“Yep, while you thought everything was always so innocent, that Jack would never do anything to your baby girl, he was showing me porn. And we watched it for hours!”
My mother covered her mouth, shaking her head slightly. “No,” she whispered.
“Yes, and that’s not all.”
“What could be worse than that?”
“It happened on our band trip!”
My mom’s eyes went unreasonably wide. “Well…that band teacher should have known better. He always was a lazy twit.”
I threw up my hands in disbelief. “Of course, blame the teacher and not Jack.”
“Where is this coming from?” my mom asked. “You and Jack used to be thick as thieves growing up. Now you act like you don’t want to see him.”
“Maybe I don’t want to see him.”
“But why?”
My dad sighed heavily. “Just leave it, Jackie. Our daughter has never been one to make the smartest decisions.”
My jaw practically hit the floor. “Are you serious?”
“Well, look at you. You moved all the way to Chicago to be a social worker, and then you left that job and came home. Now, if you’d just stayed here, maybe you would have already ended up with Jack.”
“Why do you think I left?” I shouted.
My mom and dad stared at me in shock. I never yelled at them. Was I sarcastic? Yes, but I never yelled at them. I blinked back the tears forming and turned away from them. If they didn’t understand by now that I was in love with Jack and always had been, they definitely wouldn’t figure it out on their own.
“Do you really think that I just up and left because of a job?”
“Why did you leave?” my dad asked in his deep baritone.
I slowly turned, shaking my head slightly. “The day I decided to leave, Jack told me he needed to see me. He said he had something important he needed to talk to me about. I ran over there like I always did with him, but when I got there, he told me he was going to ask Natalie to marry him.” I huffed out a humorless laugh. “And then he asked me to help pick out the ring.”
My mom had tears in her eyes, and my dad was in obvious shock. As if walking on eggshells, my mom walked toward me and wrapped her arms around me. “That’s why you left,” she whispered. “You were in love with him.”
“I still am,” I said, a sob filling my chest. “That’s why I hated the idea of coming home.” I stepped back and swiped at my face. “Do you understand how bad it was for me at work now? That I would choose to come home and face the man that chose another woman over me, and live in the same town as him, knowing I’ll never be who he wants?”
For the first time ever, my parents were speechless. They finally understood how hard this was for me.
“Do you want me to go kick his ass?” my dad asked. “Because I will.”
I laughed, swiping at my nose. “No, it’s over and in the past.”
“Still, he hurt my little girl.”
“Dad, he didn’t even know I felt that way about him.”
“But you were with him all the time. He should have known.”
I tilted my head as I stared at him. “You knew I spent all that time with Jack. Did you ever suspect?”
“Well…”
“You just spent so much time together as kids,” my mom cut in. “We just assumed you were really good friends.”
“We were,” I nodded. “But I’ve been in love with Jack since high school.”
“So, go get him back,” my mom smiled.
“He’s got a kid now…a dead wife! Nothing is the same as it used to be. And I can’t have my heart broken twice.”
We all stood there in silence. Now it was awkward. My parents knew about my unrequited love for Jack. They knew I ran away when he got engaged. I was pathetic, and now they knew it too.
My dad walked over to me, pressing his hand to my arm in some macho form of comfort. “If you change your mind, I know a great spot in the wetlands. The government can’t go in there searching for any bodies. It’s on protected land.”
I crinkled my nose at his suggestion. I wasn’t happy with the way life turned out, but I didn’t want Jack dead. Even if my father was joking.
“It’s kind of funny, you know?” he chuckled to himself. “The government that protects him would also prevent anyone from finding his dead body.”
Mom and I just stared at him.
“You know, because he’s in law enforcement.”
“Yeah, I got that, Dad.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, it’s not as funny if you have to explain your own joke.”
When I saw Jack walk into the daycare center on time, I tried to hide. I didn’t want to see him today. After everything that happened with my parents, I wanted nothing more than to pretend that Jack didn’t even exist. So, I did what any rational woman would do. I hid in the bathroom.
Unfortunately, Jack saw through that and knocked on the door.
“Christy?”
Shit. I stared in the mirror at myself, trying not to let the panic claw its way to the surface.
“Uh…just a minute!”
“I’ve been waiting for you to come out for like twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes? I mouthed to myself. I glanced at my watch and sighed. Fuck, I had been hiding a long time. How was I going to explain this? I turned and marched to the door, flinging it open.
“Yes?”
“Were you hiding in the bathroom?” he asked with a grin.
“Yes,” I said honestly.
His smile dropped. “Why?”
“Because…you and I are…and it’s weird. You’re here to pick up Brody, not talk to me, so I don’t see why it should matter if I’m hiding from you.”
“I thought…” He stepped back clearing his throat. “I thought we worked past that the other day.”
“I understand you better, but things are not just fixed between us.”
He ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath. “Wow, okay…I um…I came here to see if you wanted to come to dinner tonight.” He looked down at me with those sad puppy dog eyes. “I guess I won’t be cooking for you tonight.”
