Page 99 of The Acquisition

Mother, Daughter, and Friend

‘til we meet again

"Jenny," he breathed her name.

My heart broke for him, and for me. I realized what I wanted most in this world was for Colter to be happy. Truly happy, even if I had to sacrifice my own heart for that to happen. No, I couldn't be with him if he still loved her, but I wouldn't hold on to anger.

"There was a lot more that I wanted to tell you. First, I want to start with saying I'm sorry. You should have had a chance to be happy. But I can't ignore the fact that I'm also angry at you."

He took a deep breath while I held mine. "All those years you had with our baby girl, and you threw them away. I know you were sick, but that doesn't excuse everything. I would have cherished the opportunity to watch her grow up."

His hand fell away from the stone and clenched at his side. "I've felt guilty for having what you'll never get a chance to have. Time with our daughter. Time to watch our granddaughter grow up. But, most of all, I felt guilty for getting a second chance."

I swallowed a gasp, not wanting to miss the rest of his confession.

"I fell in love. For so long I waited to find you again. Or I thought that was what I was doing, but I see so clearly now I was waiting for her. Part of me feels bad that you didn't get a chance to have what I've found. I know now we were never meant to be. It was a beautiful summer in my life, but I see now meeting me was possibly the worst thing that ever happened to you. Even still I can't regret it or all the pain that came after, because Evie is everything to me."

He shook his head, as if a thought negated the words that he'd spoken. I didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Well, she's almost everything. I fell in love with an amazing woman. For the first time since I left you that summer, I can see it. The future, the possibilities, the family I always longed to have. So, before I go, because I won't be coming back, I want you to know I forgive you."

He rapped his knuckles on the top of her tombstone. "I'm letting you go, Jenny. I hope you found the peace you never had in life."

He stood up and turned around. His mouth fell open in surprise at finding me a few feet behind him.

"Jana?" he scratched his hand through his thick, dark hair. "How much did you hear?"

I licked my lips. "I'm sorry I eavesdropped on you." I shook my head. "Actually, I'm not. I love you, Colter. I'm glad I came here."

He dropped his arm around me. "Me too. I'm sorry I hurt you before. It wasn't that I loved her more than you or that I still loved her while I was with you. I was afraid I'd let you down the way I did her."

I put my hand on his chest and looked up into his scowling face. "You were a kid, Colt, and I'm stronger than she was. We need to trust each other, and coming here I think helped me to do that, but we also need to learn to trust ourselves."

He took my hand and led me back to the car. My chest tightened with the realization I still had a surprise waiting for him.

THIRTY-SEVEN

COLTER

Iwalked into our bedroom back at the hotel to find fresh flowers, candles, and champagne chilling in a bucket. I chuckled seeing that Jana had set up our room with all the stereotypes of romance.

"Are you trying to seduce me, brat? You have to know by now, I'm a sure thing."

Her smile was nervous, and her eyes were focused on the gift bag placed in the center of the bed.

I moved to grab it, and she twitched. "Wait. Uhh, I'm not sure what I was thinking. It's probably stupid."

I held the gift to my chest so she couldn't take it away. Despite my affluent upbringing I could count on one hand the number of heartfelt gifts I'd been given. Whatever was in this bag, I wanted it.

Opening the bag, I found several packs of birth control pills. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to decipher the meaning of her gesture.

"Jana?"

She dragged her foot back and forth in the carpet, refusing to look at me. Then I watched as she took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders back, and decided to move ahead with whatever this gift symbolized.

"That's one year's worth of my birth control. I want time with you, just the two of us. Time for us to build a solid foundation. One year."

"And then what?" I was afraid to guess what she was saying. I hoped, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself.

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