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Boone loudly sucked his teeth. “That’s garbage, and you know it! You’re just as worthy of a wife and family as I am. There’s no one who is more loyal or devoted than you. I don’t understand why you can’t move forward.”
Declan swung his gaze up to meet Boone’s probing gaze. “You know why.”
Boone let out a huge sigh. “You can’t let your past determine your future. The sins of the father should not be visited on the child. Remember that Bible verse?”
He scoffed. “Remember it? It’s been in my head since I was eight years old.”
A tremor ran along Boone’s jaw. “Don’t you think it’s time you got past it?” His voice came out ragged. “Imagine what might happen if you just free yourself from all these chains that are tying you down. You might soar.”
He shook his head fiercely. Every time he visualized doing so, he found himself wondering what would happen if it all fell apart. If he messed things up. “Not at her expense. I don’t want to hurt her.”
“You won’t. I’ve seen the way you look at her. It’s stamped all over your face that you think she hung the moon,” Boone insisted.
He let out a huff of air. “I don’t deserve her! Is that what you want me to say, Boone? Is that what you want to hear?”
Boone grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “No! Because it’s not true. It’s just this great big lie that you tell yourself,” he growled. “I want you to man up and face this thing down before it knocks you off course with Annie. Because something tells me that if you let this moment pass you by, you’ll always regret it.”
A sharp pain twisted Declan’s insides. “Maybe,” he acknowledged. “But I’ll never forgive myself if I make her think I’m something I’m not. She wants it all. The white picket fence. The adoring husband. Two-point-five kids. The whole nine yards. Face it, Boone. My happily-ever-after died a long time ago.”
Without a word of goodbye, Declan walked off into the Alaskan night with his hands jammed into his pockets, his head bowed to protect himself against the sharp wind that had suddenly kicked up. He heard Boone call after him, but he didn’t bother to turn around. There was nothing his best friend could say to change a single thing.
Without even meaning to, he had reached out for something with Annie that he knew was beyond his grasp. From this point forward, he wasn’t going to make that mistake. Not ever again. It hurt way too much to come crashing down to reality.
Chapter Eleven
“So, what’s the verdict?” Cameron stood next to Declan’s table at the Moose Café the morning after the skating party, his arms folded across his chest. His friend’s face was filled with expectation.
“Give me a second. I haven’t even tasted it yet.” Declan bit into the chive, Swiss cheese and ham omelet. He let out a groan. It was out of this world. Cameron had outdone himself with breakfast this morning.
Cameron nodded his head and grinned. “I told you. This is going on the menu, effective immediately.” He slapped Declan on the back. “Thanks for being my tester. You always come through.”
“Anytime,” Declan called out as Cameron walked back toward the kitchen with an extra bit of pep in his step. Declan loved being a tester at the Moose Café. More times than not, he loved the food Cameron dished up. Plus it was all on the house. In Declan’s world, it didn’t get any better than that.
His phone began vibrating in his jacket pocket. He’d placed the phone on Vibrate so he could enjoy his breakfast in peace without interruption. With a sigh of frustration, he reached into his pocket and yanked out the phone, answering in a curt voice.
“O’Rourke here.”
“Declan, it’s Willard. I’ve been calling you all morning. I can’t make the run today.” A loud sneeze rang out. “Liam just diagnosed me with flu.”
Declan’s pulse raced. His palms became sweaty, and he could hear his heart thundering in his ears. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I have a fever of a hundred and three with vomiting and nausea. I think that rules me out, Declan.”
“Sorry, buddy. Feel better, okay?” Declan said before ending the call. The moment he disconnected, he sat back in his chair and heaved a tremendous sigh. Suddenly he had lost his appetite.
Willard was too sick to fly today. What was Declan going to do now? He shoved a hand through his rumpled head of hair. O’Rourke Charters really needed the income. He couldn’t afford to blow this off. He held his hands out in front of him. Just the thought of flying Ethel was causing them to tremble like crazy.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
Declan jerked his head up at the sweet-sounding voice that had invaded his dreams last night. Annie was standing beside his table, looking gorgeous in a white wool dress and the pair of boots he’d gifted her. She had a long black coat draped over her arm.
“What’s up with your hands?” She jutted her chin at him.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” he said, trying to sound casual.
She tapped her booted foot on the hardwood floor. “Tell that to someone else, O’Rourke. What’s wrong?”
He met her steely gaze. “I’m just a little stressed out at the moment. My employee, Willard, just called me. He’s too sick with flu to fly our client to Homer today, which is a big deal.” He glanced at his watch. “The flight leaves in an hour. Canceling this gig would hurt our bottom line, since this is a regular customer who spends a lot of money on travel.”
