The Heart - Kate Stewart Page 0,90
well, I have one day in particular that stands out above most.” My heart began to pound in my chest as inevitable tears built behind my steady demeanor. Dallas reached over and squeezed my hand, and I nodded at her in reassurance that I could do this.
“That day for me is the day I met Grant Foster.” I sucked in a huge breath as I gathered every bit of strength inside me.
“Grant was an undeniable force of nature not to be ignored. And those he left in his wake were left better people for simply knowing him. I can tell you firsthand, as the woman who was most affected by him, that he was a free spirit with unyielding, unrelenting, unconditional love that is such a rarity that he shined among men. And though his life was cut far too short, he lived for a purpose, and that purpose paved the way for those of us involved in opening this center. He was a man to be cherished and honored.
“So today we open the Grant Foster Cancer Treatment Center in hopes of doing just that. To keep a piece of his selfless legacy with us and to remind us all of what’s truly important: to care for and protect the people that provide us with our favorite days because they are truly significant and irreplaceable. And that’s how we plan to treat each patient that walks through our doors. Thank you.”
I barely made it a step before Dallas pulled me to her in a ridiculously tight hug, which I returned.
“God, that was awesome,” she said as she pulled away and beamed at me with tears in her eyes.
“We did it!” I beamed back.
“We have to cut the ribbon first,” she said, taking the large scissors from Dean. I gripped them with her as we cut through the thick, woven ribbon that my mother put together in every color to represent the many types of cancer.
Once cut, Dallas and I stood patiently as pictures were snapped and the crowd slowly disbursed.
“Jack,” I heard Grant call out as he wiggled out of Dean’s arms. I stood paralyzed as I saw the crowd part and followed Grant’s movements as he flew into Jack’s waiting arms.
“Easy, Rose,” Dallas whispered.
“He saw the whole thing,” I said, paling as my eyes met Jack’s. He looked gorgeous as usual in dark denim jeans and a gray button-down shirt. He looked at me as if I was a mystery to him. As if we hadn’t just spent the last three months inseparable and in each other’s arms. A part of me tore in half as I felt the distance between us widen.
“He deserved to know what big shoes he had to fill,” Dallas said before she stilled for another picture. “Smile, damn it. We don’t get retakes,” she snapped. I faked a smile, my eyes still focused on Jack as he listened to Grant tell him what was what. Forced to spend another ten minutes taking pictures, I lost Jack in the crowd as Dallas and I gave a short tour of the main building to the eager reporters.
I’d spent every day of the past three weeks praying for word from him and got nothing. I dialed his number twice and hung up the second time after he didn’t return the first unanswered call. I spent very little time pretending our separation was for the best, and after the first week, I came close to losing my mind. The two Js had come to the rescue this past weekend, holding me hostage. In spite of my heartbreak, I had finally come clean about everything, down to the smallest detail. I’d shown them the stethoscope and found myself comforting Jules, who had turned out to be a real softy and broke down into sobs on my behalf.
Both of them would be starting the center next week, and I was stuck at Memorial without them for the next year. I’d shot my foot off offering their jobs too soon. Neither of them wanted to wait. They stood now in front of me with wide eyes as I knew immediately I was about to get a report.
“Where is he?”
“He left,” they answered in unison.
“Shit,” I muttered as tears sprang to my eyes.
Jules glared at Jamie briefly before she turned back to me. “Don’t freak. He’ll be at the party tonight. I heard your mother ask him if he would come.”
“He said he would?”
“He told her he wouldn’t miss it,” Jules exclaimed