Jonathan,
I’m sorry I’ll never see you again. I’m grateful you kept in touch.
Fate is a funny thing.
The sudden shift in subjects made him frown, but he kept reading.
It doesn’t matter how hard you try to avoid it, it always finds you. Except in your case. You’ve dodged yours every step of the way.
I don’t think anyone’s future should be set in stone, but I hope you stop running sooner rather than later. That you pause long enough to see what’s been right in front of you for so long.
I love you, and I couldn’t be more proud of you. Never think otherwise.
Love,
Nana
He swallowed past the ache in his chest and stared at the handwritten note, trying to make sense of what she meant about fate. Why did the words nag at him?
Something rustled, and he shoved the letter in his pocket again. He looked up, to see Bailey blinking a couple of times before completely opening her eyes.
“Hey.” Her smile looked like it took effort.
“How are you feeling?”
“Everything hurts, but not as much as it did.”
He reached for her working hand and grasped her fingers. “Good drugs.”
“I’ll say. What time is it?”
“Almost six at night. You slept for a while.”
She pushed herself into a sitting position, keeping her weight on her good arm. “I’ll say. Phillips isn’t going to make me stay all night, is he?”
“He said we couldn’t leave until there was a break in the storm.”
She looked down, and saw she wore a hospital gown. She frowned. “Where are my clothes?”
“Mrs. Phillips had to cut your shirt off, to get you into something dry, without jarring you too much. I hope it wasn’t a favorite. She’s washing your jeans.”
Bailey sank back into her pillows with anoof.“It sounds like a ruined top is the least of my concerns. And no, it wasn’t a favorite.”
“I’m sorry about earlier.” He should wait to have this conversation, but the apology needed to be out there.
“No, you’re not.” She didn’t look or sound upset. “We both said what we meant to.”
He couldn’t argue that. “But there were better ways to say it. I’m tired of arguing. I’m not going to yield if I disagree, but there’s got to be a happy medium.”
“In that case, I’m sorry too.” She squeezed his hand. “And if you’re gone in a few days, we won’t argue anymore anyway.”
“About that...” The words slipped out before he realized what he was saying. He had to analyze the rest of the thought and figure out if he wanted to head down that road.
She raised her brows in question.
He had to try. “Come back to L.A. with me.” The suggestion was ludicrous, and wouldn’t be taken back. The longer the idea lingered in his head, the more he liked it.
Her surprised exhale wasn’t quite the response he wanted. “Wow. I... uh—Wow.”