Page 34 of A Chance for Us
“So, you help your family and also work full-time with Maren as well?” he asks.
Maren steps in. “Oliver is more of a silent partner in the resort. He’s just helping while they’re starting up.”
“You said he was just on a mission,” Linda adds.
“Yes, he was.”
Linda turns to me. “How are you going to split your time?”
“I won’t. I’ll work there and come here when I’m needed,” I explain. “We’re not concerned.”
Patrick begins to cough, and as Linda starts to fuss with him, he waves her away and takes a seat at the table.
She glares at Maren. “Get your father some water. It’s in my bag.”
Linda continues to make comments under her breath as Maren hands the bottle to her father. “I knew we shouldn’t have come up here. You don’t take your health seriously enough. We should’ve stayed home where you could get proper care. Now I have to make do with whatever is here.”
Patrick grabs her hands, holding them against his chest. “I want to be here.”
The two of them stare at each other, and finally, her shoulders fall. “I know.”
He nods. “I’m fine.”
Maren sits beside him. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
He turns to her quickly. “It’s the nature of my sickness, Princess. I’d be coughing here or in Georgia. I’d rather be here with you and Oliver. I already told Linda that I want the rest of my days to be filled with the people who matter.”
I hope I know that kind of love one day.
My phone pings with a message from Stella, letting us know their room is ready. I lean over, pressing my lips to Maren’s ear, inhaling the floral scent of her shampoo. “Be the hero and get them to their room.”
Her hand moves to my cheek. “It’s done?”
I smile, rubbing my nose against hers, wanting to kiss her so much I ache. “Yes.”
She leans back, and the loss of her steals the breath from my lungs.
“Daddy, why don’t we get you up to your room. You and Linda can rest, and when you feel up to it, we’ll go for a walk or whatever you want.” Her voice shakes a little at the end.
“Good. We’ll let your father rest before we push him again,” Linda says, getting to her feet. “Since this entire weekend will most likely do him in.”
Maren’s hands tremble slightly, and I grab them in mine. “We’ll make sure he takes it easy,” I assure her.
After a lot of underhanded comments from Linda, we finally get them settled, and I am again amazed by the brilliance that is Stella. The room looks as if it were done weeks ago. There isn’t any dust or hint that this was a construction zone just a few hours ago. Linda gets Patrick settled on the sofa that sits close to the window, and we promise to come back in an hour.
Once we’re out in the hallway, Maren leans against the wall. “We did it.”
I nod. “We did.”
She pushes off, coming to stand in front of me. Lifting up on her toes, she presses her lips to mine in a brief-but-searing kiss. “Thank you.”
Her one hand rests on my chest, right above my heart. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s something to me.”
The way she’s looking at me makes me feel like I’m twelve feet tall.
What worries me is that she might mean something to me by the end of this, and that would be really bad.
