Chapter 9
NINE
Hollie
Jesse jumped away from me so quickly, I stumbled. The pain in my ankle tweaked as I scrambled to put space between the two of us, and my cheeks flushed with heat faster than I could blink.
I glanced at the door, disappointed to find that it wasn’t the wind that ripped it open.
Jackie stood there—hands on her hips, eyes narrowed.
I scanned the porch for my daughters, but thank goodness, they hadn’t followed her.
What if they had?
My daughters would’ve discovered me arm-in-arm with another man. Before I could even turn to face my sister, nausea ripped up my throat. I was going to be sick—keel over right here on the porch. Why, oh why, did it have to be Jackie, of all people?
She could be ruthless.
Jesse stepped away, keeping his face turned from Jackie. His deep breaths seemed to echo. Mine, too.
That hug had left me so unmoored, I could hardly tell up from down or left from right.
“Well, well.” Jackie’s voice poked. “Did I interrupt something?”
I slowly found my tongue. “We—were just saying goodnight.”
Jackie arched a brow, her eyes roaming my face then darting to Jesse. “That was saying goodnight?”
Jesse cleared his throat. “I should be going.” I expected him to run away into the darkness, but he turned to me and grabbed my hand. “Ice your foot one more time, alright? And elevate it. I’ll see about getting a brace or some—”
“You don’t have to do that.” I tugged my hand away, and he let it go.
“You sure?”
“Really it feels fine now.”
“Try to rest it.”
“Okay, I will.” Good! Fine! Whatever! Please just leave, I silently begged him as Jackie’s gaze seared into the side of my head.
My family did not know enough about my current life to bear witness to that hug and not immediately have a bone to pick.
I’d been off the market for years, so no wonder Jackie was standing there, mouth agape, like she had a front row seat to my impending infidelity.
Jesse’s lips lifted in a brief, sweet smile as he looked down at me.
His eyes glimmered and his cheeks were bright red—gracious, he blushed so hard—but he didn’t look sorry.
He didn’t look like he regretted being caught.
And why should he? He didn’t have siblings who would tear him to pieces for holding another woman.
He looked happy. Like he wished he could do it again.
Like he would if Jackie wasn’t standing there.
His gaze roamed my face for a millisecond before he said. “See you tomorrow?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Alright.”
He looked to Jackie as he brushed past her. “Night, Jackie.”
Jackie strode to the edge of the porch and watched him disappear into the darkness. We both stayed silent until his cabin door shut behind him.
Then her head whipped toward me, mouth ajar in disbelief. “What the hell was that?”
I shook my head, tears immediately drumming up behind my eyes.
I didn’t want to talk about this. I couldn’t.
I would have a panic attack. I could already feel one nipping at my heels.
I should’ve talked to my family before now, but I didn’t.
And it was too late to fix it. Waiting for the right time to talk with them had translated into never telling them at all, which was pretty on par for me.
I lifted a hand to my brow, fighting the urge to faint as my vision waned in the corners.
She hissed, “Were you guys…kissing?”
“No,” I croaked.
“Are you sure?” She held her fingers a breath apart. “Beacuse your lips were this close.”
“We weren’t.”
“Then what were you doing?”
I tried to steady the shake in my voice. “Just saying goodnight.”
“Hollie, come on. He had his hands all over you. And you had your eyes closed and your mouth open. No one says goodnight like that.”
I licked my lips, suddenly feeling so dry. So embarrassed.
She huffed, striding closer and lowering her voice. “I don’t know what happened in the last few hours with Jesse, but whatever I just saw qualifies as cheating in my book. Unless you have an open arrangement in your marriage that I don’t know about.”
“Where are the girls?”
“They’re filling up the bathtub.”
“You can’t just leave them alone by the bath.”
I tried to push past her but she held my shoulder back, stopping me. “Don’t change the subject. They’re fine. Tell me right now what’s going on between you and Jesse.”
Tears rose in my vision until it blurred. I pressed a sob back into my chest. “I—I don’t know.”
How would I even begin to explain what had happened with Jesse? I didn’t even know myself. It was all a blur—he was so sweet and good looking that I lost my head!
Her grip on my shoulder softened. “You’ve been married for how many years? You wouldn’t throw that away for nothing.”
He threw it away first, I thought.
A tear trickled down my cheek.
She whispered, “Is there something I should know?”
I nodded. “Yes. But I can’t tell you right now.” My words were broken by heaving breaths. “After—the girls go to sleep.”
“Okay.” Jackie released my shoulder. “We’ll talk. And don’t even think about trying to get out of it.”
I nodded, swiping my cheeks. “I won’t.”
“I texted Mom and told her you were here. They’re coming down in a minute.”
I lifted the collar of my shirt to the bottom of my eyes.
She smacked my hand down. “Don’t do that. You’re smearing your mascara.” She grabbed my arm and jerked me into the cabin. I stumbled behind her, wincing as my ankle resisted the stretching. I followed her into a bathroom where the girls were already naked and splashing in the garden tub.
Nora squealed, “Mommy! Aunt Jackie is letting us use her body wash!”
“Mmm. It smells so good.” My voice shook.
“It’s cupcake flavored.” Nora said.
“Scented.” Izzy had to correct.
Jackie rummaged through her make-up bag and pulled out a q-tip, rolling it over the edge of her tongue. Then she poked my lower eyelashes and dragged the cotton beneath my eye. “There. Now you won’t look like a racoon. No crying. You can cry later.”
Nora’s voice fell. “Oh no. Mommy was crying?”
Jackie grimaced. “Oh,” she sang, “you know…she is just so happy for your Aunt Bea getting married tomorrow that she got emotional.”
Nora smiled. “A happy cry?”
“That’s it.” Jackie lied. “A happy cry.” She turned to fix my hair and mouthed sorry. Ten seconds later, a chorus of voices invaded the front of the cabin, and my dreaded family reunion was officially underway.