Chapter Twenty-Four
Samantha
I woke up alone. I remembered Jack slipping into bed with Charlie and me last night. Now they were both gone.
I picked up my phone to check the time. Seeing it was almost ten, I climbed from the bed and headed for the bathroom. My clothes were all in Jack’s room, so I would save the shower for later. I needed to find out where my daughter was. I threw on the same jeans and T-shirt I wore yesterday and went downstairs.
Trudging down the stairs, I headed straight for the kitchen.
The kitchen was empty.
I stepped into the main room and found Charlie snuggled up on the couch with Tank, watching My Little Pony .
I quietly stood by the couch until Tank noticed me.
“Oh hey, Samantha.” Tank grinned.
He didn’t appear bothered at all to be caught watching a children’s program.
“Riveting show, I see.” I chuckled when he narrowed his eyes at me.
“Hey, it’s got everything. Horses, drama, life lessons. What more could anyone want?”
“Shh,” Charlie scolded us, without taking her eyes from the TV.
“Sorry, baby,” I told her. “Do you know where Jack is?” I whispered to Tank.
“They’re back in church. They went in right after breakfast. Jack asked me to sit with Charlie so you could sleep.”
“Uncle Tank, no talking,” Charlie reprimanded.
Tank locked eyes with Charlie and, with his fingers, he made a show of locking his lips and handing her the key .
I couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped from my lips, seeing this mountain of a man snuggled up with my four-year-old daughter watching a show about magical animated ponies.
Leaving the two of them to their show, I walked over and sat at the bar.
“What can I get you?”
I looked up at the voice that spoke to me.
Mimic stood there, eyes hard, focused on me.
“Nothing, thank you.” I shook my head. Turning toward the church doors, I willed them to open.
“You lied,” he said angrily.
“I know,” I conceded, my eyes still on the church doors.
“Then you lied about lying.”
I took a deep breath and turned to the young man.
“I did,” I admitted.
“Why?” he asked, his voice tight.
I studied him as he waited for me to answer. His body was rigid, wound up like a two-dollar watch. His knuckles were white where his hands pressed into the bar. But it was his eyes that held my attention.
I saw anger, but something else overshadowed the anger.
Something that looked like hurt. He looked crushed. As if, somehow, my lies had personally wounded him. Which made little sense.
“I don’t have an excuse to give you. I won’t justify my actions to make you feel better. The simple answer is, I did what I felt was right.”
“That’s the problem,” he stated bluntly. “You were only thinking of yourself. Mothers are supposed to put their kids first.”
I sat there, confused, as Mimic stormed away.
“Don’t let him bother you. He’s got some issues he needs to work through.”
I turned to my left. I hadn’t noticed Banshee sitting next to me.
“Would you like to add your two cents?” I asked sarcastically .
“Nope.”
That was it. That was all he said. He just sat there next to me, drinking his coffee. We sat there in silence for about fifteen minutes before I couldn’t take it any longer.
“Just ask me,” I demanded.
Banshee turned his head and looked at me. “Ask you what?”
“Whatever it is you want to know.”
He set his cup on the bar and turned in my direction.
“Do you love him?”
“With everything in me,” I answered immediately.
He nodded once, then picked up his cup. Before he took a drink, he asked, “Do you trust him?”
I sighed heavily. That was harder to answer.
“I want to. It’s not that simple.”
“Love never is,” he said. “What’s holding you back?”
“I’m scared. I trusted someone before and he hurt me. Not just my heart, he physically hurt me. I gave everything to him—my whole life—and the only thing I asked for in return was that he loved me.”
“You cheated on him,” Banshee said without looking at me.
My eyes burned. He was right. I could make excuses. I could justify my actions by saying Derek beat me. But the reality was, I broke my vow. Ever since Jack found out about Charlie, he had been angry. He had yelled at me. Gotten in my face. Ignored me. But he never raised a hand to me.
The one time I told him he was hurting me, he dropped his hands like I had burned him. He walked away.
Jack had never given me a reason not to trust him.
I cheated on my husband.
I used Jack for my selfish wants.
I kept his daughter from him.
He had so many reasons not to trust me. So many reasons to walk away. Instead, he pulled me closer. He told me he loved me, even after he knew I couldn’t say it back. I turned back to say something to Banshee, but he was gone. The doors to church opened, and the guys shuffled out .
I locked my eyes on Jack and watched him walk over to check on Charlie and talk to Tank before coming to find me.
He turned in my direction and smiled. As he walked toward me, I hopped off the stool and ran into his arms. My hands went to the back of his neck and I pulled him down and pressed my lips to his.
He didn’t hesitate. His tongue slipped between my teeth to wrestle with my own. His arms wound around my waist and tugged me against his hard form. Whistles and catcalls were barely a whisper as I focused on Jack.
Pulling back, Jack searched my face. “What was that for?”
“I love you, Jack.”
Surprise showed on his face.
