Page 57 of Defending What is Mine

Chapter Thirty

Sam:Present—Early May

Dashing into the school auditorium, I know I’m running a little behind, but am not prepared for the lights to dim before I find a seat. Confused, I glance at the clock on the far wall before the room goes completely dark. After seeing that it’s two-thirty-five, I realize Jack should have landed already and feel a tinge of irrational worry in my belly.

I nervously bite my bottom lip. Take a breath. Relax. Put him out of your head, he’ll text you when he can. Now it’s time to focus on Nessa.

With no time to waste, I claim squatter’s rights on the first empty crack I find along the bottom row of bleachers. Right next to the entrance. Nothing like the high traffic area when you’re hoping to take pictures.

A spotlight shines center stage and a middle-aged blonde briskly walks into the halo. “Good afternoon, parents. On behalf of the school, I’d like to thank you all for taking time out of your busy afternoons to be here for our spring play. For those of you who might not know, my name is Ms. Bridgette, and I’ve had the great fortune to direct this year’s performance. I think by the end you’ll all agree that this is a very special one indeed. So, without further ado, I present, ‘Sharing is Caring.’”

After Ms. Bridgette steps out of the light, the curtains open, revealing Nessa and several other children seated around a table, all dressed up as professionals in a business meeting. When the time comes for her first line, Vanessa stands and belts the words without so much as a hint of nervousness. Atta girl.

As the children continue through their lines—albeit some more naturally than others—I detect the faintest scent of something familiar. A deliciously comforting smell that’s just outside my ability to recognize how I know it. I sniff again. Sandalwood…? With a dash of…pine.

Good lord am I going crazy? Because I could almost swear that smells like Jack. Is this the universe’s way of telling me he’s landed? That he’s back in Colorado safe and sound?

Instinctively, I ninja lean to my left and sniff. Definitely not that guy. Hey buddy, next time freshen up the deodorant before coming into a confined space with strangers. I ninja lean to my right and try again. Still no, but at least her hair smells nice. Okay, sniffing strangers probably tips the scales in the favor of crazy. I sniff one last time, happy to let whatever it is I think I’m smelling linger while I fantasize about Jack wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in.

Thankfully, the play isn’t long enough for it to drag on. And, for what it is, by the end I do have to agree with Ms. Bridgette that this one was something special. After the last scene, the children line up along the front of the stage to receive their much-deserved ovations. Everyone in the bleachers stands and applauds, but as most of the hurrahs begin to wane, my ears home in on one person’s slightly loud, slow-clap. Even as the rest of the applause all but quiets down, that clap continues. Slow and steady.

Okay bub, we get it. Your kid is the best. Chill.

I roll my eyes, but when I look back up at the stage, I see the look on Vanessa’s face change. Her regular, happy, look-at-what-I-just-did smile is replaced by a ginormous, shit-eating grin and she begins waving wildly at the crowd. Did Mollie get off work and sneak in? I trace Vanessa’s focus back to the bleachers but can’t believe my eyes. There he stands, no more than five feet from me. “Jack!?” Whoops, didn’t mean to scream his name, but at least he stopped clapping.

Jack turns and sees me, his face lighting up as he walks over. Now, standing before me, I see a shaggier version of the man I fell in love with almost a year ago. The glint in his eye, the smile on his face, all of it matches the memories I’ve clung to since he left. And, perhaps more important, the lost, angry man from the hospital is nowhere to be found.

“Surprise.” Jack extends his hands, taking mine in them and pulling me to my feet. When I’m up, he wraps his arms around my waist and draws me close, rubbing his nose against mine before kissing me. “It’s so good to finally see you,” he says before stepping back and returning his attention to Vanessa, who, incidentally, is sliding down the front of the stage.

“Jack…! Mommy!” Vanessa cries as she runs to greet us. “Did you see me? Did you?” Vanessa looks up at Jack. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

Jack takes it in stride, apparently with an answer already in his pocket. “Well, I guess it’s not enough just to say that I missed you both, so I’ll tell you the whole truth.” Jack squats down to eye level with Vanessa before he continues. “See, the entire plane ride back I was thinking about you and your mom. And by the time I landed, I missed you both so much I couldn’t wait to see you. And then I remembered you had a play today, and since I don’t know how long it’ll be till the next time you’re in one, I thought this seemed like my best move. That’s the whole truth.”

Vanessa stares at him for a minute, thoughtfully tapping her finger against her bottom lip while she decides whether to believe his story, but makes her answer known when she throws her arms around his neck. “I missed you too.” Before releasing him, she surprises us both with another question. “Are you going to leave again?”

“I don’t know why I would. Everything that matters is right here,” he says, then he kisses the top of her head and slides his arm under her legs, lifting her in his arms as he stands. “So, uh…there was one problem with my plan.”

Nearly overcome by all the feels, I take Jack’s hand as we’re caught up in the crowd and shuffled out of the auditorium. “What’s that?”

“Gabe was my ride home from the airport, and uh, he wasn’t um…” Jack glances at the still excited little actress in his arm. “He wasn’t planning on seeing a play today. Yeah, he had something waiting on him at home. So he was able to bring me here, but he had to drop me off.” Jack squeezes my hand. “I could really use a ride.”

Without consciously intending to, my eyebrows waggle at his words. And, if I’m honest, so do my thighs. “I guess that’s the least we can do for someone willing to go to such lengths to support the arts. Don’t you think Nessa?”

She turns to me with a look that says she’s not following.

“Never mind, hon. So, uh—where to? The ranch?”

“No… I think I’m going to try staying with Hank for a while.”

“Oh really?” I ask as we reach the parking lot. “What about your mom? I hear she’s been burning the candle from both ends getting things ready for you.”

“I heard something similar. Why else do you think I’d be willing to put up with Hank? Anyway, I sent the news with Gabe. I figure, I ought to stay clear of the ranch until at least tomorrow.”

I click the fob and look around for flashing lights while I listen for the car to chirp. “Even back home, you’re still looking for a fight, eh?”

Jack lowers Vanessa to the ground and chuckles. “She’ll come around,” he says, clearing his throat. “Eventually... So, is anyone else hungry? Because I sure am in the mood for like, a celebratory dinner. What do you ladies think? My treat.”

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