“It’s hard to stand by and watch your best friend go down a road you know will end badly for them,” she began. “It’s like you see them in the path of an oncoming train, but they don’t see anything past the pretty trees near the tracks. You want to push them out of the way so they don’t get run over, but they refuse to move. So you’re forced to stand there helplessly and watch the devastation happen, powerless to do anything to stop it.”

“I guess.” Jackson conceded. “But I’m a big boy; I can take care of myself. It’s my decision if I want to stand on the train tracks or not. I know what’s coming, but it’s my risk to take.”

“It’s still painful to watch.”

All heads turned at Tommy’s comment. Alex wasn’t sure if he was more surprised that Tommy had returned, or by what he had said.

“But I didn’t ask you to watch,” Jackson argued.

“But as your friend, I can’t help it,” Tommy insisted. “I can’t just walk away and pretend I don’t care. It just sucked, okay? I’ve never seen you like this about a girl.” Tommy eyeballed Sally.

“Sorry, Sal,” he continued, “but it’s true. Jax, you were crazy for this girl. But she had a boyfriend and I couldn’t help but think that you were headed for some serious heartbreak. Not to mention the fact that the whole situation was pretty messed up.”

“You’re a good friend, Tommy,” Jackson acknowledged. “And I appreciate your concern, but you have to let me live my own life. I knew that I was heading in a potentially bad place. But I had to take that chance.” His eyes softened and he smiled at the thought of Caroline. “See, she was worth the risk. You can’t make those decisions for me.”

Tommy took a deep breath. “I know that. It’s just still hard to stand idly by and watch you get hurt.”

“Are you in love with me?” Jackson asked sarcastically and the whole room burst into laughter.

“I’d punch the shit out of you right now, if you weren’t lying in a hospital bed,” Tommy promised.

“Lucky me,” Jackson smiled.

“I don’t mean to break up the ‘bromance’ we have going on, but…” Alex paused and smiled. “Are you gonna call the girl, or what?”

Jackson took a deep breath. “I have to think.”

“What is there to think about, Jax?” Alex prodded.

“I just need to figure some stuff out, okay?” Jackson snapped harshly and Alex shut up.

Sally watched the exchange between the guys and suddenly felt out of place being there. “Can you guys give us a moment alone?” she asked meekly. Tommy and Alex exchanged glances, then slipped out the door and closed it behind them.

She sat up a little straighter and folded her hands tightly in her lap, before she took a deep breath and looked Jackson directly in the eye. “Jackson, I truly am sorry.”

His face softened and he reached for her han

d. “I know. I don’t think what you did was right, but I know where it came from.” Jackson regretted that he had never been able to return Sally’s feelings for him, and his voice gentled. “I need to thank you,” he said, catching her off guard.

“Thank me…for what?” she stammered.

“For loving me,” he said kindly, and squeezed her hand. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you, knowing that my heart was unavailable. But you never let that stop you from taking care of me this whole time. I know you haven’t left my side for a single day.”

Sally’s face flushed and her eyes welled with tears. “I didn’t want to.”

Jackson smiled. “I know. You’re an amazingly kind and giving woman. One day you’ll find the right guy for you. And if he treats you the way I did, I’ll beat the crap out of him.”

Sally wiped at her eyes and laughed. “Thanks, Jackson. And Caroline’s incredible, by the way. She truly is.”

“You liked her?” His face brightened and Sally could see that he wanted to ask more.

“I do like her. It took about all of five minutes for me to see what you saw in her,” Sally admitted.

Jackson kissed the back of her hand and looked into her eyes.

Sally grabbed her purse and stood to leave. “Thank you for showing me what I’ve been missing,” she said, and leaned over to kiss Jackson’s cheek.

Jackson watched Sally walk out the door and knew with certainty that she wouldn’t return. Now he needed to figure out what to do about Caroline. Of course he wanted to be with her, but it had been weeks since he’d woken up. What if in his hesitation to call her, she had gone back to Clay? What if she had moved on? What if she were mad at him? His mind raced through a million different thoughts, but he didn’t pick up the phone.

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