“I thought—”
“I was wrong. I should have told you when you told me. I shouldn’t have kept that from you, despite our circumstances.”
“Sammy, I didn’t need to hear the words if you weren’t ready. I could feel it with every touch, every kiss, and every word from that beautiful mouth.”
“No, I should have given you the words,” I insisted.
“Hey, why don’t we take a ride, and we can talk without an audience?” he suggested.
“What about Charlie?” I looked over and saw her still sitting with Tank on the couch.
“Tank said he’ll stay with her. She’ll be fine,” he assured, pulling me toward the front door. We walked outside to his bike, and I pulled my hand back.
“We aren’t taking your truck?” I asked.
“No, we’re taking the bike.”
“But you said the only woman that would ride on the back of your bike would be your old lady. I’m not your old lady,” I reminded him.
“You will be.”
“You don’t know that, Jack,” I said, shaking my head.
“I do know that. And regardless, you will definitely be my wife. You are the only woman I want on the back of my bike, other than our daughter, and any other daughters you may give me.”
He grabbed my head and kissed me hard and quick.
“Come on.”
He placed a helmet on my head, clicking the strap under my chin. I watched him throw his leg over the bike, and he made it look so easy. I stood there frozen for a minute. I had never been on a bike.
“Sammy, come on. I promise you’ll love it.”
I simply stared at him. I wasn’t convinced I would like any part of this, let alone love it. But Banshee was right. I needed to trust Jack.
He sat there, holding out his hand to me, asking me to trust him. I had no other choice, so I put my hand in his and slid my leg over the bike.
I scooted close, wrapped my arms around Jack, and rested my chin on his shoulder.
“You ready?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Not at all.”
He chuckled at my reply and fired up the bike. I felt the rumble of the engine between my legs immediately, and my arms tightened around Jack. His hand covered mine where they held together tight.
“I’ve got you, Sammy.”
I closed my eyes when the bike lurched forward. I wasn’t sure what was worse. Keeping my eyes closed so I wouldn’t know when we crashed or having my eyes open to brace myself for the worst.
It wasn’t long into the ride that I started to relax. I carefully opened my eyes to see where we were going. Over Jack’s shoulder, I watched as the world flew by in a blur.
As we flew down the road, the wind brushed over my face. The warm sun beat down on my arms, and I looked out over the fields on either side of us.
I sat up a little straighter. Jack reached his hand down and wrapped it around my calf. An overwhelming feeling of peace surrounded me.
When I met Jack five years ago, I knew very little about him. From what I observed of him at the bar on different occasions and when I saw him around town, I knew he was friendly. I saw the jokester, the brother, the guy girls swooned over.
Over the last two years, I met a deeper Jack. I met the helpful man. The man who would do anything, not just for his brothers, but for anyone he knows.
I once saw him climb a tree to rescue Mrs. Henderson’s demon cat. Jack had been scratched to hell while doing it, only for the cat to run right back up the tree as soon as he set Mr. Clusters on the ground.
Jack, being the man he was, climbed right back up and brought him down again, not releasing him until he was safely back in the house.
I met the compassionate man. I was in the Ice Cream Shoppe one day after a bad shift at work. I had stopped for a little pick-me-up before heading home. There was a frazzled mom sitting at a table with her two little boys. The twin boys sat there eating their ice cream, and somehow, they both dropped them at the same time.
The mom looked like she wanted to cry, as she tried to explain to the upset boys she couldn’t afford to buy them another ice cream.
Without saying a word, Jack walked to the counter and had the server make two more, putting them in cups upside down so they could still have their cones without the risk of dropping them again.
He silently placed the cups in front of the boys and cleaned up the ice cream on the floor. He smiled at the mom, ruffled the boys’ hair, and walked out the door.
More importantly, I met the gentlemen. Jack pursued me relentlessly over the last two years. He never pushed. He never pressured. And he never got angry, despite the number of times I told him no.
The last few weeks I met the Jack I loved the most. The father. He doted on Charlie. He spoiled her in the best way possible—with his love.
“How are you doing?” Jack called over his shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I think I love it,” I yelled back.
Pressed up against Jack, I felt the rumble of his laughter. He pulled off the road and followed a trail up a steep hill. When we reached the top and the trail flattened, he stopped the bike and turned off the engine.
Holding out his hand, like he did when I climbed on, I grabbed it and slid off the bike.
“Where are we?” I asked, looking around.
“Blade and Beck call this Lookout Mountain. They used to come up here when they were kids. No one really knows about it but them, I think. He told me it’s a great place to talk and scream at the world.”
He took my hand and tugged me toward the edge. The view was magnificent. You could see the whole town from up here.
“I don’t think this classifies as a mountain, but it is pretty amazing all the same.”
“They were kids when they found and named it. I guess it seemed bigger then.” He chuckled.
Then, he sobered and turned to look at me. “We need to talk, Sammy.”