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Tucker seemed happy. Much happier than the last time Noah had seen him. Of course, that was because Noah was horrible about keeping in touch.
Noah told Tucker about his foray into bodyguarding. “That’s the last bit of that I’ll do though. Just trying to stay in the mayor’s good graces.”
After some small talk, Tucker got to the point. “Bro, I’m getting married.”
“What?” Noah said. “That’s wonderful.”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised. People in wheelchairs get married all the time.”
“No. No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Noah stammered.
Tucker smirked and rolled his eyes but then got serious. “I want you to be my best man.”
Noah’s jaw dropped. Whatever he’d expected for today’s meeting, this was not it. “I…I…You do?”
Noah wasn’t even sure how Tucker could look him in the eye. Now he wanted him to be his best man?
“Noah,” Tucker said. “I know you feel guilty about what happened. I know me telling you not to won’t stop you from feeling that way, but look. I got over it. You need to too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Leo and I still talk.” Leo was a mutual friend who had been their coworker before Tucker was forced to retire and Noah quit. He worked as one of Noah’s part-time employees now. “He told me you get surlier by the day.”
“Leo should mind his own business,” Noah muttered.
“I had my doubts until Mike confirmed it,” Tucker continued. Mike also worked for Noah. “I believe ‘a miserable SOB’ was the exact term he used.”
Noah grunted.
Tucker paused, apparently collecting his thoughts, before continuing. “When it first happened, I was a wreck. I was mad at God, at the world, at myself, and yes, at you. But it wasn’t personal. I was just in a really bad place and hated everything and everyone.” He sighed. “It took me some time to process my new life, but I have. I’ve gotten over the anger, and let me tell you, it’s very freeing.”
“How?” Noah asked. “How do you get over something so horrible and life-changing?”
“Well, a good woman helps.” Tucker chuckled. “I’d say time was a big factor. Time to come to grips with my new reality, and time to work through all the feelings that came with it. I read books. I went to a therapist. In fact, that’s who I’m marrying. If it hadn’t been for this wheelchair, I wouldn’t have met Renee.”
Noah shook his head, still not sure he would ever get over the incident. Maybe if he put some time and effort into it, like Tucker had. Noah’s strategy to cope had been to ignore and repress all feelings related to it. That obviously hadn’t worked out so well.
“Look,” Tucker said. “I don’t feel like I need to forgive you, because I never saw the shooting as your fault. I don’t blame you for how things went down. But if you need to hear that, well, I forgive you. And you need to forgive yourself. Consider it a favor to me.”
“I don’t know, Tucker.” Noah shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t know how.”
“Let me put it this way. Your pity pisses me off. You sulking around wasting your life pisses me off. Do you see me as less of a man because I’m in this chair?”
“No, of course not,” Noah said, eyebrows shooting up. “I just see it as my fault. Your life could have been so different.”
“I’m happy with my life, Noah. It’s insulting and degrading to me that you assume my life sucks. And that you seem to think I want you mired in guilt. Is that the kind of man you think I am?”
“I never thought of it like that,” Noah said. Emotion overwhelmed him, and he had to swallow past the lump in his throat. “I’d be honored to be your best man.”
He left Tucker’s office feeling twenty pounds lighter. The burden he’d been packing around lifted with Tucker’s words of forgiveness and wisdom.
And if Tucker could find love after tragedy, maybe Noah could too.
He and Daisy hadn’t discussed theirfeelingsfor one another. They’d teased each other, shared a handful of unforgettable kisses, and a glorious night in bed. That didn’t mean love. Especially for Daisy. Her live-in-the-moment lifestyle might mean Noah was an out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing. It was possible she’d chalked him up as a good time but had already moved on. She’d said the sex didn’t mean anything, but he had doubts.
There was only one way to find out. On the drive back to work, he realized he didn’t know where she lived, and this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have over the phone.
He had Edward’s and Emma’s phone numbers. That was a no-brainer. He pulled into an empty lot and parked before dialing.
