Page 14 of This Heart
“I take it you liked it.”
She smiled.
“I’ll be sure to let Cadie know her venture into jam is a hit with at least one two-year-old in Moose Village.”
Winnie laughed as if I had just said the funniest thing in the world.
“Liam! Winnie!” The sound of Opal’s voice rang through the house.
I called over my shoulder, “We’re in the kitchen having a snack.”
The sound of Opal and Jake’s footsteps should have lowered my anxiety, but it did the opposite. I knew why they had asked to stop by. Mary had warned me earlier that day when she called to FaceTime with Winnie. I appreciated the heads-up.
“My goodness, did she get any of it into her mouth?” Opal laughed.
“Look at my little princess,” Jake said as he reached down and picked Winnie up out of her highchair. She smashed her mouth against his and smeared blackberry jam all over him.
He drew back and licked his lips. “Cadie’s?”
Laughing, I nodded. “Yes. She has a lifelong fan in Winnie here.”
Opal chuckled. “Why don’t you let me take her and give her a bath. It’s about time, right?”
I didn’t want to admit I was relieved she had offered. It had been one hell of a day. Nothing like bringing your two-year-old to work with you while the health inspector is there. Luckily, we passed with flying colors.
“It is, and only if you want to.”
Opal kissed Winnie’s cheek, making her laugh. “Of course I do!”
The two of them left, and I let out a breath before looking at Jake. “I’ll save you from having to break the news to me. Mary told me earlier today about you and Opal wanting to travel. I one-hundred-percent agree that you should. This is your time, Jake. You raised your girls, and now it’s your time to be with Opal.”
He looked down at the floor, then back up at me. “What will you do?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“You can’t bring her to work with you.”
Smiling, I replied, “I know. Daycare isn’t an option when you own a bar, so I’ll look at other alternatives. Maybe a nanny.”
Jake nodded. “I know Hope put some unrealistic demands on you before she passed away, but you must realize that you can’t follow through with them.”
“I know. I think she was scared, that’s all.” At least part of me wanted to believe that. The other part knew Hope was doing it to just be…Hope.
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “The end was hard on all of us, but more so on you, Liam. She wasn’t in her right mind, and some of the things that she asked of you were…well, they were unfair to you.”
“I know.” Jake didn’t know half of it. I had never told him the reason I had asked Hope for a divorce, and neither had Hope. If he knew, he would have been devastated.
We sat in silence for a few moments before he cleared his throat. “People were only helping because they cared about you three. You know that, right?”
I looked up and met his eyes.Why is he saying this?
“If you’re talking about me not taking any help from anyone…”
My voice trailed off because a part of me knew exactly what he was talking about. He was here that night, and so was Mary. The night I unleashed on Aurora.
“You know what I’m talking about, Liam. Aurora was friends with Hopeand you. She cared about all three of you and was hurting as well. She lost more than just one friend; she lost two and Winnie.”
“Winnie wasn’t hers to lose.”
