Destiny by Carly Phillips Page B

years. “I wanted to make it on my own,” Nash said, feeling the need to explain his reasons again.
    Richard inclined his head. “That independent streak of yours is another reason I respect you so much. And you certainly accomplished your goal. So you’ll take over if you have to?”
    Nash immediately nodded. “Of course. You’re like a father to me too,” he said gruffly.
    “Good. Now to the more palatable alternative. I’m going to be in this place for the next week and out of commission for four to six.”
    Torture for an active man who liked to be in the middle of things, Nash thought.
    “I can do the basics while you’re out of the office,” Kelly assured Richard.
    She’d been quiet for most of the visit, but she was obviously visibly shaken by seeing her boss laid up and talking death. Nash didn’t know much about her legal skills, but he had no doubt she could hold down the fort while Richard was gone.
    “She can refer any new cases to me,” Nash offered. “I’m happy to step in while you’re out of commission and hand things back over to you when you’re ready to return.”
    Nash had been considering making Bill Manfredi, an associate who worked in Nash’s office, a junior partner. The influx of work would just speed up the process, something Nash was comfortable doing.
    Richard visibly relaxed against the bed. “I knew I could count on you two.”
    “Anything to put you at ease and speed up your recovery,” Kelly told him.
    “One more thing. Just because I won’t be coming to the office doesn’t mean I want to be out of the loop,” Richard said in a firm tone.
    “I never assumed any such thing,” Kelly said with a light laugh.
    Like Nash, she obviously held a great deal of fondness as well as respect for the older man. Not that Nash was surprised. Everyone liked Richard. In turn, if Richard sensed a need in someone, he tried to step in and assume a father-figure role. But he had to focus solely on himself and his recuperation for the next couple of months.
    “I think Mary will have a thing or two to say about you trying to do too much too soon,” Nash warned him, knowing his former mother-in-law and deflecting his own concern.
    “I most certainly will,” the woman under discussion said, walking into the room, followed by Annie.
    Nash stepped over and said hello to Mary, kissing her on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything,” he said to her.
    “Thank you.” Her smile was understandably strained.
    “Now, everyone out.” Mary pointed toward the door. “Richard needs his rest.”
    “Do you see what I have in store for me?” Richard grumbled. But nobody knew better than Nash how much the older man loved his wife.
    He’d always envied them their relationship. Richard and Mary represented the marriage neither his parents nor he himself had accomplished. Even the Rossmans, though they tried, suffered from the strain of losing a child. They never seemed to share the elusive connection Richard and Mary did. He thought he and Annie had, but looking back Nash realized it was more of an intersection of lives. Richard and proximity had put them together. Teenage physical attraction had done the rest. Neither had been able to sustain the needed emotions for the long haul. The end of his marriage had seemed like the end of the world as he knew it, and he’d kept his liaisons casual ever since.
    Even with Kelly, he wasn’t thinking about relationships in the long-term sense, or so he’d told both himself and Kelly.
    How had he phrased it? They were adults who could act like it before, during, and… after things ended . The ending was an implied presumption.
    But wouldn’t it be nice to look forward to something more? he wondered for the first time.
    “Nash. I asked if you’re ready to leave,” Kelly said.
    He glanced up, shaken to suddenly find her by his side, hand on his shoulder.
    “Yeah, sure.” He’d spaced out, lost in his own thoughts.
    He followed her out. As soon as