Chapter 18

ANNA

“You hid that from me, hoping I’d want you back?” he asks her, his voice filled with disbelief.

“I suppose I did,” she admits, her shoulders lifting in a shrug.

“Becca, seriously? You thought after the way you left, I’d just take you back?”

~This is about to get even more intense, isn’t it?~

I glance at James, who’s standing next to me, shaking his head. He’s thinking the same thing.

“You disappeared in the middle of the night. No note, no explanation. I went to your house the next day to check on you. Your parents wouldn’t even speak to me. They just slammed the door in my face.

“I had no clue where you were.”

“My parents threw me out that day. I was still holding the pregnancy test when they pushed me out the door. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to Ruby.”

I roll my eyes, and Jack does the same.

“Can you see the irony here?” I ask him. But when I catch his expression, I realize he’s not in the mood for humor.

His eyes are blazing—it’s a bit unnerving. I cover my mouth to stop myself from saying anything else.

“I can’t believe you were this selfish, Bec. I deserved to know,” he says, his voice icy.

Becca tries to close the distance between them, but Jack just shakes his head and steps back, keeping the space between them intact.

“I was scared, Jack. I thought you would leave me.”

I feel a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping on this conversation. But I can’t help but want to know where this is headed. I need to know.

“I wouldn’t have,” he assures her, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m a responsible guy. We did this together, and I wouldn’t have blamed you for it. I was as much at fault as you were. But you didn’t give me a chance.

“You just ran away, you didn’t tell me anything.”

“And when I came back, you were gone,” she says, her smile tinged with sadness.

“I got a full scholarship to Harvard. I couldn’t pass that up. But if I had known…”

Their eyes meet, and the atmosphere in the room shifts.

I can see they truly loved each other. It makes me feel a strange sense of joy.

After discovering I was adopted, I assumed I was the result of a casual fling or a short-lived relationship.

But they truly loved each other. It’s evident in the way they look at each other.

The ring of James’s phone disrupts the tender moment.

“Dad?” he answers. I turn to him.

He’s in full-on dad mode. His eyes are determined, his jaw set.

“Is she okay?” he asks, his voice filled with worry. He grabs my hand. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“What’s happening?” I ask him.

“Liv’s temperature spiked again. She’s being taken to the hospital.”

I sigh and run my hands through my hair. “Call Dr. Frank. He needs to know,” I tell him.

“You do it,” he suggests.

I take his phone and dial the number. After two rings, he answers.

“Dr. Frank speaking.”

“Frank, it’s Anna,” I say, my voice shaky.

“What’s wrong?” he asks immediately.

“Olivia’s temperature spiked again. I’m in Sun Peaks, and she’s on her way to the hospital. What should I do?” I ask him.

“Did you get your answers?” he asks me.

“Yes, I’ve got them. It’s all of it. CF, Alpha-1, lung cancer—”

“Back to square one,” he tells me.

I shake my head, remembering what else Jack told me.

“No, we’re not. CF is the most common one in my family.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” he asks.

“I found out today that I was adopted. I just found my birth parents.”

He sighs. “That explains a lot,” he says, sounding apologetic.

“It does,” I agree. “So, what do we do?”

I walk over to the desk, holding the phone between my cheek and shoulder as I grab a pen and paper.

“I’m coming down. You’re in Sun Peaks? Ask for Dr. Olivia Turner—I’ll email her the file. Tell her everything, she’ll know what to do. She’s a CF specialist.

“But no antibiotics. If it’s CF, then she’s had enough of them and they won’t do anything.”

I nod, jotting everything down. “Okay, I’ll do that.” I end the call and take my notes.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

“What do we do?” James asks.

I wave the paper at him. “We’re going to the hospital. We have to ask for Dr. Olivia Turner. She’s a CF specialist here. Dr. Frank is sending her the file now, then she will fly in too.”

I take James’s hand and he pulls me close to his chest. I take a moment to lose myself in his embrace, burying my head into his chest.

~God, I do love this man~.

I take another deep breath, allowing myself a moment of calm before the storm hits. Again.

“Let’s go,” we say in unison.

