Page 95 of Hard To Leave

Tears welled up in my eyes. My little boy was trying to be so strong and brave. I bowed my head and licked my lips feeling my throat go dry. Carly handed me a glass of water. We stayed back, allowing the two boys to have their moment to say goodbye.

Jack folded Tanner up in his arms as if he were afraid to let go. My heart shattered into a million pieces. Jack whispered something in his ear; Tanner nodded and slowly walked away with Carly following him.

I set my water down and tilted my head to the side. “Can we talk?”

He glanced down at his watch. “I was supposed to meet my mother a half hour ago.”

“Well, we all know how much you love to spend time with your mother,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn’t even get me a smile. As angry as I was with him, I still missed him. This wasn’t going to be easy on either of us, and I was so sick and tired of him not giving me a chance to explain. “You can’t keep avoiding me forever.”

“I’ve just been busy,” he replied, unable to look me in the eyes.

“Bullshit,” I said, finally getting him to look at me. “I let you have your space; you’re going to have to talk to me eventually.”

“Fine,” he relented. “You want to talk, you can come over before I leave.”

“When do you leave?”

“Tonight.”

I reared back. “Really?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but I was incapable. I wanted to punch him. Kick him in the balls. Do anything to get a reaction out of him, because this hard-eyed, stoic man standing in front of me was not my Jack. I was beyond frustrated. If I didn’t push this along, he was going to avoid me forever, and that wasn’t going to work for me.

“I only flew down for one day, so I could talk to Tanner. I figured I owed him that much.”

My eyes were filling up with tears. “And what about me? Don’t you think you owe me a chance to explain a few things?”

He didn’t even acknowledge my tears because he was too busy trying to hide how hurt he felt. I knew he was only trying to protect himself, but I wasn’t going to allow him to put any more distance between us.

“Please, Jack.”

He placed his hands on his hips and cast his eyes to the ground. “I should only be a couple hours. Meet me at my place at six-thirty. My flight leaves at ten.”

I pushed my hair to the side and tried to keep myself from crying. “I can have Carly stay with Tanner and swing by your place when you’re done.”

“Okay.”

The lack of emotion on his face hinted that he couldn’t care less if I came or not. I tried to hide my hurt because he was finally giving me a chance to explain myself.

“Text me when you’re on your way home.”

He fished his keys out of his pocket and walked out my front door without another word.

* * *

I pulledinto his driveway and stared down at the text he sent me a half hour ago.

On my way home

My hands clenched the steering wheel, trying to keep myself from hyperventilating. I was a bundle of nerves, and the silence in the car was only stressing me out. I blew out a deep breath and walked over to the front steps to wait for him.

There was a breeze coming off the water, so I threw my hair back in a ponytail to keep it from flapping on my face.

His headlights bounced off the pavement as his car approached the garage. I had spent the last hour rehearsing everything in my head. So, when he finally got out of the car, it annoyed me that I couldn’t think of a single fucking word. Not one.

He cut the engine, stepped out of his Jeep and walked briskly up the path with his hands stuffed in his pockets. My stomach flip-flopped, feeling uneasy.

I stood up to greet him. “How was your dinner?”

He looked apprehensive. “It was fine.”

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