Page 75 of His Last Shot
Before she can reach me, I slam shut the truck door behind me as I scoop her into my arms, and she yelps slightly. The smell ofher,coconut and summer, fills the surrounding air as we kiss.
Reluctantly, I lower her back to the ground. “Wow. What was that for?” she asks, trying to catch her breath.
“For being you.” I kiss the top of her nose, then walk around to the passenger side of my truck to hold the door open for her.
She climbs in, nervous energy bouncing off of her in waves. “Are you going to tell me where we are going?”
“You’ll know when we get there.” She rolls her eyes at my retort.
“I hate surprises, you know.”
I smirk at her because, yeah, I know.
We drive the twenty minutes to our destination while she plays twenty questions, trying to get the information out of me. She won’t.
“We are almost there,” I promise as I kiss her knuckles, and nerves swim in my gut. Where I’m taking her is an enormous risk. It’s a little trick I learned from observing Laura and Scott with Mallory.
Given Mallory’s disabilities, she can lack bravery with trying new things. So at times, Laura and Scott give her what I like to call a ‘loving nudge.’ A little push in the right direction. And every single time, it has worked out.
Not that Mallory and Rachel are similar with their disabilities, but Rachel lacks self-confidence, just like Mallory does.
So today, I am going to give Rachel a loving nudge.
We make the turn onto One University Drive, the main campus road of Ohio Northeastern University.
I glance at Rachel; her gaze is unwavering, and a sudden stillness falls over her, the silence heavy with unspoken fear. “Johnny, why are we at ONU?”
“You’ll see.”
She cranes her neck, taking in the sights of the vast campus. I approach a bend that leads straight to a building I’m taking Rachel to. The sign out front is hard to miss.
ONU DEPARTMENT OF NURSING ADMISSIONS OFFICE
I pull my truck into a parking spot and kill the engine as I turn to face her. She’s stoic, still staring straight ahead.
Her hand shakes slightly as I interlace our fingers together. “So, look, don’t be mad,” I begin.
“I’m not mad,” she counters. Staring. Only staring.
“I just wanted to bring you here and talk about this. We don’t even have to go inside today. But if you want to, I will go with you. And if you say you can’t, that’s okay, too.”
She nods, never veering her gaze off of the two-story building.
“Rachel, I know this is what you want. Your face always lights up when you and Laura talk about her job. You get practically giddy when she tells you about a patient case or talks about a surgery she assisted with.” She continues to stare. “I never thought hearing about heart surgery could make someone giddy, but somehow, it does with you.”
“It truly is fascinating.” A lazy smile settles on her lips.
“Rachel.” She faces me, unreadable. “There is nothing I want more in this life than to see you happy and thriving. Doing something that you love, something that brings you joy. This is it.” I point to the building. “And I promise to help you in any way that I can. I’ll help you study, I’ll drive you to class, I’ll pump you full of coffee to help you cram for an exam. Whatever it takes. I’ll even pay for—”
“Nothing,” she interrupts me. “You’ll pay for nothing. I have the money.”
My heart stops.Is she seriously going to do this?
“Are you upset I brought you here?”
Her gaze locks onto our interlocked fingers, and she shakes her head. “No. I’m not upset.” She lifts her head, her bright eyes meeting mine, a slow smile spreading across her face, crinkling the corners of her eyes. “No one has ever believed in me as much as you have. I didn’t think it was possible, but I love you more now than I did five minutes ago.”
Okay, there’s no waythatdoesn’t get acknowledged.I tug her toward me and pull her close, her hair soft as silk between my fingers as my lips meet hers in a sweet kiss.
