Feeling as if she was ripping her heart out with every step she took, Jewell left the room, knowing full well that she was leaving any chance of true happiness behind.
Gripping her suitcase, she went down the steps and to her car. She started it and looked up to see Rory standing on the porch, watching her leave. Putting the car in reverse then drive, she pulled away from the club, holding her tears at bay.
Chances were for suckers, she consoled herself, refusing to look in the rearview mirror. She had to have the real deal or nothing. When she had gone to the basement, she hadn’t been planning on playing the most important hand of her life. It was only when she had sat there, waiting for Rory to come out of the shower, that it dawned on her how important he had become to her. Coupled with the unrelenting anger from Hennessy about Arin, she had come to the realization that, unless she could have the same type of love in her life, she was heading for heartbreak.
“Michael …” She talked as if her son were riding shotgun next to her as she came to the red light in town. “Should I go back?”
Indecisive, she was regretting ending it so abruptly with Rory. And the longer she waited for the red light to turn, the more unsure she became. When the light turned green, she might just go back and tell him to think it over …
As she waited, Jewell saw Bliss and Drake coming out of the diner, holding their daughter’s hand between them. The happy family waved at her as they crossed the street. Once they stepped onto the sidewalk, the light turned green.
Stepping on the gas, Jewell drove out of town, no longer questioning her decision.
“The best part of my life was the years I had you … There hasn’t been a second I haven’t missed you …” Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel as she refused to cry in front of her son. “If there is anything you can do to make him stick around”—Jewell managed to catch the sob caught in her throat—“like maybe put in a good word to the big guy up there, I would appreciate it.” Gathering her composure with a force of will, she continued, “And when this mean old woman comes up to you named Mag … run.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Jewell drove around the parking lot, searching for the vehicle Arin’s father described her father drove. Sighting it in the third row from the entrance of the hospital, Jewell parked her car catty corner to the side to where she could watch the vehicle without being seen herself.
She had to wait over an hour before she saw her father climb into his truck. Then Jewell got out of her car when her father pulled out of the parking lot. Striding to the entrance, she stopped at the information desk to ask for directions. She followed the worker’s directions, found the elevators, and hit the fourth-floor button.
Getting off the elevator, she stopped at the nurses’ station. “Can you tell me which room Mrs. Bell is in?” Jewell asked.
“Visiting hours are over. You’ll have to come back in the morning.”
“She’s my mother. I live out of state. I just found out she’s here. I just want to pop in and check on her.”
The nurse raised her face from the computer. “You’re Tory?”
It had been so long since she had heard her real name that it took her a second to respond. “Yes.”
“Your mother talks about you when I give her a bath.” The aide gave her a wink. “She’s in room 412. Keep the door shut so the head nurse doesn’t spot you,” she advised conspiratorially.
“Thank you.” Jewell went in the direction where the aide pointed. Finding the room number, she poked her head in to see her mother lying on the bed, staring out at the darkening sky. She gathered her courage and slowly went inside.
“Hi, Mom.” Bracing herself for rejection, Jewell didn’t approach her mother’s bedside.
Her mother’s head turned in her direction. Joy brightened her expression. “Tory!” Joy continued to spread across her mother’s expression then was doused as if the sun had disappeared behind a cloud as her eyes moved behind her toward the doorway. “Your dad left to shower and get a change of clothes, but he’s coming back.”
Jewell walked stiltedly into the room. “Nathan is going to text me when Dad leaves the house. I’ll leave then.”
“Arin told me when she came in for the holidays that she still talks to you.”
Spotting the chair next to the bed, Jewell sat down. “We never lost contact with each other.” She looked at the machines hooked up to her mother. “She said you weren’t doing well. When no one answered the door at the house, I called Arin’s father. Nathan told me you’ve been here for a couple of days.”