Their last full day in Minneapolis, Kim and Suzanne had their usual big breakfast in the hotel restaurant, took a taxi into the heart of the city, strolled over the St. Anthony Falls Bridge, and enjoyed the historic Riverfront District. They walked and walked before finally stopping for lunch in a German restaurant.
Suzanne finished her meal, pushed the plate away, smiling. “I already want to come back here again. Hard as we’ve tried, we’ve barely begun to explore it.”
“I agree,” Kim said. “I’d like to come back again, too.” She held up a hand. “Oops—don’t get me wrong. I’m not inviting myself for your next trip here with Travis.
Suzanne laughed. “Gotcha. Who knows when we’ll get here again. The conference moves to a different city each year, and with Elliott...” She shrugged, a smile on her face saying she would be happy staying home with Elliott next year. “I hate to admit it, but I’m ready to go back and have a nap.”
Kim took the linen napkin from her lap and laid it on the table, then pushed her chair back and stood. “You’re wise to pay attention to what your body tells you, Suzanne. Some people never learn to do that.”
“Maybe mine speaks more loudly.”
When they reached the hotel lobby, Travis and Jon were sitting on one of the couches, deep in discussion. Suzanne put a hand on her husband’s shoulder and he looked up. “Oh, hi, honey.” He gave her a peck on the cheek when she sank down next to him. “Jon had a call from his factory and thinks he’s going to have to fly home.”
“What happened?” Kim asked.
Jon’s brows were knit in concern. “One of the machines—it’s old, keeps breaking down. Only two of us know how to fix it. The other guy is on vacation. Hiking. They’re trying to get hold of him, but in the mountains, cell service isn’t always dependable. I told them if they can’t get him by this evening and secure a promise that he’ll be there by tomorrow morning early, I’ll get a flight out of Minneapolis to Nashville.”
Travis continued, “Get a cab to our house, pick up his car, and drive another three and a half hours to Legend. Exhausting day—or night—depending on the flight. He’s checked and can get a nonstop flight, be in Nashville in a little over two hours.”
It was a lot shorter and less exhausting than the road trip they’d all expected to be on beginning early tomorrow morning.
Kim was disappointed at this insight to Jon’s priorities. “It’s a bit convenient to have an emergency come up at this juncture, isn’t it? You jump on a plane, hop in your Corvette, and barrel down the road home, leaving the three of us to deal with the road trip.” The hateful words seemed to come out of their own volition. This wasn’t the way Kim treated anyone. Why was she so hard on Jon?
He glared at her. “It’s not convenient at all. Without that machine running, the whole factory has to shut down. Nobody gets paid. At least a day’s production is lost.”
“If you say so. Suzanne? You were going up for a nap?” Suzanne looked at Kim as if she’d never seen her before, but Travis nodded and the women got into the elevator.
“Kim, you can’t believe Jon created this problem in order to avoid the drive back with us. He wouldn’t do that.”
“Wouldn’t he? Most of the time I’ve been around him, he’s doing something on his phone, unable to let go of the reins for even a couple of days.”
“He’s dedicated, but he’s not a liar.”
“Suzanne, I’d like to believe that. I’ll try, okay? Now you get some rest.”
Kim saw her friend to her room then went downstairs to her own. How dare Jon bail out on Travis and Suzanne? How dare he bail out on her? Sure, the long drive was a pain, but they’d both known it would be when they agreed to come.
She pulled her hair out of its clasp, brushed it vigorously, and put it back up again. She paced the room like a caged animal, so angry with Jon she could scream. She’d been attracted to him, believed in him, allowed herself to imagine the two of them had possibilities together.
But she had been right about him in the first place. Just like Sean, he was around when the situation was convenient for him, but once you thought you could rely on him, he disappeared.
Just when she thought her day and the trip was ruined, her phone rang. As soon as she hung up, she received a second call from a different department of the Serendipity Hospital.
And the tidy little life she’d been creating since her first cancer diagnosis began to fall apart.
