Page 60 of Needing You

His cheeks bloomed red. “I barely handled it, and I got a lot of lessons in humility those first few years.”

I grinned. “Well, I’m sure youneverneeded that.”

Shaking his head again, he moved toward me, arms spread. I took the hug, so relieved I could’ve cried if I didn’t have more shit to deal with after this.

“I’m sorry I jumped to the worst conclusion,” he said, all serious as he pulled back.

“Thanks. I’m sorry I was an MIA asshole for so long that you ever had reason to doubt me.”

He shook his head, a grin pulling at his lips. “Alright, we’re good. I think you’d better go track Kate down.”

“That I better. No chance I’m letting this come between us.”

He smiled full-out at that. “I’m happy for you, Will. Truly.”

“Thanks. I don’t know what I did to deserve them, but I’m going to do whatever I have to to keep them.” With that, I turned to leave as he chuckled softly. But I turned back, needing to say one last thing. “And hey, for what it’s worth? I think one of these days you should let yourself be happy foryou.”

I went to deal with the kitchen staff, knowing he wouldn’t respond. I hated to leave them, but I’d already planned to have a light touch and hang with the family more tonight anyway. After officially passing the reins to Pat, I went to track down Denver Dick Jason Cole.

I found him sipping a beer at the end of the bar. Jake gave me wide eyes as I stormed up to him, and I sent Jake a little nod to let him know he’d get the full story from me later.

Right now? I had to put this motherfucker in his place. After the peacemaking with Eric, I had enough adrenaline to power a rocket to the goddamn moon, and Cole was about to receive that energy.

“Cole.”

He turned, smile bright and so white it verged on blue. “There he is! Get everything worked out with—”

“I’m not coming to work for you. I’m not leaving Granite Springs, and if I did, I damn well wouldn’t do it with someone who pulled what you have today.”

He held up his hands. “I just wanted to get things rolling. Sue me if I know greatness when I see it.”

I didn’t smile or take the bait. I looked him dead in the eye and made my last point. “You ever come near me—ormy family—again, and I’ll have you arrested for harassment. You speak to my woman or my son again, and I’ll destroy you. You try to force my hand? Give it a shot and see what happens.”

He leaned away but didn’t speak, maybe starting to regret showing up here.

“That’s right. Final answer isno goddamn way,and now I’ll invite you to leave.” But instead of waiting for him to get up, I booked it back to my office, grabbed my keys, and raced to my car.

I could only hope Kate hadn’t gotten too angry in the time since she’d left. I wish I could’ve heard what that snake had said to her, but for her to bolt like that, she had to assume I’d made plans to leave just like Eric had.Fuck, I hated that if I’d only said something about the dickhead’s calls before and how I had no interest in his offer, none of this would’ve happened.

The pain I felt at realizing she didn’t trust me enough to second-guess a stranger was no small thing, but I couldn’t change that. But I could—and I would—fight for her. All I could do was tell her the truth, hash it out with her, and pray to God she was willing to fight for me too.

29

KATE

I flinched, the sound of the front door slamming behind Jackson vibrating through my bones like an earthquake. We’d fought the entire ride home from the bar, and then for another few minutes after we’d returned. Finally, he decided he’d had enough and had stormily announced he was going for a run.

Part of me wanted to go after him. I wanted to chase him down and make him hug me until he calmed down. It worked when he was a toddler and would throw a tantrum because I wouldn’t let him do something stupid like throw away the remote or bring my makeup brushes into the bath so he could paint the walls. He thrashed around, angry and pigheaded like all two-year-olds were, and I’d hold him in my lap and whisper that I loved him until he melted against me and said he loved me too.

Why wasn’t it that easy with a fifteen-year-old? Why couldn’t I soothe his inner rage with a hug?

For the last twenty minutes, Jackson had unleashed all the pent-up rage and frustration he’d felt about the web of lies I’d spun for the entirety of his life. Everything he’d been holding in that made the air between us chilly but pleasant—well, pleasant when Will was around, frostbitten otherwise.

I’d known this was coming, but hearing it? Hearing all that anger spill from my usually-so-even-tempered son had nearly broken me in two. And now, as I sat alone on the couch in our dimly lit living room, all I felt was soul-crushing exhaustion.

Blearily, I stared at the black screen of the TV and wondered for the millionth time what I’d be doing right now if I hadn’t made the choices I’d made when I was his age. Or even if done everything else the same, but I’d wizened up sooner. And it wasn’t even all about my messed-up relationship with my son. It was the realization that my past decisions would probably follow Will and me for the rest of our lives, too.

Maybe if we’d raised Jackson together, this new job in Denver would have been a decision we’d have made together. Maybe he would have brought it to me as an exciting opportunity, andtogetherwe could have weighed the pros and cons of uprooting our son and leaving our family for a chance at better opportunities for all of us in a big city.

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