I gritted my teeth, angry that he was still able to sway me after all these years. But I had to be strong. And I would have been if Brody hadn’t come running up.
“Did you ask her, Dad?”
He crashed into Jack’s leg, wrapping himself around his dad.
“Yeah, buddy,” he said, hoisting Brody up in his arms. “You know, she’s busy tonight.”
Brody turned to me with sad eyes. “You’re not coming?”
I looked at Jack for help, but he just kind of smirked at me, letting me know I was going to have to handle this.
Ellen slinked over in her four inch heels and way too inappropriate dress, and brushed up against Jack. “Hey, there. I didn’t know you were still here.”
“I was just waiting for Christy,” he answered.
“She was supposed to come to dinner, but she can’t,” Brody pouted.
“Oh,” Ellen brightened up. “Well, I’m available.”
Jack’s eyes widened in panic. I should just let him deal with it, but Brody didn’t look too pleased about it either.
“You know, I can come if you give me about a half hour.”
I smiled when Brody’s eyes lit up. The kid was adorable, there was no denying that.
“I could still come,” Ellen said, hoping she could still snag an invitation.
“I don’t want you to come over,” Brody said.
Jack and I started laughing, because what else were you supposed to do when kids said things like that.
“Brody, that’s not very nice.”
“But it’s true,” he said, turning in his dad’s arms to look at him.
“I’m really sorry,” Jack sighed, obviously embarrassed.
“It’s fine. Maybe some other time,” Ellen said with a smile. I didn’t miss the evil look she shot me as she walked
away.
“Um…let me just finish up here and then I need to run home.”
“Alright. We’ll see you in about a half hour?”
I nodded and watched as he walked away. I couldn’t help but stare at his ass. It was just as nice as I remembered. Fuck, I was screwed. I finished cleaning up my station and headed home. Luckily, I didn’t run into Ellen on the way out. She obviously had it bad for Jack, but based on the look of terror on his face, he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. Maybe I should feel bad that Ellen was just another woman that didn’t stand a chance with Jack.
As I pulled up to his house, I swore Natalie’s ghost walked past me. This felt so wrong, coming into her house, being with Jack tonight. Was she watching? I wasn’t sure I believed any of that, but I knew that if she didn’t like me when she was alive, she sure as hell wouldn’t like me now.
I rang the bell and waited for Jack to open the door. It took a little longer than I thought it would, but then I heard him yelling at Brody, and I could hear the little feet pounding against the floor. The door swung open and Brody stood there buck naked.
My eyebrows shot up as Jack ran up behind him and swooped him up into his arms. “Sorry about that. Brody decided to jump in muddy puddles when we got home. I was just about to clean him off.”
I stepped inside quickly and shut the door so Jack didn’t have to worry about neighbors seeing his kid like that. “That’s okay. Go ahead and do what you need to do.”
Jack nodded and carried Brody upstairs and shut the door. I wandered around his house, not sure what to do. The house was mostly tidy, but man did he need a cleaning lady. It wasn’t gross, but he obviously only had time to do the bare minimum.
I stayed away from the family pictures on the wall, not wanting to see how happy they all were before Natalie died. I sat down on the couch and waited for the peels of laughter to die down. Finally, Jack came downstairs, his shirt a little more wet than when he went upstairs. Brody was in his pajamas and ran over to me, jumping up on the couch with me.
“Sorry—”
“Don’t apologize,” I said, standing up because I had no idea what else to do.
Jack jerked his thumb toward the kitchen. “I’m gonna get started on dinner. Do you want a glass of wine?”
“Sure.”
Alcohol was exactly what I needed to make this night go better. I followed him over to the kitchen as Brody turned on the TV and started watching something.
“He can use the remote?”
“Yeah,” Jack laughed. “He can also use my phone pretty well.”
I nodded, remembering how Caleb knew how to use a phone also. My mood instantly soured even more than it already was. When Jack handed me the glass, I instantly chugged it.
“Whoa, slow down, slugger. Is it really so bad being here?”
His nervous chuckle said he was just as uncomfortable as I was.
“No, it’s not that.”
I watched as he pulled out a crock pot and started putting in some chicken.
“Then what was it?”
I frowned, pointing at the crock pot. “Um…what are you doing?”
He looked down at all his supplies, then back at me. “Putting the chicken in.”
“It won’t be ready for hours.”
His eyebrows pulled together as he pulled out his phone and checked out something. “It says to stick it in the pot for ten minutes.”
“Let me see,” I said, waving my hand at his phone. He handed it over and I read the recipe. “Jack, this is for an Instant Pot.”
“Isn’t that what this is?”
“No, that’s a crock pot. It’s a slow cooker, meaning you cook the food all day in it.”
“Fuck,” he grumbled under his breath.
“It’s fine. Just cook it on the stove.”
He turned red, running his hand across the back of his neck.
“You don’t know how to cook on the stove?”
“I do,” he said defensively. “I’m just not very good at it. The last thing I cooked burned to a crisp.” I smothered my laughter behind my hand. “It’s fine. We’ll just go out for dinner.”
