Jenna had waited, not really patiently, but knowing she had no other choice. Who was she but the woman who’d continually broken Luke’s heart? She wasn’t leaving until she spoke to him, though, even if she had to sit in the waiting room all night.

  The crowd of people finally thinned, and then it was Jenna’s turn. She slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping as she caught sight of Luke lying in the hospital bed. His face was nearly as white as the bedsheets, except where bruises marred his skin. An IV needle pierced his arm, and several machines gave a beeping reminder that his condition could still be potentially serious.

  She shouldn’t do this now, she decided. Luke had his eyes closed, and his breathing was even, as if he was sleeping. When he was better, they could talk.

  “Jen?” Luke croaked, just as she turned to leave.

  Looking back, she saw Luke staring at her.

  “You’re awake.” She stated the obvious because her courage had fled.

  “What’re you doing here?”

  “Are you serious?” She moved to the chair next to his bed. “A building collapsed on you. Where do you think I’d be?”

  “On a date?” He winced even as the words pierced straight through her heart. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  His apology buoyed her courage. “I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m sorry about the dating show. You have a right to be mad, but I hope you know it won’t happen again. I’m not interested in dating anyone but you. I love you, Luke.”

  She caught her lip between her teeth and held her breath as she waited, hoped, for positive words from him.

  “I love you, too, Jenna.”

  As happiness washed through her, she grabbed his hand and reached forward to kiss him. His next words were like a bucket of water over her head. “But that doesn’t mean we belong together.”

  The old Jenna would have been so hurt, she would have stormed out of the room and out of the hospital. That Jenna would have lost the man she loved out of pure stubbornness.

  The new Jenna wasn’t going down without a fight.

  “You’re afraid the past will repeat itself, aren’t you?”

  He bobbed his head. “We don’t have such a great track record together. How do I know one day you won’t just decide you’re bored with me and leave the country, like before?”

  She warmed his hand between her two. “I didn’t leave because I was bored.” It was time to tell him the truth, but not exactly the place. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “When you’re out of the hospital, we’ll talk.”

  “No.” He squeezed her hand. “We should have done this years ago. I’m not putting it off another day.”

  “But you should be resting,” she protested.

  “It’s not that easy to sleep when nurses are coming in every fifteen minutes for some reason or another. Besides, do you really think I can sleep now that you’re finally ready to talk?”

  She shrugged. “With the right drugs, sure.”

  “I’m already pretty doped up. Talk.”

  Jenna opened her mouth, but words wouldn’t come. Maybe because she didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know where to start,” she admitted.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving the night I proposed?”

  “Wow, you’re jumping right into the end of the story.” A nervous twitter escaped her lips.

  He threaded his fingers through hers. “Okay. So, how far back does it go? We weren’t fighting, not that I could remember. Did I say something to upset you?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t about you, not really. I guess it started with my mom.”

  “Your mom?” Lines formed on Luke’s forehead. His confusion was understandable, since her mother had died before Jenna’s thirteenth birthday.

  “My mom was sick for a long time.” A familiar sadness coated her chest. “Even before she died, my family didn’t have a lot of money. We completely depended on my dad’s income, and when construction was down, so were his jobs.”

  Luke was nodding. “I knew, even though you tried to hide it.”

  “You knew?” She jerked back. Her family’s financial difficulties were her most guarded secret. Well, almost.

  “Yeah, I overheard your dad talking to mine a few times.”

  “We didn’t have health insurance and my mom’s medical bills were astronomical. Finally, there was nothing more the doctors could do for her. Until her oncologist called and said he could get her into a trial for an experimental treatment.” She paused for a few breaths because it hurt to talk about this. She closed her eyes for a moment, picturing the conversation Jenna had eavesdropped between her parents that night. The way her mother had looked—exhausted, emaciated, bald. And her father, desperate and tearful.

  “They had no way to pay for the treatment, but my dad was adamant about getting her into the trial. He said he would sell the house, his car. He said that he didn’t care if they were in debt for the rest of their lives. He just wanted her to live.”

  “What did your mom say?”

  “She didn’t think the treatment would work.” Tears sprang to her eyes and overflowed onto her cheeks. “She said that all it would do was leave us with an even greater debt, that it was more important to save that money for me and my brothers.”

  Luke swiped her tears with his thumb as she continued. “The treatment could have saved her, but she let herself die so we could be taken care of.”

  “She loved you.”

  “I promised myself I would never be in that position. That I wouldn’t die just because I couldn’t afford to live.”

  A nurse who came in to check Luke’s blood pressure interrupted them. Jenna got up and paced. Digging into her past had built up way too much excess energy.

  “So, you were worried I wouldn’t make enough money,” Luke said when they were alone again.

  “No,” Jenna protested. She took the seat beside him again. “No. I wanted to make my own living and not have to depend on anyone else. And I did, with modeling. I know you thought I was being vain, or just liked the attention, but I saw it as a way to support myself.” She slid down in her chair as she recalled the humiliating years she’d spent in Europe. “It didn’t turn out exactly like I hoped, but modeling did give me a nest egg to start Sweet Home.”

