A Chance at Love (A Ferry Creek Novel): (a billionaire romance novel) (27 page)

“
You
’
re just his nurse,
”
Annie said.

“
More
than that,
”
Leslie said.
“
Bob helped me quite a bit. But
this isn
’
t about me. I
’
ll go in and check on them for
you.
”

“
Thank
you,
”
Annie said.

She took a step back and Leslie put
her hand to the handle again. She really hated to break up anything that was
happening.

Luckily, the only thing happening
was Bobby and the kids leaving. The door opened and startled Leslie. She jumped
back as Bobby almost ran into her.

“
Leslie.
”

“
Sorry,
”
she said.
“
Was just coming in to check on
you. Annie...
”

Bobby turned his head and Leslie
saw the look on Bobby
’
s
face change.

The kids - Billy and Claire - came
running from the room and down the hall. Their small voices carried far as they
ran to their mother. Annie crouched down and hugged them both. She closed her
eyes and in that moment Leslie understood what it also must have meant for
Annie.

The situation flat out sucked. Not
just Bob. It was the divorce that sucked. It tore everyone apart in the family.
It made every situation harder to cope with and manage.

“
How
did it go?
”
Leslie
whispered as she reached for Bobby
’
s
hand.

He looked down at Leslie.
“
It was great. He was alert the
entire time.
”

“
That
’
s amazing,
”
Leslie said.

“
I
’
m hungry,
”
Billy whined.

“
I
want food,
”
Claire added.

“
Let
’
s get something to eat then,
”
Bobby said.

“
Why
don
’
t I just head back
home?
”
Annie said.
“
I
’
ll
grab something on the way.
”

“
Maybe
they could stay the night,
”
Bobby said.
“
I
’
ve got room.
”

“
With
your brother in your small apartment?
”
Annie asked.
“
Not tonight.
”

Bobby let out a sigh.
“
Yeah, you
’
re right. I
’
ll
come say goodbye in a minute. Is that okay?
”

Annie looked at Leslie.
“
Sure.
”

That was the end of the
conversation. Annie turned and took a kid in each hand and began to walk.
Leslie didn
’
t mind the
chance to be alone with Bobby. She quickly turned to face him.

“
Bobby.
You
’
re a good man. A great
father. Don
’
t let
everything get to you at once.
”

“
I
won
’
t,
”
Bobby said.

“
That
’
s a terrible lie.
”

“
I
know.
”

Leslie finally had her moment. The
only thing they ever talked about his father. There was never a chance to forget
the world for a second.

Until then.

Leslie moved to her toes as Bobby
came down at the same time.

Their lips touched and Leslie
closed her eyes.

Leslie put her hands to Bobby
’
s shirt and pulled. Bobby put
his hands to her shoulders. Leslie expected him to pull her closer, to embrace
more. Instead, Bobby pushed her back, ending the kiss.

“
Oh,
”
Bobby whispered.
“
Wow...
”

“
I...
”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Bobby said.
“
I
have to go now, Leslie.
”

“
I
know,
”
Leslie said.
“
I know.
”

Bobby kissed Leslie
’
s forehead and then started to
run down the hallway. He needed to say goodbye to his children.

And as Leslie turned to the
hospital room, she needed to say goodnight and goodbye to Bob. Just in case
tonight was his last night.

Over the course of a simple steak
dinner (one in which Jess ordered chicken, which somehow made her even sexier)
Sullivan had damn near come close to falling for Jess. Her story was powerful
and real, yet she survived it all. She never gave up in life and while, in her
eyes, a life in Ferry Creek wasn
’
t
a fairy tale come to life, it was still a life to be proud of. And with
Sullivan there with her, he wondered if he could give her life more purpose
than she ever thought possible.

They were in the car and Sullivan
felt he owed something to Jess. He owed her his own story.

“
Can
we go somewhere and talk?
”
Sullivan asked.

“
Without
being seen?
”
Jess asked.

“
Something
tells me that
’
s not going
to happen around here, is it?
”

“
Well,
there is one place...
”

“
The
diner, huh?
”

“
It
’
s closed. We have keys.
”

“
No,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I don
’
t want to go there. Not right now.
”

Sullivan put the car in drive and
left the restaurant. He went through town and down a few back roads before
finding a long road with few lights.

“
What
’
s this?
”
Sullivan asked.

“
Down
the end is the biggest creek in the area,
”
Jess said.
“
It
’
s where high school kids like to
hang out. Jack Hauthe, he owns the construction company, was down here working
on getting rid of some trees that were close to power lines.
”

“
I
assume there
’
s places to
park?
”
Sullivan asked.

“
Plenty,
”
Jess said.

