Page 83 of A Chance at Forever
“You, too. Has Rusty finally told you what’s going on?”
She shot Rusty a reproachful look. “No. Harrison shared a little with me.”
“For the record I tried to convince him to bring you here, but I guess you know by now how stubborn Rusty can be.” Alex winked. “Sit down and I’ll fill you in.”
Victoria perched on a barstool and listened to Alex’s clinical explanation of Rusty’s condition. “We’re not sure what this is,” he concluded. “The best doctors here at the medical center can’t figure it out. I know more about it than they do because I’ve been conducting research on it for years. We’re close to a breakthrough, right, Rusty?”
He shrugged, and Alex frowned at him.
“Look, why don’t you two get out of here? I’m sure you have a lot to discuss. And besides, I promised my wife I’d be home at a decent time today.” Alex hugged Victoria and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m glad you decided to come to Denver. Rusty needs you.”
“I need him, too.” She touched her belly. “Weneed him. We’re expecting a baby, Alex.”
A wide grin split his handsome face. “Well, congratulations!” He clasped Rusty’s bony shoulder. “I’m happy for both of you.”
“Thanks.”
Alex locked up the lab, and Victoria walked next to Rusty as he wheeled himself to his truck. He refused to let her push him.
“Don’t tell me you drove all the way to Colorado,” she commented, horrified.
“No. I hired a guy who works for the father of one of my students to drive my truck here.” Rusty climbed unaided into the cab, and Victoria folded up his wheelchair and set it in the back.
He fell silent during the drive to the ranch, and Victoria didn’t press him to open up to her. She’d caught him by surprise, both with her sudden appearance and her announcement about the baby. Rusty needed time to process a different set of expectations.
When they arrived at the main house, he parked the truck in the back where a ramp had been constructed for his benefit. He allowed Victoria to unload his wheelchair but nothing else. She understood his not being able to walk made him feel helpless and knew he would scorn her offer of aid.
Inside the warm kitchen, Rusty declared, “I’m exhausted and need to rest. When I wake up, we’ll talk.” He maneuvered himself into the master bedroom and closed the door.
Bud whined and lay down in front of it.
“Good idea,” Victoria murmured. Before she took a nap on the sofa, she checked the freezer and pantry and decided on something she could cook for dinner that wouldn’t turn her stomach.
At dusk the sound of Rusty moving around in his bedroom woke Victoria from the first peaceful sleep she’d experienced in over a month. A bout of nausea hit her, and she rushed into the guest bathroom where she retched. After she splashed cold water on her face and rinsed out her mouth with a swig of Listerine she found in the medicine cabinet, she opened the door.
Rusty waited for her. He reached for her hand and rubbed his smooth cheek against it. He’d shaved off his beard, and now she could see his protruding cheekbones. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I actually feel better after I throw up. Come to the kitchen with me while I cook dinner.”
Since leaving Marysville, Rusty had grown quiet. She missed their easy conversations, and to fill the silence between them, Victoria chattered about school and repeated the local gossip as she fried a couple of pork chops and steamed a bag of green beans in the microwave.
Other than an occasional smile, Rusty didn’t comment.
Victoria set the food on the table and offered a prayer. After a few bites, Rusty put down his fork. “I can’t eat. Not until I get this off my chest. When I said I was in love with you, I made a commitment to you, and I broke it in the worst possible way.I broke it. I failed to be honest with you, and you will never know how much I regret it. I shut you out because of pride. Because I didn’t want you to see me as anything other than the strong man you first met. But even then, I wasn’t. I would have arrived in Marysville right after you if I hadn’t gotten sick.” Misery haunted his green eyes. “Forgive me, Tori. I am begging you to forgive me. I swear I will never fail you again.”
Tears stung her eyes. She rose from her chair and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her onto his lap, and they cried. Victoria planted kisses all over his gaunt face and finally on his mouth. Love and strength poured from her soul.
“I love you. There’s nothing to forgive, but if you need to hear the words, Rusty, I forgive you. You haven’t failed me. Not ever. You’ve given me the greatest gift I could ever want. Your child. And we’re with you, no matter what.”
“I love you,” he muttered in a voice thick with emotion. He cupped the back of her head with one hand and brought her mouth down to meet his in a hard kiss of pent-up passion. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You’ll never have to find out because you’re stuck with me, Dr. Sinclair.”
His familiar grin flashed across his face. “Have I ever told you I love it when you call me that?”
“Nope. Now, eat. You have to get your strength back.”
Later that night, a snowstorm hit. Victoria built a fire in the master bedroom, and she and Rusty cuddled on the bed with Bud lying contentedly at their feet. After he’d spoken his mind at dinner, his barriers crumbled, and he told her why he resigned and returned to Colorado. She understood. He needed to be here so he and Alex could run tests and continue searching for a way to help him.
