Just The Way You Are(16)

Except you. Except a husband and children.

"Pretty much. So do you and Alli ever get out of this town?"

"We went to Los Angeles for a car show a few years back. That's about it."

"I remember when you wanted to hunt for shipwrecks in the Caribbean."

"I think I wanted to a professional race car driver, too, but I grew up."

"I also remember a time when you swore you'd never work for your father, but Grams tells me you've taken over his business completely."

"I like it better than I thought I would."

"Really? Or have you gotten good at making the best of things?"

He shot her an annoyed look. "You know, there was a time when you wanted to get married and have kids. What happened to that?"

Her body tightened at his question. She knew he was only getting a little back at her, but he had no idea how much his words hurt. Of course she'd wanted to get married. She'd wanted to marry him, have his children. She'd never found anyone else with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

"I can still have all that. I have plenty of time. And I think it's smart to follow a plan, to make things happen when they're meant to happen."

"Bull's-eye," Sam said, putting a hand on his heart. "We're almost at the hospital. Any other darts you want to throw before we get there?"

She hated the fact that she'd said anything. It had been her intention to stay calm, in control, to never let him think she had spent one second of one day upset about what he had done to her.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said quickly.

"That makes two of us."

A few minutes later, Sam turned off the highway and entered the hospital parking lot. He pulled the key out of the ignition. "Ready?"

Tessa hesitated. "Sam…" She didn't know what she wanted him to say, but something.

"You can do this," he replied, in answer to her silent plea.

"Grams is the strong one, not me. I won't be any use to her."

"She needs you, Tessa."

"I'm not good with sick people. I never know what to say, what to do. I feel helpless."

"You'll be fine. Phoebe isn't expecting a tap dance. In fact, the doctor said it might take time for her to recover enough to speak or move."

"Oh, God! She's paralyzed. You didn't tell me she was paralyzed." A dozen horrible thoughts ran through her mind. Grams in a wheelchair. Grams unable to speak. It was too awful to contemplate, but she couldn't stop her imagination from running wild.

"Hang on a second," Sam said hastily. "They don't know the full extent of her condition, Tessa. She could recover completely. Don't jump off that cliff yet."

Tessa put a hand to her mouth, feeling suddenly nauseous.

"Come with me. Grams always liked you. I'll feel better if you're there."

"I can only stay for a few minutes. I have to get things settled at work."

"Thank you." Tessa opened the car door and stepped onto the pavement. Sam joined her a second later, locking the car doors with his remote control. She smiled at him and shook her head in amazement.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"You, me. I can't believe I'm here. After all these years."

"I can't quite believe it either."#p#分页标题#e#

"Grams says Tucker's Landing is turning into a tourist mecca," she said as they began to walk toward the hospital.

"That's right."

"So your business is doing well?"

"Yes, in fact … I haven't told anyone this, but I got an offer to sell out to a Japanese outfit."

"Really? Are you going to sell?"

"I don't know. It's an interesting offer, but completely impractical. What I should do is buy myself another boat and make it impossible for any outside operation to come in and take over my business."

"But if you sell, you could do something else with your life." She paused. "I know you had to go to work, Sam, that it was the most logical move to make, but surely you've wanted something more, something else over the years. I don't remember you ever dreaming about growing up to be your father."

"I'm not my father." He shrugged. "I'm a Tucker and I belong in Tucker's Landing. It's where my home is, my business is, and most importantly, where my daughter is."

"Alli works at a gift shop, doesn't she?" Tessa asked as they moved toward the hospital entrance.

"The Alley Cat. She doesn't just work it. She owns it with your grandmother."

"Alli as a businesswoman; that seems strange, too."

"She's actually very good at it."

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Defending the woman you're about to divorce?"