Bryan clutched a foam cup of coffee and willed his eyes to stay open. Libby and Tommy slumped in chairs around the table in the hospital cafeteria. All three of their cell phones were laid out in front of them, ready to grab the minute Dad texted or called. The cafeteria was quiet. The abundance of potted trees reassured Bryan for some reason.
They’d paced the waiting room carpet all night with the rest of the family. Claire, Reed and Jake were waiting upstairs with Dad. Stephanie stayed home with Macy, but she texted Tommy every ten minutes. The stale air and hushed conversations upstairs had driven Bryan crazy, so he came down here. Apparently, Libby and Tommy felt the same since they joined him.
What if Sam didn’t make it? Bryan’s muscles tensed. What if he died without Bryan being able to tell Sam how much he loved him? Sam had been in surgery all night. Who knew how many blood transfusions he’d been given at this point?
The doctors hadn’t told them much, just that his injuries were extensive and they would do everything they could. What did everything they could mean? It was hopeless? Sam was only twenty-five years old. His entire life was ahead of him.
Sam could not die.
Bryan’s blood simmered in his veins. How could this be happening? He jerked his coffee cup too quickly, and it spilled on the table.
Like an automaton, Libby swiped it with a napkin. Bags hung low under Tommy’s eyes, and each of them fidgeted in their own way. Libby yanked on a lock of hair near her shoulder. Tommy drummed the tabletop with his fingers and rapped it with his knuckles twice before raking his hand through his hair and repeating the process. And Bryan picked up his cup, set it back down, picked it up again. He wanted to hurl it at the wall as hard as he could.
“Do you think they’ve heard anything?” Libby asked in a tiny voice, a dot of hope lighting her eyes. “Should I text Jake?”
“Dad would have called us.” Tommy shoved his hand through his hair again. “You want to go back up? Or I can get Jake if you need him.”
“No, all I do is fall apart up there. I think Jake needs a break from my tears as much as I do.” She tried to smile, but her face fell, and Bryan’s heart bunched up for her. She and Sam were close in age, and they’d always shared a special bond.
“Thankfully, Jeremy is a strong swimmer,” Tommy said. “How in the world did he drag Sam to shore when his own leg was gashed open? Has anyone checked on him in a while?”
“He was sleeping,” Libby said. “And they wouldn’t let anyone see him but family the last time we checked.”
Bryan tapped his fist against his chin. “I should have gone on the boat with him and Jeremy. They asked me to, but I...”
“Don’t, Bryan.” Libby covered his hand with hers. “Even if you had been on the boat, you couldn’t have stopped the accident. It’s hard enough having Sam in there. What if you had been hurt, too?” A fresh batch of tears slid down her cheeks.
Bryan leaned over and rubbed her back. “It’s okay. He’s going to be okay.”
“He lost a lot of blood, Bryan. His chances aren’t good.”
Tommy rapped his knuckles on the table. “What I don’t get is how the speedboat didn’t see them. How could it have plowed right into Granddad’s fishing boat head-on? I want an investigation. If the sheriff doesn’t call me back, I’m calling him.”
“The sheriff is doing a full investigation. You know that. Dad’s been on the phone with him all night.” Bryan picked up his cup. Set it down.
He had the most incredible urge to see Jade. Her presence always made him feel stronger, better. Without her, he’d gone back to feeling helpless. He didn’t want to imagine his days without her in them. But if he called her now, he’d blurt out everything, and what if she didn’t believe him? Or worse, told him it was his grief talking?
She was the best friend he’d ever had.
She would know the right thing to say to soothe this black hole of emotions.
A text dinged for Tommy. “I’ll be back. I’m calling Stephanie.” He stalked away.
“Have you called Jade?” Libby asked.
He shook his head, keeping his gaze on his coffee.
“I’ll call her.” Libby picked up her phone. “She always knows what to say. I feel so lost right now.”
“Wait.” Bryan touched her wrist. “Can you not call her?”
“Why?” Libby swiped her finger on the phone. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Well, something. But I need to think it through.”
