Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
JACK
How much had she heard? Jack’s throat ran dry as he locked eyes with his daughter.
Once so small and vulnerable he swore he would kill to protect her, she’d grown into a beautiful young woman.
He loved her with every fibre of his being.
Her love for him had always been unquestioning.
Now, she was looking at him as if appalled by him.
‘Evie…’ With no clue what to say to her, he moved quickly towards her, but she shrank away from him, her gaze swivelling past him to her grandmother.
‘Nan, what’s wrong?’ she asked, her eyes growing wide with alarm as she looked her over.
Trying to rein in his emotions as she shot past him to get to Lina, Jack turned around to see the old woman looking as frail as it was possible to be and actually shaking.
Was the heart condition genuine? Or was it all play-acting?
He didn’t know. He did know that he wouldn’t trust her as far as he could throw her.
Her own daughter hadn’t trusted her. There were reasons for that.
The woman had sided with Natalia’s loving stepfather over her, the child she should have protected.
She called Natalia a liar when the man had denied ever touching her.
Her stepfather had damaged her, undoubtedly.
The real damage had been caused, though, by this woman’s refusal to believe her.
He watched as Evie crouched in front of Lina, taking hold of one of her hands and rubbing it between her palms, trying to get some warmth into her.
It would take a lot more than that to thaw her stone-cold heart.
The woman was divisive. He didn’t know what her aim was in coming here, other than to ruin his life out of sheer vindictiveness or jealousy.
She could never accept that Natalia wanted nothing to do with her.
She had accused Jack of driving a wedge between her and her daughter when he’d turned her away from his front door once before, calling him a monster.
‘I’m not the monster. Your husband was that,’ he’d pointed out.
‘And you were complicit in covering up that fact. Now piss off.’
She’d gone. Disappeared from their lives.
And now she was back. Jealousy aside, and given she was of sound mind, for what purpose?
Was she hoping some of the money bequeathed to Natalia by her natural father might come to her?
Or was it simply to gain Evie’s sympathy should it go to her?
A mixture of anger and fear for his daughter churned inside him as he watched Lina smile tremulously down at her.
‘What’s going on?’ Evie asked again, twisting to look at him.
Jack noticed the suspicion in her eyes, as if she no longer trusted him, and it gutted him. ‘It’s nothing for you to concern yourself with, Evie,’ he told her, working to keep the anger from his voice. ‘Your gran’s just about to leave.’ He looked Lina over meaningfully.
‘Because you don’t want her here, obviously,’ Evie muttered, glancing away.
Jack bit his tongue. Perhaps he was wrong. It was possible his mother-in-law was becoming confused. He didn’t believe that, though. His instinct was that she would gain great pleasure in causing trouble between him and his daughter.
Evie pulled herself to her feet. ‘I’m going with her,’ she announced.
Jack cautioned himself not to overreact. If he tried to lay down the law, it was likely to backfire, judging by the mood Evie was in. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ he said as calmly as he could. ‘It’s a school night.’
‘Too bad,’ Evie retorted. ‘She’s not well. I’m not letting her go off in a taxi on her own.’
‘I’ll take her,’ Kara offered, glancing in his direction. ‘Evie’s right. We should make sure she gets home safely.’
Evie nodded, a flicker of appreciation in her eyes. ‘I’m still going with her,’ she insisted. ‘I’ll probably stay over to make sure she’s all right.’
‘Uh-uh.’ Jack decided it was time to draw the line. If he and Evie argued, so be it. There was no way he was going to let her stay under the same roof as a woman who’d cared so little for her own daughter’s safety. ‘Sorry, Evie, it’s not happening. You’re not staying out all night. End of.’
Evie faced him. ‘Why not?’ she asked, her arms folded belligerently across her chest.
Jack kneaded his forehead. Where did he go with this? ‘What’s got into you?’ he asked.
‘What’s got into you, you mean,’ Evie retaliated, her eyes sparking fury. ‘It’s obvious she’s not well.’ She splayed a hand in her gran’s direction. ‘I’m going to stay with her to make sure she’s okay. If you have a problem with that, I would really like to know what it is.’
‘She’s confused, Evie,’ Jack tried, wondering how he was supposed to tell her he was scared. Scared that Lina would poison her mind against him. That he might lose her. ‘I’m just…’
‘What?’ Evie waited.
‘Concerned she hasn’t got her facts right,’ he finished defeatedly.
‘Right.’ She nodded. ‘Well, if I need any facts checking, I’ll come to you, shall I, Dad, since you’re so forthcoming.’
Jack’s heart missed a beat. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means I would quite like to know why Mum did what she did,’ Evie clarified.
He noted the tears springing to her eyes and his chest constricted. ‘Evie, I’ve told you all there is to know.’ He moved cautiously towards her.
‘But you haven’t.’ She stepped away from him. ‘I want to know how it happened. You said she jumped, but you haven’t said why. She—’
‘She did,’ Jack shouted over her. Dammit. He hadn’t meant to do that. ‘She did,’ he repeated more quietly. ‘I don’t know why, Evie. Do you think I haven’t asked myself the same question? That I don’t blame myself? I do. It doesn’t change the facts.’
‘Was it because you argued?’ Evie tipped her head to one side, eyeing him mistrustfully. ‘I know you used to, all the time. That Mum would sometimes go batshit and storm off.’
Jack ran a hand through his hair. Searched for a way to explain without telling her what he couldn’t. She didn’t remember. It was better she didn’t. He prayed she never would.
‘Were you cheating on her?’ So she had overheard the accusations Lina had made. ‘Did you argue about that? Did you hit her?’
Jesus. ‘For Christ’s sake, no!’ Jack denied vehemently.
‘This is all in your gran’s mind, Evie.’ He tried for some level of calmness.
‘She obviously can’t accept what your mum did.
I understand why. And I’m sorry I don’t have any reason to offer you.
I can’t invent one. I can’t tell anyone anything other than what I know. ’
Evie fell silent. Then, ‘She obviously wasn’t happy, though, was she?’ she asked, her eyes filled with disillusionment.
Jack looked away. ‘She couldn’t have been, could she?’ He shrugged hopelessly. ‘But then she never really was.’
‘She was perfectly happy,’ Lina snapped. ‘Until you came along, that is.’
Jack didn’t respond. He simply had no ability to be remotely civil left in him.
Shaking her head, Evie dragged her gaze away and turned back to Lina. ‘We’re going,’ she said shortly. ‘Come on, Nan.’ She gave the woman’s shoulders a gentle squeeze, then crouched to help her on with her shoes, as if she were incapable.
‘I don’t want to cause any upset,’ Lina said, her voice feeble. As she glanced at him, though, Jack saw the glint of triumph in her eyes. He swallowed back the fear growing steadily inside him. She knew exactly what she was doing and it terrified him.