9
Jack
“What in the hell is going on?” I muttered under my breath as I saw a moving truck back into my driveway. Well, it was the driveway of the house I was going to purchase, but it seemed I was too late. “You said no one would buy it.”
Carter looked at me and shrugged. “I guess someone new moved to town. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“You asshole, you made it sound like I had all the time in the world.”
“Yeah, well, apparently you didn’t. What do you want me to say? If you weren’t moving at a snail’s pace, you might have gotten the house.”
Gritting my teeth, I got out of the car and slammed the door. I knew I should be friendly right now, but all I could think about was how pissed I was that someone had taken my house. I had waited too long, assuming I had all the time in the world. None of the other houses in town sold this fast.
“Hey,” I shouted to one of the movers. “Where’s the owner?”
He jerked his head toward the front of the house as he climbed back in the truck.
“Now, Jack. Just wait a minute. You can’t go storming in there, all pissed off because someone bought the place before you.”
I spun on him, grabbing him by the collar. “I would have this place now if you hadn’t given me such shitty advice.”
“I told you to take it,” he insisted.
“Yeah, and you also told me I could name my price,” I retorted.
“And did you?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Finally letting him go, I took a step back. “I may have low-balled it.”
“How low?”
I shrugged. “Twenty grand.”
He barked out a laugh, throwing back his head. “You wanted them to knock twenty grand off the asking price?”
“I thought I had time to negotiate.”
“Yeah, and how’d that work out for you?”
“Not well, apparently.”
“Look, it’s not the end of the world. There are a few older residents in town that’ll croak any day now. You can buy one of those houses.”
“I liked this one.”
“Well, tough shit. You’re not getting it.”
I sighed, staring at the house that just slipped through my fingers. I should have just gone for it, but I was too worried about losing the last piece of Natalie. And when I finally made the decision, the realtor told me the sellers wouldn’t go that low. But I didn’t listen. They rejected my offer instantly, and I hadn’t even countered yet.
I turned to leave, but a woman came out of the house. She definitely wasn’t a mover, but the way she was standing, I couldn’t see her face. I took off my sunglasses and squinted, trying to make out her face. When she finally turned, I almost choked on my own spit.
“Holy shit.”
“What? Who is it?”
I shook my head. It couldn’t be. Christy hadn’t been back to town in years. And now she moved back and didn’t even call me?
“What in the actual fuck?”
Carter slapped my arm. “What in the actual fuck are you talking about? Who is she?”
“Christy Price.”
“Christy Price? Nah, she moved…a long time ago. That looks nothing like her.”
She was definitely older. She’d grown into her features. There was no baby face to her. She was slim and toned, her features more pronounced than when she left here. She had grown into a woman. When she left, she was still the girl I grew up with. Now…she was a knockout.
Without thinking about it, I walked over to her, catching her eye in just an instant. She froze on the spot, like she didn’t know how to respond to me. I grinned and held out my arms, ready to give her a hug, but when I wrapped my arms around her, she was stiff and not at all the Christy I once hung out with late at night.
Her smile was tight as I pulled back from her. I’d obviously just made her uncomfortable, but I didn’t have the slightest clue why. She used to be my best friend. Sure, time had passed, but I still had some of my best memories with her.
“You could call a guy and let him know you’re coming back to town,” I teased.
She forced a smile, glancing down at her feet. “It was kind of a sudden move.”
“Oh, did you get transferred down here for work?”
“No…I, uh, I left my job.”
Frowning, I could now see the tension in her eyes, hell, in her whole body. “What happened?”
“Oh…” She glanced away, giving her attention to the movers. “Um, that can go in the second bedroom upstairs.”
“If I had known you were buying the house, I would have suggested we go in on it together, just like old times,” I laughed.
“Yeah,” she chuckled, but again, it was forced.
“So, how are you?”
“I can’t complain.”
“Well, why’d you move down here?”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“Look, if this is because we lost touch, I’m really sorry. Life got in the way, and then—”
“I know about Natalie,” she interrupted. “And I’m so sorry to hear about the accident. You have a son, right?”
I nodded, grinning slightly. “Brody. He’s a great kid.”
“I’m sure he is. You must be a great dad. I always knew you would be.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
She was silent for a moment, before finally meeting my eyes again. “I’m sorry I didn’t come home for the funeral. I know it must have been hard on you. I really wanted to make it, but…”
She didn’t finish her thought, and honestly, at the time, it hadn’t even occurred to me that she hadn’t shown up. I didn’t remember much about that day. I was so lost in grief, that the swarm of people were just faces in a crowd.
“It’s fine.”
Her body relaxed slightly and she glanced over at the movers. “I should probably get back to helping them out. I don’t want to have to move everything later.”
“Of course,” I nodded, stepping back, running right into Carter, who I forgot was even behind me. “Oh, this is my deputy—”
“Carter,” she grinned. “I remember.”
