Page 42 of Destiny Reclaimed
Without a doubt, she believed him. That was the man he was. He’d do anything to make those he loved happy.Anything.“I know.”
After a few minutes she eased out of her husband’s comforting arms, but he grabbed hold of her hands and stared down at her. The pain and concern in his gaze had her tearing up again.
“You look pale.”
She supposed she did, but now was not the time to tell him why.
“Maybe you should lay down for a bit.”
Honestly, she was exhausted, and that sounded like a good idea. She nodded.
He led her to the bedroom and tucked her in like one would do for a child, then he kissed her on her forehead and made his way to the door. He hesitated in the doorway, turned at the waist, and opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but he just stared at her awkwardly for a moment with a tinge of desperation in his gaze before he closed his mouth, turned away, and exited the room.
Though her eyelids drifted shut, the vision of Jack staring at her played through her mind. The look of desperation he shot her had transitioned for a brief moment to something else before he turned away. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was. It bordered on resolve as if for a brief moment he could offer something to make her feel better—fix the situation
But her twin brother was dead. There was no fixing that.
Chapter Twelve
“Good morning, honey. Is Gwen coming down for breakfast?” his mom asked with an effort to sound chipper, but her tone still held a bit of despair, as if she knew the answer to the question before she asked.
It had been two weeks since they’d been notified of Gary’s death, and his wife had hardly left their bedroom. The evening before, like every day, he’d brought dinner up to her on a tray. She nibbled a bit but didn’t eat anything substantial. Tomorrow, she was scheduled to work. Her bereavement leave was over, though they hadn’t had a service for Gary since his remains were not home yet. He hoped work would motivate her to get out of bed, but hopelessness nagged at him.
“I don’t think so. Not yet. I’ll bring something up to her.”
His dad folded the newspaper and set it down on the table. The grim look in his gaze let him know he was genuinely concerned about Gwen’s state of mind, and general health. She wasn’t eating or sleeping well, and as a medical professional, his father would likely soon step in, recommend she see her regular doctor at the very least. Jack had tiptoed around that conversation with Gwennie last night, and it didn’t go well. She didn’t appear to want to hear he thought she might need something—medication to help her through this time of despair. Being a nurse, she knew the effects of drugs used to treat depression and didn’t want anything to do with that.
“So, your flight is just a round trip today?” his father asked.
“Yes. I should be home around ten tonight.”
His dad nodded. “Before you go, let me know how she’s doing, and how much she eats.”
There it was. Doctor mode would take over from father-in-law mode pretty quick if Gwennie didn’t start coming around.
Jack was thankful he didn’t have any overnight flights scheduled for the next few days. It about killed him he had to leave for work today, but he needed this job.
