Page 112 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

The bastard had actually done it. Flown halfway across the world to see me.

‘Are we gonna hang out here all day or are you going to show me around?’

‘Yeah, of course. Come on.’

For the next hour, I gave him a tour of every inch of the ship. We traversed up and down the decks, and his mouth hung open as we walked past the bank, chapel, library, convenience store, gym and swimming pool. Every few minutes, people stopped me along the way, shook hands and smiled as I introduced Gray to not only the medical staff but to the rest of the crew.

He was quiet for the loud-mouthed Gray, and I worried his arrival was about more than a casual visit.

Once the tour was over, I took him into the dining hall. He immediately caught sight of a few nurses near one of the serving bars and went into playboy mode, introducing himself, asking their names and jobs on the ship.

Okay, so maybe he was still Gray.

After we finished eating, I dragged him to the clinic.

Once we passed through the steel door, I guided him around the space, explaining how the hospital portion of the ship had over one hundred acute beds, six ICU beds and fifty self-care beds. We walked through the surgical center, stopping at the teaching areas before moving on to the conference rooms and training simulation labs.

By the time we were finished, I had to go back to seeing patients. Before Gray could leave, Nancy caught sight of him and asked if he wanted to help out. Much to my surprise, he agreed and spent the next several hours restocking shelves with bandages and ointments. He handed out blankets, water and kept the younger nurses in stitches with his terrible flirting and awful jokes.

The afternoon flew by and when the last of the patients were gone, we walked to the back of the ship to see the best view of Senegal’s capital city, Dakar. The tall buildings shimmered in the fading evening light. Boats puttered to and from the port. The sky morphed into a riot of color ranging from deep red to vibrant orange.

‘Shit, Ford.’ He scrubbed at his cropped dark hair. ‘You weren’t kidding about this place. What you do, how people react to you, it’s damn impressive.’

‘Better than the country club?’ I joked.

He looked out at the darkening water, his gaze going solemn. ‘I quit my job.’

‘You what? Why?’

‘Because of you.’

‘Gray, please don’t put any choices you make on me. You’re a grown-ass man.’

‘No, that’s not what I meant,’ he stammered. ‘For years I’ve watched you push back against expectations, forge your own path. Choose what was right for you. Me,’ he huffed. ‘I’ve always been the dutiful eldest son, but in doing that I’ve ignored every single dream of my own. It didn’t hurt that I had a long talk with Mom after she made Dad leave. She told me to go and live my life, and it was the push I needed.’

‘What’s your plan?’

He scrubbed his hands together. ‘I’m moving to Chattanooga. Got a job at a small public golf course as an assistant pro. I’ll build up my game, my client base, until I can move to a place where I can be head pro one day.’

‘Taking that leap couldn’t have been easy. I’m proud of you.’

‘I told Mom that once I got settled she should come and visit. It’d be nice to spend some one-on-one time with her.’

‘She’d like that.’

He nodded, went back to staring at the ocean. ‘How’s that girl of yours? Talked to her lately?’

I scrubbed a hand behind my neck. ‘No. And she’s not really my girl.’

‘I’m sorry?’ He blinked. ‘Why not? She was perfect for you, and the way I heard she handled Dad at the party was damn brave. There are not a lot of people who go toe to toe with Stanford Cantwell Foster and live to tell the tale.’

‘To be honest, I fucked it up. Didn’t tell her how I felt before I left.’

‘There’s a simple answer for that. Call her. Grovel. Hell, plan a grand gesture. Whatever you have to do, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that happy.’

It was the same lecture I was getting from Kip, and I knew both of them were right.

‘Even if you don’t want to spill your guts, you should still call and check on her.’

‘Why?’

‘Do you not read the news here?’

‘Gray,’ I pressed.

‘A major tornado hit Ivy Falls two days ago. It did a lot of damage.’

Before he could say another word, I took off at a sprint. When I reached my cabin, I opened my laptop and searched for Ivy Falls. Pictures of the devastation filled the screen. Parts of trees strewn all over town. Remnants of roofs scattered across the square. My chest pinched at an image of a small window blown out at the P&P.

I scrambled for my phone and dialed Piper’s number. My heart sank every time the three flat-toned buzzes rang in my ear and the red message flashed across the screen.

No service. Network unavailable.