Page 71 of A Chance at Forever
“A couple of days. It’s the twentieth.”
Struggling to sit up, he declared, “I have to go. Alex…”
“Will have to wait.” Victoria fed him some of the soup. “You’re not going anywhere in your weakened condition. Besides, we’ve had the worst snowstorm of the season. The roads aren’t clear yet, and we still don’t have power. I’m not allowing you to step foot out of this house.”
Rusty fell back against his pillows. “It’s a good thing I like you. I don’t let just anyone boss me around.”
Victoria grinned. “I’ll bet. Now, open your mouth like a good little boy.”
“Don’t push it.”
The power came back on an hour later. Victoria plugged her cell phone into a charger and called her father. She discussed the snowstorm and Rusty’s condition. Richard told her not to worry. His private plane would be at the airport waiting for her whenever she wanted to head east and agreed to her plan to drop Rusty off in Colorado. Now, she had to convince her stubborn man to listen to her.
Rusty scared her half to death when she found him in his weight room after she had spoken to her father. “Rusty Sinclair! What the devil are you doing?”
“What I must.”
“No! Let me help you back to bed.”
“Tori, don’t argue with me. I know what I’m doing. I’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
CHAPTER 21
Downstairs, Victoria keptbusy by cleaning Rusty’s living room and kitchen. She tried not to dwell on his bizarre behavior but remained ill at ease. To work out after suffering from something close to pneumonia didn’t seem logical to her. She couldn’t shake her sense of foreboding. When she heard the shower running, she prepared Rusty a substantial meal and took it upstairs, hiding her concern behind a bright smile.
He appeared better after a shower and shave, but there were still shadows of his illness around his eyes. Rusty returned to bed, and Victoria set the tray on his lap. Before he ate, Rusty apologized to her. “I’m sorry if I sounded curt with you. Thanks for being here when I needed you.”
“No thanks are necessary. To be frank, I don’t understand why you worked out, but you seem stronger.” She sat next to him, and they shared the meal.
When they finished eating, Rusty announced that he was leaving for Colorado the next day. “I was able to reschedule my flight.”
“Cancel it. There’s a private plane waiting for us in San Francisco. The pilot’s been ordered to stop in Denver for a brief layover before continuing to New York. I won’t take no for an answer on this, Rusty Sinclair.”
She expected an argument, but he surprised her when he replied in a meek tone of voice, “Yes, ma’am.”
To her dismay, tears sprang into her eyes, and her lower lip trembled. Rusty gathered her into his muscular arms and stroked her hair. “Shh. Don’t cry, baby. There’s no reason to cry.”
“You frightened me, Rusty. Don’t ever do that again, do you hear me?” Victoria swiped at her tears. “What am I going to do without you over the holidays?”
“Listen to me. You’re going to be fine and so am I. There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll see each other after the holidays, that’s a promise. And when we do, there are things we have to discuss.”
She nodded her head. “If you don’t need anything else, I’m heading home to pack and get ready for our flight tomorrow.” Victoria started to rise from the bed, but he held her back.
“Wait. Do you remember when you said that I mean everything to you? Well, you’re my whole world, Tori. Don’t ever forget it.” He kissed her hard and let her go.
*
An Uber driverpicked them up early the next morning. They held hands in the backseat but spoke little on the way to San Francisco International Airport. Bud sat on the other side of Victoria so he could see out the window.
The couple were driven directly to the private plane sitting on a runway on the east side of the airport. Richard’s pilot greeted Victoria and shook hands with Rusty.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Sinclair. We have clear weather all the way to Denver. Buckle up, and we’ll take off.”
Their smooth ascent into the air didn’t bother Bud at all. He grinned the entire time, enjoying this new adventure. Victoria unbuckled her seatbelt and moved toward Rusty. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her to the luxurious sofa.
“Lie down,” she commanded and guided his head onto her lap. “Take a nap.” Victoria gently stroked his forehead and hummed beneath her breath, though tension stiffened her body.
“Tori, are you mad at me?”