“Think what through?”
“I like her, Libby.”
“Duh.” Libby set the phone down. “So why don’t you call her?”
Bryan let out a deep breath. “I messed things up yesterday, and I don’t want to make it worse.”
“Messed up how?”
Heat climbed his neck. He yanked his collar. “That’s not important.”
“You kissed her, didn’t you?”
He concentrated on his coffee cup.
“What’s the problem?” Libby asked. “She likes you.”
“I don’t know.”
“Bryan, just because she’s nervous doesn’t mean she’s not into you.”
“Let’s drop it. We have more important things to think about.”
“I’m not dropping it. She’s one of my best friends...”
He snorted.
“What? You don’t think we’re friends?”
“Libby, I know you’re friends, and that’s why I don’t want you to call her right now. I’m not ready.”
“What does me calling her have to do with you being ready?”
“I need to think before I talk to her.” He gripped the foam cup. “I don’t want to blow it with her.”
“You might have a point.” Libby nodded. “Has she told you about her mom? How her grandma raised her?”
He nodded.
“Yeah, me, too.” Libby bit her lower lip. “A couple weeks ago I couldn’t sleep, and I started putting myself in her shoes. Moving to a strange town with no family around. And I thought, well, I’d have my family in Lake Endwell. But it hit me Jade doesn’t have that. She’s nearly all alone in life.”
Bryan nodded. “It’s true.”
“And moving here was a huge step for her. She’s doing great at Shine Gifts, and everyone who meets her can’t help but like her. She’s got one of those personalities, you know, where you want to stay in the same room with her for as long as possible.”
He did know. Everything Libby said, he hadn’t been able to put into words.
“So I think you’re right. You need to tread carefully. For her to take a chance on love is scary. She has a lot to lose if it doesn’t work out. I’ve seen you two together. Her eyes light up whenever you’re around. And she gravitates toward you.”
He hoped so. Both their cell phones dinged. They met each other’s eyes. Fear. Dread. They grabbed the phones and read the text from Dad.
Sam’s out of surgery. Unconscious. Come up.
* * *
Jade slid the shirt out of the hot press and hung it on a hanger. The clock on the wall ticktocked to 5:16. The sun hadn’t risen yet. She’d tossed and turned for hours last night until finally giving up and coming down here. Might as well fill a few orders before the store opened at ten. It was better than trying to make sense of the thoughts circling like buzzards in her head. She rubbed her eyes and pulled out a stool.
For the first time she hadn’t gotten a thrill when she unlocked the store. She’d turned on the lights, sighed and trudged to the back. It was just a building. Lovely, useful, but it didn’t hold her hand the way Bryan did.
Maybe being a backup plan was better than nothing. Could she really enjoy Lake Endwell without Bryan?
Folding her hands, she dropped her forehead. Weariness crushed her shoulders, but if she went back to bed now, she wouldn’t sleep.
Lord, I’m having a hard time here.
Bryan’s face flashed before her. The indecision in his eyes after their kiss.
He didn’t love her. He liked her. They’d spent time together, enjoyed each other’s company, but that didn’t mean...
She wiped her forehead. That’s exactly what spending time together and getting close meant—falling in love. Bryan might love her, but he was too afraid to take another chance. He’d said all along he wasn’t dating or getting married. And she wanted both. She could have opened a store anywhere in the world, but she chose here because of Mimi’s love story.
Grunting, she let her head drop. A guy like Bryan who’d been burned so badly before wouldn’t put himself through rejection again.
Jade rubbed her forearms and shivered. Lord, why is love so hard? I want to trust You have blessings for me, the way Mimi always said, but all I really want is Bryan.
Exhaustion hit her. Grabbing a tissue, she blew her nose.
Liar. If all she wanted was Bryan, why was she putting Lake Endwell first? Wouldn’t she be willing to meet him halfway? Or all the way? Maybe Lake Endwell was a stepping stone to her dreams coming true. Mimi and Poppi made a life for themselves in Las Vegas.
What was more important?
Lake Endwell? Or Bryan?