by S. E. Law
I swing my head back at Jace and finally take a hard look at him. He’s wearing a real suit, with a fitted cut, expensive fabric, and seamless tailoring. His watch is understated, but it definitely cost a pretty penny, not to mention his expensive haircut and blindingly white dress shirt. Everything is screaming wealth.
Given the tension of the moment, I keep my questions to myself. But I am curious. I wonder how much has changed over the past seven years for him because this clearly isn’t the old Jace, who didn’t have two dimes to rub together.
Jace throws our bags into the trunk, slamming it shut while Jamie and I get into the backseat. Without a car seat, he’ll need to be held the whole ride to wherever we’re going, and I don’t know how we’re going to fly because I don’t have our passports. Herb keeps those locked up tight.
Jace is in the driver’s seat, his knuckles white as he grips the steering wheel.
“Is everything okay?” I ask softly. Tension radiates through his body before he takes a deep breath and relaxes his muscles
“I’m fine.” He looks to the backseat. “Let’s get out of here, babe.”
The car starts and then pulls onto the road, and I let out a long breath. I’m finally leaving. After twenty-five long years, the Jones Estate is fading into the distance. Gone from my life, and hopefully forever.
“Get down,” Jace’s sudden comment sounds the alarm bells.
“Why?” He doesn’t say anything which doesn’t help my growing anxiety. “What’s going on?”
I look at Jace, and see how those blue eyes glaze. Then, I see what he’s seeing. A car approaching that looks like –
“Jamie stay down here with me.” I bend over with my son so that we can’t be seen from outside the car. My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for the vehicle that may or may not be Herb’s to pass us.
“Mommy, is everything okay?” comes my son’s small voice. I stroke his hair to reassure him.
“Yes, baby. I just wanted us to stretch a little.” I watch as Jace’s eyes follow the car. Fury tinges his expression, and, just from that, I know it was Herb in the car. His gaze is steely though. I pop my head up when I think it’s safe, but it’s not. My dad’s behind us, with a crazed expression on his face.
My hold around Jamie tightens as the car accelerates. Herb has clearly seen us, and he’s tailing us now.
“Jace?”
“He’s not going to get you,” he rumbles.
“Jace!”
“Haley, I won’t let him get you. I promise.” I trust him. He’ll get us out of this. After all, we’ve already come this far.
But what is my father even doing here? He was supposed to be away for at least another week. Was that all a lie? Maybe he decided to come back early unexpectedly, in order to keep me and Irene walking on eggshells?
“Mommy, who are you talking about? Why are we going so fast?” is Jamie’s curious question. I hug him tight to me.
“It’s going to be okay, baby. We’re going to be fine because your daddy is going to make sure we’re okay.” I know focusing on my dad’s car will just wig me out more, but I can’t tear my eyes away from his vehicle. He chases us down like a mad dog. There’s no way this will end well.
Suddenly, I see it before it happens. A deer runs out from the woods and darts between the two cars, abruptly stopping in front of Herb. He swerves but given the speed he was going, his car flips, doing a spectacular somersault through the air before landing on its side with a horrific scraping sound.
“Jesus Christ,” I whisper.
Oh my god, we have to stop! Multitudes of emotions spread throughout me. This is my tormentor, but he’s also my dad. We’ve slowed down, but the miles continue to fly by.
“Jace stop the car!” I scream. “We can’t just leave him there. What if he’s dead or dying? We need to call 911 at least.”
He looks straight ahead, knuckles gripping the wheel.
“Stop the car,” I scream again. “Stop, stop!”
But Jace doesn’t say a word, and just keeps driving until the wreck disappears in the rearview mirror.
11
Jace
We’re stopped in the middle of the road, not too far from where Herb just wrecked his car. My adrenaline was so high that I hadn’t even thought to stop driving. My only thoughts were about getting Jamie and Haley out of Lenville. But Haley yelling at me to stop shook me out of my haze, and I’m calming down now.
“I have to go see if he’s okay.” She fumbles with her seatbelt in an effort to get out, but I stop her.
“Wait, I’ll go. Stay here with Jamie, okay?” There’s no way Haley’s talking to her dad right now. He’s probably in some disconnected state of mind, if he’s even still alive.
Her big brown eyes look at me, full of panic, but she nods.
“Okay, okay. Just be careful.”
“No need to worry about me, baby. I can take care of myself. Just stay here.” I take off my suit jacket, placing it on the passenger seat. Her concern makes me feel good but my mind churns on its own. I’m going to take care of her piece of shit father so that he never comes after us again.
I step out on to the road and, cautiously, approach Herb’s car. I don’t want to be doing this, but it is for the best.
Getting closer, I can hear sounds of struggling coming from inside. Great. He’s alive.
“Herb!” I call out. I don’t get any kind of intelligible response, just an aggravated scream. He sounds like an animal in distress. I look inside and see him hanging in his seat, held up only by his seatbelt.
“Go away! I don’t need your help, boy!” Okay, so he’s probably not injured if he’s able to belt out words from his seat. But clearly, Herb needs help. All the thrashing he’s doing isn’t coming close to getting him out of his predicament, and honestly, it might be making it worse.