****
Travis went to the last session of the afternoon, but Jon knew he was too anxious about his factory to be able to concentrate on a lecture. Instead, he stalked out onto the patio and stood looking out at the city. It wasn’t his fault the machine broke. Ernie knew better than to take off on a hike for a couple of days when Jon was gone. This behavior was insubordinate, but Ernie was a free spirit. There wasn’t a whole lot you could do about that.
The factory could make a difference to the community of Legend, but only if it remained viable and eventually got upgraded equipment. Maybe even a decent computer system. The people were its best assets—skilled welders and machinists. Jon’s focus was to ensure enough business came their way.
Kim was a good nurse, competent driver, and when she wanted to be, an enjoyable companion. Suzanne and Travis would be in good hands on the trip back to Serendipity if he had to fly out. They didn’t need him. If they took an extra day or two on the way back, even the last leg back to Nashville wouldn’t be so hard on Travis and Suzanne. They were both expected at work though, and that extra day might be a problem. They were saving days for the arrival of Elliott.
Best laid plans, as usual, were inclined to fail. Just like this road trip and the matchmaking his friends had done on the sly.
Jon looked at his phone. Still no news from Legend. He’d better go up and pack, just in case.
When he was walking down the hall to his room, Kim stepped out of hers, closed the door and started toward him, her face white as a ghost. He stopped as she approached, but she kept walking, not seeing anything. He put out his hands and caught her shoulders, and her eyes flew up to his face. She looked dazed. Had something happened to Suzanne?
His chest constricted. “Hey. Everything okay with Suzanne?”
One side of Kim’s mouth went up in a failed attempt at a smile. “Suzanne’s fine. She’s resting. I—I had a couple of calls from the hospital. There’s a freak summer flu going around, and a lot of the staff are sick. They were checking to see how soon I’d be back.”
Jon’s heartbeat began to recover. “Okay. That’s a relief. About Suzanne, I mean. From the way you looked, I thought the worst. So it must really be big deal to call you twice with the same info.”
Her face reddened. “It’s bad to have a shortage of nurses and an overage of sick people. Not that I’m a mathematician, but the ratio is kind of important. I’m committed to stay with Suzanne though. I mean, I guess I could get a flight, but I’m needed here and on the trip back. Especially since you’re not planning to go with them.”
“If I leave, it’s because I have to.”
“So you keep saying.” She shrugged his hands off her shoulders. “I’m on my way outside. I need some air.” She was still pale and had grown increasingly agitated while they spoke.
He took her hand, not surprised this time by the spark of electricity at the intimate contact. But it affected him to his core, and he had to clear his throat before words would come. “What else is wrong, Kim? You’re not telling me everything.” He realized he wanted to help her with whatever had her so upset.
Her hand stiffened, and her eyes turned hard. She jerked her hand out of his grasp. He pulled his back, slid it into his pants pocket feeling cold and empty.
“Why would I tell you everything, Jon? If you are prepared to bail on Travis and Suzanne, why would I believe you had an interest in me, a person you barely know? Your precious factory is obviously more important to you than we are.” She shook her head, muttering, “I should have expected this.” Then she stared into his eyes. “I tried to give you the benefit of a doubt, in spite of—”
She didn't finish the sentence but dashed down the hall, and instead of getting into the elevator, took the stairwell. He was tempted to follow, but in her state of mind, that seemed likely to upset her further. He would pack and hope he heard from his second-in-command that they’d found Ernie, and Jon didn’t need to hurry back.
He hoped very hard that happened. He wanted to fulfill his commitment to his friends and perhaps redeem himself in Kim’s eyes. He just wasn’t sure what he was redeeming himself from.
When the call came, Jon was even more relieved than he expected to be. He unpacked his toiletries and clothes to wear tomorrow and forced himself to go downstairs for the last night of networking. This trip had gone well for business, but he’d failed miserably with Kim, and he didn’t know what had gone wrong.