These Three Words by Holly Jacobs Read Free Book Online

local store was there wasn’t a ton of backup.
    “I’ll probably be here for a couple of days . . .” Maybe more.
    I hoped more.
    Leaving sooner would mean that Gray hadn’t made it.
    I pushed that thought aside. Gray would make it. He was too strong not to.
    “Don’t you worry about the store,” she said.
    JoAnn had stepped back and left the day-to-day running of the store to me when she had Wills. I had part-time help, but I shouldered most of the load. Right now, I could barely focus enough to make these few calls. Taking care of store business was beyond me.
    “Wills, don’t touch that,” JoAnn shouted, then said, “I’ll take care of everything. You stay with Gray as long as you need to. Don’t worry about a thing. The store’s all mine until . . .”
    She let her sentence fade. She asked, “How bad is it?”
    “From the looks on their faces, not good.”
    “Call me as soon as there’s any word. As soon as he’s out of surgery,” she said.
    “I will,” I promised.
    “Can I do anything else?” she asked.
    Some people asked questions like that by rote, very much like I’d said thank you . But with JoAnn, I knew the offer was sincere.
    “No, Jo, but thank you for asking.” That sounded too formal for us.
    She didn’t seem to notice. “It’s all going to be okay, Addie. You’re not alone.”
    “I know.” She was right. I’d lost both my parents, but I’d never been alone. I’d always had Gray and JoAnn.
    “Thanks, Jo,” I managed.
    She hung up and while I knew she’d meant what she said, it didn’t alter the fact that I felt alone.
    Utterly and absolutely alone.
    I’d done all I could do. Now all I had left to do was wait.
    “You should have let someone come down and sit with you,” the gentleman across the way said. “This is my wife’s seventh trip to the hospital in the last year. It’s easier to wait when you’ve got support.”
    Before I could say anything he gave an inelegant snort and offered me a wry smile. “I know, I’m sitting here by myself lecturing you about having support. I had people with me for the first few surgeries. When someone’s got a chronic condition and requires frequent trips to the hospital, it’s hard on family and friends.”
    I didn’t ask what his wife’s chronic condition was. That would have been intrusive. I simply said and truly meant, “I hope she’s okay.”
    He nodded. “She’s a strong woman. She’s sweet and eternally optimistic, to the point that most people might miss that strength. But it’s there.”
    I thought about the last time Gray and I were in this hospital. He’d been strong that time.
    I wanted to just sit and not think. I didn’t want to remember what we’d once had and lost.
    But the gentleman in question obviously wanted to talk. “I’m James with an S . James Patterson.” He smiled again as if it were some private joke.
    He must have seen the question in my eyes because he said, “My wife is Anne with an E. Like Anne of Green Gables . When she says her name for someone, she always puts it that way. I’m Anne with an E . I started saying I’m James with an S to tease her.”
    He seemed comforted by the memory of their teasing.
    “Adeline Grayson. Addie, with an IE ,” I said and smiled despite my worry. James with an S had given me that small smile. Until this moment I don’t think I’d ever really thought about what a gift a smile was. But it was a very big gift.
    But as quickly as it had appeared, it faded. I needed a moment to myself. Time to adjust to this new reality. A reality in which Gray was sick. A reality that might include a life without Gray, in a more permanent way than I’d ever intended.
    James nodded, as if I’d said those words out loud as well. “I’m sorry that I’m disturbing you. It’s just hard to sit here with nothing to do but worry. Sometimes I forget there was a time I wasn’t worried about Anne.” Softer, he added, “Sometimes I forget there was a time our