She smiled for him, actually smiled. It wasn’t the forced half-smile she’d given me, and I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous over that. Did she like him?
“Yeah, I was a few grades below you in school.”
“You definitely grew up.”
“So did you,” he grinned, rubbing at his jaw.
He was fucking flirting with her.
“We should go,” I cut in, needing this to end before I started a fight on her front lawn. “Gotta get back to work.”
“Right, well, it was good to see you.”
“You too.”
I turned to leave, but then stopped. “Maybe we could get together for one of those movie nights like we used to.”
Her smile faded and she nodded. “We’ll see.”
Turning away, I grimaced at the ground. We’ll see. What the hell was that?
“Man, you struck out there.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked as I pulled my car door open.
He laughed at me. “You hugged her and she didn’t hug you back,” he ticked off on his fingers. “She didn’t smile at you the way she smiled at me. And you invited her over for a movie night and she shot you down!”
“She didn’t shoot me down,” I grumbled.
“Uh, sorry, but that’s exactly what she did.” He sighed, resting his elbow against the window. “And here I was going to suggest that you ask her out on a date, but clearly that’s not going to happen.”
“Why would I ask her out on a date? We’re friends.”
“Were friends,” he pointed out. “I’m guessing that ship sailed long ago.”
“No,” I shook my head. “Christy and I were friends since we were kids.”
“Yet, you haven’t heard from her in years.”
“My whole c
hildhood is filled with memories of her. We were inseparable.”
“Yet somehow, you ended up with Natalie.”
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. “It was never like that with Christy. I’m telling you, we were just friends. Then life got in the way. She got a job in Chicago and moved away. We tried to keep in touch, but…I don’t know. Eventually, we just stopped talking.”
“Right,” he drawled. “Because it’s so hard to keep in touch when your best friend lives an hour away.”
I sighed heavily. “What do you want me to say? She had a busy job, and I…”
“You were off getting married and having a kid,” he finished.
“Basically.”
“And you just expect to pick up where you left off.”
“No, I guess not. We’re different people now. But it would be nice to hang out again. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a friend.”
“Hey, I’m offended by that. Have I not been there for you? Have I not held you up when you were down?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “It’s not the same. When I had Christy…things were just easy. She’s from another time, before all this shit with Natalie, before I had a kid and I was angry all the time.”
“Man, just don’t make the mistake of thinking you can just bring her back into your life and everything will be just like it was. I have a feeling you’re missing a huge piece of the puzzle.”
“What does that mean?”
“If I have to tell you, you’re not ready to hear it.”
10
Christy
I watched him get into his car, shocked that I made it through that whole ordeal in one piece. How could he just walk up to me and hug me like we hadn’t spoken in seven years? For him, time hadn’t passed at all, but for me, every minute without him broke my heart.
Despite what he’d been through, he was still the same charming man with the killer smile that made me melt into a puddle. But I held strong this time, refusing to give in when he tried to get me to bend to him. I knew what he saw. I wasn’t the same girl I was back then, but I couldn’t just step into my old role of his best friend. There couldn’t be any movie nights or reminiscing about old times, not if I was going to survive being home again.
A car pulled up behind mine along the curb. Great, my parents were here. They were the absolute last people on Earth I wanted to see right now. Both of them loved Jack. That was why I got away with so much when we were teenagers. He was this great kid with a good head on his shoulders. If they only knew the feelings I harbored for him for years, they never would have allowed me to stay over at his house. At least his parents had moved out of town. That meant I didn’t have to contend with them also.
“Honey,” my mom grinned as she trotted up the driveway. She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight. “It’s so good to see you. Was that Jack I just saw driving away?”
Of course that was the first thing she thought of. “Yeah, he saw me and stopped by.”
“Well, why didn’t you invite him in?”
“Because I’m moving in. I have things to do, which is why I told you guys not to stop by today.”
“Oh,” she waved me off, brushing past me to head inside. “Like I could stay away on the day my daughter finally returns home.”
My dad laughed slightly. “She makes it sound like you lived on Mars.” For once, he didn’t sound bitter about me living in Chicago. “Of course, it seemed that way with how often we saw you.”
And there it was. He just couldn’t stop by and tell me he missed me. It had to be laced with a jab or two of guilt. He pulled me in for a hug, which I had to admit, I desperately missed. My dad was a mixed bag of emotions for me. On the one hand, he was the best dad growing up. He never let me feel like he didn’t want me around or wished he had a son. My parents were only blessed with one child, so I had a lot to live up to. That’s where the bad part came in. He pushed me like a son, never allowing me to give up on anything.
When I was in high school and wanted to quit playing basketball, he wouldn’t let me. Even though I wasn’t that good and hated my coach, he told me I wasn’t allowed to quit anything, that I would be letting the team down. It was only after Jack talked to him, telling my dad basically the same things I had told him about how much my coach belittled me, that my dad gave in and let me walk away. But I never stopped hearing about it.
