Page 172 of Keep This Promise
“Is Zach still around?”
“No, he went back, you have one new guy and Miles is still here, they’re both completely capable.”
Still, it would’ve been good to get some kind of signal so I knew he was around.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, remembering how he said he couldn’t visit because he knew people here.
“I was able to use my friends in town as a way to come check in. How are you doing?”
“I don’t really have an answer for that. I’m assuming you know why I am at this home and that I was meant to find Holden?”
He nods. “Theo informed me of Holden’s connection to Eden. It’s part of why he wanted you here more than anywhere else. What better place to send someone than to a man who has every reason to protect her? It’s what I would’ve done in his shoes.”
“Yes, instead of being honest and allowing me the opportunity to do it on my own, how very noble.”
Jackson snorts. “I didn’t say nobility had a role in this.”
“So, you came to check on me?”
“Partially. I came to see Spencer and Emmett to discuss the trial they’re testifying in, and then I also have something for you.”
“What could you have for me?” I ask.
He extracts a letter from his breast pocket and then hands it to me. “This is from Theo.”
I am getting rather annoyed with all of this. If Theo had so much to say, he could’ve bloody well said it when he was alive. Now he’s dead, and I’m getting a message from him? I put it down on the table and huff.
“Not happy about the letter?”
“Would you be? He knew the identity of Eden’s father. He was involved in something that required me to move quite literally around the world and take a new name. I don’t have any connection to my friends or the people we knew for years. I am living in someone’s house I don’t even know without a single idea as to what I’m supposed to be doing now. Do I live and get a job as this new version of Sophie Pearson?”
“That’s the thing, you’re Sophie Peterson. You get to decide that.”
“Well, I liked being Sophie Pearson. I liked my life, my home, my work. I liked it all, so Theo can take his letters to the grave he buried us all in.”
After the words are spoken, I hate myself for them. I am just so angry at it all. If he had talked to me before, I could’ve made plans with him. So much of this wouldn’t be as confusing as it is. We could’ve gone beforehand, together, and I could’ve been at his side.
Jackson looks at the letter. “You knew Theo better than anyone, Sophie. He wasn’t cruel, was he?”
“No, not cruel.”
“Then read the letter. Your and Eden’s safety was all he cared about. It was never meant to hurt you, and I think this may be what he felt was the only way to protect you.”
As angry as I am, I could never ignore it, and I bet Theo knew that too. “Why did I get this now? Why not the day he died?”
Jackson grins. “I was told to get this to you exactly seven days after his death. I didn’t trust anyone but myself to ensure it was delivered.”
He turns to leave, but I call his name. “Will I see you again?”
“Yes. And remember that you’re safe here. You can choose what you want to do, whether it’s to stay and build a life here or leave. Theo didn’t give instructions beyond that we were to protect you and give you information as you might need it. If you want to leave Rose Canyon and go anywhere else in America, we’ll facilitate it.”
“But not London?”
“No, Sophie, you can never return there.”
So, I am somehow safe in America? I had to come to Rose Canyon, but I don’t have to stay? If he were still alive, I’d throttle him.
“I don’t understand any of this. You know that, right?”
