Alex waited outside the door for her return. “I’m sorry about that, Caroline. You okay?”
Caroline forced a smile. “I will be. Random question for you…”
“Shoot,” Alex said.
“The ring his mom is wearing—the one with the heart—where’s it from?”
“Oh, the separated heart?”
Caroline nodded.
“It’s cool, right? It’s been in his family for generations. I think it was his great, great, great grandfather who made the first one. I think the story goes, if I’m remembering it right, that his grandfather kept trying to make his girlfriend a heart design, but he couldn’t get the two halves to match up perfectly. No matter what he did, the right half was always longer than the left half. And he was never happy with the top of the heart where the halves came together. He couldn’t weld the pieces just right and it always got like this big clump at the top.
“So one day, he took the latest heart he had made, where the top didn’t quite come together and the right side hung lower than the left, and gave it to her anyway. He told her that it was better than a regular heart because it was separated and separated hearts were stronger than hearts that weren’t. Apparently she thought it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen and asked if he could make a ring with it. And the design has been in their family ever since.”
Caroline’s face softened, picturing the scene in her mind. “That’s a great story.”
Alex smiled. “I think so, too. Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering,” Caroline evaded.
“Wait, did Jackson make one for you?” Alex asked with wide eyes. Caroline looked at him without answering. “He did, didn’t he?” Alex asked again as Caroline reached for the chain buried under her shirt.
“He sent me the heart for my birthday. But I added the chain,” she admitted.
“Wow,” Alex responded. “That’s a big deal.”
“It is?” she questioned.
“Yeah,” he told her. “It’s tradition that each one of the Parks men put the heart on something, but they don’t ever give it to just any girl. It’s usually the girl they want to marry. And it doesn’t have to be a ring, but I think that’s what they all normally do. I know that all the women in his family have similar rings.”
Caroline caressed the charm. She basked in the warmth she felt inside with the charm’s newfound meaning.
“Jackson had to make that for you, you know? That’s part of the tradition, too. If any Parks man wants to give the design to someone, they have to forge it themselves.”
“That just makes it even more special,” Caroline said, glowing. Knowing that Jackson had made it with his own two hands definitely changed the way she saw it. Not to mention, the way she felt about it.
Alex looked down and noticed the note in her hand. “You’re going to leave, aren’t you,” he asked, more a statement than a question, breaking Caroline’s train of thought.
“Let’s just go back inside,” she suggested.
“I’m going to grab some water. I’ll be right back. Want anything?” Alex asked before he headed down the hall.
“No, thank you.”
Caroline walked through the doors and only Sally remained inside. She held onto Jackson’s hand and caressed it, but stopped when she saw Caroline.
“I think I’m going to go back home.”
“When?” A slight smile escaped from Sally’s lips as her eyes lifted.
“Today.”
“So soon?”
“I need to get back to work. And I really need to talk to my fiancé and tell him everything that’s going on. I’ve been avoiding him since I got here and that’s not fair to him.” Thinking about Clay made Caroline feel doubly worse.
“I have no right to ask you this, but when he wakes up, can you make sure he gets this?” Caroline held out the envelope.
Sally smiled and took it in her hand. “Of course.”
“Thank you, Sally. I understand why he likes you, too.”
The girls hugged briefly. Caroline walked to Jackson’s bedside and was suddenly afraid to touch him. He looked so damaged. She gently lifted one of his hands and kissed the top of it. Then she bent toward his ear and whispered, “I love you. Please get better,” softly enough that no one else could hear.
With one last look in Sally’s direction, Caroline waved and quickly headed into the hallway. She almost ran smack into Alex, who was holding a tray filled with donuts and bagels.
“Where are you going?” His voice dropped.
“I’ve got to head back. I shouldn’t be here,” she confessed.
“Don’t let his mom upset you. He doesn’t tell her everything about his life, especially when he’s brokenhearted.” Alex tried to help her understand.
Caroline smiled, grateful for Alex and the kind of friend he was to Jackson. “I need to go home. Explain everything to Clay and stuff. If he opens his eyes, will you please let me know?”
He hugged her awkwardly, trying not to tip over the tray. “Of course.”
Tommy rounded the corner and let out an annoyed grunt. “Isn’t this cute?”
“I was just leaving, so you can go back to being your usual happy self,” Caroline snapped back and walked out of the lobby.
Chapter Sixteen
Caroline’s rattled nerves kept her from sleeping the entire five-hour flight back to San Francisco. She tried to figure out exactly what she was going to tell Clay, but everything sounded wrong. She felt like a horrible, rotten person. Her emotions were in overdrive. Her body shook as the gravity of her guilt consumed her.