Free Long Time Running by Hannah Foster Page B

she blanched. "There is no need to wait."
    "I'm not sure she can handle finding out right now," she insisted. "Not before her surgery."
    "That's a cop out Sarah and you know it" he hissed.
    "Actually it isn't," Andrew interjected standing in the doorway of Eric's office. "And I'm sure the nurses down the hall
     have appreciated this argument as their morning's entertainment." He shut the door behind him as he stepped inside.
    "You're taking her side?" he asked his friend incredulously.
    Andrew, of all people, knew how desperate Eric was to tell
     Jack the truth, to finally claim his son publicly. To see him suddenly suggest they wait, left him feeling out of sorts.
    "It's not about sides," he said kindly looking at
     his best friend and then to Sarah. "Sarah makes a good point. Nathalie has been very agitated and I'm not having a lot of luck with the radiation. I'm not sure at this point telling her that her wishes regarding her son were not
     carried out is a good thing for her health."
    "Don't say it like that," Sarah said testily. "Don't say it like I've done something wrong. I did this for her. If you had seen what she...." Her voice trailed off.
    "That's the problem" Eric said tightly, "We didn't see, we don't know what happened to her." His mind flashed back to the night before as he held her tremulous and terrified in his arms. "You're asking us to continue to take a leap of faith with you and I can't
     think of a single reason why. Even Jack is asking about his parents - how many lies are you going to keep telling him? I guess lying is a Grant sister specialty, huh?"
    "Is the view pretty nice in your ivory tower? Is
     it?" she asked sharply, rising to her feet. "Because it occurs to me Eric if we're going to toss around blame and fault let's take a look at you, shall we? After all, who in this room is the one that made my sister feel like
     she had to choose between her child and her boyfriend? Who is it that started the ball rolling on all this? Because I'm pretty sure it's you."
    "Oh, so I deserve this? I deserve to be a glorified
     babysitter to my own son? My OWN SON!" he shouted.
    "Jack loves you" she hissed "and he will still love you when he knows you're his father - hell, he'll be over the moon that you're his father! All I'm trying to do is look out for my sister and I
     won't apologize for that."
    "Look out for your sister or look out for yourself?"
    "That's enough," Andrew said evenly to both of them. The tone in his voice was a warning.
    Sarah took a deep breath and sat back down in the chair. "We're talking about a week - two weeks at the most" she reasoned.
    Eric shook his head. His mind was a swirl of confusion. His
     feelings for Nathalie were awake again - in a way he had never expected - and he was at a loss as to what he should do. He wanted to tell her about Jack - tell her that he knows about their son, that he loved him.
    "I seem to recall you saying the same thing when you
     presented me with my son," he said emphatically, "seven years ago. You said it would be a couple of months - it's been years Sarah. Years. "
    She wrung her hands together. "It's not going to be
     years," she whispered.
    "Damn straight it won't" he told her pointedly. "I'm willing to wait until after her surgery but not a moment longer. And if you aren't ready to tell her then well too bad because I am done playing by
     your rules!"
    Brushing past Andrew he stormed out of his office, slamming the door shut behind him.
    "He's right, you know" he told her, sitting on the
     edge of the desk.
    "I don't need you to pile on" she answered. "Not now."
    Leaning forward, he touched her shoulder. "I'm not trying to pile on Sarah. I'm trying to help you."
    "Help me?" she scoffed. "Why would help me? You can barely stand me."
    "That's not true and you know it," he challenged, giving her a heated look. "But the truth is going to come out and it's
     better if it comes from you. Don't let Jack or Nathalie discover this on their own." He