Page 83 of The Usual Family Mayhem

“Whatever he dropped off is on the dining room table. I haven’t looked at it because I wasn’t home until now. I’m also not in the mood to have another battle with him over who gets to decide my future.” Jackson gave my fingers a squeeze. “The answer is me, if that wasn’t clear.”

That was very... wait. “Hold up. Are you saying your dad has a key to your condo?”

Jackson winced. “In hindsight, not my smartest move.”

Sweet hell. “I thought you were supposed to be a genius.”

“It’s for practical purposes. I have one to his house. He has one to here. Just in case.”

I couldn’t think of anything nice to say and didn’t want to kill the relaxing mood winding around us, so I went with the most benign sentence I could think of. “The man does enjoy playing games.”

“He’s an expert at that sort of thing.” Jackson let out a long exhale. “That and getting married.”

“Three former wives and who knows what he has planned for the future.” Why any woman would say yes to him was the mystery.

“I think he doesn’t want to be alone, which is interesting since he doesn’t like most people. And don’t think I haven’t figured out that Dad is one of the bad men in Mags’s eyes.”

In Gram’s. In mine. In Celia’s. In the eyes of every woman who strayed across his path. “I know he’s your dad but he’s... a lot.”

“I wish I could say he meant well and wanted what was best for me, but—”

I borrowed one of Gram’s snorts. “You don’t like to lie.”

“Something like that.” Jackson shifted until his head rested against mine. “At one time he was more attentive. We’d golf and he’d come to my high school games but his interest in parenting would fade in and out. We didn’t have a huge amount of family time when I was growing up.”

“That sounds like a wild understatement.”

“He couldn’t handle Mom’s illness and how the cancer keptcoming back. He acted as if she got the disease to spite him. She could barely move near the end, and he would rage about missing this event or this meeting to take care of her.” There was ano big dealvibe in Jackson’s tone that sounded practiced but very fake. “I think a part of him blamed me for her being sick. He’d talk about how she was healthy until I was born.”

It was a miracle Jackson had come out of that household intact. “That’s demented.”

“Despite all that, I was luckier than many. I’ve had a lot of advantages. I had what I needed.”

Except unconditional love. I didn’t say it out loud but we both knew.

“Loving Dad because he’s my dad and liking him as a person are two different things, which is why the last few years I’ve tried to set boundaries.”

That was a news flash. “How’s that going?”

“I’m not sure he even noticed.”

Jackson understood his dad. He didn’t praise him or hold him up as perfect or misunderstood and I was grateful for that honesty. “Let’s agree not to talk about Harlan, the pie business, or dead husbands any more tonight.”

“Done.” Jackson’s fingertips trailed up my arm. “There are much more interesting things we can do, right?”

That sounded like a promise as much as a question. The answer was yes.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

I didn’t try to slow Jackson down or talk reason. I dove in.

This, us, was going to happen. So many of my fantasies started this way. Me lying on top of him. Him hovering over me. I didn’t care about the position. I just wanted to rip his clothes off, drop every inhibition, and get there.

“We could talk about the kiss we shared. The grown-up one,” Jackson said. “That wasn’t on your list of barred topics.”

“An oversight.” I’d barely been able to keep up my end of the conversation for the last five minutes as the memories of kissing bombarded my brain. Remembering the last time. Wanting athistime.

He turned to face me. “Was that a once only thing?”

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