Chance Encounters

“I’m sorry, but um…listen. Jackson got into a really bad accident. He’s in the hospital and I just thought someone should tell you.” Caroline’s pulse quickened at the fear and worry in Jackson’s friend’s voice.

She walked into her room, closed the bedroom door, and sat on her bed. “What do you mean? What kind of accident? Is he okay?” The phone trembled in Caroline’s hand and goose bumps rose on her bare arms.

“No, he’s not okay; we don’t know if he’s going to make it. It was a pretty bad accident. He was at the farm on his horse. We’re not sure what happened, but he’s in a really bad way, Caroline. I just thought you should know.”

Caroline’s body numbed and her mind went blank. All she kept hearing in her head were Alex’s words repeating, “We don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

“Caroline? Are you there?” Alex stopped the words from playing in her mind one last time.

“I’m here. Where is he?” She swallowed her pride.

“Albany Memorial.”

“Okay.”

“He loves you, you know.”

“I know,” she admitted.

“Okay. Well, I just figured someone ought to tell you,” Alex explained with an uncomfortable edge to his otherwise kind voice.

“Thank you so much, Alex. I really appreciate it.”

She hung up, her mind instantly filled with clarity. The idea of staying at this stupid party she never wanted in the first place seemed beyond ridiculous. How could she celebrate anything when Jackson was possibly dying in a hospital room on the other side of the country?

Afraid the guilt might stop her, she refused to over-analyze what she was about to do. But the truth—her truth—could no longer be denied. She promptly changed out of her dress and into more comfortable clothes. She grabbed her purse and a jacket, and then went outside to look for Clay.

She spotted his confused expression as he rushed to meet her. “What’s going on? Where are you going?” He took in her change of clothes with a disapproving glance.

“I’m so sorry, Clay, but I have to go.”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean, you have to go? Where are you going? Caroline? What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll tell you everything later, I promise. I’ll call you.” She ran toward the front of the house, refusing to look back.

She heard her mother shout, “Caroline, honey, where are you going?”

Pangs of guilt coursed through her as the beautiful party decorations and the trouble her parents had gone to flashed in her mind. But she didn’t stop running. She couldn’t. She’d explain it all to her parents later and prayed they’d understand.

Bailey stood next to a buffet table and watched the scene unfold with a bright gleam in her eyes. She brought her wine glass to her lips and hesitating, lifted it in a subtle toast to Caroline, bef

ore taking a satisfied sip.

As Caroline drove to the airport, the realization that she had left Clay alone in her parents’ back yard to pick up the pieces of her disappearance hit her. Thankfully, it was brief before it was hastily replaced by thoughts of Jackson. She parked her car, raced inside, and inquired about the next flight to New York.

Luck, fate, or whatever you want to call it seemed to be on her side as the ticket agent informed her that seats were still available on the next flight. “Perfect. I’ll take one.”

She pulled out her “for emergencies only” credit card and charged the one-way ticket on it. Her stomach flipped at the thought of a five-hour flight. She heard Alex’s voice repeating how Jackson wasn’t okay. They weren’t sure what happened, but he was in a bad way.

How could she have been so stupid? How could she have tried to pretend these past few months that none of it mattered…that there was no Jackson Parks? She would never forgive herself if something happened to him.

The ping of an incoming text broke her concentration. “What’s up?”

Bailey’s question forced Caroline to remember the party she had just ditched…and Clay. She’d never go through with this flight if she allowed herself to think about the upcoming consequences of her actions.

She responded, “So sorry, Bails, Jax is in the hospital and apparently he’s not okay. Flying to Albany now.” Five seconds after she hit Send her phone rang, making her jump from the ringtone that played.

“What? What happened to him?” Bailey freaked.