  She was too nervous to sit, so she began to pace again. “I’ll admit that at eighteen I was afraid if we got married I’d never leave Chicago. I wanted to travel and see the world. You were never interested in that.”

  “I wanted to live here,” he corrected. “I never said I didn’t want to take a vacation.”

  “But the real reason I left was because I got pregnant.” She stopped pacing so she could see his reaction. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

  “Did you…” He gulped a few times. “Did you have…”

  “An abortion?” she finished. “No. And I didn’t give the baby up for adoption either. Luke…” She put a fist against her heart as if it could stop the pain from spilling out. “I had a miscarriage. About a week before graduation.”

  “Jesus.” He was already so pale, but she could have sworn he got a few shades lighter. He crooked a finger at her. “Can you come closer, please? I’d like to be able to touch you.”

  Her steps were slow, her pulse racing. “I swear, I didn’t do anything to lose it.”

  When she was close enough he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the bed with him. She perched on the edge, afraid of hurting him.

  “I know. I wished you would have told me, though. We could have worked through it together. God, no wonder my marriage proposal scared you off. You’d just been through a major trauma.”

  “That’s not why. Not exactly. I was afraid if I stayed I’d get pregnant again.” Her voice broke on a sob. “I was afraid I would end up like my mother.”

  She felt Luke stiffen beside her, the reaction she’d been afraid of. “You’d always wanted a big family, and I didn’t want kids. How could I be so selfish, to take that away from you?”

  “I loved you,” Luke said. “I didn’t care if you didn’t want to have children.”

  “You say that now because you already have a son. But would you have thought that way as a teenager? I was afraid you’d tell me it was okay and then resent me. I thought leaving was the kindest thing I could do for the both of us. I never meant to betray your trust.”

  “Jenna, don’t take this the wrong way.”

  “Yeah?” She held her breath.

  “You’re really stupid.”

  Okay, not what she’d been expecting. “Excuse me?”

  “Yes, I wanted a family. But mostly I wanted me and you. I love Eli more than anything in the world, but you were what I wanted most.”

  “You say that now—”

  “And I would have said it then, if you would have believed in me.”

  She wanted to. So much. Jenna looked down and studied his eyes, looked deep into the blue depth and searched for the truth.

  Luke squeezed her hand. “I didn’t need you to protect me then, and I don’t now. Let me make my own decisions about how I want to spend my life.”

  “You really mean that.” It wasn’t a question; he’d been very clear. Still, he nodded anyway.

  “Okay, then,” she said. “Will you marry me?”

  She’d shocked him. His eyes popped, face contorted. Gasped for breath.

  Great, she’d made him sick. He looked like he was going to vomit. No, he looked like he was in pain. Serious pain.

  Luke grabbed the sides of his head and moaned as if in agony.

  Terrified, she screamed for a nurse as she put her hand over his. “Luke, what’s wrong?”

  But he didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes rolled back into his skull before his lids dropped shut.

  …

  Jenna paced the waiting room of the hospital. If there was any consolation in this, it was the amount of calories she must have burned over the last couple hours.

  After Luke had passed out, Jenna had been kicked out of the room as a code had been called. It was one of the scariest moments of her life, seeing the defibrillation cart wheeled into Luke’s room, hearing words like “clear!” and “no rhythm!” being tossed around. When the doctor had come out to talk to her, his face had been grim. Luke had a brain bleed, and they needed to perform surgery to relieve the pressure.

  Luke had been quickly wheeled away while Jenna called his parents, sister, and Olivia. They were all crowded in the waiting room now, including Riley Brock, who’d shown up with Olivia. That had been a total surprise. Especially since Olivia had been holding onto Riley like an anchor since they’d arrived. Jenna wondered if Chloe knew anything about that relationship.

  “Are you all right?” Bridget asked, joining her nervous pacing.

  “I should be asking you that.”

  “I grew up with this fear,” Bridget said. “First with my dad, then Luke. It doesn’t make it easier, but I was prepared.”

  Pain suffused Jenna. How could they live like this? Any family of firefighters or policemen? Never knowing if your loved one would come home from work. For the first time, Jenna understood why divorce rates were so high in those professions. It had to be hell.

  Was it a hell she could live with? Probably something she should have thought about before she proposed, not that she even knew if Luke had heard her. Plus, brain injuries could be tricky. What if he didn’t remember their conversation? What if he didn’t remember her?

  What if he died?

  By the time Dr. Stevens arrived, Jenna had nearly worn a hole through the carpeting. All the energy that had fueled her over the last few hours suddenly depleted, and she sank into a chair. It may have also been for convenience sake—if the doctor said anything except that Luke would live a long, healthy life, she was going to pass out. On either side of her, Olivia and Bridget grasped her hands.

  “Luke made it through surgery,” Dr. Stevens assured them. “And we got the bleeding stopped.”

  Air she hadn’t even known she was holding burst from Jenna’s lungs. “He’s going to be fine, then?”

  She was hoping for a smile or a nod, but all Dr. Stevens threw her was a stoic glance. “We’ll know more when he wakes up.”

