A Chance at Love (A Ferry Creek Novel): (a billionaire romance novel) (32 page)

"I'm not sure I can say
anything other than I'm sorry," Bob said. "The picture your mother
painted in those letters was one of you being a happy kid. A healthy and happy
kid. She talked about how smart you were. Everything you did. She wrote letters
that were pages long and you know what, Sullivan? All she talked about was
him... about Henry. You and Henry. How perfect you were together. How you
looked up to him. How you loved him. How he loved you. She basically told me he
was your father without saying it. I couldn't blame her for that, Sullivan. I
really couldn't. And I didn't want to be the man to step in and ruin
everything. When the letters stopped, I believed you were going to have a great
life. I promised myself that one day I would find you and tell you everything.
I didn't expect it to be on my deathbed, but that's just the way life
works."

"You stayed away to keep me
happy?" Sullivan asked.

"I know it doesn't sound like
much," his father said. "It sounds like a cheap excuse from a dead
beat father. I get it. But I'm not a dead beat man. You'll never know me enough
to believe it, but if you stay in Ferry Creek long enough, you'll get it. I
thought about it long and hard, Sullivan. I would look at Bobby, watching him
grow, and wondered what it would feel like if someone just showed up and barged
into his life. If you were unhappy, Sullivan, or in trouble, I would have been
there in a second. For me, I thought I was doing more help by not being there.
Damn, that just sounds embarrassing, and I am embarrassed by it. I never knew
the truth either. I never knew if he, Henry, knew about me. I couldn't imagine
just showing up and saying I was your father. How much it would hurt you,
Henry, your mother. And what would I have done then? Ferry Creek is my home.
I'll be buried in Ferry Creek, Sullivan."

"Okay," Sullivan said.
His stomach burned and his heart raced.It wasn't right, but it made sense. It
didn't make Bob a martyr. It didn't make him a good man, at least not in
Sullivan's book yet. But it made sense. It was an attempt at closure.

"Talk to me, son," his
father said. "Please, talk to me."

"Were you there for Bobby? For
everything?"

"Everything," his father
said. "Pick a date, an event, I can tell you every damn detail of
it."

Sullivan nodded. "I can
respect that at least. To know you took care of Bobby like he deserved. He's a
good man."

"Which is why I'm so proud of
you, Sullivan," his father said. "I'm proud of you for coming here
and staying. Helping Bobby. Working in the diner." Bob flickered a smile.
"It's like a strange case of fate."

"I didn't plan on
staying," Sullivan said. "But Bobby and Ferry Creek..."

Sullivan hesitated, not wanting to
mention Jess.

"A woman, maybe?"

Sullivan laughed.
"Maybe."

"Who?"

"Aren't I the one asking questions?"

"Okay," his father said.
He lifted a weary hand in defeat. "Okay."

"Tell me about you and my
mother."

"Figures I would finally take
a small vacation for myself," Bob said. "I was younger, obviously. I
had taken over the diner and I was just trying to square things away. I had a
little thing with a woman here, but it was never serious. We flirted. We
talked. Nothing more. I decided to get out of Ferry Creek for a long weekend. I
headed to the Outer Banks to just enjoy the beach and to really think about
life. That's where I met her. I met your mother there, Sullivan. She was... she
was just stunning. A beautiful woman that lived fast. I could tell she would
never be the kind to settle from the second I met her. That was fine for me. We
enjoyed ourselves that long weekend. I didn't get much time at the beach. Or
even out of the house I rented."

"Thanks for that detail,"
Sullivan said.

His father laughed. "You
asked. I snuck back to the Outer Banks a couple more times, but I knew nothing
was going to come of it. We just weren't meant to be together. The last time, I
showed up to end things with her she never showed. She was already long gone by
then. She was also pregnant, but neither she or I knew that fact. The funny
thing is that standing on that beach, alone, it came to me. Everything I had
was in Ferry Creek. The diner. That woman who I had been flirting with for such
a long time. I rushed back here and asked that woman on a date. We were married
less than a year later and then along came Bobby. I wish she was still here to
tell these stories with me, but her time came and went long before mine
did."

Bob's eyes became glossy and he
took a second to collect himself.

"So nobody cheated on each
other? Nobody had an affair?"

"Not that I know of," Bob
said. "I mean, I wasn't a married man. Not even close. Your mother never
mentioned someone."

"So you came back and ended up
with another woman."

"The woman of my dreams,"
his father said. "The only woman I was meant to be with. Maybe that's
something I'm trying to tell you right now, Sullivan. The world is so damn big.
There's so many people. Places. Things. But sometimes it's the smallest things
right in front of us that matter the most. I could have traveled the world and
nothing would have been as good as staring into my wife's eyes."

"Is that supposed to make me
feel better?" Sullivan asked.

"No," his father said.
"But I'm sharing the truth. If something seems too good to be true it
doesn't mean it probably is... it means you probably found something you were
meant to find. Don't question it. Don't walk away from it."

Sullivan moved to the side of the
bed. He leaned on the bedrail and looked down at his father.

"Thank you for being
honest," Sullivan said.

"It's the least I could do. I
didn't intend to end up like this. I thought Bobby would come and take the
diner from me. Then I could find you, and I could enjoy the rest of my life
finding peace. Instead, my body is dying and I should have been in the ground
months ago."

Sullivan swallowed a lump. He let
out a shaky breath and blinked to find tears in his own eyes. This man created
him, yet had enough sense and understanding to stay away. It was one of those
rare opportunities to do the right thing by doing the wrong thing. Sullivan
didn't even want to try and imagine what life would have been like if Bob had
come around. That didn't matter.

"I'm glad I came,"
Sullivan said. "I mean that."

