Chapter 56

fifty-six

JACOB

I picked up the nail gun and finished assembling the timber frame for one of the tiny homes. After spending the last two days with Patrick Devlin and the other volunteers, I was even more impressed with what they were doing.

The old steamboat museum was the perfect location to base the project. With its high ceiling, generous storage spaces, and easy access, the construction team was able to quickly assemble each house.

“If you ever want to change careers, you can join us permanently,” Patrick said half-jokingly to me.

“No, he can’t,” Pastor Adam said from behind us. “We need him in the medical clinic.”

Patrick grinned at me. “Everyone wants you to work for them.”

“I must be living in the right town, then.” I returned the nail gun to the workbench. “If you aren’t busy, Adam, you can help me lift this frame into place.”

As well as using Adam, Patrick tapped another volunteer on the shoulder. Together, the four of us turned the frame on its end and nailed it into place.

I looked at the skeleton of the tiny home. “It’s going together quicker than I thought.”

“We’re getting faster,” Patrick murmured. “By the time the last house rolls out of here, we’ll be experts.”

“What will you do after the village is finished?” I asked Adam.

“I’m not sure, but we’ll think of something. Can I speak to you for a moment?”

I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “Sure. If we head across to the kitchen, we should have the room to ourselves.” I didn’t know what Adam wanted to talk about, but it couldn’t be too serious. “Did you receive a copy of the contract I sent through from the clinical director?”

Adam nodded. “What did you think of it?”

“It was reasonable. I’m pleased they’re willing to set up a smaller clinic in The Welcome Center. It’ll save hauling lots of gear across town. The only concern I have is whether they’ll be able to provide a doctor to work in Sunrise Bay when I take a vacation.”

Adam shrugged. “They could always ask Doc Martin to come out of retirement.”

“He’d like that. Coffee?”

“That’d be great.” Adam took a carton of milk out of the refrigerator while I poured hot coffee into two mugs. “Have you spoken to Andrew recently?”

My hand jerked and coffee spilled everywhere.

“I’ve got it.” Adam grabbed a dishcloth.

While he was wiping up the mess, I carefully placed the coffeepot on the stand. “Why did you ask me about Andrew?”

“I thought he might have talked to you about the defibrillators.”

I shook my head. “It never came up in our conversation.”

“Tim’s paying for four defibrillators for the village. Andrew was going to ask you if you’d teach the residents how to use them.”

“Sure. I’d be happy to help.”

Adam rinsed the dishcloth. “Thanks. We would have shown everyone how to use them when we had our first aid training, but ours hasn’t arrived.”

I’d known Adam long enough to realize there was more on his mind than the defibrillators. “What else can I help you with?”

“Am I that easy to read?”

For the first time all week, I smiled. “Only sometimes.”

Adam picked up a mug of coffee. “How are you feeling after Friday night?”

“Better than I was.”

“That doesn’t tell me much.”

“I don’t know what else to say,” I told Adam. “The drugs my doctor in Kabul prescribed for me are working.”

“When you need to see another doctor, there’s a good PTSD clinic in Denver.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

“Andrew called me before he left for Boulder. He’s worried about you.”

I sighed. “He shouldn’t have bothered you.”

“He cares about you.”

Acid burned in my stomach. “Did he tell you I ended our relationship?”

Adam’s eyebrows rose. “No, he didn’t. I thought you were happy together?”

“We were, but it wouldn’t have worked.”

“You seem sure about that.”

I’d never been more positive about anything in my life. “Andrew has a busy life. He was talking about going to Europe when the galleries exhibit his photographs. Even the fundraising concert stirred up a lot of interest in his music career. His former agent left a new recording contract with him.”

“Did he sign it?”

“He threw it in the trash.”

“That must tell you what he thinks of that idea.” Adam watched my face before placing his coffee on the table. “What did you do?”

“I took it out of the trash.”

“And?”

“He still didn’t sign it.”

“Why do you want him to leave Sunrise Bay?”

I frowned. “I don’t want him to leave.”

“Then why are you making it so difficult for him to stay?”

“I’m not.”

Adam’s steady gaze cut through any half-truths I’d been telling myself. It wasn’t Andrew I was trying to protect, it was myself. “One day, he’ll realize he can have a better life without me. It makes sense to end our relationship now, before either of us get more hurt.”

Adam leaned forward. “I haven’t met anyone with PTSD who thinks they’re worthy of being loved. But believe me, when you meet someone who wants to be part of your life, you hold on to them.”

“It’s too late.” I dropped my head to my chest. All I could see was the disappointment and heartache on Andrew’s face when I’d told him our relationship was over.

“It’s never too late to tell someone you love them.”

I lifted my head and looked at Adam. “If it’s so easy, why are you still single?”

The sadness in Adam’s eyes touched something deep within me. “I loved a man once but, like you, I left before he discovered he was better off without me. By the time I realized what I’d lost, he’d met someone else. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

I took a deep breath.

I had a lot of thinking to do.