“I’m coming with you,” Jack says, grabbing his jacket.

“You don’t have to,” I assure him, but he shakes his head.

“Olivia’s my granddaughter, and I missed out on you. I’m not about to miss out on her too, if that’s okay with you,” he says, sounding a bit unsure.

I let go of James’s hand and rush over to my dad. Jack. I wrap my arms around him.

“Thank you,” I whisper. His arms around me feel like a safe haven.

“I should’ve been there from the start, Anna,” he admits.

I pull back and look at him. “I know.”

“Let’s get going.”

We hurry to the car. Jack hops in the back and Becca follows.

“Why are you coming along?” I ask her as James starts the car.

“I messed up, Anna. But pretending I didn’t care was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m not heartless. I do care. I’ve cared since the moment I heard his first heartbeat,” she confesses.

She seems like a different person than she was this morning.

It’s as if all her defenses have crumbled. Like this is the real her—not that I’m ready to trust her. She’s been cold as ice my whole life.

“I don’t expect you to trust me, but the moment I saw Olivia, it was like holding you for the first time. That immediate love.

“She is, whether you like it or not, my grandaughter. I understand you don’t want me around her, but I’m going to make things right between us.”

I sigh, but I keep my gaze on her. I can’t let her get to me—she’s always been so distant. She never even smiled at me. When I see Olivia, all I can do is smile.

She takes my hand and gives it a squeeze, forcing me to meet her eyes. She sighs and closes her eyes.

“I had to toughen up. Seeing you so often, it hurt, it hurt so much. Each time it got harder,” she admits, her voice shaking.

That I can understand. The mere thought of giving Olivia up was tearing me apart. That’s why I didn’t.

“I saw you struggling with your parents and how you had no one to talk to. I know they never talked about love, your period, girl stuff, let alone sex.”

~She knew all that?~

I smile at her. “You knew?” I ask, and she nods.

“Please, spare me the details of my daughter’s sex life. It’s too much,” Jack interrupts, covering his ears.

I roll my eyes and Becca nudges him with her elbow.

“I wanted to be there for you. I tried. But your mom told me too many times that I didn’t have the right to intervene. It made me cold.”

I nod and give her hand a comforting squeeze. “That’s why you didn’t let me stay,” I realize.

“I wanted to, but if my sister found out? It would’ve been hell on earth,” she says, and we all start laughing.

“For religious people, they sure aren’t very kind,” Jack comments.

“No kidding, Sherlock,” James jokes.

“Anna,” Jack says. I turn to look at him. “Tell me about Stanford,” he requests.

I smile. The memory comes rushing back.

I was over the moon when I got accepted. I had worked so hard for it, and the day I got my acceptance letter was the best day of my life. Well, second best, after Olivia’s birth.

“I had a full scholarship. I chose business as my major and history as my minor.”

“Really?”

I nod. “I’ve always loved history, still do. But with business, I could do more. Money’s tight, so that’s what I’m studying now. I only have three more months.

“I work at a bakery that I can take over once I graduate. I want to turn it into a brand—make it known all over Seattle.”

“So you chose the more stable subject to get your degree in to ensure a more stable future?” he asks.

I nod. “Hey, you get it.”

“I do. I would’ve done the same,” he says.

“I think I might have been a daddy’s girl growing up,” I tell James as I turn back around.

“I think so too. We know Olivia is.”

I cross my arms and pout. “It’s not fair. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she has you. But I took care of her for three years, and then you come waltzing in and it’s like I never existed.”

“Come on, babe. I’m awesome.”

“Don’t babe me,” I warn him. If he starts with that, I’ll fall even harder for him.

“But yes—you definitely are.”

“Still fighting it... so stubborn,” he teases. “Give me a couple more weeks and you’ll be mine again,” he says, his voice full of determination.

“Wait, you two aren’t a couple?” Jack asks, surprised. I shake my head.

“I would never have guessed…”

This makes James and Becca laugh.

I know this is okay, but I’m not ready to trust it yet. And I know my life is about to take another unexpected turn. But I’m ready for it.

I’m ready to face whatever comes, especially since this time I know I’ll have James by my side.

~God, I love him.~