Page 89 of Whisper of Surrender (Whisper Lake 2)

Both he and Bonnie turned to see Jess standing in the doorway that led to the restaurant. She didn’t even glance in his direction. It was as if he were invisible. All day, she’d looked right past him, like he didn’t exist.

“They’re about to cut the cake.”

“I’ll be right there, sweetie.”

He could see that Jess wanted to say more, probably for her mom to stop talking to the enemy, but she didn’t. She turned and walked back inside and like she did every time she left his presence, she took a piece of his heart with her.

He heard a sniff beside him and looked to his left to see that Bonnie’s eyes were filled with unshed tears as she stared at the space Jess had just left.

“What’s wrong?”

Was Jess sick? Was her body rejecting the heart? He’d researched all of the risks after her surgery and he knew that she should be out of the woods for ninety percent of the complications, but he also knew anything could happen.

“Nothing.” Bonnie shook her head. “It just still gets me sometimes, seeing her so healthy, so active, so alive. Seeing the flush in her cheeks.”

“Yeah.”

“Even if it is because she’s mad at you,” she smiled up at him.

He wasn’t sure how much Bonnie knew about what went down between them. He knew the Myers were close, but he had no idea what Jess had shared.

“Can I give you a piece of unsolicited advice?”

“Please.” Ethan wasn’t just being polite. He’d welcome any advice that Bonnie had.

“Jess loves you, and if I’m not mistaken, you love her too. I’m sure you have your reasons, just like your dad did, for not wanting to have attachments.”

They were actually the exact same as his dad’s.

“But even though your dad’s greatest fear came true, do you think he should’ve done anything differently? Do you think you would’ve been better off if he hadn’t pulled you out of foster care and adopted you? Or are you grateful for the time you had with him?”

Ethan had honestly never thought about it like that.

“In this world, there are no guarantees. Tomorrow isn’t promised for anyone. No one can control the future. Believe me, if they could, John would’ve figured out how to do it by now.” She chuckled. “All anyone can do is make sure that they show the people they love that they love them. The best that any of us can do is live each day showing the people that we love that we love them. That’s what living is, the rest is just existing.”

Ethan stared at Jess’s mom as she walked back in and joined the party. He saw her walk up to her husband and when John saw her, his face lit up and he pulled her into his arms. Jess was standing beside them and he watched her watch her parents embrace while Ali and Kade cut the cake.

She was happy for them, yes. But she also looked sad. And lonely. His soul recognized it, just liked he’d recognized her grief on the pier that day. He’d recognized it because he’d been feeling the exact same way.

And then, like a flash, everything clicked into place. He was robbing them of happiness now because he was scared of what might happen in the future. Jess had been right. He was being a chicken shit.

Well, he was done being scared. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

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