Page 34 of Promise of a New Beginning
“Hello?”
Linda?Jack held his breath.Her voice was identical to Linda’s. Elise. It’s Elise.It had been so long since he’d spoken to her that he’d forgotten how similar they sounded.
“Elise, this is Jack. Jack Remington. Please don’t hang up,” he pleaded.
“Jack? Oh my gosh, Jack. Why would I hang up?”
Tears filled his eyes. “Why would you—I can think of a hundred reasons.” The words tumbled out without thought. Relief stole the tension from his body. He leaned against the wall, his neck arched and his eyes locked on the ceiling.Thank goodness.
“Oh, Jack. I’m so glad you called. I was going to try to reach you, but I was afraid to. I didn’t know if you’d be angry, or if, you know, it’d be too much of a reminder.”
Elise’s kindness also reminded him of Linda, and he lingered in that pleasant memory for a beat before answering.
“I heard about your dad, Elise, and I’m really sorry. I know he probably doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, but I’d really like to apologize to him. In person if he’ll allow it.”Come on. Give me this one break.
“He wants that, too, Jack. He feels horrible about the things he said. He drove out to your house once a week for months, just to try to get in touch with you. He said he left letters.”
Jack swallowed the thick, acidic taste of guilt. “He did. I got them, but I never opened them. I couldn’t, Elise. I could barely breathe. I know that sounds dramatic and probably crazy, but for a while there, I think I was crazy. It took a long time for me to become clearheaded, and the anger ran so deep that I couldn’t deal with any of it.”
“We know, Jack. Remember we all knew you before Linda’s accident, and people don’t change overnight. We knew you were grieving.”
Hearing her assess his emotions so easily and without judgment—so different from Rush’s harsh reaction—drew tears from Jack. He clenched his eyes shut and pressed his finger and thumb to them, but he could not stop the flow of tears. He sucked in a quick breath in an effort to compose himself, but it didn’t help.
“Oh, Jack,” Elise said. “Honey, you’ve been angry for so long that you probably haven’t grieved.”
Jack sucked in another breath. “I…” His voice was swallowed by more tears. His lower jaw shook with the force of his sadness. “I’m sorry,” he finally managed, though it came out as a whisper.Could I have been so angry that I never really grieved?He had no idea if that was possible, but he was so thankful for Elise’s kindness, and the memory and feelings it evoked, that he didn’t care. If he had yet to grieve, he could face that. Now he could face anything.
“Jack, please. We’re past the accusations and the anger, but we’re all very worried about you. Linda wouldn’t have wanted you to hide away from the world for so long. You know that. She’d want you to be happy and to live a fulfilled life, Jack. Linda loved you, and that’s what people who love each other hope for.”
He sank to the floor. “Thank you,” he said in a gravelly, shaky voice.
“You don’t have to thank me, Jack. I care about you. We all do.”
“Elise, I have…” He took a deep breath, trying to keep the sobs that were wrenching his chest to keep from swallowing his voice again. “I have Linda’s clothes. I can’t keep them.”
“Linda’s clothes? You’ve had them all this time?”
Jack nodded, then realized she couldn’t see him. “Yes. Baby clothes, too.” Fresh sobs burst forth, and he buried his eyes in the crook of his elbow.
“Oh, Jack,” Elise whispered. “Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“I’m coming over.”
The line went dead, but Jack couldn’t lift his arm to set the receiver on the console. He couldn’t raise his head from his arms. He could barely breathe as the grief worked its way through every cell of his body. His limbs trembled, his stomach ached, and his teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. Jack gave in to the helpless state, and the room filled with his cries as misery worked its way from somewhere deep within the recesses of his heart and soul and left him feeling depleted and hollow.
Chapter Twenty
SAVANNAH LEANED ON the wall of the Gapstow Bridge, scanning Central Park for Josh and Riley. There were more families than usual strolling through the park. Whether that was due to the pleasantly cool evening or the impending concert, she couldn’t be sure, but it was nice to see people strolling instead of hustling at the typical frenetic pace of the city. The changing leaves reminded her of the Colorado Mountains, which brought her back to Jack. Savannah sighed, wishing she hadn’t stood up for herself after all. It wasn’t like he was treating her badly or trying to hurt her. He’d told her how confused he was. He was honest.What is wrong with me?
She saw his face in every man she passed and heard his voice when there was no one in the room. She thought about contacting him through his website but then realized that doing so would just be feeding into her weakness when it came to men. This time she wasn’t going to be the woman who chased down unworthy lovers. She’d had enough of that with Connor.But Jack’s not unworthy!There was no comparison between Connor and Jack. Connor never professed a single emotion toward Savannah, while Jack didn’t hesitate to bare his soul and say exactly what he was feeling.
A hand gripped her shoulder, and she started, then spun around and found her younger brother Josh looking down at her with laughter in his eyes.
“You scared me half to death.” She hugged him and realized that he was just about the same height as Jack. She felt the difference between Josh’s lean, muscular frame and Jack’s thick, powerful body.
“Hey, Savannah.” Riley embraced her. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” They were a striking couple. Riley appeared youthful and happy in skinny jeans and a red spaghetti-strap blouse with her shoulder-length hair framing her face, and Josh looked handsome in khaki pants and a short-sleeved white dress shirt, which set off his dark eyes and black hair.
