Chance Encounters (21 page)

Sally leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. “But I realize now that I never truly had you in the first place, so you can’t lose something you don’t have, right?”

Jackson refused to look at her. Without a word he yanked the envelope from Sally’s hand and opened it carefully. He unfolded the piece of paper and read it to himself.

Dear Jackson,

You once told me that we were like two ships passing in the night
…
that we had found each other, but couldn’t be together because there were forces, situations, or other things that we couldn’t overcome. And for a long time, I believed the words that you wrote to me. I had to. I knew that what we’d found in one another was truly rare, but I held on to the notion that we simply weren’t meant to be. As painful as that notion was, I chose to accept it the same way you had.

But now, as I sit in the hospital where you lie helplessly in a room down the hall, I wonder if they weren’t so much situations we
couldn’t
overcome, as much as situations we
chose
not to. And by we, I really mean
me
.

I sit here unsure of your feelings for me and I think I finally understand how you must have felt all along. And I can never apologize enough for the pain I caused you. As hard as it was for me, I know it was harder for you. And for that, I am truly sorry.

It took almost losing you for me to see that there is no one else I want to be with other than you. There’s nothing more I’d rather do than sit in that room by your side every moment until you open those beautiful blue eyes and look at me again, but I’m not naïve enough to think that your life hasn’t continued on without me (Sally is fantastic by the way). I don’t want to assume that I still hold a place in your world. But if I do
…
and if you still want to be with me the way I desperately know I want to be with you
…
then call me when you wake up and I’ll be on the next flight out.

I love you
…
I always have. I was just too stupid, or cautious, or filled with worry and guilt to do anything about it. I’m finally ready to follow my heart—and all roads lead to your door.

xoxo, Caroline

“I can’t believe you kept this from me.” Jackson said tightly, his gaze focused on the letter he couldn’t believe he was holding in his hands.

“I’ll make it right with her. I’ll do anything. Please, just forgive me,” Sally pleaded.

Jackson shook his head and looked at Alex. “Does she know I’m awake?”

“I called her the day you woke up.”

“Of course you did,” Tommy chimed in snidely from the hallway.

Alex turned to glance behind him. “When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

Jackson ignored their exchange as he quickly calculated the number of days he’d been awake. He read her letter one more time before cursing under his breath. “She thinks I don’t love her.”

“Why would you say that?” Alex asked.

“Because she told me to call her when I woke up if I still wanted to be with her,” Jackson explained, holding up the letter.

Alex’s face dropped. “Oh.”

“Alex, I’ve been out of the coma for
weeks
, and she knows that.”

“But…”

Jackson interjected, “Have I mentioned the fact that I haven’t called her?”

“Unbelievable,” Tommy snarled and stormed out.

“But you can fix it! Just one phone call will fix everything. She’ll understand. Call her!” Alex pleaded.

“I can’t.” Jackson sighed as his eyes glazed over.

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

“Did he meet her when she was here?” Jackson tilted his head in Tommy’s direction.

Alex snorted. “Oh yeah. He met her, all right.”

“Was he mean to her?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“That’s an understatement.”

“What’s his problem?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I honestly don’t know.”

“I think I do,” Sally offered softly. She looked over at Jackson before he nodded with silent approval for her to continue.

“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 hand. “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.

When his head began to ache from his never-ending brain chatter, Jackson forced himself to sleep. He decided to call Caroline the following day and hoped she would understand and still want to see him.

****

Jackson watched as a figure approached in the distance. He put his hand up to block the setting sun and knew immediately that it was
her
. Caroline walked quickly through the tall grass and flowers toward him. As she came closer, he saw the huge smile on her face. He ran to her, but stopped short of picking her up and swinging her around. Instead, he paused and looked her up and down, noting that she was wearing one of his white button-down shirts. He wondered briefly how she got it, but then quickly dismissed the thought.

Jackson looked at her feet. “Nice boots.”

Caroline smiled. “I guess I could have picked better shoes to walk in.”

Jackson’s face dropped. “You walked here?”

“Of course,” Caroline responded, as if his question were completely absurd.

“From
California
?”

“How else would I get here, silly?”

****

Jackson opened his eyes and looked around the hospital room. Alex sat in the corner thumbing his phone when Jackson started to laugh.

Alex looked up. “What are you laughing at?”

Jackson shook his head. “I just had the craziest dream.”

“Caroline?”

“Oh yeah. But you should have seen her. And she said she walked here from California, like there was no other possible way she could have gotten here.” Jackson cracked up.

“So are you going to call her or what?” Alex pushed.

Jackson checked the clock on the wall. “It’s too early there. It’s only six in the morning.”

“So?”

“I don’t want to wake her up. She likes to sleep in,” Jackson said with a smile.

“I don’t think she’d mind,” Alex noted.

“I’m going to wait until after she gets off work. I don’t want to have this phone call before she goes, or while she’s at the office. I think it’s best to wait until the end of her day,” Jackson said with confidence.

“The end of whose day?” A female voice caught both Alex and Jackson by surprise. Caroline walked through the door wearing jeans and a white tank top, followed closely by Tommy, whose grin spoke volumes.

Jackson’s eyes lit up and he fidgeted in the bed. “Caroline…”

“Hi.” Her face beamed.

“How’d you…what are you…” Jackson looked from her to Tommy, his brows raised.

Caroline eyed Tommy. “Tommy called and told me everything. I got on the next flight.”

Alex stepped over and punched Tommy in the arm. “Softie.”

Tommy’s smile quickly faded, a scowl in its place. “I will hurt you.”

Alex grinned from ear to ear. “We’ll give you two some time alone.” Alex grabbed Tommy by the sleeve and pulled him out of the room.

Caroline’s heart beat fiercely as she met Jackson’s gaze.

Jackson focused on her, and held out his hand. “Get over here.”

She practically ran to his side. Her body trembled with anticipation as Jackson grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her down toward him. He kissed her softly at first, his lips tender and gentle. Passion quickly erupted, as months of wanting and waiting exploded with intensity. Their mouths and tongues explored one another with a ferocious longing. Electricity swirled around them as the energy of their souls collided.

Jackson pulled his head back and opened his eyes as if to reassure himself that she was really there…and not another dream. He watched as Caroline slowly opened her eyes and smiled.

She found herself craving more of him, as if she could no longer exist without the warmth of his touch. The way his lips felt and the taste of his tongue simmered with blissful satisfaction in the recesses of her mind. She dove toward him, crushing her lips against his as desire took over.

His grip loosened and she found herself breathless. Her feet tingled and pricked as their energies mingled. Her finger traced along his cheek as he admired her.

“I love you, Caroline Weber.”

Like a balloon floating toward the sky, no longer tied down, she felt her heart soar inside her. “I’ve waited so long to hear that.”

“I did tell you once before, you know,” he reminded her.