Page 136 of On the Power Play

He didn't think it was possible to love again like that. He didn't think he was capable of loving. He hated that Angie was gone. Hated that she might exist somewhere and know that he was moving on. But that locked room of his soul had finally burst open and he was alive again. Whole.

Sitting on that plane, he kicked himself for not phoning Delia that night and saying those words back to her. For not having a conversation the next morning or the one after that.

As the plane pressurized, he finally understood why he'd hesitated. That feeling. The one that came with love, the flip side of that coin. With love came fear. He'd thought it was only fear of them not being able to arrange their lives in a way that allowed them both to fit, but he'd been wrong.

It was how he'd felt on the other end of that phone call.

Sitting on the Blizzard bench for the first time.

Walking back into his empty hotel room.

Watching Mary and Alvin drive away from the bed and breakfast.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking from the flight deck. Welcome aboard Flight 257 with service from Calgary to Toronto. We're completing our final checks and will be ready to take off in just a few moments. We're expecting a smooth flight ahead of us. Our flight time today will be approximately three hours and fifty-five minutes, arriving just before six in the morning local time . . ."

Jack pulled his bluetooth headphones from the front pocket of his bag and turned on Delia's single. The one she secretly hated. His stomach pulled tight like a knotted rope as he thought of her smile. The freckles in her eyes.

He had no control over this. He'd had no control over his career, no control over his engagement ending, and damn, if he hadn't worked himself to the bone to try and control everything after that night. Yet here he was again, the rug being ripped out from under him.

Jack stared out the window as the plane rumbled along the runway, then sped until the wings found lift. He kept watching until the Calgary city lights faded into tiny specs, then shut the window shade and closed his eyes to the sound of Delia's voice.

_____

The second the plane touched down, Jack turned on his phone. He didn't even wait for his texts to come through, just dialed Mary's number.

"Hey, Jack?—"

"Have you seen her? How is she?" He was desperate to quell the chaos in his gut.

"I'm here. She's fine. Just sleeping."

The words didn't process at first. She's fine. Just sleeping. "What does that mean?"

Mary exhaled. "It means her driver is a damn genius, that's what it means." She went on to explain the accident in detail. How Bryce had gone forward on a green light and some dumb-ass truck hadn't stopped at the red. He'd reacted with the least intuitive move possible and turned his car toward the incoming vehicle while he gunned the gas. It meant the front right side of the car took most of the impact instead of the back where Delia was. It meant that instead of a straight-on perpendicular collision that would have slammed their car into oncoming traffic, the car spun to the sidewalk. Jack didn't realize he was crying until the A/C cranked up and cooled the moisture on his cheeks.

"He saved her life, Jack. If not that, he at least saved her bones from breaking," Mary finished.

Jack fought to drag air into his lungs. "Nothing’s broken?"

"Nope. She had to get stitches for a cut on her elbow. Would've been her head, but she ducked and her arm hit the glass instead. They kept her here overnight because of a potential concussion and shock. She's going to be sore when she wakes up, but she should be able to walk out as soon as they get her paperwork."

Jack swallowed the lump in his throat. "Thank you. For the update." He wiped his nose across the back of his hand. "I'll be there as soon as I can get an Uber."

Mary exhaled. "You're crazy, you know that? I can't believe you even found a flight that late. Oh, here, just a second." She moved the phone away from her mouth and started talking to someone. When she returned, she said, "Visiting hours don't start until nine, so find something to do until then. The nurse told me they'll get a doctor in to assess things as soon as their shift changes."

Jack's skin started to itch. He'd barely slept, he was starving, and the last thing he wanted someone to tell him was that he had to kill a few hours. "How are you there if hours don't start until nine?"

Mary lowered her voice. "Because I told them I'm her sister."

"You look nothing alike."

"I told them I was adopted. My brother said it all the time growing up, and it finally came in handy."

The seatbelt light turned off and Jack grabbed his backpack from under the seat. "Then I'll tell them I'm her husband."

"Uh, too late for that. I already filled out the form saying she was single."

"She's not single." Why would they ask that on a hospital intake form?

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