As I followed my parents inside, I watched as my mom glanced around the room, taking in the chaos that was my life. My dad, of course, had to point out that the ceiling wasn't perfectly painted, and that the floorboards could have been done better. But I ignored both of them, and went into the kitchen to start making some lunch for myself.
The movers had done a fairly good job of getting things done quickly. But now I had only a few days to get everything unpacked and sorted out before I started my new job at the daycare. Seeing Jack had really thrown me for a loop today. I hadn't expected to see him on my first day here.
But now that I was back and ran into him, I couldn't help but wonder how things would move forward from here. I thought I would have more time to figure out my life, and how to deal with Jack in it. And on top of all that he had a son now, which I already knew about, but it somehow made it more real. Would he expect me to spend time with his son and get to know him?
As I slapped a peanut butter and jelly sandwich together, I stressed over the thought of possibly meeting his son. Natalie’s son. It shouldn’t matter, but she was the woman that took Jack away from me. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing his son, the person that reminded him most of his dead wife.
But the Jack I just saw was not the same man I used to know. He looked the same and had the same charming smile, but I could see the sadness hiding underneath that rough exterior he’d put up to protect himself. The truth was, he was a widower, probably forever grieving the woman he loved. While he married the love of his life, I ran away to escape the pain of seeing them together.
“So, Jack is still as handsome as ever,” my mom said in that cheery voice of hers as she started to unpack a box in the kitchen.
“Mom, you really don't have to do that.”
“Oh, you know, I just like to keep busy. So, did you set up some time to get together with Jack to see him again?”
“I don't know, Mom. It's been a long time and I just moved back here.”
“Why wouldn't you want to spend time with Jack?” my dad asked as he took a seat on the kitchen stool. “He's the best guy there is in town. I would think you would want to see him after being gone for seven years.”
And just like that, my dad hit me with another jab. Just like always, Jack could never do anything wrong. I wondered if my dad would feel the same way if he knew I had been in love with Jack for all these years, and Jack had chosen another woman over me. Technically, that didn’t happen. I was never even in the running.
“Dad, I just moved back and I want to get settled. I don't want to worry about seeing other people right now. I have so much to do before I can even think about going and hanging out with friends again.”
“Jack's just not any friend,” my mother said. “He was your best friend for years. We grew up as neighbors. Why would you not want to see him?”
It took everything in me not to shout at her that I didn’t want to see him because I was still in love with him. But they didn’t know that. They didn’t realize that I left because I couldn’t stand to have my heart broken as he walked down the aisle with another woman.
“It's not that I don't want to see him,” I lied. “I just have a lot to get done. I have work starting in just a few days—”
“And you wouldn't have a new job to start if you hadn’t left the perfectly good job you already had,” my dad scolded.
“I don't want to go through this again. It was not the job for me anymore. You have no idea what it was like.”
“I know that you up and quit a job when you could have stayed there. You could have kept making a differenc
e in others’ lives.”
I nodded. “Yeah, and I could have walked in on another kid being murdered. Sorry, seeing it once was enough for me,” I snapped.
“Honey, we're not trying to diminish what you went through. Your father and I just feel that you were doing good work there.”
“I can't believe this,” I threw up my hands. “So, on the one hand, you're so happy I'm home and you're pushing me to go see Jack and spend time with him. You're scolding me for not having seen him in seven years, but on the other hand, I should have stayed in Chicago, and not given up on the job I had. So which is it? Do you want me here, or do you want me to go back to Chicago?”
They were both silent for a minute.
“Maybe you guys should just go. I have a lot to do and I don't have the time to talk about this stuff. I just want to get organized.”
“Honey, I can help. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up.”
“No, it's fine,” I interrupted. “I understand you guys mean well, but I have a lot to do. Once I’m all unpacked, I’ll invite you over for dinner and we can catch up.”
“All right, honey.”
She kissed my cheek and headed for the door, grabbing her purse on the way. My dad stared at me for a moment, like he was assessing me. Finally, he came and gave me a hug and followed her to the door. I followed behind them, waving as they got in their car and pulled out of the driveway. Closing the door, I leaned up against it and sighed. Finally, I had some peace again.
I stared at the empty house, wondering how I was ever going to see Jack again. I could already imagine him in my house, sitting on my couch and watching sports like he used to. Would he find another woman and break my heart all over again? No, I wouldn’t allow him to do that. I would make sure that Jack and I never got close enough for it to even be a possibility.
11
Jack
I picked up Brody from preschool, late as usual. When I saw Ellen standing in the doorway, holding Brody’s hand, I was a little more cautious. Remembering what the guys said the other night, I had to wonder if they were onto something. The way she looked at me and batted her eyelashes made me think I wasn’t just imagining this.
Four Horsemen: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 5) Page 7