“
Perfect.
”

Sullivan drove faster and enjoyed
the darkness of the road. He pulled to the side and using his high beams he
found a small clearing and parked the car. His hands were still on the steering
wheel and he stared straight ahead.

“
I
’
m really pissed off, Jess,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I feel like I can maybe admit
that to you.
”

“
Pissed
off at me?
”

“
Not
at all.
”
Sullivan looked at
Jess.
“
Not at all. I
’
m pissed off at... well, both my
fathers. The man who made me and the man who raised me.
”

“
Oh.
”

“
I
’
m sorry if that offends you,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I know Bob means the world to
you. I
’
m sure I
’
ll get some kind of answer from
him, but right now, it pisses me off. I mean, my father - Henry - he raised me.
He took care of me. He loved me. When my mother left, he was the one who stayed
and made the world seem right. And then one day he died. It hurt me when he
died, Jess, it really did. It hurts worse now. You know why?
”

“
Why?
”
Jess asked.

“
Because
he
’
s not here to talk to me
or to tell me what he knows. I wanted to hear his side.
”

Sullivan saw that his hands were steering
the steering wheel. His was so angry right then. Then he saw Jess
’
s hand as she placed it on top
of his and squeezed.

“
It
’
s okay, Sullivan,
”
Jess said.
“
You can be angry with anyone you
want. I would never judge you for that.
”

“
Thanks,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I didn
’
t want to push at Bobby about it, you know? He
’
s going through so much. I
’
m just trying to be here but not
be in the way.
”

“
You
’
re not in the way,
”
Jess said.
“
You
’
re doing more than you ever had to. You had no
obligation coming here. You had no obligation to even talk to Bobby when he
called you.
”

“
Damn,
you
’
re amazing,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I want to go back in time and be
in the diner when you showed up the first time.
”

“
Why?
”

“
So
I could have taken you then, Jess. Taken you and given you the greatest life
ever. So I could have spoiled you forever.
”

“
In
case you haven
’
t noticed,
”
Jess said,
“
we are still alive. As long as
we
’
re alive, forever
exists.
”

Sullivan opened his hands on the
steering wheel. He turned his right hand and opened his fingers, allowing Jess
’
s hand on top of his and her
fingers to slide next to his. They were holding hands in his car.

“
You
need to go see him,
”
Jess
said.
“
I know you
’
ve been waiting for your own
reasons but Bob is staying alive for you.
”

“
That
doesn
’
t help much,
”
Sullivan said.

“
No?
”

“
I
understand what you
’
re
telling me,
”
Sullivan said.
“
But think about it. The
longer I wait, the longer he lives. If I rushed to see him, Bobby
’
s kids wouldn
’
t have been able to go say
goodbye. If I rushed to see him and he passed away then what would have
happened for me? Would everyone have had their arms open and willing? Would I
have gotten to know Bobby like I have? What about you, Jess? What are you going
to do when...
”

“
Okay,
”
Jess said.
“
Okay. I get it, Sullivan. That
’
s a lot to wear on your
shoulders. But you don
’
t
know when he
’
s going to
pass away. You might have a chance to see him a few times.
”

“
I
promise you, Jess,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I
’
m going to see him. I have no
choice. As much as I wear the weight of his death I know that time won
’
t wait forever. At least not for
him.
”

“
What
about yourself?
”
Jess
asked.
“
What does time
think about you in Ferry Creek?
”

Sullivan laughed.
“
See, that
’
s the beautiful part. I control my time right now.
There
’
s enough work in
Virginia to keep things stable for a while. We just signed a contract with the
local township to renovate a huge piece of land into something more usable. We
’
re building a park and
apartments. It
’
s going to
be really nice. I have my top guy working on the project. The rest, well, I can
manage it from anywhere in the world, Jess. And that includes Ferry Creek.
”

Jess stared at Sullivan. He loved
the look of disbelief in her eyes. It proved that she was used to being let
down again and again. This would be the greatest chance in his life to do
something bigger than himself for someone else.

“
You
can
’
t live in an apartment
with Bobby though,
”
Jess
said.

“
No,
I can
’
t,
”
Sullivan said.
“
But I
’
m sure I
’
ll
find somewhere to live.
”

“
With
me?
”
Jess winked.

Sullivan smiled.
“
I
’
ll
find something... if I decide to stay.
”

“
See?
You
’
re teasing me. You
’
re saying such sweet things...
”

“
Then
I
’
ll stop talking,
”
Sullivan whispered.

He leaned to Jess and gave her a
chance to make a decision on her own. She froze for a second, her lips parting,
remaining hesitant in her seat. If she didn
’
t
kiss Sullivan he swore it would be the biggest let down of his life, more so
than any failed business deal or everything going on with his father.