Chapter Fourteen #2
With a squirt bottle in one hand and a roll of paper towels tucked under her arm, she tackled a cleaning project.
Scrubbing, scraping, wiping… Nothing was more satisfying than restoring order to her home when her emotions spun out of control.
As she cleaned, her mind raced with thoughts of what could have caused Mason to leave so abruptly.
Was it something she’d said? Did she do something wrong?
She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had driven him away, and the guilt was crushing her.
Lost in thought, she didn’t even notice the knocking at the door until it turned incessant. She rushed to answer, her imagination entertaining ideas of a bouquet of flowers or a surprise gift from Mason waiting on the other side. But when she opened the door, she was met with a distraught Jovi.
“Oh, no.” Isabel stepped back and invited her sister inside. “What’s wrong?”
Jovi’s hands shook, and she struggled to catch her breath. Isabel gently guided her toward the couch, thankful that she’d shredded the obvious evidence of Mason’s departure.
“It’s…it’s Michael,” Jovi finally managed to say.
Isabel’s stomach knotted. Really? Leave it to Jovi’s former fiancé to somehow weasel his way back into her life. “What about him?” she asked, too worn-out to even try and hide the disdain.
Jovi pulled a crumpled tissue from her coat pocket. “He sent me a text before Valentine’s Day, saying he missed me and might be stationed in Alaska soon.”
Isabel shook her head. “Oh, Jovi.”
“I know, I know.” Jovi held up both hands. “But there’s no need to worry about us getting back together because I just found out that he had a child he forgot to mention.”
Isabel gasped. “You’re kidding.”
Jovi gulped in a ragged breath. “I wish I was.”
“I’m so sorry.” Isabel placed a comforting hand on her sister’s back. “You deserve so much better than him.”
Jovi looked up at Isabel, her red-rimmed eyes full of pain and confusion. “What did I do wrong? Why wasn’t I enough for him?”
Huh. How ironic. She and Jovi wrestled with the same questions. “You didn’t do anything wrong. He is just a jerk. You’re beautiful, Jovi, and so talented. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
“I don’t know.” Jovi shook her head. “This isn’t the first time a man has lied to me about something significant. Why does this keep happening?”
“I’m the last girl who should be handing out relationship advice,” Isabel murmured.
Jovi pinned her with a long look. “What are you talking about? I mean, you’d mentioned you’d hit a rough patch, but you guys are so good together.”
Isabel’s chin wobbled. More hot tears pricked her eyes. “We’re not anymore.”
She could barely squeeze the words past the tightness in her throat.
“What?” Jovi’s eyes widened. “What happened? Isabel, if something’s wrong, you can tell me.”
Isabel sniffed. “He left to stay with his buddy Garrett. Needs some time to think.” She quoted the air with her fingers, her voice thick with emotion.
Jovi reached out and grabbed Isabel’s hand. “Why? Is this about the moving-to-Juneau thing?”
“There’s that, yes. But we had a huge fight when we went away for the weekend. He wants kids. I really…don’t.”
Jovi’s eyes softened, and she squeezed Isabel’s hand. “Oh, wow. I’m so sorry.”
Isabel leaned close and tipped her head against her sister’s. “Thanks. I don’t know what to do. I love him so much, but I just can’t imagine having kids.”
Jovi leaned back on the couch, lines marring her brow. “As in…never? Or not right now?”
“I guess when we were young and so obsessed with each other, I imagined having a family. He says we definitely agreed, but then I had that miscarriage, and I’ve been too scared to commit to having a baby.”
“Your feelings are valid. I get that you’re worried you might have trouble conceiving or carrying to full term. On the other hand, I’ve had plenty of patients who go on to have healthy pregnancies and uneventful deliveries.”
Isabel bit her lip and looked away. “Yeah, I get that advice a lot. Mason and I have talked about that before, but it always ends up in an argument. I don’t want to lose him. At the same time, I don’t want to compromise on something that’s a huge part of our future.”
“That’s a tough spot to be in. How long do you think he’ll be gone?”
Isabel let out a sigh. “Sadly, I don’t see how a few days apart will change anything. He wants to have kids now, and I just don’t feel ready yet. I don’t know if I ever will be. I feel like such a terrible partner for not wanting the same things that he does.”
“That doesn’t make you a terrible partner, Isabel. Everyone has their own timeline for major life choices. Maybe you just need some more time.”
“That’s the thing. I feel like we’re running out of time to resolve this. There isn’t an easy answer. It’s not just about me, it’s about him too. I don’t want to hold him back from something he really wants.”
“So what are you saying?” Jovi whispered.
Isabel hesitated. Just thinking the words made her stomach churn. Could she possibly say them out loud? “I think we’re going to separate.”
“Oh, Izzy. No.” Jovi’s eyes welled with tears, and then she pulled her in for a hug.
For the second time since Jovi had come home, Isabel sobbed in her little sister’s arms. She cried for the helpless corner she’d backed herself into.
Cried for the countless ways she’d hurt the man she loved most. And cried because she was so disappointed in herself for not being a better, braver wife.
* * *
He had to tell Jovi about the information Walker had shared.
Burke paced the small cabin, his mind churning as he strong-armed his conflicting thoughts.
“Hey, so, funny story, while you were skiing with my kid, I made a new friend. Maybe you’ve met? His name’s Walker, and he said—”
No. Too…chipper. And he didn’t do chipper.
Burke stopped pacing and scrubbed a hand over his face. If Jovi heard his upbeat tone, she’d immediately suspect something was up. Not that he had anything to hide.
