Deeper Than The Ocean by Julie Ann Walker

 

 

Chapter 36

 

2:45 PM…

 

Chrissy watched Rosa check her watch and then push up from the little love seat in Winston’s hospital room. The dark-haired woman stretched and yawned. Chrissy was struck again by how pretty she was.

Pretty and googly-eyed for Winston when she walked over to him, took the hand he held out for her, and said, “I’m headed to the coffee shop for a cappuccino and a doughnut.” She leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. “Can I sneak something sugary or caffeinated past the nurses for you on my way back?”

Winston shook his head. “No.” Then he bounced his eyebrows. “But I do love your devious mind. Remind me to put it to good use once they spring me from this joint.”

“I won’t need to remind you.” Rosa smiled seductively. “I’ll show you.”

“Ugh. Don’t make me regret hunting you down on social media, Rosa,” Chrissy teased.

That first day following Winston’s surgery, when there’d been absolutely nothing Chrissy could do for her best friend except sit vigil beside his hospital bed with his parents, she’d had an epiphany.

What if Rosa is still carrying a torch for him too?

It’d been the work of an hour to do some quick Googling and land on Rosa’s Instagram profile. She’d private messaged Rosa with the news of what had befallen Winston, having had no expectations regarding what would become of her reaching out.

Maybe some words of concern, she’d thought at the time. Or perhaps Rosa will send a get-well bouquet that’ll warm Winston’s heart once he wakes up.

Which was why she’d been blown away when Rosa showed up at the hospital less than twenty-four hours after she’d sent the message.

And the sweet lady hadn’t left his side since.

Chrissy was over-the-moon with happiness for her best friend. Truly, she was. It’s just her happiness for him was tempered by her unhappiness for herself.

She missed Wolf like crazy. His absence was a hole in her chest. An ache in her bones. And she’d hoped beyond hope the two times she’d had a good excuse to call out to Wayfarer Island, that he would be the one to pick up the satellite phone.

She wasn’t sure what she’d wanted to say to him. But she’d desperately missed the sound of his voice.

“You’re right.” Rosa straightened and tried to sober. But her face melted into a goofy grin when she looked back down at Winston. “We are sickening, aren’t we?”

“Totally,” Chrissy agreed, faking a disgruntled huff.

“What about you?” Rosa asked. “Can I bring you back anything?”

Chrissy lifted the paper coffee cup in her hand. Her third of the day. “Better not. One more and my eyeballs will turn into pinballs inside my head.”

“Okay then. I’ll be back soon.” Rosa bent to kiss Winston and then gathered up her purse and headed for the door.

Chrissy watched Winston watching Rosa’s retreating back. Once Rosa disappeared into the hall, she told him, “You’re welcome.”

She was thrilled to see color back in his face, the sparkle back in his eyes now that the staff had weaned him off the majority of the pain meds. If not for the bandage around his chest and the IV snaking into his arm, she could maybe, possibly forget he’d nearly died from the bullet that’d torn through his lung.

“Yes, yes.” He rolled his eyes. “I owe all my future happiness to you. We’ll name our firstborn in your honor and lift a glass to your continued good health at least twice a year.”

“Only twice?” She blinked in fake affront.

“Fine.” He sighed. “Three times.”

“That’s better.” She sniffed. Then she stopped her teasing to ask, “Your first kid, huh? Does that mean you and Rosa have discussed what happens after you’re released from the hospital?”

He glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded. “We’re going to do the long-distance thing until she can sell her house in Tallahassee.”

Chrissy felt her eyebrows climb up her forehead. “Wow? She’s giving up her life and career just like that?”

“I offered to move up there.” At Chrissy’s look of astonishment, he added, “I know. Can you imagine? Me? A mainlander? But I tell you, if she’d asked me to live with her on Mars, I would have. Having lost her once, I never want to lose her again.”

Chrissy sighed and batted her lashes. “Ah, amore.Such a wonderful sight to see.”

Winston didn’t join in her joking. “I do love her, Chrissy. More than I even remembered.”

“I know, Winston.” She smiled at him. “I couldn’t be happier for you both. I like her. She’s smart and sweet and she doesn’t take any of your shit.”

“Admit it. It’s that last thing you like best.”

She hitched her shoulder, happy she could do that now without wincing. She’d gotten her stitches out two days prior. As Wolf had promised, the scar was minimal.

Wolf…

The thought of him brought a fresh wave of heartache.

To distract herself, she asked Winston, “So what’s the plan after she moves down here? Shotgun wedding?”