He glanced over at Brody, who he would have to get dressed. It was clear that this was stressing him out.
“I’ll cook,” I said, walking around the counter.
“No, I don’t want you to have to cook. I invited you to dinner, not for you to cook dinner.”
“It’s fine, really. I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of home-cooked meals.”
He took a seat on the bar stool, crossing his arms on the counter. “Not exactly. Natalie was the…Anyway, I never really got the hang of it, and by the time I get home, I’m too tired to cook.”
I nodded and got to work pulling out a pan and olive oil. I searched his fridge for some kind of vegetables, but came up empty. Pulling open his freezer, I saw about twenty bags of Steamfresh vegetables. Turning around, I quirked an eyebrow at him.
He shrugged. “It’s easy, and I don’t know how to cook vegetables.”
“It’s fine.”
I got to work while Jack poured me another glass of wine. “So, what was the wine chugging for?”
A cheerless laugh left my throat as I cut up the chicken. I pointed the knife at Brody. “You said he knew how to use your phone.”
“Okay, why would that make you chug wine?”
I kept my eyes on the chicken instead of looking at Jack. “There was a boy that died…he was about Brody’s age. He knew how to use the phone, which I guess a lot of kids know how to these days. But when you said that, it just…I guess it just reminded me.”
I was expecting silence or some sort of platitude, but instead, he got up and walked around the counter. He turned me into his arms and wrapped me up in a hug. My immediate instinct was to pull away, but when I felt his strength and warmth around me, I sank into his arms. It was just like before everything fell apart.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured against my hair.
I closed my eyes and drank in his scent, wishing things could be like this every night. I missed him so much, but I had to remember what it felt like the first time I lost him. I couldn’t go through that again.
I stepped back and gave a fake smile. Turning back to the food, I averted my gaze so he couldn’t see the longing in my eyes.
17
Jack
I watched her every move as she walked around my kitchen like she’d done it a million times before. She was fucking perfect in everything she did. I’d be insane to not do everything possible to get her back in my life. And if she didn’t want to be with me in the way I wanted her, I’d have to settle for just having her as a friend again. We had this special connection once. I wanted it back.
“Dinner’s ready,” she said as she slid the food onto plates. I started carrying over the plates to the table as she grabbed the bottle of wine and both of our wine glasses. Brody ran over and hopped up in his seat, his eyes wide as he stared at the food.
“Daddy, you never make dinner like this.”
“That’s because Daddy isn’t a cook,” I said, slicing up his chicken.
Christy scooped out the vegetables and took her seat.
“Thank you for this. I’m really sorry you had to make dinner.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“Still…I was supposed to do the cooking.”
“Well, next time you can try that crock pot recipe,” she grinned.
Brody ate faster than he ever had, and several times I had to tell him to slow down so he didn’t choke to death on his food. Obviously, the kid needed better meals. I vowed I would do anything to make sure my kid had the very best from now on. I wouldn’t be the only parent in his life and fail him.
After dinner, I cleaned up while Christy watched me. I could tell she was itching to leave, but I wanted her to stay longer so we could talk some more. I kept pouring more wine for her. That would keep her here for a while longer. When I pulled out the second bottle, she shook her h
ead at me.
“No, I’m already tipsy.”
“Who cares? It’s still early.”
She stared at the bottle, her nose quirked sideways as she thought it over. I didn’t give her another chance to think about it. I poured her another glass and finished cleaning up. By the time I was done, it was already Brody’s bedtime. I always got home so late that we didn’t have much time before he had to get to sleep.
“Give me a few minutes to put him to bed.”
“I can go,” she said, getting up from her seat.
“No,” I said quickly. “Please, stay.”
She nodded and sank back into the couch, sipping her wine. Brody was already falling asleep on the couch, so it wouldn’t take long to get him to bed. I carried him upstairs as he waved sleepily to Christy. Brushing his teeth was slightly complicated when the kid didn’t want to keep his mouth open, but I managed and then had him go to the bathroom. I was going to read him a story, but he was already asleep by the time I tucked him in and turned on his fan.
I closed the door slightly and headed back downstairs, relieved that Christy hadn’t run out on me.
“That was fast.”
“He was tired.”
“It doesn’t surprise me. He was running around like crazy today.”
“He never tells me anything. I ask him what he did at daycare and he says he played.”
She chuckled. “Not very informative.”
“No, it’s not.” I stared at her for a minute, not sure what to say. I didn’t want to get into anything deep, but I wanted to hear her talk. The silence was killing me. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Um…” She glanced at her watch, biting her lip slightly. “I guess.”
“What sounds good?”
I turned on the TV and flipped through movies I already owned.
“Oh!” she squeaked, pointing at the TV. “Can we?”
I chuckled as I clicked on The Last Of The Mohicans. “I haven’t watched this since…well, probably since we watched it together.”
“I just love this movie,” she sighed dreamily.
“Yeah, you were always a sucker for a good love story.”
“Do you remember that night?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine.
Four Horsemen: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 5) Page 14