Page 28 of Second Chance At Love

“So you’re the girl,” murmured Ben to himself but Cora heard the words.

“What do you mean, I’m the girl?” asked Cora softly, backing up so she could see the guilty flush on Ben’s cheeks.

“I shouldn’t say. Henry said it in confidence,” muttered Ben.

“Ben,” Cora put just enough gentleness while being stern in her voice. She had managed to perfect the tone with Oliver’s sometimes mildly defiant moods when they came. “Tell me.”

Ben, the big softy that he was, sighed. “I was confiding my troubles with Kitty to Henry at Christmas and he gave me some good advice. He also might have told me that he really once liked this girl but she married someone else. I was just thinking it could be you.”

It was her, Cora knew. She had known all along that Henry really liked her. She was pretty certain he still did. Yet Cora also knew he would do nothing about his feelings out of respect for their friendship and the fact that she had been his brother’s wife.

It was a bit weird, wasn’t it? Wishing she had married one brother over the other,Cora reflected.But did she love Henry?

In a quiet, safe way, she did.Was that love or just friendship?Cora didn’t know.Maybe sometimes love could be both.

“You can’t tell him I told you,” Ben rushed to say. “I don’t want to embarrass him.”

“It’s nothing I didn’t already know,” murmured Cora. She gave Ben a reassuring smile and pat on the arm. “I won’t say anything.”

“Good,” responded a relieved Ben.

Adam began to fuss so Cora turned her attention to him.

“I’m going to go visit with Henry. If he’s awake, do you want me to give you a video call so you can show off the baby to him?” asked Ben.

“Sure,” said Cora with a distracted smile. “I think Henry would like that.”

Ben gave her a smile as he left the room, heading out to visit Henry. It didn’t take him long to get to Henry’s floor. As he approached the room, he could hear voices.

“I still want to thank you. If you hadn’t been there, things might have turned out very differently,” said a female’s voice.

“I took a rest break right on top of you. Took me probably twenty minutes before I saw your hand,” came Henry’s rueful reply. His throat was still sore so his words were raspy. He had a tired smile as he saw Ben. “Join the party.”

Ben sat near Henry’s feet on the bed as Molson and Holly had the two visitor chairs. Henry was still hooked up to the oxygen but a quick glance at his monitor showed he appeared to be improving. Technically he was only supposed to have two visitors at a time and they were to limit their visits to allow Henry to rest.

“I wanted to let you know,” Henry paused to catch his breath as he spoke to Molson. “Tremblay said the debt was paid.”

“He did?” asked Molson in surprise. “I didn’t save Isla.”

“I don’t think anyone could. It was probably more about giving her the chance to survive,” guessed Holly. “No one knew whether the drug would work. It hadn’t been properly tested. The only way to get it for Isla was through you and your connection to Noah.”

“I’m glad it’s over,” Molson said as he reached out, taking Holly’s hand in his.

“Where did they have you? If you don’t mind me asking,” questioned Ben curiously.

“Honestly, I don’t know where I was,” shrugged Holly. “The room was somewhere in a house. It was a bedroom that probably hadn’t been decorated since the fifties. A bathroom was attached. They had glued a newspaper to the only window but I could hear traffic. However, no matter how much I yelled, no one from the sidewalk or the neighbors ever did anything. I think the house was abandoned and I don’t think anyone lived nearby..”

“You were there the entire time?” wondered Ben with a frown.

“Yes. I was locked in. Someone was always in the hallway. I had a television and could watch any channel I wanted. They gave me food once every day, usually take out,” shrugged Holly. “They never hurt me. They never even talked to me. The last day I was there was the only time they even came in the room. Two guys grabbed me and a third drugged me with a needle. I woke up in the hospital.

“The worst part was seeing myself on television and knowing how worried everyone must be. Then they stopped showing my picture on the news and I started worrying that people weren’t searching for me anymore,” softly revealed Holly.

“We were always looking,” Molson reassured her.

A nurse came into the room to take down Henry’s vitals and check his temperature. While this was happening, Molson and Holly took their leave.

Ben took over the chair, waiting patiently for the nurse to finish. Once she had, he was about to suggest they video call Cora so Henry could see Adam when Ben’s phone started ringing.