Page 21 of Promise of a New Beginning
Finding appropriate sticks was not as easy as Savannah had thought it would be. Most were too short, some were too heavy, and others snapped like brittle bones. They grabbed the few appropriately sized sticks they could find. In her mind, she toyed with the idea of her and Jack in a homemade shelter in the woods.We wouldn’t need any insulation at all.
“How are you holding up?” Elizabeth asked.
“Fine, why?”
“I don’t know. Tonight’s our last night here, and Lou said he and Jack talked with Pratt and that he had the feeling Jack needed help finding his way back to his family as much as Pratt did.”
Savannah had already pushed the thought from her mind. She didn’t want to think about it being her last night on the mountain with Jack. “What do you mean?” Savannah asked as she reached for a stick.
“He didn’t say much. Just that when Jack talked about how he handled things with his family after his wife’s death, he seemed a little stressed.”
“Well, that explains why he seems a little distant today,” Savannah said. “How did you know about his wife?”
Elizabeth looked away.
“Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth sighed. “You can’t say anything, okay?”
“Okay. I promise,” Savannah said, not knowing if she could keep the promise.
“Linda’s family has been really worried about him. I know her younger sister, Elise, but we weren’t really close before Linda died, so Jack and I had never met. Anyway, Jack sort of dropped off the face of the earth, and now Linda’s father is not well. He’s got terminal cancer.”
“Oh no, that’s terrible,” Savannah said.
“Really sad. He’s a good man, and they’re really worried because the last time Jack saw him they had a blowup, and Ralph—that’s Linda’s father—said things to him that he shouldn’t have. Mean things. And he wants to apologize before he dies. Anyway, Lou and I registered for the trip, and when I told Elise, she asked if we’d let her know how he was doing before they, you know, pushed their way back into his life.” Elizabeth shrugged.
Savannah chewed on the information for a minute before responding. “So you’re here to spy on him?”
“No. We’re here because Jack has the strongest reputation in the business, and we wanted to come on this type of retreat. We thought it would be good for Aiden and good for us as a family. But when Elise found out…They love him so much, and if you could see Elise’s dad. He’s so fragile right now, and what he wants more than anything on earth is to fix things with Jack. I mean, I was coming anyway. What was I going to do? Tell her I wouldn’t let her know how he was doing?”
“No, of course not. Jack definitely has some unresolved anger and guilt. What are you going to do? Will you eventually tell Jack?”Will I?
“No, I don’t think so. I’ll let them know that he seems to be still really hurting. You saw him when we arrived. He could barely speak without anger spewing out in all directions. Since you two connected, he’s softened, but you can see he’s still fighting those demons, and he could be for years to come. From what Elise said, he was never an angry person before the accident. She thinks he blames himself, and if what she says is true, then talking to Ralph might alleviate a lot of that guilt.” Elizabeth touched Savannah’s arm.
Savannah chewed on the reality that Jack might be wrestling with his anger and guilt for years.Years.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when we first met, but I didn’t know if it was my place or not. When I saw that budding interest between you two, I didn’t want to ruin it with this stuff, but when you asked me just now, I didn’t want to hide it from you.”
“That’s okay. I get it. It probably would help him to talk to her father, but that really has to be his decision. Does he know he’s sick?” Savannah felt like she held this new knowledge in her hand, and it was a weighty and precarious position to be in.
“No. By the time he was diagnosed, Jack had basically disappeared from their lives but, of course, not from their hearts,” Elizabeth said. “The disease has progressed really fast. It’s terrible—first Linda, now her father. And Linda’s accident was so tragic.”
“Jack hasn’t shared the details of her accident with me, and I don’t know if he ever will, but I’d rather hear it from him when he’s ready.” She hated keeping any secrets from Jack, and even though Elizabeth had been planning this trip before she even knew Elise would want her to check on Jack, it still felt wrong not to tell him she knew Linda’s family. She couldn’t decide anything right then. She was too confused to think straight. “I hope they can all get the closure that they need.” Savannah thought of her father and the way he maintained that he was still in contact with her dead mother. She wondered if she was setting herself up to be hurt by continuing things with Jack.
No one can compete with the ghost of a lover.
Chapter Thirteen
LATER THAT EVENING, after Aiden was safely tucked in bed, they told ghost stories around the campfire. Lou and Elizabeth sat hip to hip, Elizabeth’s hand resting on Lou’s thigh, her head on his shoulder. Josie and Pratt snuggled together on the other side of the fire. Savannah longed for that kind of comfort. She’d spent so many years being the brave, strong career woman that being able to let down her guard and rely on someone else seemed more appealing than sex and chocolate combined. Her previous boyfriends hadn’t been interested in discussions about her feelings or snuggling just to be close to each other. Their idea of comfort was buying her a box of chocolates once a month. Maybe that was why she’d never felt completely comfortable in a relationship. She always felt like she was on guard—in her relationships and at work. When she was with Connor, she was already deemed a notch below him because he was a celebrity, so she worked extra hard to impress him and his peers, and as a lawyer, she had to be on top of her game every minute. She inhaled the charred, smoky smell of the campfire and allowed herself to dream of a life where she could relax by a campfire more often.
Savannah glanced at Jack sitting a foot away from her on the grass. His arms rested on his knees, and he was staring straight ahead, into the darkness. She had the urge to reach out and touch the curve of his back, but she knew that Jack had to maintain his professional appearance as their guide, even if she hadn’t been able to keep herself from kissing him earlier that morning. Luckily, as she’d thought, no one seemed to have seen them. At least no one was treating them any differently. They didn’t need to throw their relationship—or whatever it was—in anyone’s face. Savannah didn’t even know where they were heading, and now that she knew how worried Linda’s family was about him, she wondered if she had even more to worry about. Was Jack really too broken? Was she once again ignoring big red flags? Or was the feeling that she’d been brought to his camp for a reason real? She glanced at him again, hoping he’d want to see her even after they left the mountain. She knew she would not only want to continue seeing him, but she also knew she’d love to spend evenings with him by a campfire. Just the two of them.
“I THINK WE’RE going to turn in.” Elizabeth stood and reached for Lou’s hand. “Jack, today was amazing, and thanks for helping Aiden pack his survivor bag. He set it beside the tent, and when we put him to bed, he said he knew everything he needed to and that he was going to survive the wilderness.” She laughed. “I think you have an even bigger fan now.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Jack said. “Sleep well.”
“We’re turning in, too,” Pratt said. He pulled Josie close and kissed her forehead. “Jack and Lou, you gave me some stuff to think about today on the hike. Thank you.”
