Chapter 49
CHAPTER
49
As dawn filtered through the plantation shutters in Jack’s bedroom, Adelaide stretched, aching all over. She’d barely left the dance floor last night, with Jack matching her every move, something he’d done the night they met. Back then, she’d admired him for wanting to dance so much when most of the guys at the B when Jack held her like he never wanted to let her go, she knew he was the man for her.
Not that she needed a ball to remind her of that. His every action lately had shown her how much she meant to him and these last couple of days felt like she’d never left at all.
‘You’re still an early riser like me.’ Jack rolled onto his side to face her, reaching out to drape his arm across her waist. ‘Best part of the day.’
That’s what she used to think, until they started coexisting in frosty silences and he couldn’t wait to down his coffee and head out onto the farm.
But that was the past and they were both older and wiser.
‘It is, though I doubt I’ll be able to get out of bed, I’m that sore.’
‘Oh, really?’ The mouth she’d kissed repeatedly last night curved into a wicked smile. ‘I thought you liked it a little rough.’
‘I’m talking about all the dancing we did,’ she said, gently slapping her palm against his chest. ‘That was some night.’
‘Reliving old times,’ he said. ‘The good parts.’
‘Does that mean you’re ready to put the bad parts behind us?’
It seemed odd, slipping it into a casual conversation, but would there ever be a good time to ask the hard questions? After last night, she knew where she wanted to be: by Jack’s side.
‘If you’re asking if I like having you around, Ads, of course I do.’ He cleared his throat and his hand on her waist trembled a tad. ‘I never stopped loving you.’
‘Oh, Jack …’ Tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked, her heart breaking as she glimpsed the tears in his. ‘I can’t make any promises, but I want to stay longer. Give us a chance at reconciling, with a view to moving back if you’ll have me?’
‘I think that’s a great idea,’ he said, without hesitation. ‘Stay for as long as you like.’ He eyeballed her. ‘Maybe forever?’
She wanted to say yes. She’d love nothing better than to resurrect her marriage. But despite the amazing time they’d had becoming reacquainted, she couldn’t quash all her reservations.
What if she moved back to Ashe Ridge and they ended up back where they once were, coexisting in frosty silences and bereft of intimacy? While they didn’t have the farm hanging over them, Jack’s manic work ethic hadn’t been the only problem in their marriage. And at their age, didn’t they only get grumpier from here?
‘By your resounding silence, I’m assuming that’s a no.’ His expression closed off and his hand slid off her waist. ‘So what is this? A fling before you hit the road again?’
‘You know it’s more than that.’ She sighed and snuggled closer to him. ‘I’m scared, Jack. Scared of falling back into the old routines where our marriage suffered. Scared of taking a chance on us again and getting hurt. Scared that if I move back permanently, the gloss will wear off our reunion and we’ll end up back where we started.’
His expression softened. ‘I appreciate your honesty, Ads, but I’m scared too. Terrified, in fact. You broke my heart last time and I can’t help but think no matter how long you stay this time, you’ll get bored again and leave.’
She wanted to say boredom was never the issue but she’d be lying, because that’s exactly how it had been between them at the end of their marriage. She’d craved an escape, a change of scenery, anything to jolt her out of the lethargy that had been suffocating her for years. Tally Bay had provided that, and she valued the life she’d created there.
What would happen if she gave it all up for this man, her husband, and their relationship went pear-shaped again?
‘Jack, I can’t make any promises, but I know one thing.’ She framed his face with her hands so he had no option but to look at her. ‘I love you too and if I decide to stay, I’ll throw myself one hundred percent into this marriage.’
‘If you stay …’ he said, his expression mutinous.
She sighed, releasing him. ‘We need to be honest moving forward if this is to work, so yeah, if . I haven’t made up my mind yet.’
After a long pause where he couldn’t meet her eyes, he gave a brief nod. ‘Okay. I’ll take it. For now.’
A phone rang and, rolling over, Adelaide realised it wasn’t hers. Once again, she’d forgotten to charge it and the battery had died.
‘Must be yours,’ she said, not averse to perving on Jack’s bare butt as he rolled out of bed and shrugged into a dressing gown.
‘It’s in the kitchen. Be back in a minute.’
If they were to continue their confronting conversation, Adelaide would prefer to not be naked, so she slipped out of bed and pulled on a kaftan she’d left here the last time she’d slept over. Before she could splash water on her face, Jack had returned, his expression eerily blank and his mouth set in a thin line.
‘What’s wrong? Is Mila okay?’
‘That was Sam Nobil’s office.’
The moment he said who’d called, her heart sank. She’d been meaning to call the lawyer and cancel her appointment, but with all the excitement of the ball and spending every spare minute with Jack, she’d forgotten.
‘They said they tried to contact you to let you know they need to change your appointment, and when they couldn’t get through, they knew you were staying here so contacted me to pass on the message.’
The chill in his tone made her shiver.
‘Tell me, Adelaide, would that appointment have anything to do with securing a divorce, which is probably the real reason you stayed after Mila’s aborted wedding?’
‘Yes,’ she said, tilting her chin up, wanting everything out in the open so they could move forward. ‘I wanted to instigate proceedings while I was in town. But things have changed—’
‘Actually, I don’t think anything’s changed. I think you’ve been schmoozing me to make this divorce go smoothly. I think you have no intention of staying and giving us a second chance.’ His face flushed an angry crimson. ‘I think you’ve been making a fool out of me.’
It took a lot to get Adelaide riled, but when she did, she retaliated, and Jack’s stupidity in thinking the worst of her really got her back up.
‘And I think you’re being an idiot. How did they have your number anyway?’
His eyes narrowed to angry slits. ‘Because I changed my will after you left and Mila bought the farm. Understandable, considering I didn’t want a wife who’d abandoned her family inheriting a cent if something happened to me.’
‘You’re never going to forgive me for leaving, are you? No matter if I move back, how many times I profess my love, however many years I stay, you’ll always throw it in my face when we have an argument.’ Sadness tempered her anger. ‘If we’re to have any chance at happiness, Jack, you have to forgive me.’
He glared at her, his shoulders rigid, his hands balled into fists. ‘I don’t have to do anything.’
Before she could talk sense into him, because one of them had to calm the hell down before they really said something they’d regret, he whirled away, stomped down the hall, and slammed the front door.