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Alex would be a fool to take her back after the way she’d behaved.
“But he’s gone, Dad. I blew it. I sent him away.”
“Maybe so.” He rose to his feet and offered her his hand. “Or maybe you two just need a little more practice in learning how to communicate.”
Practice communicating?
To make this work, they would definitely need plenty of that. And a little more grace on her part. Okay, maybe a lot more, given all that he had going on right now. But would Alex even give her a second chance?
Only one way to find out.
“Could Brooklyn maybe stay at the farm with you this weekend? I think I’ve got a road trip in my future.”
“Of course. We love having her here, and you know that.”
Mia hugged her father. “Thanks, Dad. For everything.”
“Anytime, MiMi. Now get on home so you can start planning that trip.”
*
Alex returned toIndy, feeling utterly defeated. The lie he agreed to run with about the deer may have helped get his foot in the door with Mia but ultimately had cost him everything. He should have known better.
That, of course, was the worst part of it all. Alex wasn’t a liar by nature. Now he had intimate knowledge of the destruction lies could bring. He’d had her, and he’d lost her.
Again.
As if his week hadn’t already gotten off to a terrible start, he received a text Tuesday afternoon from Tom’s wife letting him know that Tom had been moved to hospice. Hoping to see his friend and mentor one last time, he told his father he was taking a few days off, packed his bags, and headed for Evansville.
Alex hated this time of year in Indiana. The sun came up late and set early, bringing a shortage of much-needed sunshine to his soul. Now his sunshine was even more depleted because Mia was gone, too. He’d left her alone as she requested, but he’d held out hope that maybe her temper would cool and she might reach out to him. Maybe a text saying she’d reconsidered and forgiven him or a call to admit she missed him. But neither had happened, and he wasn’t sure what to do next.
Should he give up? Go back and beg for forgiveness? The debate went round and round inside his head as he made the three-hour drive south, racing against the clock to see his friend.
By the time he reached the hospice center, it was well past eleven. Alex texted Tom’s wife, praying it wasn’t too late, and was relieved to discover she was still there. Connie met him at the door, dark circles under her eyes. She forced a smile as he exited the Rover, but as soon as he pulled her in for a hug, the waterworks began.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
She nodded and drew back, dabbing a tissue around her eyes. “You tell yourself it’s coming, but that never makes it any easier.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Tom is Tom.” A tiny smile tugged at her lips. “Go on in, he’s waiting for you.”
“He’s still awake?” Alex asked.
“He’s in and out of consciousness. Don’t take it personally if he falls asleep on you in midsentence. They’ve got him on some heavy medication to ease the pain.”
Alex nodded, drew in a deep breath, and headed inside. As hard as it had been to face Mia this weekend, he’d take that over this any day. He stood outside the closed door to Tom’s room, trying to mentally prepare himself for what would be waiting for him on its other side. Before he reached for its handle, the door swung open and a forty-something nurse stepped out, her smile warm and full of compassion.
“Oh, are you Alex?” she asked.
He nodded, his gaze shifting past her to the tiny frame of a man being swallowed up by the lone bed inside.
“Well, you’re in luck. Tom’s in rare form tonight.” Tom said something Alex couldn’t quite make out, and the nurse’s smile widened. “Go on in, and if you need anything, just press the buzzer by his nightstand.”
“Thank you.”
Unlike the hospital rooms he’d been in before, this space was small but welcoming, the furniture a dark cherry and the walls a warm, sunny yellow. A large TV hung in one corner of the room, and a wide window took up the wall next to it. A floral loveseat sat beneath the window, and a leather recliner took up the room’s other corner. Beside that was a door leading to an adjoining bathroom.
