Page 9 of Needing You

“Did Mom and Dad know?” Jake asked.

Pain sliced through me. They’d begged me to tell them what was wrong—whether something had happened. I’d mouthed off, been sullen and so damned mean to everyone. Looking back, I could see that all of that was the overflow of feeling lost and confused and hurt.

And right about the time the sky started to lighten, and I thought the storm would pass, right as I’d finally realized what I wanted to do with my life—cook—Dad died.

“No. They didn’t know, and I refused to tell them. I was humiliated. But mostly so fucking sad. And not surprisingly for me, that sadness showed up in anger.”

Sammy and Jake made nearly identical exhales. Eric checked his phone. “Mom’s here.”

“Did she text you from the driveway?” I managed to ask as Sammy, in an uncharacteristically helpful move, grabbed the stack of plates from the bar and moved to distribute them on the table.

“No. I get her security updates. Got a front door notification.” He swiped at the phone, then tucked it in his pocket.

Something about that hit me. Fuck, it hit me right in the chest. He was such a good brother. He’d supported the entire family while I’d run away from my grief and fear, and had only just barely managed to come home.

I cleared my throat. “You’ll be a good dad.”

Eric’s gaze narrowed on me. “You will, too.”

“I know fuck all about being a father.”

“That’s not true. We had a great dad. We lost him, but you had him your entire childhood,” Jake said, always first to bring a positive spin.

And it was true. But instead of helping, it made my chest ache again, my heart squeezing in my chest like someone held it in a death grip. “Yeah. So what an asshole, deadbeat father I am then, right?”

Aw, shit. Against every desire in my body, my eyes watered, and I felt something ugly and uncontainable rising in me. I pushed out a breath and worked to find my composure as Eric grabbed my shoulder and shook it to get me to look at him.

“You didn’t know. And I don’t know why the hell Kate didn’t tell you, but you’ll find out. I hope to God there’s a good reason, but whatever it is, all you can do is move forward. And you will. You’ll figure it out, and you won’t be doing it alone. We’re with you.”

Sammy and Jake agreed, all of them huddling in the kitchen like they wanted to hug me or some shit.

“We’re not fucking group hugging right now. But thank you.”

“Group hugging? Be still my heart.” Mom bustled in with a laugh, a loaf of bread in her hand. But then she rushed to me as soon as she saw my face. “Will, honey, what is it?”

5

KATE

“Thanks for dinner, Mom,” Jackson called from the living room. He rubbed his flat belly from his sprawled-out position on the couch, his long limbs hanging off in all directions as he flicked through the streaming options on the TV.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I dried my hands on a kitchen towel, then hung it back on the oven before grabbing my purse and keys.

After Ellie told me Will had been at the grocery store at the same time as Jackson and me, my first instinct was to race over to Jenna Walker’s house and talk to him. Whether he’d actually seen me or we’d barely missed each other was irrelevant. It was only a matter of time, and this was getting ridiculous.

But no matter how eager I was to finally have this long-overdue conversation with my son’s father, Jackson came first. He always had and he always would. So instead of heading to Jenna’s, I told Ellie to text me when she got there and let me know if he’d seen us. If not, I’d find him tomorrow. And if so, I’d head over there. Just as soon as I went home to make the steak Jackson had so carefully picked out for himself.

Sure enough, we were halfway through our meal when Ellie confirmed that the cat was out of the bag.

“I’m not sure when I’ll be home,” I said as I kissed Jackson on the top of the head on my way to the door, “but I shouldn’t be too late.”

“’Kay. Bye.”

Nerves made my skin tingle the entire ten-minute drive from our two-bedroom apartment to the cozy neighborhood where Will and his siblings had grown up. Well, I supposed the houses that lined the quiet streets were more thancozysince that implied that they were small. These were fairly large homes for a small town, and each one had a certain charm and obvious maintenance that signified understated wealth. Certainly one of the nicest neighborhoods in Granite Springs. But they were nothing like the McMansions lining the street I grew up on, so to my snobbish parents, it might as well have been the slums.

As I got out of my car and headed for Jenna’s front door, I realized I should have been terrified. Not only was I about to finally tell Will about his son, but I’d be knocking on Jackson’s grandmother’s door, effectively facing the wrath of the woman who could have been spoiling and loving my son his entire life if she’d known about him.

But at the end of the day, this wasn’t about me and how uncomfortable I’d feel as the focus of the Walker family’s hurt. This was about Jackson and finally connecting the dots for him that he’d always wondered about. It was time. And knowing this was for him—and for Will, too—gave me all the strength I needed to raise my fist to knock.

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