Page 61 of Promise of a New Beginning
“I hear you had a gallery opening in Washington,” Jack said as he approached Sage. He and Sage had spent many hours together out in the woods around their parents’ house. Sage liked to hike and chill, while Jack was always looking for an adventure. They’d made a great exploration team with Jack pointing out the larger discoveries like animal tracks and paths made by other hikers and Sage teaching Jack to appreciate the sound of the creek or the flight patterns of the hawks. Jack wondered if at twenty-eight Sage still found beauty in all things living, or if life had kicked his butt. He hoped for the former.
Sage nodded. “Good to see you, too, Jack.” He handed him a beer, and when Jack took it, Sage pulled him into a hug and held him longer than the others had. “What took you so long?”
“Lost my compass.”
“You should have called me. I would have brought you one.” Sage embraced him again. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Jack’s heart was so full, he felt as if his chest might explode. Could he possibly get this lucky? He’d been so worried about finding his way back and being turned away. Could it really be this easy?
Siena sailed out of the kitchen with a tray of cheese, crackers, and fruit in her hands and an unopened bottle of wine under her arm. Jack took the tray and set it on the long barn wood table. The loft was spacious and bright, with one bar separating the kitchen and just beyond and down a short hallway, a comfortable master bedroom and bathroom. Siena had been modeling for years, and while she’d graduated with a degree in biology, they all knew that was just to appease their father.Every woman needs a career to fall back on.Siena was one of the most sought after models in New York, and as Jack watched her teasing their brothers and gracefully moving from the kitchen to the table as she set out plates and silverware, he could see why. She had a natural beauty that radiated through to her eyes. A sparkle that most women didn’t possess—although he’d seen the same beauty in Savannah, who he wished was by his side at that very moment.
“Mom and Dad are on their way,” Siena said. “They had to stop and pick something up.”
“What can I do to help, sis?” Dex asked. “Napkins? Condiments?”
“I’ll open the wine,” Kurt offered. “Although we all have beer. Do we need the wine?”
“Mom and Dad prefer it,” Siena answered.
“Right, of course.” Kurt retrieved the corkscrew.
Sage sidled up to Jack. “You sure you’re ready for this?”
Jack lifted the right side of his mouth in a half smile. “Who knows, but I want to be.” He felt Sage’s hand on his back.
“I envied you, you know. As much as I hated not seeing you, I was envious of all that time alone, just you and nature. Man, what I wouldn’t give to escape the rat race for a while.”
His voice was so serious that Jack had to turn and look at him. “You okay, Sage?” He searched his eyes for hidden trouble, but they hadn’t changed. They held the same unreadable look as they always had.
“Yeah. Sure. Anyway, I’m glad you’re back. We’ve all missed you.”
Jack leaned in close and said, “Not all of you.”
“Right. Well, you know Rush can be a bonehead. Give him time. He’s just pissed that you took off. He’ll get over it.” Sage patted him on the back and went to answer a knock at the door.
It can’t be this easy.Jack watched his siblings talking and joking with one another as if one of the biggest defining moments of his life hadn’t just taken place. Was it even possible that his siblings could accept him back that easily without any angst over his not keeping in touch? Could Savannah have been right about family ties?
“Jackson.”
His father’s serious tone sent a jab of reality to his gut. There wasn’t the slightest chance this was going to be an easy night.What was I thinking?He turned to meet his father’s somber stare. His military-style haircut was now more gray than brown, though his thick, furrowed brows were still dark as ever. The skin on James Remington’s once chiseled features now hung a little looser from his cheekbones and jowls, but his imposing nature was just as strong as it had always been. Jack looked into the midnight-blue eyes—which were so much like his own—of the man who was his mentor, his hero, and his harshest critic. He pulled his shoulders back, knowing that even though he was younger and stronger, he couldn’t quite pull off the same commanding dignity that his four-star-general father always had.
“Dad. Mom.” Jack had the urge to run into his mother’s arms, as he had when he was a boy. He wanted to settle into the comfort and surety of her unconditional love and forget so much time had passed. But that wasn’t an option. Instead, he took in his mother’s beauty, his heart warming as she crossed the floor toward him.
Joanie Remington was the polar opposite of Jack’s father. She dressed in loose bohemian clothing and wore her gray hair long, while James looked as though he’d walked out of a military photo shoot: pristine navy jacket with perfectly pressed slacks and white dress shirt. Joanie opened her arms and embraced him.
She touched his cheek and looked up at him with the same bright blue eyes that she’d passed down to Kurt and Rush, and the love he saw pulled at his heart.
“Jackie, I’m so glad to see you,” she said.
She was nearly the same height as Siena—and Savannah, Jack realized. Her hand on his cheek reminded him of the endearing way Savannah had touched him earlier that morning. He’d turned his mom away so often, and once he moved to the cabin, he didn’t even have a phone line. He’d kept his cell phone but never left it on. When messages rolled in, he ignored them. Things between him and his father had gotten so tense after Linda’s death that it had been easier to block his mother out of his life, too, than to try and volley between the two. He realized now how much that must have hurt his family, especially his mother, who had been nothing but supportive his whole life.
“Me too, Mom. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come around.” He kissed his mother’s cheek and tried to suppress the tears that welled in his eyes. He blinked until his eyes dried, then shifted his gaze back to his father. Sage remained by the open door, and Jack had a fleeting thought that maybe he should just walk out that door. Escape his father’s torment.There is no escape. I deserve whatever he doles out.
“Dad.” He felt like he was sixteen years old again, telling his father that he wasn’t going to join the military right after high school—and he wasn’t sure if he ever would. His heart had hammered in his chest then just as it did now.
“Son.” He shot a look at Joanie, who lifted her brows and her chin in the silent urge Jack had come to know as a child. His father had ruled their house with an iron fist. No one dared go up against him, but every so often, his mother would take a quiet, though meaningful and determined stance, and in those times, Joanie headed the charge. There was no mistake in Jack’s mind that his father had a diatribe ready to push his disgruntled agenda—or that his mother would not allow that to happen.
His father continued. “You look good, Jack. Different.”
