Page 45 of Fire and Ice

Jesus Christ. Why, in the eight months they had been together had he not seen how crazy or delusional she was?

"Isabella. We. Broke. Up," Jack enunciated each word clearly.

"Jack, that was just a lover's spat."

"I specifically told you we were done. You moved all your things out."

"Oh, Jack you know it's easy for me to move back in," she continued. "You never let me keep too many things at your place." He could hear the censure in her voice.

"You are not moving back in. It is over, Isabella." If he could reach through the phone he could strangle her.

"I...I... thought... you were just mad." Her confident tone wavered. Finally, he cracked through that thick skull of hers. "Jack, I cleared all my things out so you could have all the space you needed to think. Don't you miss me?"

"I'm seeing someone else," Jack said abruptly. It was of course possible that Maia might not agree.

"What? Who?" she shrieked so loud, he had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"It's her isn't she? She's with you at the stonehouse right now, that friend of the family," Isabella said accusingly.

"What..."

"You jerk!" she screamed. "Does she know what a faithless bastard you are? You use women, Jack."

Then she hung up. And apparently called his mother.

After Claire, Jack rarely introduced the women he saw to his family. His mother was always hopeful that he would get over what had happened twelve years before and he did not want to encourage that optimism. Having dated Isabella for eight months, it was inevitable that they would meet as his mom had a habit of showing up to see his son whenever she pleased.

Jack had just finished talking to Maia when his mom called his cell phone.

"Mom," Jack said.

"Jack, how are you, honey?" Frances McCord greeted her son.

Jack sighed his response.

"That's not the way to greet your mother," Frances scolded with some hurt in her voice. "What is this I hear about you fooling around on poor Isabella,"

"Mom, Isabella and I broke up over three weeks ago," Jack said.

There was a marked silence before his mother answered.

"Oh, Jack, Isabella is such a sweet girl ..."

He cursed under his breath.

"Don't you swear at me at me, Jack McCord," his mom chastised him.

"I wasn't," Jack said, holding on to his patience.

"So, who's your new girl?"

"I just started seeing her mom, it's too soon."

"But you ..."

"I don't wish to discuss this," Jack said sternly. "I don't want you talking to Isabella about me again."

"All right," his mother said.

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