Page 41 of Elusive Promise

She shook her head at the horror of his story. "I can't imagine what you went through."

"We didn't know she was dead until two o'clock the following afternoon. We waited up all night, hoping for a miracle, and worrying that the terror wasn't over."

She'd wanted Jared to tell her something true, and he'd certainly delivered, but his story made her sick to her stomach.

Jared cleared his throat and took another sip of wine. "My dad was devastated after she died. He couldn't come to grips with what had happened. My mom was just an ordinary person doing a rather boring job. She wasn't ever supposed to be in danger. She wasn't supposed to go to work one day and not come back."

"No, she wasn't." She glanced down at his mother's smiling face. "I can see you in her features."

"I have her eyes."

"Why is her last name different than yours?"

"She kept her maiden name."

"Is that true or is your real last name Montgomery?"

"It's not important." He drew in a breath and let it out. "After her funeral, my dad finished out the teaching year and then he took me and my brother to a place in Upstate New York, a beautiful piece of property in a rural area where there was a pond and horses to ride, lots of open space, no skyscrapers to remind us of what we'd seen. It was supposed to just be for the summer, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. So, we ended up transferring schools, and we never came back to the city."

"It sounds idyllic."

"It was healing, but, eventually, I wanted more. I went away to college and after that I took a job in Boston for a few years. I've moved around since then."

"Is this apartment your first place back in this city?"

"It is."

"And it has a view of the Freedom Tower. Was that on purpose?"

"Actually, I almost changed my mind about staying here when I saw it, but then I thought it was a good reminder of how easy it is to lose everything."

"Do you need that reminder?"

"No."

"I didn't think so." She gave him a compassionate smile. "That's a sad story, Jared."

"It's my story."

"What happened to your father? Did he ever remarry?"

"He has had women in his life, but he hasn't made it down the aisle again."

"And your brother?"

"He runs a surf shop in Hawaii."

"That sounds chill."

"That would be my brother. Will decided that life is too short to not do what you love."

"That makes sense. Are you doing what you love?"

"Sometimes."

His vague answer reminded her that he was only willing to tell her some of his story, but she did appreciate that he'd opened up as much as he had. "Thanks for telling me about your mom. I know that wasn't easy." She paused, cocking her head to the right as she gave him a thoughtful look. "Why did you decide to share?"

"Because you need to understand my motivation. I know what it feels like to be caught in a terrorist attack, Parisa, even if I wasn't the one who died."

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