Chapter 29
BETH
Chris was waiting in the hospital lobby for me the next morning as I was being discharged.
The nurse wheeled me out to meet him and helped me get settled in his truck.
I hadn’t seen him since our conversation the afternoon before, when he went out to take care of Jessica.
It was still so hard to imagine her presence here in town and what it meant for him and our business.
“How are you feeling?” he asked once the door was closed and he had settled into the driver’s seat.
“Better,” I replied. “I guess I just need more rest than I thought. And food.” The baby was using up all my reserves, which left me ravenous when I did feel like eating.
He gave me a soft smile as we drove off. “I thought about where you can stay.”
“You mean we.” There wasn’t much reason to dance around it now, was there? We were going to be in this together. And I knew Chris enough to know he wouldn’t settle for anything less. It wasn’t in his nature.
“If that’s what you want. But, no, that wasn’t actually my plan. I’ve rented a cottage for you. No stairs. And I’ve arranged for Lisa to take a leave of absence from the diner to be with?—“
“She’s struggling enough as it is,” I cut in. “You can’t expect her to close the diner. That was the whole reason I was working there, to help keep her afloat.”
Chris had yet to start the truck, but he turned to look at me.
“Beth, I know. I’ve already talked to her.
The diner is staying open. I’m paying for additional staff to keep it going while she’s gone.
And before you argue, Lisa is in agreement that this is for the best. We need you rested and healthy, and she wants to be there for you through all of this.
If you have any requests for the diner while it’s staffed with extra hands, she’s willing to listen. You’re part of the community, too.”
It still felt like I was imposing somehow.
But it didn’t feel fair to argue any of these points, either.
It was all new and overwhelming. It was probably best for me to take a step back.
“Fine. But I still don’t need a cottage on my own.
There’s no reason to separate us anymore.
” Chris was just about the only person in this world that I wanted near me.
“As much as I want that, I don’t think we’re ready yet.”
The weight of his words hung heavy in the small space. “You think?”
“Until you’ve had time to rest and process everything, I don’t want to push any of this, and that includes moving back in together.”
It made sense. And it felt a bit like a weight being taken off my shoulders, if I was being honest. “Where will you stay?”
“I still have my room at the motel.”
My heart skipped. “You’ll be close?” I didn’t mean it as a needy question, but as I heard myself say it, that was how it sounded.
“Always,” he said with a nod as he turned the key and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “I’m not going anywhere unless you need me to.”
“I don’t want you to.” There was so much relief that came out with that sentence.
And I suddenly understood the true extent of the exhaustion that had caused me to faint, that had taken hold of my entire being.
It wasn’t just the physical strain and the lack of rest, but it was the emotional weight, the way my feelings for Chris had become this tangled mess of longing and resentment and confusion and love.
I had never known it would take so much out of me to go through all this, to rebuild a marriage from the ground up.
But the more I thought about the future, the more I believed it would all be worth it.
Before I knew it, Chris pulled over in front of a little white cottage.
It was just a single story, and it probably had two bedrooms at most. I supposed that would suffice.
One for me and one for Lisa. I still hated how I had become such a burden, but I appreciated both of their patience and understanding.
I wasn’t in a state to refuse either of them, so I allowed Chris to help me from the truck.
Lisa stepped out onto the porch wearing an apron and rubbing her hands. It looked like she had been baking. Her hands were covered in flour and her cheeks were a little flushed. I hadn’t seen her looking so happy in ages, so I let the sight of her fill me with hope that things would work out.
“How’s everything at the diner?” I asked as soon as she enveloped me in a hug.
“Chaos. But it’s the kind of organized chaos you can only wish for, believe me. I might just have to keep that extra staff on.” Lisa grinned as she spoke.
“And how much is that costing my husband?”
“He didn’t flinch, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Lisa took my arm, leading me into the cottage and showing me into the sitting room.
It was small and quaint with a rustic kitchen attached.
I could feel the heat coming from the oven.
It looked like Lisa was baking banana bread.
It had always been one of my favorites, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten it.
“Why don’t you relax while I get you some lunch? We can put our feet up and enjoy this first afternoon.” Lisa kissed my forehead before turning toward Chris, who still hovered behind me.
“Can I get you anything?” Chris asked as Lisa walked to the kitchen. I could hear the fridge open and close.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to be doing. But maybe you can tell me more about what you’ve been up to since you came out here. Tell me about the construction project.”
“Yeah, sure, I can do that,” Chris said as he took the seat across the room.
It was only now that I realized he had cleaned himself up since I last saw him, when I woke up in the hospital for the first time.
His fingernails were clean and he wasn’t wearing work boots anymore.
But this wasn’t the billionaire CEO I had been married to in Seattle.
And it wasn’t just the broader shoulders.
He carried himself differently now. There was an air of confidence that felt genuine, rather than like it was part of the suit and tie.
His posture was more relaxed as he settled into the chair.
And I felt the draw to be near him that I had tried so hard to avoid.
Maybe I was getting weak, or maybe I had just been away from him so long that I didn’t remember how easy it was to be in his presence, when everything was right with the world.
“Whatever you do,” Chris started as if he was at a loss for the right words. “Just don’t be mad if it’s not perfect or it doesn’t make sense to you. This isn’t what I would do, I know that. But I tried my hardest to make it what you dreamed about. So, you can tell me if I’m way off base with this.”
“Just tell me.”
He cleared his throat and sat a little taller.
“First of all, I didn’t choose the property across from the diner because of you.
It was just the best site for a large scale operation that was readily available.
But I knew it needed proximity to the highway so that it was accessible, both to farmers and community members. It just happened to be there.”
“I might have thought it was because of me before, but not anymore.”
A look of relief crossed Chris’s face as he relaxed into his chair. “That’s good. I wanted you to see that I was focused on the big picture here.”
I nodded, my fingers trembling slightly as I reached for the plate.
The scent of warm banana bread and Earl Grey tea filled the small living room, a comforting aroma that reminded me of childhood mornings spent with Lisa.
She placed the tray on the rustic wooden coffee table with care, her movements gentle as if afraid I might break.
As she settled beside me, the cushion dipping slightly with her weight, I noticed the worry lines around her eyes had softened for the first time since my collapse.
She handed me a plate before carefully cutting into the golden-brown loaf, steam rising in delicate wisps.
I took the slice with both hands, feeling the warmth radiate through the ceramic plate.
When Chris spoke, his voice had lost its usual corporate confidence, replaced by a quieter, more measured tone as he finally revealed the intricate details of the project I had only glimpsed from my diner window.
“We’ve got three major components to the center,” he explained.
“The food pantry, the commercial kitchen, and a marketplace. The farmers who are a part of the co-op will be able to store excess crops in our warehouse space. The food pantry will have community hours and a dignified set up to allow the local residents to shop as they choose. The goal is to keep money in the community by paying the farmers a living wage and keeping costs down for the consumers.”
As he laid it all out, the pieces of his vision finally fell into place.
This wasn’t just another corporate venture for him.
It was a carefully considered project designed to address real needs.
And from the way his eyes lit up when he spoke, I knew this was more than just an obligation to me.
It was something he genuinely believed in.
“I never thought...” I trailed off, trying to find the words. “This is more than what I had planned, Chris.”
He glanced down, a little embarrassed but also proud. “I might’ve taken some liberties, but I wanted to make sure it would be sustainable. And I know I’ve got the resources to do it right.”
Lisa placed a cup of tea in front of me, and I took a sip before speaking again. “I always imagined it on a smaller scale. Just something local, but... This...” I couldn’t quite finish my thought. It was overwhelming but in the best way.