“Hi, Jovi, sorry to bother you, but I thought you should know that Walker says this whole feud thing is all my uncle’s fault.”
He growled, then resumed pacing. He wasn’t sure if he could trust Walker’s words.
After all, there was no solid evidence to back up his claims. And even if there was some truth to what Walker said, Burke couldn’t shake off the doubts and suspicions he had about the Wrights.
If the whole feud hinged on a love triangle, then didn’t that mean Jovi’s grandmother or grandfather had played a role somehow?
Walker’s declaration might be accurate, but Burke still clung to his suspicions.
How could they know for sure who had ignited the initial spark?
He sighed and tried again. “Hey, Jovi. I want to have coffee with Walker. He seems to know a thing or two about the history of Evergreen, including whatever went down between our families. Care to join us?”
“Daddy, who are you talking to?” Darby Jane hurried into the kitchen from her bedroom, a hopeful look in her eyes. “Is Miss Jovi here?”
Guilt pinched his insides. “No, sweet pea, she’s not.”
Her face fell. “Then, why do you keep saying her name?”
“Well, I’m…” Heat flushed his face. “I need to ask her something, and I’m practicing so that I get the words right.”
“Why don’t you text her?”
Because I want to see her. I miss her smile, and the way her eyes light up when she tells me something funny. I like the way her hair skims across her shoulders.
“Daddy, I know! I can text for you. I’m good at that.” Darby Jane skipped toward him, her twin pigtails bouncing. She craned her neck, already scanning the kitchen counter to find his phone.
“No, no.” Burke stepped into her path and held out his hand. “I can do this. It’s important, so I need to practice what to say.”
Oh, brother. He sounded like he was about fourteen, rehearsing how to ask a girl to dance for the first time.
Darby Jane’s expression turned sour. “Well, don’t take too long.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I miss her.” Darby Jane’s voice wavered. “I thought we’d ski together the whole time, but sometimes she went with the other kids on the big mountain, and I couldn’t go.” Her lower lip quivered. “The ski teacher said I didn’t have enough lessons for that.”
“It’s okay, sweetie.” Burke sank to his knees on the kitchen floor and held out his arms. Darby Jane walked slowly into his embrace, sniffling. “We can figure something out if you want to see Jovi.”
Except even as the words left his lips, uncertainty slithered in.
Jovi likely did not want to see him. But he couldn’t ignore his gut feelings.
And he still felt compelled to share what Walker had told him.
As much as he resented the idea of his family bearing the blame for whatever had gone wrong between the Wright and the Phillips clans, Jovi still deserved to hear the whole story.
Especially since Walker had mentioned that Lois and Carol had fought over recipes and that their friendship never recovered.
Burke had come up with some additional questions for Walker, and he wanted Jovi to be there when he asked.
“Daddy, did you hear me?” Darby Jane pulled away, and used the cuff of her red sweater to swipe at her damp cheeks. “When can we see Miss Jovi?”
Poor thing. She was so upset. Burke sat back on his heels and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “What would you like to do with her?”
“Maybe we could have breakfast at the diner. I want to talk to her about being in a play.”
“What kind of a play?”
“It’s a fractured fairy tale.”
He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “Tell me again why Jovi needs to know about this?”
Darby Jane propped her fists on her hips. “Because you’re busy, remember? I’ll need someone to help me learn my lines. You said you have to write a long book super fast. And sometimes I get out of bed at night and tiptoe out here, and you’re making your mad face at your computer.”
She scrunched her face up in a hilarious imitation.
Burke chuckled. “We’ll talk about the getting-out-of-bed part in a minute. Back to your theatrical aspirations. Please remember that Jovi has a job. Two of them, really.”
“But she still helps us when she can. My teacher says a play needs teamwork. And we already know you’re not too good at costumes.”
Ouch.
“I only messed up that one time.”
She raised both eyebrows at him.
“Okay, so I’ve overlooked a few key details lately. I’m truly sorry.”
Darby Jane quirked her lips to one side.
Yeah, she was not impressed. Man, this girl—still a child yet she had the expressions and the tone of a thirty-year-old woman. “Okay, so I’m going to text Miss Jovi and tell her that we both need to speak with her as soon as she’s available. Sound good?”
Darby Jane nodded, but she stayed rooted.
“What? What did I miss?” Burke stood up.
“Are you going to do it now?”
“Um, sure.” He crossed to the cluttered kitchen counter. Where had he left his phone?
“Or do you need more time to think?”
Wow, she was nothing if not persistent. “I’ll text her right now.”
He lifted up a newspaper, then a stack of mail, and found his phone under an overturned opened magazine. Darby Jane stood, arms linked across her chest like an impatient hall monitor, making sure he followed through.
He quickly pecked out a text to Jovi, asking if she might have a few minutes to chat with Darby Jane, and letting her know that Walker had shared some information that she might find helpful. There. Polite, yet intriguing enough to hopefully provoke a response.
He hit Send before he could change his mind. “Done.”
“Thank you.” Darby Jane rewarded him with a satisfied smile. “Please let me know as soon as you hear back.”
She turned and left the room.
Burke watched her go, a hopeless sensation blanketing him. He had been owned by his kindergartner. Again.
Sighing, he stared at his phone, hoping for a quick reply from Jovi.
A ridiculously high expectation, really.
After all, she had made it clear that she needed space.
Surely she’d want to know what Walker had said?
Even if the details didn’t help her locate the missing recipe, the information pointed them toward the cause of the rift.
And selfishly, he hoped that if they got to the bottom of how the whole feud started, maybe she’d reconsider her stance on a relationship with him.