“I meant before that. Where’d you meet her?”
Andrew relented and opened up about knowing her in college, hoping Jerry would get bored, but something happened when he started talking about Clara. He found he liked talking about her—he truly enjoyed the stroll down memory lane. It’d been a long time since he’d felt like smiling.
Clara had been his best friend, and he’d been hers. They’d talked about anything and everything, not always agreeing but respecting each other’s differences. Their future together seemed destined. After close to four years together and both of them settling into their respective careers, he was certain they could beat the odds and stay together until their twilight years, with matching rockers on the front porch.
“What’s Clara like?” Jerry asked, drawing Andrew from his straying thoughts.
Andrew faced the window, staring blindly at the blue sky. “She has the brightest smile. It can light up a whole room. And she knows what’s important in life. She used to tell me there was more to life than working, but I refused to admit she was right. I always had one more meeting or one more account to take care of. I…” His voice trailed away as he was hit with a huge wave of regret.
“You what?” Jerry asked.
For a moment, Andrew wasn’t going to answer. But he knew he couldn’t hide from the truth any longer. “I made my career the center of my world instead of her.”
Jerry nodded his dark head in understanding. “Sounds like she’s a smart lady. So, what in the world made her decide to hook up with the likes of you?”
“Hey!” Andrew’s gaze narrowed in on Jerry. “I wasn’t always such a mess.” He glanced down at the cast on his arm and then the brace on his leg that hid the line of stitches running down to his foot. “I was quite a catch before all of this.”
Jerry placed a hand on his broad chest as he let out a hearty laugh. It took him a moment to gather himself. “You just keep telling yourself that. I wonder what Clara would say if I asked her the same question.”
“You can’t.” Andrew no longer felt like talking. His good mood vanished as fast as it had appeared.
“Why not?”
“Just drop it.”
“Not until you tell me the ending. What happened with the two of you?”
Andrew blew out a frustrated breath. “She up and moved to the West Coast after I, um, we broke up.”
“Sounds like you regret letting her go.”
He’d made so many mistakes in his life, and it pained him to recall all of them. Why had he let himself become so focused on his career? Why couldn’t he have seen all of the important things in life before it was too late?
First, he’d closed the door on knowing his half-brother, then he’d pushed Clara out of his life, and lastly, he’d lost his father. He hadn’t even known there was anything wrong with his father before a heart attack stole him away. Andrew’s good hand clenched tightly as he fought back a wave of remorse and grief. Would his father have told him about his heart condition if he had slowed down long enough to listen? Sadly, he’d never know. Just like he’d never get to tell his father how much he meant to him.
Andrew blinked repeatedly before meeting Jerry’s inquisitive eyes. “It doesn’t matter about Clara. It’s over now. She’s in California.” The same state as his brother—a brother he’d never taken the time to get to know. “Besides, I don’t even know how to reach her. Her brother wouldn’t give me her new number.”
“There’s always the Internet. I’m sure you could track her down that way.”
“And what?” With his good arm, Andrew gestured to his battered and broken body. “It’s not like I can go to her.”
“You’re not going to be like this forever. And that’s why I’m here, to help get you mobile so you can get on with your life.”
“You act like overnight I’ll be healed.” That was never going to happen. He’d had numerous surgeries to get him this far, and at least one more was on the horizon.
“I didn’t say it’d be overnight, but a trip to sunny California is a good goal. It’s something to work toward, or should I say someone to work your way toward?”
Maybe Jerry had a point with the physical therapy stuff. If he could stand on his own two feet again, he could manage a cross-country trip. Perhaps he could visit both Clara and his brother, attempt to undo some of the damage. Was that even possible? He had to hope so.
His thoughts zeroed in on sweet Clara. He owed her an apology—a big one. On second thought, he was glad he hadn’t reached her on the phone. This apology wasn’t something to be done over the phone. He had to see her—to apologize face-to-face.
He turned to Jerry. “What are you sitting there for? Let’s get to work.”
CHAPTER ONE
San Francisco, Seven Months Later
Atlast,allofher hard work and sacrifice were going to pay off.