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“I don’t know if that even matters at this point, Dad,” Savannah said. “I ran out on him as soon as I heard about you. He wanted to come with me, and I think that I might have hurt his feelings by telling him that I didn’t want him to come with me.”
“I’m sure that hurt his feelings, but there is still time to call and fix things,” her father insisted. She wasn’t as sure about that as her father seemed to be. Savannah saw the hurt in Brooks’ eyes when she pulled out of the driveway as he stood on the front porch watching her leave. She might have walked away from the first man she’d ever loved, and she had a feeling that he might be the last. It was too late to tell him how she felt, and it was probably too late to ask him to forgive her for walking out on him the way that she did.
“I’ll think about calling him,” she lied.
“You always were a horrible liar,” her father accused, “but, I’m in too much pain to argue with you now. Can you call my nurse and ask for some pain medication for me? I think I need to get some sleep.”
“Okay, Dad,” she said. “I’ll go get your nurse, and you get some rest. Lorna is coming back this afternoon so that I can grab a shower and some shut-eye, but I’ll be back to see you when you wake up.”
“Sounds good, honey,” her father agreed. He was already closing his eyes and drifting off, even with the pain. Savannah wasn’t sure how she was going to accept her father’s nurse being his new girlfriend, but if Lorna made him happy, she’d find a way to do just that.
Brooks
Brooks had moped around the beach house for three days, hoping for a phone call from Savannah, but he never got one. She had kept Ginger and Norah up to date on her father’s operation and when he was supposed to be released to physical therapy, but she never called him. It pissed him off that he didn’t even rate a phone call or text after the month that they had shared together. He thought that he was coming to mean something to her, but maybe he was the only one with feelings in what he thought was a relationship.
“You look like shit, Brooks,” Ginger said.
“Gee, thanks,” Brooks grumbled. He looked her over and realized that she looked a little green around the gills herself. “You feel okay?” he asked.
“Not really,” she admitted, “I’ve been sick for a few days now. I’ll eat a little something and feel better, I’m sure. Do we still have any ginger ale?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s on top of the fridge, but it’s warm,” he said.
“I like it better that way. It will help settle my tummy. I just hope that I don’t get anyone else in the house sick because this stomach bug is no fun.”
“I’m sure that it’s not. Don’t worry about the rest of us. You just concentrate on feeling better. Do you need me to take you down to the clinic to get checked out?” he asked. “I mean, I know where it is, since Savannah’s accident and little stay in the hospital.” Just mentioning her name made him feel a fresh wave of sadness and he hated feeling that way.
“I think that I’ll be okay, but I’ll let you know if I change my mind,” Ginger said. “Speaking of Savannah, have you called her yet?”
“Um, no,” he said, “I’m sure she’ll call me if she wants to talk to me.” He was being a stubborn ass, sure, but he just didn’t care. Savannah had hurt him, and he had a right to act that way.
“You’re being an ass,” Ginger said. That was what Savannah had called him after their first meeting. She loved calling him that under her breath when she disagreed with him, and he loved it every single time. Savannah called him on his bullshit and that was one of the things he loved most about her.
“I’m okay with being an ass, Ginger,” Brooks said. “What I won’t do is beg someone to be with me who doesn’t want me around. She made it very clear that she didn’t want me to go home with her. Hell, she ran out of here so fast, she left skid marks on the driveway.”
Ginger rolled her eyes at him. “Now, you’re just being dramatic. She went home to take care of her father because he had to have surgery. She’s a good daughter and I know that she cares about you. She asks about you every time she calls to talk to me, but you two are too stubborn to admit that you have feelings for each other.”
“I am not too stubborn to admit that I love her,” he shouted. Ginger’s smile nearly lit up the room.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” she asked.
“Shit,” he mumbled. “I fucking love her.” He ran his hand over his face and found her still smiling up at him when he removed it. “What the hell am I going to do about her, Ginger?” he asked.
“You’re going to get in your car and drive back to DC to be with her,” Ginger said.
“I don’t even know where she lives,” he insisted. It was a bad idea. What if she turned him away again? What if she told him that she didn’t love him back when he admitted his feelings to her? So many things could go wrong if he drove all the way home to tell Savannah that he loved her.
“No, but I do,” Ginger said. “How about I write down her address while you pack your suitcase? Go get her and tell her how you feel, Brooks. I know Savannah as well as anyone, and I’m telling you, she feels the same way about you. She’s just a stubborn ass like you are. For once, just do what someone else tells you to do, Brooks.” Ginger was right, he needed to take a leap of faith and tell the woman he loved how he felt. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and if he didn’t get off his ass and do something about it, she would never be his—and that was something he just couldn’t live with.
* * *
Brooks packed an overnight bag and headed back to DC after breakfast, driving straight through until dinner time. He got to the address that Ginger had given him and parked his car in the driveway. He was hungry, tired, grumpy, and about to get his heart broken by the only woman he had ever loved. Not good odds for him, but if this didn’t work out, he planned on coming back every day for the rest of the summer until Savannah gave him a chance to convince her that they belonged together.
He got out of his car and ran up to the porch, banging on the front door. An older woman pulled the door open and stared him down as if he was interrupting whatever she had going on. “I’m sorry to disturb you, ma’am, but I’m looking for Savannah Higgins.”
“This is her home, but she’s not here,” the woman said. Of course, she wouldn’t be home. Savannah was probably at the hospital with her father. “You just missed her. She left to go back to visit with her dad before visiting hours are over.”
“You must be Lorna,” Brooks said. “Savannah has told me all about the woman who was staying the summer with her father. She was so happy that you were here for him so she could get away.”
