Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“We need to talk.”
“Sounds serious.”
“You could say that.”
“Okay, then.” She motioned me forward. “Come on inside, and I’ll make us some coffee.”
As I stepped through the front door, I told her, “Won’t be here long enough for coffee.”
“Oh, wow. This talk is sounding worse by the second.”
“Well, it’s one that needs to be had.” I took a step towards her. “I’ve thought a lot about what you said the other day.”
“I’ve thought a lot about it, too.” Her eyes dropped to the ground as she said, “It was tough hearing that I was right about Camden cheating. It was even harder to hear he had a son and another baby on the way, especially when he knew how badly I wanted kids.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that had to be tough on you.”
“It was, but it got me to thinking.” She inched closer and wound her arms around my neck. “Maybe this was a sign. Maybe we really were meant to be together.”
As soon as the words slipped from her lips, she eased up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to mine, kissing me with fervor. She didn’t seem to notice that I wasn’t kissing her back—at least, not right away. When she finally caught on, she stepped back and quickly pulled away from me. “What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t gonna happen. Not now. Not after all this time.”
“What?”
“I care about you, Mia. I always have and always will.” She looked up at me with doe eyes as I told her, “But not like this. Not anymore.”
A wounded expression marked her face as she muttered, “Oh, I just thought we might finally have a chance to... Are you sure? Don’t you want to at least try and see where things might go?”
“It’s not going to change anything.” I placed my hands on her shoulders. “Our time—whatever that was or wasn’t—has come and gone.”
“But how can you be so sure?”
“Because there’s someone else.”
“Oh, wow... I didn’t see that one coming.” Her beautiful face twisted into a grimace as she took another step back and crossed her arms. “There have been other women before. How do you know this one’s so different?”
“Let’s just say Axel enlightened me.”
“Excuse me?”
“I just know, Mia. I can’t explain it any better than that.”
Tears started to pool in her eyes as she said, “I’ve made such a mess of things. I really did love Camden. I tried to make things work, but with every argument, every work trip, I found myself wondering what could’ve been. It wasn’t fair to him or to you. It ripped our marriage apart. It’s no wonder he went searching for love somewhere else.”
“There’s no excuse for what Camden did, Mia.”
“No, but I had my part to play in it. At the very least, I should’ve left him when I realized he was cheating.”
“Like I was told not too long ago, hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
“Yeah, that’s certainly true.” She placed her hand on my chest and said, “I’m really sorry for making such a mess of things. I think we could’ve been really great together.”
“Guess we’ll never know.”
I kissed Mia softly on the forehead, then turned and walked out of the house, leaving her standing there with tears streaming down her face.
Every choice came with a consequence, and mine was no different. I knew things between Mia and me would never be the same, but I was okay with that. I was tired of looking back and questioning decisions I’d made so long ago. I was ready to move forward.
I was ready to move forward with Bec.
I just hoped she felt the same.
12
REBECCA
Being a hospice nurse was both rewarding and heartbreaking. One minute I felt like I was truly making a difference in the world, and in the next, I felt small and insignificant—like nothing I did mattered. Today, I felt neither small nor insignificant.
Today was one of those days when I knew I’d actually accomplished something that helped a patient in a way that mattered.
I’d been working feverishly to get my new hospice patient, David Kinsley, set up with everything he’d need to keep him comfortable during his final days. His prognosis wasn’t good. He was only expected to live four to six weeks at best, which was sad, to say the least.
David was close to my age, married with two young children and had a thriving career, and it was difficult to see him in such a declining state. It was even tougher to see that his family, especially his wife, was struggling with his terminal diagnosis.
We’d just gotten him settled in his room, and I was about to check in with his doctor when I found her crying outside the room. I went over and asked, “Hey, Michele. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she mumbled, “I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay again.”