Page 16 of Jack Raider

“Oh, hush,” Mable said, waving her hand. “I have to think.”

We all fell silent, waiting for her to finish. Something had clearly rattled her—ever since she met Jack, she’d been acting strangely. I sat next to Maggie, trading puzzled glances with her. Finally, Mable cleared her throat.

“Nate, do you know anything about Jack’s family?”

“No, not really,” Nate said. “Jack’s never talked about them. From what little I know, his childhood wasn’t the happiest.”

Mable nodded slowly. “I think I know who his father is.”

All of us froze.

“There’s a man I met years ago,” she continued. “He was in a terrible accident and lost his memory. He didn’t remember a thing about his past. He’s lived in California for the past twenty years. Married to Carla—Cheryl’s best friend. They have two boys and a girl… and those boys—and the father—look exactly like Jack Raider.”

“What?” I blurted out, staring at her. “You think that’s really his father?”

I turned to Nate, eyes wide. “What do you think?”

Nate looked stunned. “If it is… Jack probably spent all these years thinking his dad abandoned him. How long’s the man been married to Carla?”

“I’m not sure,” Mable admitted, clearly digging through old memories.

Nate shook his head. “I should tell Jack. He might want to look into it.”

“What do I want to look into?” Jack’s voice came from behind us as he walked into the bed-and-breakfast’s sitting room.

Mable blinked, caught off guard.

“Nate, tell him,” Maggie whispered.

“Mable thinks she knows someone who looks just like you,” Nate explained. “The guy lost his memory in an accident twenty years ago, or so. She thinks he might be your father. Is your dad… missing?”

Jack didn’t hesitate. “I don’t think so. I haven’t seen him in twenty-two years. I don’t even know if he’s dead. But I’m not looking for him. I don’t want to know where he is.”

His voice had an edge to it—sharp and worn.

“If itishim,” Maggie offered gently, “maybe seeing you would bring his memory back.”

“That’s not the point,” Jack said. “My father left me. Whether he remembers me or not doesn’t change that. I hope he’s happy—really, I do. I know he wasn’t happy with my mother and me.”

“Maybe he didn’t leave on purpose,” Mable said softly. “If he had amnesia…”

I changed the subject, sensing how much this was hurting Jack.

“I’m just so glad we got to spend a couple of days here with Nate and his team,” I said, glancing over at Jack. “Do you guys ever have to go overseas?”

“Sometimes,” Jack said. “But we don’t let this job take over our lives. I still work on old cars with Max and Nate. Fraiser and Axel run a motorcycle shop nearby. We like keeping busy.”

I nodded, then turned to Max. “What do you want me to do to help? Since I invited us here, I want to contribute.”

My mind drifted back to Jack. I could still hear the pain in his voice when he talked about his father. I looked at Grandma and Mable and could tell they’d noticed it too.

“Me too,” Maggie added, getting up.

“Let’s head outside,” Max said. “We’ve got a full kitchen set up out there—and Jack already made the fruit salad.”

As we walked out, my heart felt heavy. I’d always assumed Jack had this great life growing up. But now I knew better. He’d lived all these years thinking his dad had just… vanished. And maybe he had—but not by choice. If the man Mable described reallywasJack’s father… No. I couldn’t go chasing after that thought. That wasn’t my place.

Jack looked at me. “How’s Rover doing?”

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