her an apology or a closer look in terms of her background and her motives. The doctor was obviously right. He needed rest. Sleep would rid him of the jumble of unexpected thoughts, fears, feelings, accusations and attraction ricocheting around his tired mind. Right now, his guardedness trumped anything else he might be feeling for Olivia Abbott. And he aimed to keep it that way.
“So much for first impressions.”
Three days after Jack’s arrival, Olivia spread a vinyl tablecloth over the pinewood breakfast nook of the apartment she shared with Patrice. It was one of two units situated above the diner. The fact that work was literally downstairs was a huge blessing of convenience to Olivia—it made it easier for her to put in as many diner hours as she could between studying and classes and her intern shift at EPTC. Especially in light of the learning disability she kept hidden from others.
“Jack’s all bark and no bite. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t know, Patrice. He seems to get angrier by the day. He was in Perry’s face again this morning.”
Granted, she felt that was warranted, because Perry had cursed so loudly at the sinks, customers heard his rant in the dining room. She guessed Jack was also justified in telling Perry to text on his own time. However, threatening to run Perry’s phone through the dishwasher seemed a little extreme. Of course, that was after he’d already asked him multiple times to put his phone away and get to work unless on break.
“I realize he’s undoubtedly worried about his dad,” Olivia said. But there was more she wasn’t telling Patrice. Jack was fretting over the diner, too. Quite by accident, she’d caught bits of conversations he’d had with bankers and loan officers. She’d eventually moved the condiment filling station away from the office to keep from overhearing what should be a private business matter.
She wondered how much Sully knew of it. She’d appreciated Jack asking the bank people not to tell Sully how bad things were yet, so soon after his stroke. That the Sullenbergers were a well-respected family undoubtedly helped.
Patrice pulled out a small paintbrush. “He’s not himself, that’s for sure.”
“Sully or Jack?” Olivia teased, hoping to lift the melancholy cloud from Patrice’s eyes.
Patrice smiled. “Both.” She set a craft caddy on the tablecloth and grew serious. “It’s been so hard working in the diner without Sully there. Memories of him are everywhere.”
“True.” Emotions were high and Jack had been one to avoid. It was a little tough since he was staying across the hall in Sully’s apartment. Not that he was there much. He’d either been at the hospital or downstairs at the diner holed up in Sully’s office going over financial records. This afternoon, he’d emerged like a loaded tank looking for targets. He even seethed around Patrice, his pal since childhood. Not that Patrice seemed to notice—she was entrenched in another argument with her boyfriend, on par for their volatile relationship. “Still,” Olivia added, “he has one of the most intimidating personas I’ve ever encountered.” She’d tried her best to steer clear the past two shifts. That seemed to suit Jack just fine because he appeared to go out of his way to avoid her, too.
“The military must’ve changed him a lot. On the other hand, he was always one to stand up for others and act with honor and integrity.”
Olivia opened two packages of paints, one forest-colored and one in glittery jewel tones as Patrice set poster board on the tablecloth. “In fact, I can’t believe Jack made you leave the hospital that first night.”
“I can. He was bossy as all get-out.” Olivia held the glossy white cardstock in place while Patrice painted Get Well Soon, Sully onto the homemade card in beautiful flowing calligraphy.
They were making Sully a huge card for diner patrons and employees to sign. Patrice was a fantastic artist. If she’d ditch her oppressive boyfriend, her dreams of a graphic design career would surely come true.
Patrice dotted red glittery firework shapes along the card’s edge. “Take into account Jack was probably scared out of his wits and sleep-deprived from his cross-continental flight.”
Recalling the look on Jack’s face when he saw the shape his dad was in kicked Olivia’s conscience into gear. “You’re right. It must have been a shock.”
Patrice nodded and capped the red paint lid before opening the blue to create glittery sapphire stars. They’d chosen the colors in honor of Sully’s patriotic nature. His entire diner decor consisted of veteran and war memorabilia spanning decades, all the way up to the present.
Patrice switched to silver and painted swirly scrolls next to the stars. “I hope this cheers Sully up and shows him he’s well loved despite his being a grump.”
Olivia snickered. “At least we know where Jack got it from.”
Patrice giggled. Then frowned as a text notification came through her phone. “Uh-oh. Speaking of Jack...he’s calling a mandatory emergency employee meeting.”
Olivia’s pulse sped up. She had a busy week making up the clinical hours she’d missed while sitting with Sully. She also had classwork to catch up on and a huge medical research paper due soon. She couldn’t possibly fit one more thing into her week. “When?”
Patrice nibbled her thumbnail. “Not sure yet. He’s giving the time in a forthcoming text.”
“I wonder what the meeting’s about.” Olivia’s pulse ramped up even more. Were things at Sully’s bad enough financially that they were all going to be laid off, or worse, let go? “Patrice, I overheard Jack talking to the bank. I hope he’s not going to close the diner.”
Patrice blinked in surprise. “I can’t imagine. He practically grew up there. His childhood wasn’t easy. He spent more time at the diner with his dad than at home with his mom.”
It wasn’t Olivia’s business, but she couldn’t help but ponder why. She’d had a rough childhood herself and felt instant compassion for others with tough childhoods.
Patrice sighed as she completed the gorgeous card. “Jack was a good kid. A model child. Very compliant. And Sully was a model parent. He removed Jack from a volatile situation.” Patrice shook her head and seemed to snap out of her musings. “But I suppose that’s all Jack’s story to tell.”
Not that he would ever, in a trillion years, trust Olivia enough to feel comfortable sharing personal information. Everything about Jack Sullenberger screamed unscalable walls and immovable rules.
Why was it that something in her wanted to breach and break them all?
Olivia tried to imagine Sully’s struggle on behalf of his son, which led to thoughts of Jack as a boy and how hard that must’ve been. She didn’t know Jack’s story and may never.
However, she could relate to living in a troubled home. But unlike Sully, her dad had never fought for her, and knowledge of that always put a hard lump in Olivia’s throat.
Precisely why Olivia promised herself not to pursue relationships, but rather to secure a college degree and a career with which she could support herself for life. Not dating was easy, since she was so wary of men. The degree, however, was an uphill climb due to her dyslexia. But she refused to let