Ignoring Herb’s protests, I open the car door and grab the seatbelt in my hand before yanking. I press the metal button to unfasten it, but clearly it’s stuck.
“I don’t need your help,” yells Herb, his face a purplish-red. I can smell the stench of his sweat, and it stinks, but I refuse to look at him. Yanking with my hand, I manage to pull the belt out of its socket entirely, and Herb falls with a thump to the floor, his rotund form a heap. He struggles a bit but then manages to crawl out of the window. The minute he’s actually out of the car and able to move on his own, Herb takes a swing at me.
“Whoa,” I say, avoiding his fists. “What’s this about? I just rescued you.”
“Where is she? Where’s my daughter? Where’s my grandson?” Déjà vu washes over me as I remember my own words from seven years ago. Barging into the Jones Estate, demanding to see Haley, but getting nowhere. The universe has given me a chance to set things right, and on my terms now.
“She doesn’t want to see you,” I calmly state.
“Like hell she doesn’t! Where do you think you’re taking her, boy?” I’m beginning to suspect Herb might have a concussion. He seems a bit out of it because his steps uneven and unsure, but I can’t muster up any real sympathy for him. He’s treated his entire family like dirt. No, worse than dirt and it disgusts me.
When I was a kid, someone like him intimidated me, and it felt impossible to stand up to the likes of Herb Jones. But now, I have perspective. No matter what he tries, Herb can’t stop me and Haley from leaving.
“I’m going to call you an ambulance. After that, Haley and I are leaving and we’re not coming back.”
“You sonofabitch!” Herb rushes me, but I simply step out of the way, and he tumbles over. Glancing over, I can see he isn’t too injured, so there’s no use in helping the old man up.
I take out my phone and dial 911. Kneeling down, I deliver a few more words before making the call.
“I want you to know you’re just a little man. You might have money, you might have status, but that all means nothing in the end because your family doesn’t love you and they don’t respect you. But today, whether yo
u like it or not, your daughter and grandson are saying goodbye. If you bother us in any way, I promise I can make your life a living hell. You can bet on that,” I spit.
I don’t wait for his response, standing back up and calling emergency services.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“I’d like to report an accident off the road down from the Jones Estate. There’s a car flipped over. The driver seems to have gotten out and he looks intact.”
“Can I get your name, sir?”
“I’m sorry, I have to go.”
“Please, it would be better –” I hang up, not wanting to stay on the line and wait for the ambulance to come by. I look back one more time as I head towards my car, and Herb’s sat up, looking up at the sky with a dazed look. I don’t know what he’s feeling, and I don’t care.
I get back in my car, and Haley’s eyes are filled with fear.
“Is he okay?”
“He will be. Do you need to go talk to him?” I won’t try to stop her if she says yes, but she is his daughter. She’s been living under his roof for more than two decades, and that’s a difficult bond to break.
There’s silence for a second and then a deep inhale.
“No, we should go.” The resolve in her voice is definite, and I don’t need to be told twice.
I restart the car, continuing our drive to my private jet. The rest of the ride is quiet and uneventful. We’re all coming down from dealing with that literal car wreck, and a moment to process is needed. However, I’m hoping that once we’re on the plane, Haley will talk to me a little bit more. After all, we’ve just been through horrific circumstances, one after another, and we can’t keep it inside forever.
The interior of the hangar is calm, with just a few staff doing their jobs. Good. Peace and quiet are needed at this time.
I shut off the car.
“I have to go get in touch with my pilot. Can you two wait in here while I make some calls?” Haley nods. I can see the questions brimming in her mind, but she doesn’t ask any of them.
I step out of the car and make the call. Edward answers on the first ring.
“Sir?”
“There’s been a significant change in plans. We need to leave as soon as possible. Also, I have two other people with me. That won’t be a problem?”
“No, sir. I should be able get everything settled so we can takeoff in an hour.” Great, that’s lot sooner than expected. I make sure to only hire the best, and clearly, it’s worth the money.
“Thanks, Edward. We’ll see you soon.”
I hang up. Looking back at the car, I catch glimpses of Haley and Jamie through the window. She’s stroking the boy’s hair, and I’m sure she’s reassuring him about our upcoming journey. They probably need a moment together alone because ever since I walked back into her life, it’s been one foot on the accelerator.
Giving them their privacy, I turn around and stare blindly around the hangar while thinking to myself. In my memory, Herb was big, he was intimidating, and someone to be feared because that’s what he demanded. In my mind, he was one of the most powerful men in the world, with the power to ruin my life. Dating Haley against his wishes was a crazy thing to do because no one went against him in Lenville.
But today, he seemed really small and pathetic. The thought of punching him, even after all the failed swings he took at me, didn’t appeal because he simply wasn’t worth it. I guess, in reality, he was never worth it. The change is in me, and not Herb.
“Jace!” Haley’s voice floats over to me. I twist my body to look back at her. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, the pilot should be here in an hour. We can wait in the plane if you like.” She nods, and I return to the vehicle. After getting the bags out of the trunk, I show them the way to the plane.
