The Reluctant Romantics Box Set (The Fall, The Mind, The Heart)

Alarm covered his features as he rolled down his window.

“Please don’t drive,” I begged in near hysterics.

“I’m going to the center. I’ll sleep it off there. I’ll be fine. The bottle was almost empty when I started.”

“You can stay here. You don’t have to go. I want you to stay. I do!”

He cut me off when he looked at me again, the pain on his features unbearable. “Let’s not fault each other, okay? There’s too much here between us. I want you too much. Jesus, every time I look at you, it’s like lightning to the chest.” He missed my gasp at his words as he turned the ignition and took off, the gravel kicking up behind him.

“Jack!”

Sobs poured from me as I planted my ass on the grass, completely obliterated. He’d seen my baggage, and it had been too much for him. The gash in my chest openly bled as I curled up on my lawn, the foolish widow that I was. After years of begging my heart, it finally stopped beating.

Three Weeks Later…

I stood with my sister beside my family as I moved to address the crowd in front of me. A crowd filled with friends of the family, new employees of the center, media, and the building crew.

I hadn’t at all thought about the words I would say as they looked at me expectantly, and for the first time in a very long time, I let my heart lead.

“My sister and I have known since we were young that we wanted to be doctors,” I started, my voice surprisingly steady. “We made it our common goal to open a general practice and worked hard toward that common goal.” I looked over at Dallas and smiled as her eyes filled, and I rolled mine at her, trying to make her laugh, which she did. I couldn’t afford to get choked up. With fresh breath, I faced the crowd.

“To say this is the most important day of our lives would be a lie. The two of us may look back on this day with fondness and pride. It may very well rank high as one of our best, but I can tell you with absolute certainty it won’t be either of our favorite days.”

I saw a mix of confusion on the faces of the onlookers.

“Because the two of us were raised to know what was truly important, and that’s our time with people who shape our lives.”

I saw my mom squeeze my dad’s arm in approval before giving me a wink. “I can honestly tell you that for Dallas, a day that will top today was the day she married her husband, Dean. And me, well, I have one day in particular that stands out above most.” My heart began to pound in my chest as inevitable tears built behind my steady demeanor. Dallas reached over and squeezed my hand, and I nodded at her in reassurance that I could do this.

“That day for me is the day I met Grant Foster.” I sucked in a huge breath as I gathered every bit of strength inside me.

“Grant was an undeniable force of nature not to be ignored. And those he left in his wake were left better people for simply knowing him. I can tell you firsthand, as the woman who was most affected by him, that he was a free spirit with unyielding, unrelenting, unconditional love that is such a rarity that he shined among men. And though his life was cut far too short, he lived for a purpose, and that purpose paved the way for those of us involved in opening this center. He was a man to be cherished and honored.

“So today we open the Grant Foster Cancer Treatment Center in hopes of doing just that. To keep a piece of his selfless legacy with us and to remind us all of what’s truly important: to care for and protect the people that provide us with our favorite days because they are truly significant and irreplaceable. And that’s how we plan to treat each patient that walks through our doors. Thank you.”

I barely made it a step before Dallas pulled me to her in a ridiculously tight hug, which I returned.

“God, that was awesome,” she said as she pulled away and beamed at me with tears in her eyes.

“We did it!” I beamed back.

“We have to cut the ribbon first,” she said, taking the large scissors from Dean. I gripped them with her as we cut through the thick, woven ribbon that my mother put together in every color to represent the many types of cancer.

Once cut, Dallas and I stood patiently as pictures were snapped and the crowd slowly disbursed.

“Jack,” I heard Grant call out as he wiggled out of Dean’s arms. I stood paralyzed as I saw the crowd part and followed Grant’s movements as he flew into Jack’s waiting arms.

“Easy, Rose,” Dallas whispered.

“He saw the whole thing,” I said, paling as my eyes met Jack’s. He looked gorgeous as usual in dark denim jeans and a gray button-down shirt. He looked at me as if I was a mystery to him. As if we hadn’t just spent the last three months inseparable and in each other’s arms. A part of me tore in half as I felt the distance between us widen.

“He deserved to know what big shoes he had to fill,” Dallas said before she stilled for another picture. “Smile, damn it. We don’t get retakes,” she snapped. I faked a smile, my eyes still focused on Jack as he listened to Grant tell him what was what. Forced to spend another ten minutes taking pictures, I lost Jack in the crowd as Dallas and I gave a short tour of the main building to the eager reporters.

I’d spent every day of the past three weeks praying for word from him and got nothing. I dialed his number twice and hung up the second time after he didn’t return the first unanswered call. I spent very little time pretending our separation was for the best, and after the first week, I came close to losing my mind. The two Js had come to the rescue this past weekend, holding me hostage. In spite of my heartbreak, I had finally come clean about everything, down to the smallest detail. I’d shown them the stethoscope and found myself comforting Jules, who had turned out to be a real softy and broke down into sobs on my behalf.

Both of them would be starting the center next week, and I was stuck at Memorial without them for the next year. I’d shot my foot off offering their jobs too soon. Neither of them wanted to wait. They stood now in front of me with wide eyes as I knew immediately I was about to get a report.

“Where is he?”