“I mean, if I have anything to say about it, yes.” Winston shot her a knowing grin. “But no, seriously, she’s going to open her own accounting firm. She’s gone about as high as she can in her current position, and she’s been contemplating venturing out on her own for a while. She has a few clients who will follow her wherever she goes. And heaven knows, there are plenty of fisherman, guides, and bar owners who need a good accountant.”

“Wow. You guys have it all figured out.” She tapped her chin in consideration. “Maybe I missed my calling. Maybe I should’ve gone into the matchmaking business.”

He glanced at the clock again and snorted. “Please. Who would hire you after the mess you’ve made of your own love life?”

“Excuse me?”

“You told a tall, dark, Navy frickin’ SEAL to hit the road. A guy who looks at you like you’re the best thing in the whole wide world. A guy who confessed he’s fallen head over heels in love with you and is game to settle down and have four rowdy curtain climbers. Not to mention, he saved your life countless times. Oh, and by the few hints you’ve given, he must be pretty good at bedroom sports. Anyway, you gave him the ax? Who does that?”

Chrissy blinked, momentarily discombobulated. When it was laid out like that, it made her sound crazy. “Wait. No.” She shook her head and frowned. “I told you he only thinks he’s fallen in love with me and wants to settle down. He’s far too—”

“Let me stop you right there.” Winston lifted a hand, bringing her up short. “For months you were keeping him at arm’s length because, after that fiasco at Schooner Wharf Bar, you said he was a player, not someone interested in anything serious. Then he explains what happened and you realize he isn’t a player and that he is interested in something serious, so now you’ve gone and convinced yourself that what? That his feelings won’t last? That he doesn’t know his own mind?”

“I do know him. He’s like my dad. A guy who—”

“I would’ve thought after what happened with Jill you’d realize none of us truly know anyone.”

Hearing the traitor’s name made Chrissy’s blood pressure spike. But she took a deep breath. “I know you like Wolf, Winston. I like him too. But I watched my mom—”

“Nope.” Winston sliced a hand through the air. “Let me stop you again. You know I loved Josephine, right?” Chrissy nodded and he continued, “But she couldn’t have picked a winner if he’d been handed to her on a silver platter. That woman had absolutely terrible taste in men. The more damaged they were, the more she liked them. And you know I love you too, right?”

Again, Chrissy nodded. But this time it was hesitant. She wasn’t sure she liked where he was headed.

“But I’m telling you right now you’ve been so caught up in not making your mother’s mistakes that you’re making a whole bunch of new and different ones all on your own.” He glanced at the clock again before adding, “Don’t sacrifice your future because of your mother’s past, Chrissy. You are not your mother. And Wolf is not your father.”

She opened her mouth, but he pressed on. “Take it from someone who let love slip through his fingers and who was knocking at death’s doorstep a couple of weeks ago. When all is said and done, we only regret the chances we didn’t take, the love we were afraid to feel, and the ones we let slip away.”

When he looked at the clock for what felt like the bazillionth time, she demanded, “Are you waiting for something?”

“Someone,” he clarified. The look in his eyes had apprehension crawling up her spine.

“What did you do, Winston?” Her voice was deadly quiet.

“Same thing you did for me. Called the person you’re crazy in love with since you were too chicken shit to do it yourself.”

On cue, Wolf’s wide shoulders filled the doorway. The instant Chrissy’s gaze landed on him, she wanted to shout with joy. Or burst into tears. She couldn’t say which. Maybe both.

He was even more handsome than she remembered. Leaner. Meaner. Taller?

No, she told herself. That’s not possible.

“Thanks for coming, Wolf.” Winston bobbed his chin. “Now, how about you and Chrissy go take a walk. I’ve heard from the nurses it’s a beautiful day outside, and the two of you have some things to discuss.”

Wolf glanced from Winston to Chrissy but didn’t say a word. He simply raised one sleek eyebrow in question.

Chrissy’s mind felt like an internet browser on sketchy Wi-Fi. Twenty tabs were open, five were frozen, and she couldn’t figure out how to turn off the flippin’ popup ads.

“Go on,” Winston urged, and legs mutinied. Without her conscious consent, she was on her feet.

“One last thing before you go though.” He snagged her wrist and pulled her down so he could whisper in her ear. “You’ve been fighting this thing with Wolf because he scares the crap out of you. Because for the first time ever, you’ve met a man who can touch your heart. You’re holding yourself back from him because you’re afraid something will happen that’ll mess up your happily-ever-after. But here’s the thing, my sweet friend, there are no guarantees in love. That’s what makes it so precious. And what makes it worth it.”