Bob lifted a hand. Sullivan reached
forward and took his father's hand. It was so weak Sullivan feared the smallest
squeeze would break bones.

Sullivan blinked a tear from his
eye and couldn't stop looking at his father.

"I knew you'd come," his
father said. "I knew it. You're a good man Sullivan because you have my
blood. But you're a great man because of what Henry did for you. It hurt me to
imagine another man raising you, but you had the best father in the
world."

"Yeah, I did," Sullivan
said. "But I'm happy I got to meet my other father. The one who raised my
brother into the man he is. Because that man, Bobby, has shown me plenty about
life already. And as for Ferry Creek... I think I'm going to stay."

"Because of her?" Bob
asked.

"Yeah. I can't walk
away."

"Don't then. Tell her how you
feel. Before time is up."

Sullivan watched as his father's
eyes grew heavy. His breathing was labored. He was worn out. Confessing so much
at once, reliving old memories, good and bad, was a lot to handle at one time.

"I'm getting tired," his
father said. "Time to let it all go now I think. I've said it all,
Sullivan."

"Yes, you have," Sullivan
said.

His father's eyes gently closed,
opened, and closed again. Sullivan felt the pressure of his father's weak grip
start to lessen.

Sullivan leaned down and put his
head against his father's head. He thought about Bobby and how he didn't want to
have his last living emotion for their father be anger. Sullivan didn't want
that either. So he closed his eyes and thought of the good. How lucky he was
that the man who raised him - his father in his heart, Henry Chasen - was such
a good person. How his life had been successful. How his heart had been willing
to come to Ferry Creek. How Bobby turned out to be a great man. How beautiful
Jess was... and the fact that he had fallen for her.

There was good within tragedy.

Sullivan opened his eyes and squeezed
his father's hand a little tighter. He kissed the top of the old man's head.

"Thank you... and goodbye...
Dad
..."

Sullivan left the hospital room and
waited to make sure Leslie was going into the room to check on his father. He
lingered for a minute until Leslie gave him the thumbs up. It was a sickening
sight for Sullivan because the thumbs up meant his father was okay in that very
moment. There was nothing Sullivan could do for his father or for Bobby. Or for
the town of Ferry Creek for that matter. He suggested to Leslie that they could
move his father to a different hospital, find the best hospital in the country
- no expense being too much - and get his father the help he needed to survive.

But there was no surviving in this.
His father was dying.

With all the answers Sullivan could
handle for that moment, he left the hospital. It was still early enough in the
day that Sullivan could still get plenty done. He could call Parker and discuss
business. He could go to the diner and work. But for a few minutes, Sullivan
sat in his car and thought. Every little detail of his life came to him. Going
to the hospital was the right thing to do even if it didn
’
t leave him feeling all that
much better.

When Sullivan finally decided to
start driving, there was one place to go.

The Pot Diner.

It
’
s
where all of Ferry Creek went to cleanse their souls. To hide their wounds. To
ignore their demons. For Sullivan, he had a greater purpose of going to The Pot
Diner. He needed to hug his brother and he needed to kiss Jess. They were the
only two things running through his mind as he drove. He had to get there
before everything caught up to him in the car.

The parking lot was mostly full
when Sullivan arrived at the diner. He parked around back and the second he
climbed from the car, he saw Jess standing outside. Her face looked tired and
worried and her eyes were puffy, like she had been crying. The moment her eyes
met with Sullivan
’
s she
started running toward him. Sullivan did the same and they met in the middle of
the parking lot. Jess lunged from her feet just as Sullivan opened his arms. He
caught her and spun.

Jess buried her head into Sullivan
’
s neck and let out an obvious
cry. Sullivan squeezed her tight, one hand in her hair, and the other hand at
her back.

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Sullivan said.
“
It
’
s okay, Jess. I swear it is.
”

Sullivan lowered Jess to her feet.
She looked at him with tears running down her cheeks.
“
It
’
s
not okay. I should have gone with you. Just to be there.
”

“
No,
you needed to be here.
”

“
What
happened?
”

“
I
need to do something first,
”
Sullivan said.

“
Okay
…
what?
”

Sullivan put his hands to Jess
’
s face. He rubbed her cheeks with
his thumbs and he kissed her. His lips pressed hard against Jess
’
s. He held for a few seconds and
then kissed her again. And again. Turning his head, Sullivan wanted more. He
needed more. He wished the diner was closed so Sullivan could take her away,
but it wasn
’
t, so Sullivan
settled for a kiss. Jess
’
s
hands were tight on Sullivan
’
s
shoulders as she pulled, telling Sullivan she wanted more of him. Sullivan
’
s big, strong hands were at Jess
’
s sides. His muscles tightened.
He could have lifted Jess right off her feet if he wanted to. He was overcome
with emotion.

When the kiss finally stopped, they
both stared, catching their breaths.

“
Wow,
”
Jess said.
“
That
…”

“
Jess,
”
Sullivan said.
“
He told me everything I needed
to hear. It
’
s done now. I
’
ve made my peace with him and I
’
m not mad at him. I
’
m not mad at anyone right now. I
’
m almost overwhelmed by
everything happening in my life. But nothing feels more right than right now
with you. I can
’
t wait
until this place closes today.
”

“
Why
’
s that?
”

“
Because
I
’
m stealing you for the
night,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I can
’
t wait anymore. I can
’
t
let another moment pass by.
”

Jess smiled.
“
I
’
m
going to have to get rid of Katey.
”

“
I
don
’
t think that will be
hard,
”
Sullivan said.
“
Tyler won
’
t stop talking about her. Send them out for a
little while.
”

“
Is
that all I get? A little while?
”