Page 94 of I'll Carry You

The ethics of it all made him sick. How far would he be willing to go to protect Amanda if she was involved?

How far would he be willing to go to protect his son?

The only way to find out would be to offer Amanda a smidgeon of trust.

Jason handed her the quarterly report he’d found on Chad’s desk, open to one page he’d circled. Amanda scanned it. She stared at it. When her hand lifted to her mouth, there was a quickness to it. “Hang on. I have to go throw up. I get really sick this time of day.”

She dropped the report and rushed off to the powder room, gagging. She didn’t close the door, and Jason stepped to the side, trying to give her privacy. Had they still been together, he would have gone after her, but a strange awkwardness settled over him. Navigating how to be around the mother of his child would probably present many more moments like this.

When she came back out, she looked shaky and pale. She dabbed a tissue to her lips and waved him over to the sitting room. Slipping her long legs to the side, she sank into a chair there. “I didn’t know about the numbers, Jason. I can understand if you don’t want to believe me, but it’s the truth.”

Could it be? He trusted her less than anyone else. And she had a lot to lose here. Jason followed her and sat beside her. The last time he’d been in this room, they’d been yelling so loudly at each other he’d worried the neighbors would hear. “I don’t know exactly what our plans are, but we have to be honest—”

“I’m being honest.” A weary look crossed her face. “I didn’t even see the report yet.”

If he believed her, and that still felt like a bigif, it would be a major relief. Either way, she was going to have to lawyer up and expect other people to assume she was lying because of her relationship with Chad. Fortunately, her job was with Powell Enterprises and not so much with Cavanaugh Metals. Her excuses just might hold.

“What about your father?” Jason lifted the report. “There’s no way he hasn’t seen this and doesn’t know.”

“Agreed.” Amanda shifted in her seat. “At least, that would be my assumption. You realize this will ruin him?”

“I know. And as much as I don’t like your dad, I also wouldn’t wish that on your family.”Not when they’re going to be tied to me forever.

Jason rubbed his eyes. He didn’t want to deal with this, especially not on Christmas Eve. Most of the people he would even contact wouldn’t be around right now. Then he gave her an odd look. The Powells always held a big Christmas Eve party. “You’re not with your family tonight?”

She sighed. “Not feeling that great, to be honest. Besides which, my parents aren’t thrilled that I’ve decided to have a baby right now. They say it’s embarrassing to the family. I mean, I’ll still show up at their place tomorrow morning. But I didn’t want to schmooze with all their friends tonight.”

“When my daughter came to tell me she was pregnant, I told her, ‘Jen, that’s my grandbaby, not bad news.’”

Her words were strikingly different from what Bob Klein had said about his response to Jen’s pregnancy. Maybe it was why Amanda had sought him out. He’d never really seen her behave so vulnerable before. Without Chad or her parents, she probably needed the support.

His brow furrowed. Speaking of Bob Klein—he might be a good person to ask about what he’d discovered regarding Chad.

“I can’t really keep this information to myself, Amanda. If your father knows about it—it’ll mean serious consequences for him. This is accounting fraud. It’s what took Enron down.”

Amanda released a slow breath, then sighed. “I understand. But be careful, Jas. My father doesn’t really hesitate to take revenge. And right now, he’s got enough about you to torch your name. Starting with the fact that your mother’s name wasn’t Sutter.”

Because of Ned Vickers. To be honest, he didn’t really care what Bill Powell said about him. And if his mother’s real identity was found out, so be it. Mom wouldn’t suffer the consequences, and he doubted anyone could do anything to Mildred.But Jen...He turned toward her. “Did Ned give you everything he gathered from Brandywood?”

Amanda hesitated. Then she smoothed her hand over her abdomen. “No.” She cleared her throat. “He still has most of it.” She appeared divided in her loyalties between Jason and her father. It was a surprise, actually. Amanda had always put her family first. They both had.

She’d told him she changed. That she wanted love and a family. It didn’t pardon her for having an affair with Chad, but it gave it context.

Context, he was learning, was everything.

Jason focused on the bare spot on the wall above the fireplace, where their wedding picture had once hung. She hadn’t put something new there yet. Or if she had—maybe she’d taken it down when she broke up with Chad. “Did you really mean what you said about wanting to keep our relationship friendly? For the sake of our child?”

She sighed and nodded. “I mean it, Jason. You may not have been the one I picked to have a child with, but I’m not stupid enough to think that means you won’t care about your son. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even extend some of that family mercy to your son’s mother.”

He took her hand and squeezed it, for the first time feeling a twinge of guilt about the way he’d dressed her down whenever he’d spoken to her since the separation. They might never be friends, but they could be friendly, couldn’t they? And if he was being a fool for trusting her, so be it. He’d spent enough of his life putting himself first. “I think I can manage that. But I’m begging you, I need to talk to Ned Vickers. And if you can, I need your help.”

ChapterThirty-One

When he’d leftBrandywood almost two weeks earlier, Jason hadn’t ever expected to be driving back here so soon—especially not on Christmas. Yet here he was, turning off the highway exit onto the road that led to the small town.

He’d never gone back home the previous night. After he’d left Amanda’s, he’d gone to his grandfather’s house. Spent some time in the attic, poking around his mother’s old things. Then he’d packed up his car with a few dust-covered crates he’d trekked down from the attic and driven through the night to get here. He’d stopped at a couple of rest stops to get some sleep when he felt too tired to continue, but he was mostly fueled on caffeine and adrenaline.

The streets and houses that had once seemed so foreign to him came into view. If he turned in about a mile, he’d only be a few turns away from the Kleins’ house. At this time of morning, he imagined Jen opening Christmas presents with Colby.

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