Page 80 of Burning Love
He didn’t think of her often. Not as much as he had lately.
In the beginning, it was with the pain of anger, hatred, and betrayal that skewed his grief.
As he got older, the anger and hatred subsided, but the betrayal would never leave his mind.
His grief had remained; his guilt was what grew.
He didn’t have a chance to make it right, as his mother had with his father.
He had to live with the hateful words he’d said to her.
“Kelsey liked Talia from that brief meeting. You know Lauren and Janey want to meet her.”
“So I’ve heard multiple times.”
Both Lauren and Janey had texted about it. His father had brought it up also.
“I keep telling them that it’s probably not serious,” Dean said. “I don’t know that you’ve ever been serious about anyone, but Kelsey thinks there is more going on since you could have prevented her from entering the house and meeting Talia and hadn’t.”
“I could have.” It was exactly what he’d told Talia.
“So there is more going on?”
“I don’t know. She’s a year younger than Janey.”
His father snorted. “Kelsey said that but that Talia was years more mature.”
“She is. She’s got a good job.”
“To be expected with her family,” his father said.
“I’m not going to argue that it was given to her, but she had to work for it. From what I can see, none of them has had a career handed to them. Did West take care of his siblings? Sure. Thesame as you did when you found out about me. They lost their father when Talia was four. She never really knew her father because he was in the service when he died. She doesn’t have a lot of memories of him.”
“That’s too bad,” Dean said. “You share that. Of not having a father in your younger years and being raised by a single mother.”
“We do. But it’s not the same. Maybe back then it was. Her mother struggled alone, financially and just caring for everyone.”
“As did Stella. Your mother was a strong woman and did what she thought was right, even if I don’t agree with it.”
“Shewasstrong,” he mumbled.
Jace turned to start walking back to the house he was working on.
He didn’t want to talk about this much more.
“Cut yourself some slack, Jace. Forgive your mother and then forgive yourself. Until you do that, you’re going to be alone. She wouldn’t want that any more than I do.”
He nodded his head.
It was the best he could do with the tightness squeezing his throat. The damn grief would just never let up.
24
STAY FOR THE COMPANY
“I’ve got pizza.”
Jace turned when the front door of his house opened and Talia came strutting in with the box in her hand, a bag on top of it.
