Read More Than Friends for Free Online

And then, it didn’t seem to matter so much.”
    “And the baby?”
    Even after eleven years, it still hurt to talk about her child. Mustering all her courage, she spoke with false casualness. “It’s ironic. Just when I’d gotten used to the idea of being a mother, I lost my baby.”
    She slipped down to the ground. Tilting her watch toward the light by the mill, she squinted. “You’ll be right on time to see your father at the hospital. The night nurses will have just come on duty, so you’ll be able to get an update.”
    She wanted to say something else, redeem herself in his eyes. But it didn’t matter anymore. She’d lost him the day she’d chosen to withhold the truth. All the wishing in the world wouldn’t bring him back.
    He started toward his truck. When he was about six paces away, he turned back. “Why did you think I wouldn’t answer the telegram if I’d known you’d sent it?”
    As soon as she’d told him why she hadn’t signed her name, she’d known this question was coming. Her mind had offered a dozen different responses, none of them the truth. The instinct to protect herself, to be flippant and worldly, was strong. But her affection for Chase, the memory of the love they’d once shared, was stronger. She opened her car door. “Because in all this time, you’ve never forgiven me. And you’ve never once tried to get in touch with me.”
    There. She’d said it.
    “Jenny, I…”
    She could feel his confusion. “It’s okay, Chase. It was all over a long time ago. We’ve grown up. Go see your father.”
    Chase stepped into the vehicle, but waited until Jenny had pulled out before starting his engine. The taillights of her car provided twin beacons out of the parking lot. Slowly, he followed her toward Hamilton Crossing. At the boundary of Harrisville, she turned right.
    He paused for several seconds. He could follow her home, force her to tell him the secrets he sensed behind her casual confession about the past, but the first order of business had to be his father. Only after he’d seen the old man, found out how long he’d be in the hospital, taken care of business, would he be able to think about Jenny Davidson.
    Yet as he drove, her words came back to haunt him. The darkness of the night hid the pain in her face when she said he’d never tried to get in touch with her.
    He reminded himself that, after what she’d done to him, she deserved whatever she had coming. But that didn’t make him care any less. Damn. Despite the thousands of miles that had been between them, despite the years that had passed and the very separate lives they’d lived, the connection was as strong as ever. Since childhood, they’d shared thoughts and emotions, almost as if they were two halves of the same being. He’d never expected that to have remained intact. Jenny was right—if he’d known she’d still be here, he might not have returned at all.
    Crossing the main street of Harrisville, he turned toward the hospital. She’d been right in not signing the telegram and he hadn’t known it until this second. Damn her. Damn them both.
    *
    After parking, he walked up to the wide double doors of Harrisville General. Hunched against the invisible weight of obligation, he wondered how he would make it through the next few days. Nothing had changed with Jenny. He had a bad feeling that nothing had changed with his father, either. Why had he bothered coming back? This town had always resented him; he’d been a disappointment to the old man.
    “Can I help you?” The young woman behind the information counter smiled.
    “I’m looking for Cardiac Care. My father is a patient here.”
    “And he is?”
    Chase’s throat tightened and he realized how many years it had been since he’d spoken the name out loud. “Jackson. William Jackson.”
    The tall brunette’s eyes widened and her gaze flickered over Chase’s wrinkled shirt. “Oh. Mr. Jackson. Your father is on the second floor. He’s been here