Page 127 of Burn With Me

“Jackson, you will inherit all of Scott’s shares in the company and forty percent of his assets, with Sadie receiving the remaining sixty percent. Sadie, I’m assuming Scott informed you that he changed the life insurance policy so that Jackson was his beneficiary?”

That’s news to me. But the slight nod from my aunt says that she already knew.

“Well then, I think that settles the big stuff. Except for the family ring,” George says, sending her a knowing look.

“I have it in safe keeping for Jackson when he’s ready for it,” Aunt Sadie says slyly, her eyes bouncing between me and Ginny like she’s in on a secret we don’t know.

Ginny’s hand tightens in my own, and I look over to see that her cheeks look like a cherry has kissed them. When Ireturn my gaze across the table, I see my aunt and Tyler sharing a knowing smile, and irritation prickles beneath my skin.

“I don’t want it. The damn thing is obviously cursed.” My words are out before I can stop them. Standing, I pull Ginny’s chair out and offer her my hand. “If that’s all, I’d like to get my girlfriend home so she can rest.”

Walking down the hall, I text Robert to bring the car around. “I should stay and talk to Sadie. I’ll have Robert take you home.”

“I can wait for you at your place?” Ginny’s tone is filled with a need I’m not sure I can meet right now.

“I think it’s best if you go to yours. I’m not sure when I’ll be home. And, honestly, I’m exhausted. I’ve barely slept. I haven’t had any time to process…anything. Maybe it’s best for us just to have a little space.”

“I don’t want space. I just wantyou,” she pouts, wrapping her arms around herself.

I want to believe her. Every fiber in my being wants to reach out and pull her to me. To comfort her and be comforted by her. To start over and put everything behind us.

But we’re still at this standstill. I still don’t know if I can be enough for her, and she still doesn’t know if she can trust me. Neither of us knows how to move on, and it’s apparent on both our faces and in our body language.

“I think we both know that if we go home together, nothing will be solved. We’re both exhausted, and I don’t want to fall into a routine with you without having a proper conversation about everything. We can’t just pretend like none of it happened. Let's just get through the rest of the week. Okay?”

Keep her close. Push her away. I’m sure I’m confusing her just as much as I’m confused. It isn’t fair. All I want is to wipe our slate clean. But the blank canvas is filled with charcoal smudges from our past that keep making more of a mess the more I try to clear them away.

She nods in agreement. Her eyes turn glassy, and the sight makes my chest ache. I’m so tired of making her cry.

“I love you,” I tell her, reaching out to wipe a tear away as it slowly trails down her cheek. The other is still stitched up, but looks like it’s healing nicely—the skin around the cut is still bruised, but the swelling has gone down.

“I love you, too,” she breathes out as she surges forward to wrap her arms around my waist. She lays her forehead against my chest as I return her embrace and kiss the top of her head.

“I’ll see you in a few days,” I tell her, opening the car door and making sure she’s settled inside.

Grasping her chin between my index finger and thumb, I stroke her bottom lip with my thumbpad as she stares up at me with glassy eyes.

I want to say fuck it. I want to get in the car with her and take her home and never let her leave the bed. Wrap her in my arms and sleep the rest of the week away. Instead, I pull away and close the door, gently tapping the hood to let Robert know he’s good to go.

Another black town car pulls up as he leaves, and I turn to see my aunt and Tyler walking toward me. Tyler and I lock eyes, both our gazes narrowing, before he rolls his and pulls Sadie to him to kiss her temple. “Call me later.”

She nods as he walks away to fuck knows where. I don’t care. She fixes me with a hard stare and nods to the car. “Come on. We’re overdue for a talk.”

“You know, I never meant to hurt you by leaving, Jackson,” Aunt Sadie says as she shrugs out of her jacket and sets it with her purse on the table in the foyer.

It’s weird to see her here again, especially when my uncle and I just sat together at the dining table a few daysago. Her absence has been felt here for so long, and now she’s standing in the middle of her old home like she never left.

“I honestly didn’t think you’d care this much. Why didn’t you tell me you were upset?” she asks, moving to the bar cart to make herself a dirty martini.

“Would it have mattered? You both blindsided me with the divorce. Uncle Scott said I was an adult and needed to handle it like one. You sure as shit didn’t seem to care how I felt.” I loosen my tie and sink into my uncle’s Eleanor Rigby Churchill recliner.

“Scott and I hid a lot from you. Things weren’t great between us and hadn’t been for a long time–”

“I know! Why do you think he kept it from you? The cancer? He wanted to set you free because he knew he fucked up! But if you juststayed–”

“Would you ever hit Ginny?” she asks, whirling around and taking a few steps toward me. Tears are in her eyes, and as my brows knit together at her question, the all-too-familiar sting hits my sinuses.

“No! What kind of question is that?”

---