Page 46 of One More Time

“He doesn’t know what I’m getting,” I interjected.

Haven shrugged. “He said he’ll take care of it.”

We ordered, and as she began prepping our coffees, she asked, “Do you want any of the Fireweed Salmon Derby tickets?”

“The what?” Jack asked, just as I replied, “Of course.”

Haven handed him the informational flyer and multitasked while explaining, “Every spring, Fireweed Harbor raises money for nonprofits with a fishing tournament. Ninety percent of the money raised goes to local nonprofits, and the rest goes to cash prizes. You don’t have to fish in it, but if you don’t fish, you bet on people who do fish in it.”

“I’m in,” Jack replied with a chuckle.

We were seated at the table a few minutes later, and Derek was all about the salmon derby. “If I win one of the cash prizes, I’ll have a few hundred bucks to blow before I die. If I die, then that’s more money for you and Hannah.”

Jack took a gulp of his coffee, shifting in his seat. The gap in the conversation felt loaded, and Derek’s bluntness was something to behold.

“Have you told McKenna about Hannah?” Derek pressed.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Derek. I haven’t had time to fill her in on all of that,” Jack muttered.

I looked back and forth between them. “If it’s none of my business, nobody needs to tell me anything.”

Derek nodded vigorously as he finished chewing a bite of his bagel, which was generously slathered in smoked salmon cream cheese. After he finished his bite, he took a swallow of coffee. “I didn’t know I had a daughter until a few days ago.” My eyes must’ve gone wide because he nodded vigorously. “No shit. It’s crazy. We’re her only family. Her mom died. She has no grandparents, and her mom was an only child. Her grandparents were kind of controlling and shitty, so she doesn’t know any extended family on that side.” Derek appeared wildly calm about this massive piece of news.

I looked at Jack, who shrugged. I glanced back toward Derek who took another bite of his bagel.

“How do you feel about that?” I finally asked, unsure where the hell else to start.

Derek cocked his head to the side. “Her mom totally broke my heart. We were in love in high school, and I thought she dumped me. What I didn’t know was her parents moved out of town because she got pregnant. This was before cell phones were all that common, so once she moved, I didn’t know how to reach her, and her parents didn’t want her calling me.” He paused, shaking his head. “Damn, they were fucking assholes. “Anyway, my daughter is seventeen years old now. I told her that she can come stay with us. Jack is saying really a whole lot of nothing about it, so I’m hoping you’ll get him to talk about it.”

I looked from Jack to Derek and back again. “Um, you seem very calm about this.”

Derek let out a sigh. “I gave myself twenty-four hours to panic, and I freaked right the fuck out. I was pissed off too. I can’t believe what happened. But there’s literally nothing I can do to change the past. I’m not gonna leave my daughter alone in the world. I’m reconsidering chemo.”

“You didn’t mention that.” Jack’s tone was sharp.

Derek waved in Jack’s direction. “Hey, the guy finally speaks. Yeah. I’ll be fucking miserable, but I have a daughter. If I can somehow beat the odds and get better, I’ll fucking do it. If I get better, you can help me find a place, and we’ll stay here.”

Jack just stared at Derek. I wasn’t thinking when I reached over and placed my palm on his thigh under the table. I could sense the intensity of his emotions. His jaw was tight with a muscle clenching in his cheek. He tore off a bite of his bagel, chewing vigorously before he set it down and reached for his coffee. He slid his other hand under the table, lacing his fingers with mine and squeezing.

“One way or another, it’ll be okay.” I said the only thing that seemed to make sense no matter how small or inadequate it felt. “If you want some advice on a child showing up out of the blue, you can talk to anyone in my family. Our oldest brother Jake died. Maybe you’ve heard that because this town is kind of gossipy. He had a son that none of us knew about. It was kind of a shock. It’s weird to have someone show up like that.”

Derek angled his head to the side before taking a long swallow of coffee. He straightened in his chair, his gaze very serious as he looked at me. “I know I might sound a little flippant, but getting a potentially terminal illness can do that to you. The whole thing is weird. I think I might be freaking right the fuck out still, except I’m just kind of running straight at it. I got Hannah a plane ticket, and she’ll be here tomorrow. Jack says it’s okay.”

I squeezed Jack’s hand. “As if it would be anything other than okay. I’m just absorbing a lot right now. You might try not to die, and you have a daughter,” Jack said so earnestly my heart twisted for him. “I’ll be there for her if you’re not here, but now I want you to fucking fight.” His voice cracked on the last word.

Derek held his gaze steadily. “I’m gonna fucking fight.”

“Should we go back to Seattle?” Jack asked suddenly.

I was scrambling to keep up with the turns in this conversation and lost the thread here.

Derek knew exactly what Jack was talking about and shook his head swiftly. “You did the legwork for me already. The treatment center in Juneau has one of the top surgeons from the chemo program in Seattle. He travels between Juneau and Seattle. I need to be here.”

“I’ll go with you if you need me,” Jack offered quickly.

Derek shook his head again. “Being with you is important, but it’s also this place. I love Alaska. I always have. Maybe that doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t matter. I need to be right here.”

Emotion rushed through me. I looked around the café a moment later to realize everything was just carrying on around us. A monumental conversation was happening, and life simply moved along.

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