Page 94 of The Secrets We Built Together

Under the table, Blake's hand found mine, her fingers threading through mine in silent support. I squeezed back, grateful for her presence.

Jasper took the empty seat across from me, his eyes meeting mine briefly before darting away. I could feel the weight of his unspoken apologies, his hesitation, his hope. It sat between us like a physical thing, impossible to ignore but equally impossible to address.

I was immediately on edge, my jaw tight, my responses clipped when Jasper tried to draw me into conversation. I knew that Booker and Trace were trying to find a way to have a relationship with him, but I wasn't sure it was what I wanted. I didn't know if I could forgive my father for everything that had happened. I wholly blamed him for the fact that Gage left home and never came back, cutting off his brothers as well as their parents. I blamed him for it all. He knew the person our mother was, it was impossible that he didn’t. And yet still he left us with her.

Blake was trying her best to keep the conversation going when I got frosty with Jasper, deftly changing subjects and asking questions that pulled attention away from the tension between us. Her hand never left mine under the table, a constant anchor in the storm of emotions swirling inside me.

Dex was telling us about how work had been picking up at his garage since the town meeting. His eyes were bright with excitement as he detailed his plans. "I'm trying to think of ways to diversify the business and was thinking about running some general maintenance classes for people. You know, basic stuff like how to change your oil, replace a tire, that kind of thing."

"That sounds like a great idea," Delaney said, passing a bowl of mashed potatoes toward him.

"You could be taking business away from yourself if you start teaching people to fix their own cars," Jasper pointed out, his tone thoughtful rather than critical.

I bristled anyway, ready to snap at him, but Dex just shrugged. "Now that I'm a mechanic down, I don't have the people to do all the work. Honestly, if I could take the general maintenance things off our books, it would free us up for bigger value jobs."

"Why are you down a mechanic?" Trace asked, reaching for the bread basket.

"Brett took his family and moved a few towns over for work," Dex explained. "Better pay, better school system. Can't blame them, really."

Delaney sighed, her expression turning wistful. "It's sad that the people in town aren't seeing the benefit yet from the tourism picking up. "Anyway," Delaney said, redirecting the conversation, "I want to talk about something happier. How are things going with Amelia?"

Blake and I exchanged glances, neither of us wanting to dampen the mood. But the question hung in the air, demanding an answer.

"Not so good, actually," I said, trying to keep my voice light. I briefly explained the trouble we were having with DCFS, careful to dance around the specifics of my drinking. I didn't want to talk about it in front of my father, didn't want to give him that piece of myself.

"That's rough," Trace said, his brow furrowed in concern. "It might not be a terrible idea to find Madison. Could you got through the Court system as a private adoption? That would take the matter out of DCFS hands, wouldn't it?"

"It might," Blake admitted, her fingers playing with the stem of her water glass. "But Madison was pretty clear about not wanting to be found."

"You said she was in Paris, yes? I have some connections who could help locate her," Jasper offered, leaning forward slightly. "And I know a few good family law attorneys who could guide you through the adoption process."

"No, thanks," I said flatly, the words coming out harsher than I'd intended. The table fell silent, and I could feel everyone's eyes on me.

Jasper didn't flinch, though the hurt was visible in his eyes. He took a deep breath, setting down his fork with careful precision. "I know I was a terrible father, and apologizing isn't even remotely close to making it up to you. I wasn't there. I was... hiding in my shame, and you boys took the brunt of your mother's anger. It was all my fault." His voice cracked slightly, and he paused, collecting himself.

Strangely, it was the way his hands started to shake that started to get through to me. The physical sign of how strongly he felt about what had happened. But was it enough?

"I... I had an affair, and it broke something inside of Regina. She could never look at me the same again, even when I swore that I'd ended things. I shouldn't have turned away from our family. I don't even know why I did. It should have made me fightharderfor you boys."

The table went quiet. I felt so angry that I didn't know what to say. I'd always suspected this was what had happened. It didn't take a genius to figure out what could cause the complete collapse of a marriage like our parents'. But the thing was, I never remembered a time when my mother had been softer with us. My earliest memories were of her harsh treatment and indifferent attitude.

"When?" Booker asked gruffly, breaking the silence.

"It was just after Trace was born," Jasper admitted, his shoulders slumping.

He looked so ashamed, and for a moment, I actually understood a part of my father that I never thought I would. I could understand needing to find something to escape a situation you felt stuck in. And that was what our family had been for my father—the place where he was stuck. Theacknowledgment of that similarity between us made me even angrier, a hot knot of fury twisting in my stomach.

"Who was she?" Trace asked, his voice surprisingly gentle.

"Caroline." A flicker of a smile came across Jasper's face, a softening around his eyes that I'd never seen before. "We met when I was surveying Blue Point Bay for potential expansion projects. She was a firecracker, fighting me at every turn. Didn't want an outsider buying up any dockside properties for commercial purposes. And she won, too. I think that was what made me fall in love with her. She had so much fire and life inside of her."

"You loved her?" I asked in surprise, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Jasper looked uncomfortable for a moment, and then it was like he made a decision, and he relaxed, finally opening up to his family. "You have to understand that it was a different time when your mother and I got married. It wasn't always about finding the person you couldn't live without. Sometimes it was just about finding someone that could potentially be a sensible match. And that's what your mother was at the time. We both came from wealthy families. She wanted the prestige, and I needed a wife to be at home and raise a family. Or at least that's what I thought I wanted. The reality of our situation soon became very apparent, but we'd made a commitment, and then you boys came along. I thought staying for you was doing the right thing... and I couldn't have been more wrong."

The raw honesty in his voice caught me off guard. This wasn't the evasive, emotionally distant father I remembered. This was a man owning his mistakes, laying bare his regrets. It was disorienting, like finding out the monster under your bed was just a shadow all along.

"So what happened to Caroline?" Delaney asked, looking genuinely intrigued. She leaned forward, her elbows on the table, eyes bright with curiosity.

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