind of man. I didn’t need to shout or berate her to get my point across.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes it is,” I insisted. “I will say this as plainly as I can, so even you can understand me. You are out. Of my business. Of my life. Of this town. If you ever come near Beth or anyone she loves again, I will make your life miserable.”
Jessica pouted. “That’s a little melodramatic for my liking, but I know you’ll come back around.”
“I won’t. But even if I did, I’d never be with you, Jessica.” That needed to be made crystal clear, just to make sure she understood what was going on here. There would never be any version of our future in which I saw her as an option.
She straightened out and held her chin higher. “You’ll come begging eventually. I know you will. And then, I’ll make my demands and you will bend to my whims. This is just the beginning, Chris. You’ll see.”
“No, this is the end. Mark my words. If you ever come near me or Beth again, I will do whatever it takes to ruin you. I don’t care what you think about me.
I am done. You are a manipulative witch and I’m going to wash my hands of you once and for all, so long as I never have to see you again.
I’ve bought you out. I don’t know what more you want from me. ”
“More money?”
“No. Absolutely not.” It wasn’t an option, and I needed her to see that.
“Then what is it going to take to make you stop treating me this way? You’re acting like I was some kind of villain when all I wanted was a little recognition from time to time.”
“Please leave.”
“I’m not leaving. Not until you?—“
“You have five seconds to turn around and walk out of this hospital or I’m calling the cops.” My threat wasn’t an empty one. If Jessica pushed me any further, I would be more than willing to drag this out in public for everyone to witness her terrible behavior.
“Think of the PR nightmare that would be. You know better than anyone how the press will react to this.”
“I’m not afraid of the press,” I said. “And I’m not afraid of you.
You might have been good at your job, but you lacked the true loyalty I needed in a business partner.
You took more than you gave. It just took me too long to see the damage you left in your wake.
Get out before you say something you regret. ”
Jessica shook her head in disbelief. She might not believe what I said right now, but she had to know there would be consequences for her actions. “I won’t forget this,” she said before turning on her heel and walking toward the hospital exit.
“Go ahead, I won’t either,” I called out, more as a final word than as a response.
My shoulders eased as Jessica disappeared behind the doors.
I wasn’t naive enough to think she wouldn’t try something else to hurt me in some way.
But I wasn’t going to let it get to me right now.
The only person who mattered was in that hospital room.
Everything I had been building in this town was for her, and for my family, if she would have me back.
I wasn’t about to let Jessica ruin that.
I took a deep breath before heading back into Beth’s room.
The encounter with Jessica had left me feeling rattled, but I pushed those thoughts aside.
When I opened the door quietly, my eyes adjusted to the softer lighting, and I saw that Beth’s eyes were wide open.
Her gaze was clear and fixed on the window, where the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the sterile white floors.
She seemed lost in thought, her fingers tracing the pattern on the blanket covering her.
The heart monitor beside her beeped steadily, a reminder of the fragile life within her that I had almost been too blind to see.
As I approached, she turned her head toward me, her expression full of hope.
“You heard that, didn’t you?” I asked quietly.
“It was kind of loud,” she said with a weak smile.
“I’m sorry. I was trying to handle it, but she had other ideas.”
Beth gave a small shrug. “You really bought her out?”
“I did. And I won’t let her back in. She should know that she has a losing hand, but sometimes trapped animals lash out in strange and hurtful ways.”
“She’s the reason we argued so much. At least, one of the reasons.” It wasn’t a question or accusation. It was just the truth.
“I’m so sorry, Beth.”
“No more of that,” she replied. “We don’t need to rehash old wounds, but we do need to find a way forward.”
It was more than I was hoping to hear at that moment, but it felt good to hear.
Beth wasn’t closing herself off, at least not right now.
There was something more, though. I couldn’t place it in her face, but her energy felt different from what I had seen of her since the day I arrived.
It was as if some weight had been lifted from her shoulders, even though her body was still frail from the day’s ordeal.
“I want us to be okay, to move past this. Whatever happens next is your call.”
“I just need to rest a bit more.” She shifted her attention to the heart monitor beside her bed. “We can talk more tomorrow, once I’m discharged and have settled myself a little.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll see you again soon.”
I kissed Beth on the forehead before again exiting her room.
But as I left, I was already thinking about her further recovery.
The diner was not the place for her, even if Lisa was there to look after her.
I knew Beth enough to know that she would continue trying to help out, and that was the last thing she needed.
She had already worked herself too hard.
And as much as I wanted to blame Lisa for allowing her sister to push beyond what she should have been able to do, I couldn’t put any more blame on anyone other than myself.
The diner was out. So I would need to make accommodations.
And while the motel would have been acceptable before, it wasn’t for Beth’s health right now.
No, she needed something else, something with a ground floor bedroom.
But also something near the diner. I wanted her to be able to visit her sister whenever she wanted without exerting herself.
By the time I was out the front doors of the hospital, I had the beginning of a plan forming.
I got into the truck and made a list in my head of all the people I needed to contact and the steps that needed to be taken in order to make things right.
I didn’t know if I could make it work, but I waned everything to be perfect by the time Beth was discharged.
This wasn’t about money or power. It was about her health.
That took precedence over everything, including the community food hub still under construction.