Page 106 of Once Upon A Second Chance

The words hit me square in the chest—solid and real and reassuring.

But the anger’s still there, simmering hot beneath the fear and uncertainty.

I hang up a minute later after asking him to come by my place tonight, and as I slip the phone into my pocket and head for my car, one thought burns through everything else like a brand:

Jesse is going to regret opening his damn mouth.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Richard

I hear Jesse before I see him.

The heavy slam of a truck door. Fast, angry footsteps across the gravel lot outside the clinic.

The door flies open just as I’m finishing with my last patient of the day, and he strides in like a man on a mission, barely registering the startled glances from staff and the wide eyes of the elderly woman checking out at the front desk.

He spots me and locks in.

“Out here,” he says, jerking his head toward the parking lot.

I exhale slowly, already knowing what this is about.

Penny’s call only came twenty minutes ago. She sounded furious—trembling-on-the-edge-of-snapping furious—but underneath that was something else. Uncertainty. Fear. And a flicker of something fragile I haven’t dared to name yet.

I nod, hand my chart off to Lena, who gives me a tight, knowing look, and follow Jesse outside.

The air is sticky with late afternoon heat, the sky already turning amber along the edges. Jesse doesn’t wait. As soon as we’re out of earshot, he rounds on me.

“She’s buying a pregnancy test,” he snaps. “Did you know that? Did she tell you?”

“She did,” I say, even, calm, hands in my pockets. “Just now. Becauseyouforced her to.”

Jesse scoffs, pacing two short steps before spinning back around. “Don’t turn this on me. You think I’m gonna just watch this happen again? Watch you waltz back into her life, knock her up, and leave when things get hard?”

My jaw tightens, but I don’t riseto the bait.

“She’s not even sure yet, Jesse,” I say. “And for the record? I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.”

“You said that before,” he spits. “You said it when she was twenty-one and everyone told her you were bad news, and she still picked you. She backed you then, too. And you left.”

I flinch, barely.

But Jesse sees it. Presses harder.

“You know who never forgave you for that?” he asks, voice dropping, deadly quiet. “Our mom. She watched Penny fall apart over you. And she died thinking you were the one man who’d never come back for her. I’m not going to stand by and let you prove her right.”

For a moment, the words hit me harder than I expect. I feel them in my chest like a stone dropping, deep and heavy.

Penny’s mom had always been kind to me. Stern, sure—but kind. She’d seen the worst in people early in life and raised Penny like the world might try to take her away piece by piece unless she was strong enough to fight back.

And Ihadwalked away. No matter how I rationalized it later, the truth was that I’d left.

I draw a slow breath, steady myself. I think about the woman lying beside me last night, the way she smiled at dinner, the way her voice shook on the phone when she said this wasn’t how she wanted me to find out.

“I’m not the same man I was back then,” I say finally. “And Penny’s not the same girl. She’s stronger now. And I know exactly what I lost before. I’m not going to lose her again—not because of fear, not because of pride, and not because you think I don’t deserve her.”

Jesse’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t interrupt.