Chapter 15 #2
I shook my head, the disbelief morphing into something colder, more detached as I retreated from the conversation before my emotions could get the better of me.
“I need some space,” I said, turning to walk away, not waiting for his response.
But as soon as I turned, my legs buckled, the exhaustion and tension of the past weeks suddenly too much to bear, and my vision blurred as the tears I’d been holding back finally spilled over.
Before I could hit the concrete, Patrick was there, his movements fluid and instinctive as he closed the distance between us in a single heartbeat.
His arms, corded with unexpected muscle from weeks of physical labor, wrapped securely around my waist just as my legs gave way completely.
The scent of motor oil and sweat filled my senses, mingling with the familiar trace of his cologne that lingered beneath the grime.
His warmth seeped through my thin pajama top as he lowered me to the ground with surprising gentleness, his body creating a shield around mine as if protecting me not just from the fall, but from the weight of everything crashing down.
His chest rose and fell steadily against my back, his heartbeat a steady rhythm against my spine, the only thing keeping me anchored in that dizzying moment when the world threatened to spin away completely.
“Hey, it’s okay.” His voice softened as he held me, his hand smoothing down my back, his words grounding me as I fought to catch my breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.”
The tears came in hot, silent streams, my body trembling against him as everything I’d been bottling up came out at once, the confusion, the hurt, the anger. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” I whispered, the words muffled against his shoulder, my voice breaking on the last syllable.
Patrick sighed, holding me tighter as he answered. “You haven’t let me say anything. All I had left were actions.”
We stayed like that for a while, me clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping me from drifting away, and him holding on like he was afraid if he let go, he’d never get this close again.
There was so much between us still, so much left unspoken and unresolved, but in that moment, none of it felt as heavy as it had just minutes before.
He had finally shown me something I didn’t expect, something I didn’t know how to react to: he cared enough to try, to get dirty, to be vulnerable in his own quiet way.
But it didn’t change the past. It didn’t erase what happened, what broke us apart in the first place.
When I finally pulled away, wiping at my tears, the gulf between us was still there, but now it felt just a little less insurmountable.
“I don’t know if this fixes anything,” I said, my voice steadier but still rough, “but thank you.”
Patrick gave me a small, sad smile, his eyes full of the same uncertainty that I felt. “It’s not a fix, Sadie. It’s just a start.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Always. I don’t want to keep any secrets from you.”
“Any more secrets, you mean?” It felt like we both were in agreement to not keep more of them from each other, though there was one still hanging in the balance between us.
“Any more,” he agreed.
“Why did you fire Alyssa? And when did you do it?”
Patrick winced slightly, his eyes focusing on the Trimotor behind us before looking at me again, the answer harder than I expected.
“It was right after the video call we had, the one where you hung up on me. She came into my office, talking down about you as I now realize she always did, and she tried to kiss me. I fired her on the spot. She got escorted out of the building by security. Then you showed up the next day with that pregnancy test of hers, and I had to watch you walk out of my office again, believing that lie.”
My chest tightened at the revelation, a rush of guilt washing over me. “I didn’t know...”
Patrick’s voice softened. “I’m not telling you to make you feel guilty.
I’m telling you because you deserve the truth.
Alyssa and I never had anything. There was no baby, no betrayal on my part.
If she’s pregnant, it is by another man.
I fired her because she crossed a line. I made a mistake in letting things go on as long as I did, and I let it hurt you more than I ever intended. ”
I shook my head, still trying to process everything. “I wish you had said something that day,” I said quietly. “Maybe I would’ve listened if you told me before things got so messed up.”
“I don’t think you would have.” He sighed, rubbing his temple as the exhaustion between us seemed to hang in the air, thicker than the humidity outside. “I didn’t know how to explain it all without sounding like I was making excuses. So I did this instead, hoping maybe it would speak for me.”
I swallowed, trying to gather myself as the realization settled over me like a cold blanket.
The anger, the hurt all made sense now, but so did his desperation to prove himself.
“I still don’t know if I’m ready to go back,” I admitted, the words feeling like an olive branch and a boundary at the same time.
“There’s a lot to sort through, but at least now...
Maybe we can start trying to figure it out. ”
He nodded, the tension in his shoulders loosening just enough for me to know that he wasn’t expecting miracles, but that he was willing to wait.
“Take as long as you need,” he said, his voice softer now, free of the frustration that had colored his words before.
“But can I keep working on the Tin Goose? I’ve started enjoying the work.
You can kick me out if you want, but once I start something, I like to see it through.
And I’ve already had to give favors for some of the replacement parts. ”
“What kind of favors?” I asked, finding the entire idea of Patrick doing this bordering on the absurd.
“I had to call in some connections to get some parts I couldn’t otherwise source,” he explained.
“But the favor has yet to be named. It’s open-ended.
I now owe Arthur Langdon a favor he could ask for at any point.
The guy is a legend, and it was worth it, as it is your dream to get this plane up in the air.
But I might be in trouble if he decides to collect it when I least expect it. ”
The thought made me chuckle despite the serious weight still hanging between us. “Well, I can’t deny that the progress has been good. Maybe you can stay.”
The look on his face was almost childlike in its relief. I hadn’t seen him look so pleased about anything since before our marriage started to go wrong. “I promise not to step on your toes.”
“As long as you don’t take apart something I’m in the middle of fixing,” I replied. But we both knew that it wouldn’t come down to that. I appreciated him keeping out of my way while I was trying to work.
A small smile tugged at my lips, the tension in my chest lightening just a bit.
This wasn’t a resolution, not yet, but for the first time in a while, it felt like there was hope.
And for now, that would have to be enough.
Maybe the plane wasn’t going to fix our relationship, but working on it together might be the first step toward something better, something that could grow from the ruins of what we had, and for the moment, that was enough to hold on to.