Page 122 of The Originals

Yes.

Jack chugged the last remnants of his drink and stood. “Going home.”

*

Jack took the long way home. What should have been a twenty-minute ride took over an hour with a stop at the river. It was peaceful and calm. Quiet.

He pulled up to the house after midnight. Jack was surprised to see most of the lights on in the house. The boys were home. He parked near the side of the house. When he shut down his engine, he heard faint voices coming from the yard and walked around the house.

Kase and Caden were standing around the fire with beers in their hands.My boys.He walked out to the fire and both of his sons looked up. Caden smirked, lifting his beer.

“Raided your stash, Pop.”

Jack snorted. These boys. They were all Jack in one way or another. He may not have been a great role model of the best dad.I fuck up on a daily basis.But he loved them, and he’d spend the rest of his life protecting and doing right by them the best he could.

“So.” Kase took a swig of beer and smirked. “Miss us?”

Jack scoffed, shaking his head. “No.”

“What did you do while we were gone?” Caden asked.

There was no simple answer. Some might say Jack Reilly loved and lost in a two-week span. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t very long. A short blip in his life. Barely a fraction of the time he’d spend on this earth. Yet, he’d never forget. She’d left her mark on him forever.

Colleen.

Epilogue

Present day

The world was forever changing. Most days it was hard to keep up. The past seemed so long ago, and it was. Yet, there were some things that stayed the same. Places that hadn’t lost their beauty through the years. The corner of her mouth curled as her gaze slowly scanned the tree-lined water.

The river in Ghosttown.

Colleen hadn’t been there in years. But decades ago, this was her place where she’d found the most peace. Decisions, bad and good, were made in this very spot. She fell in love on this riverbank. She glanced down at the ground, digging her heels into the soft earth.Planted but not growing.Those words had stuck and forever changed the course of her life. Whether she wanted it or not.

She drew in a deep breath, let it go, and she slowly looked up, staring across the calm water.

“I can almost see you,” she muttered under her breath.

It had been decades since she’d last seen him. A lifetime lived without him. And still, the news that he’d passed hit her harder than anything she’d experienced up until this point. Two divorces, a sick sibling, and single motherhood. Surely, there would’ve been a moment or two more painful.

No.

It was unexplainable. And she didn’t even try to understand. Colleen just let herself grieve the hard loss.Alone.She hadn’t spoken to anyone about him. Not her family or friends. Not evenher son. They wouldn’t understand. How could they? On the day she’d left Ghosttown so many years ago, it was the last time she’d said his name. At least out loud.

The irony of it all. The person who’d impacted her life the most was the one person she never talked about again. That’s because for a short while he was all hers. Even years later, she wanted to keep him and the memories all to herself.The only thing in life that was ever truly mine.

It didn’t mean she hadn’t listened. It was rare that she reached out to anyone in her past. That was her old life, and she’d made a promise to move forward with a new one and not look back. It was easier said than done. He wasn’t the only one who’d left his mark on her. There had been a few others. One in particular.

She hadn’t spoken to Maureen often. Every few years Tully’s wife would call and check in with her. They talked about everything—excepthim. It was an unspoken rule and one that Maureen respected. Until five years ago.

“Jack passed away a few days ago.”

How does one live in a world where Jack Reilly didn’t exist? Colleen cupped her mouth, willing away her tears, but it was useless. Some things in life couldn’t be controlled. The depth of her mourning was one of them. Five years later, it was still a gnawing ache in her chest.My heart.

At the time, she’d considered reaching out to his sons, his brothers in the club, and paying her condolences. For a fleeting moment, she’d contemplated actually going to the funeral. She’d even gone as far as packing her suitcase, taking a few days off work, and stopping her mail. She was almost out the door. But she remembered what she’d promised.I won’t come back.

She snorted, shaking her head with a small smile playing on her lips. This was the first time she’d broken her promise tohim. He’d be pissed, and she looked forward to receiving that scolding. In a few weeks, maybe a month. But for now?

---