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He didn’t think she’d come back. Stephanie had no reason to lie and he had no reason not to trust her but who would come back to this? But she did. In fact, she looked more beautiful than she had the day before in a pair of skinny jeans and a purple silk sleeveless shirt. Her arms were lean and more defined than he had suspected.
She had come bearing gifts. A giant breakfast burrito with eggs, bacon, potatoes and cheese. Just the kind of thing his doctor would frown upon. Bret almost forgot to say thank you before he tore into the steaming pile of deliciousness. His mouth was thankful, even if he burned the roof of it.
He sipped the iced coffee she had brought. “I’ll have to forgive you for the iced coffee. Real men drink hot coffee.”
“Real men drink what they want.” Stephanie’s answer came easily and breezy.
“All right,” Bret said with a smirk. “Maybe you’re right about that. People are always telling me I need to relax on what’s masculine and what’s not. Truth be told, it’s a good balance to my screaming hot mouth.”
Stephanie’s eyes darted to his lips for a quick second and she blushed. Was the sweet thing thinking of a do over between them? Bret admitted he had thought it, too, but now wasn’t the time. He was in the hospital with months of rehab in front of him. A heavy start to a relationship, even a serious one.
Still, here Stephanie was sitting on his bed. Their fingers were touching and she showed no desire to flinch or move away.
“As far as I’m concerned, a cold brew is the only way to go.”
Bret held his plastic cup out from a distance. “So that’s what this is. A fancy hipster drink. Huh, it’s not bad.”
Stephanie smirked. “You’re the embodiment of an outdoor hipster.”
Bret narrowed his eyes. “You’re making that up.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I am. I think a billionaire hipster is kind of breaking the rules.”
He chuckled along with her. “I didn’t start out stinking rich, you know. My parents were well to do. I threw myself into my wilderness brand after...” He felt his face growing long and the feeling extended into his heart. “After I lost Jaime.”
Stephanie sat up a bit straighter. “You said her name in the cave. I wondered who... she was.”
“My girlfriend. It sounds so casual but really it was more than that. We were happy and things were moving along. We had plans and dreams. Then she got cancer. And it spread.”
“I’m sorry,” Stephanie whispered.
“My life was reduced to this.” Bret glanced around. “Her life was reduced to this. Hospital stays grew. The chemo ripped her body apart. I watched her slowly die and when my good for nothing friends told me I should forget it, I never did. I stayed by her side until she was gone. Dead. Then I was, too.”
He gazed up at Stephanie with fresh tears in his eyes. Tears that were years in the making. She wore a solemn, slightly afraid expression, but he saw her eyes glistening, too.
“Anyway,” Bret wiped his eyes and exhaled a deep breath. “After that, I went hiking. I felt better. It was the only thing that dulled the pain. Cities make it worse. The pain circles and didn’t let go. So, I built my life around nature. Some people say it’s avoidance.”
“You found something to help you. There’s nothing wrong with that. How long... How long has she been gone?”
“Six years. Stupid right?”
Stephanie shook her head. “Not stupid. It’s beautiful. Your love honors her memory.”
It felt good to tell Stephanie and get it out. He hadn’t told many people about Jaime who weren’t there to witness it. He made sure never to mention her in interviews or press statements. He kept her secret. And sometimes Bret wondered if that turned her into a dirty thing when her memory for him was only something beautiful.
“Now I’ll be in a rehab center, a city, for two months. I don’t know how I’ll do it.”
“You don’t have to do it alone,” Stephanie said. “I could—.”
“No,” Bret shook his head. “You can’t put your life on hold for me, Steph. I won’t have you spend two months of your life in a hospital for me.”
“I can visit you,” Stephanie insisted. “I can help you. I’m a great motivator.”
He laughed, smiling through his tears. “I bet you are. You can come back tomorrow, though. I’d love you to smuggle more food in.”
“Tacos? Burgers?”
“Tacos,” Bret said. “Definitely, I’d love some tacos.”
*****
Stephanie came back the next day and the day after that. Only a few days into their special friendship, Bret didn’t even know what to call it, and he relied on her more than Stephanie knew. For Bret, that was part of the problem. He couldn’t rely on someone. He couldn’t be weak and allow her to know how much her company meant to him.
How much he really wanted to ask her to come to the rehab center, even if only for a few days or a week. Bret hadn’t kissed her and hadn’t made his intentions clear, to either of them, but he needed her in ways he hadn’t needed anyone since Jaime.
Stephanie appeared so strong. So ready to help him through any of life’s crises that were coming his way. Did it come from guilt? Bret didn’t think so but how could he be sure?
The hospital staff had started getting him up and around. So, while he was seated in his wheelchair, Stephanie took him for an evening stroll into the garden of the courtyard.
The grass and bushes were lush and green. Sunflowers and tulips were blooming along the benches and paved walkways. Against the mountain view of Sweet Falls, the sun began to set, turning the sky into a kaleidoscope of colors.
Stephanie angled his wheelchair to face the view and she sat beside him on the bench. It was shorter than his wheelchair and it was the perfect height for them to hold hands. Bret took her hand without thinking about it, even if it was the wrong thing to do. The truth was, he didn’t know. All he knew was what his heart said. It was full when Stephanie was around.
He might’ve been rich with a fleet of cars, his own jet, and with countless women fawning over him wherever he went. Bret thought it made him happy but being on this trip and being in Sweet Falls, made him realize how lonely he really was. As it turned out, money really couldn’t buy everything.
“Thank you,” he said simply. He waited for her face to turn toward him before finishing. “Thank you for being here and giving me hope.”
She smiled sweetly.
“I hope I can repay your kindness some day and do something nice for you.”
“You already did. You taught me there’s more to life than chasing the big story. Sometimes we all need to get out of our own heads. And I like spending time with you. Whether we’re sitting here or we’re on top of an old suspension bridge.”
The moment was perfect. Their sweet words exchanged, the sun setting on the courtyard. Bret decided not to let it go to waste. He reached his hand out to stroke away a loose tendril of hair from her forehead. Stephanie seemed to shiver under his touch just a bit and Bret leaned his face down to kiss her.
Stephanie reached up, her eyes closed, and their lips met in the middle with a promise of more. A promise of support and companionship. Bret even dared to think even with love.