  AKA, we’ll know if he has brain damage.

  “Can we see him?” she asked.

  “Luke’s in recovery right now, and he’ll be there for a few hours. And it will be several hours after that before we expect him to wake up.” Dr. Stevens glanced at his watch. “It’s five in the morning and you’ve been here all night. Why don’t you all go home and get some rest? If he wakes up before you’re back, we’ll call you.”

  Jenna didn’t want to leave him, but Mr. and Mrs. Kearney convinced her she should get some rest. Since the hospital had their number as Luke’s emergency contact, they promised to call her if he woke up.

  If she hadn’t been so exhausted, she may have been able to fight them harder. Still, she wouldn’t let them drive her back to Schaumburg, instead going to Chloe’s place. It was closer, in case she needed to get back to the hospital quickly.

  Chloe was already up, about to head in to the bakery. Jenna had called yesterday (God, had the warehouse collapse only been a day ago?) with an update, but Chloe didn’t know the latest development.

  “Sweetie, I’m so sorry.” Chloe hugged her tightly. “What can I do to help?”

  “I just need a place to sleep for a few hours.” She fought to keep her eyes open.

  “Of course. The guest bedroom is made up. Griffin’s on the road, so don’t worry about him bothering you.”

  “It’s his house. I’d be bothering him.”

  “True,” Chloe agreed. “But I didn’t want to kick you when you’re down.”

  Just as she was about to climb the stairs, Jenna turned back to Chloe. “Hey, do you know anything about Riley Brock dating Olivia?”

  “What!” Chloe screeched loud enough to be heard two counties over. “No. Griffin still hangs out a lot with the guys, but since he’s not a player anymore, we don’t hear all the gossip. Wow. I wonder if it’s serious.”

  “It looked pretty serious to me.” Her eyes fluttered closed. She was too tired to worry about it now. “Good night,” she said to Chloe. “And thanks.”

  Jenna fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. When the William Tell Overture woke her up, she had no idea if a minute had passed, or hours. “Luke,” she gasped out loud as she reached for her ringing phone. Please let him have woken up.

  “Hello?”

  “Ms. Rawley?”

  “Yes?” Jenna answered, frowning at the phone. The hospital didn’t have her number; the Kearneys were supposed to call with news, and this definitely was not Mr. Kearney.

  “This is Anthony Marino. I’m the attorney for Hal Garrett.”

  She sat straight up in bed, clutching the phone until her fingers felt numb. Why would Hal have an attorney, unless…

  “Mr. Garrett was apprehended two days ago. Off the coast of Florida.”

  “Wh…what? How…?” She knew she was stammering like an idiot, but she’d truthfully never expected Hal to show his face in the United States again.

  “It seems Mr. Garrett misread his navigation equipment.” Pure disgust laced Mr. Marino’s voice. “He thought he was in international waters. The FBI had been tracking him, and as soon as he crossed the line into U.S. territory they, along with the Coast Guard, arrested him. He was transferred back to Illinois and arrived this morning.”

  She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was ten a.m. “Okay, so what does this mean? Will I get my money back?”

  “The investigation will be a lengthy process, so I don’t know when that might happen. That’s actually not why I’m calling. Hal asked me to. He wants to see you.”

  She snorted. “Why on earth would I want to see him?”

  Mr. Marino chuckled. “He said you’d say that. He wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry, and that he wants to explain what happened.”

  She opened her mouth to tell him that he could tell Hal to shove his explanation up the hole Bubba would soon be filling, but the words got stuck. As pissed off as she was, she needed to see Hal before she could truly put him behind her. “Fine. When?”

  “Can you come now?”

  “Now?” Jenna had been thinking next week. She needed to get back to the hospital now. There was a long pause before, “Please, Ms. Rawley. If you want to see him, I advise you to come immediately.”

  If she went now, she could put this behind her. “Okay,” she told Hal’s attorney.

  Still exhausted, she placed a call to the hospital to check on Luke. He was stable, but still unconscious. Throwing on yesterday’s clothes, which were wrinkled from being tossed on the floor a few hours earlier, she decided to stop by the jail on the way to the hospital.

  Hal’s attorney met her at the entrance. “Hal’s waiting. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  What did that mean? Was Hal being transferred to a different prison? She followed Mr. Marino inside, where she had to jump through several security hurdles before being led into a small room with just a desk and two chairs.

  After several minutes, Hal was brought in. She’d been expecting him to appear in handcuffs, maybe an orange jumpsuit. Certainly he should have been wearing enough worry lines to prematurely age him.

  Instead, he wore dark jeans and a black T-shirt and his hands moved freely. The only sign something was wrong in his world was the purple shading beneath his eyes.

  “Can I talk with Jenna alone?” he asked his attorney, who nodded.

  The door closed, and they were alone. As months of built-up rage came to the surface, her heart began to pound. Hal didn’t say anything at first, just took the seat across from her and formed his hands into a pyramid. A power position, Jenna remembered he once told her.

  How dare he act all high and mighty after he’d screwed her over! But the limit to her patience came when he calmly drawled, “Hello, sweetheart.”

 

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