“Wow,” Jamie whispers. “Is this yours?”
“Shh, Jamie. You shouldn’t ask that,” his mom hushes him. It’s kind of funny to me that Haley is scolding the little guy over such an innocent question.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.” After I put their bags down, I answer, “It is my plane. The only people allowed on are the ones I want to be here.”
“That’s cool.” Jamie giggles and comes to stand beside me. “You’re really cool, mister.”
Haley laughs a little, and the tension eases. It’s the first relaxed moment we’ve had as a threesome, and Haley wraps her arms around herself, just like she used to when she was nervous.
There’s some shuffling, and I look down to see Jamie trying to sneak away. He probably wants to explore the jet.
“Hey, little dude.” Jamie abruptly stops moving, his entire body frozen. “You can look around, just don’t touch anything, okay?”
I barely finish, and the boy is off like a rocket. I never thought of the plane as this exciting but seeing it through his eyes, I’m getting a whole new perspective.
Haley is watching me quite closely, like she’s trying to make heads and tails of the new Jace King. Her bottom lip is between her teeth as she simply stares at me. It’s electrifying, but the woman’s holding back. Ever since we got into my car, there’s been something on her mind. I don’t blame her. After what we’ve been through, I myself have a million questions.
“Do you want to sit?” Motioning to the seats, I realize this whole situation is pretty touch and go, and a little like when we first got together. I remember asking her out that first time, and how nervous I was. She was the daughter of the richest man in Lenville, whereas I was a dirt-poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks. But since Day One, we were always like two peas in a pod; we got each other, and there were so many laughs and so much loving. Now, we’re strangers although I desperately want to know more.
“Thanks,” she gulps, taking a seat.
“Do you want to talk about what just happened?” are my slow words. After all, she was distraught when her dad’s vehicle crashed. If she hadn’t screamed, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to pull over. Honestly, I was okay with leaving Herb to his fate because that’s how much of an asshole I am.
Haley shakes her head.
“No, not right now, thanks.” Her eyes skim over the plane before landing back on me. She takes a deep breath. “So Jace, what have you been doing for the past seven years?”
I contemplate my answer before replying.
“Working. I run a hedge fund up in the city.” I’m not sure how detailed I want to get with my life. Coming to Lenville, I had a lot more confidence, but now, my life doesn’t feel like something worth bragging about.
“I always knew you would be successful,” she replies with a small smile. “Is there anything else?”
I shake my head. There’s nothing else. At least, nothing worth discussing. She’s not going to care about penthouses, private planes, and fancy cars. Haley’s not about things, she’s about values and everything that’s good in the world.
She looks down before taking another deep breath.
“So there’s, um, no one special?” she asks quietly.
“Special?” I ask. “What do you mean by special?”
I fully understand what Haley is asking but I just what want to tease her a little. She does all these cute little things when she’s avoiding a subject, and I want to see her squirm a bit.
“You know, someone extra important to you.” She’s doing everything possible to skirt around the question she actually wants to ask. There’s a chance it’s simple curiosity, but I’m really hoping she still has feelings for me. After seven years of harboring all this hurt, I could use a happy ending. I dodge the subject.
“Well, let me ask about you. Do you have anyone special?” Her eyes go wide with astonishment.
“But I asked you first,” she says with shock, but I’m not going to let her get away with it.
“Well, I need some clarification on the question. Let’s just say if you answer, then I’ll be able to answer.” She has to know I’m bullshitting her, but she doesn’t call me out.
>
She looks down, staring at her hands.
“There’s no one,” she says softly, shaking her head. Immense relief takes over my body. I can’t imagine having to step aside while Haley dates someone else. The possibility would break my heart all over again.
But then Haley adds something that makes my hackles raise.
“I mean, where would I meet anyone?” she adds ruefully.
That arouses my suspicions.
“What does that mean?” I demand. She shrugs.
“I just don’t get out much is all. Raising a son took up a lot of my time.” It’s a perfectly good explanation, but I’m pretty sure it has a lot to do with her father. “And you?”
“Hmm?”
“Come on, Jace. Fair play is fair play. Do you have a special someone? I already told you,” she says with a saucy look.
Oh right.
“No,” I grunt my one-word answer. Let her ask more.
“Is there a reason?”
I huff in response. This girl! She’s about to break me down all over again, but I merely shrug.
“I guess I never found the right person.”
“Oh, I see,” she knits her brows. Maybe I said the wrong thing but then again, we’ve been apart for so long. Before I can reply, she asks a quiet question.
“Are you happy?”
That catches me off-guard because it’s a difficult question to answer. Am I happy? I’ve been thinking about it for months, and the answer is what motivated me to finally come to Lenville. The realization that I wasn’t happy, and that something needed to change are why I’m here now, with this woman by my side.
In the beginning, when Haley first left me, I thought success would be what brought me out of the trenches. I thought that once I made a name for myself, and that once I had money, fame, fortune, and power, I would be happy. But I wasn’t. I was living an empty life in New York, and the realization made me book this flight home in order to confront my past. But I can’t lay this on her now because it’s too much. We only just met again after a long separation.