“I hope so. I hope I can be everything she deserves. I’m just not sure sometimes.”
“Talon, despite what you may think, you are a whole person. You’re dealing with this now. All Jade needs is someone who will love her more than anything. If you can do that, you’re exactly what she deserves.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am. But that’s totally weird about Colin.”
“I know,” I said. “It doesn’t look too great that Jade and Joe and Ryan and I were the last ones to see him. But I went home with Jade that night. So she and I can give each other an alibi. I’m more concerned about Joe and Ryan.”
“They probably each went home to their own houses.”
“Yeah, and then no one probably saw them after that.”
“Talon, our brothers had nothing to do with this.”
“I know they didn’t. But they’re going to be questioned—if they haven’t been already.”
“If they had been questioned, we probably would have heard about it.”
She was no doubt right, but still, something gnawed at the back of my neck. “I don’t know why, Marjorie, but I feel like something is about to go down. Something big.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jade
I ended up driving back to Snow Creek. I’d planned to stay the weekend in the city, to spend as much time with my mother as I could, but my father seemed to need to be with her, and I didn’t want to intrude on their time together. And that wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the main reason I drove back. I had an uncontrolled urge to be with Talon. I arrived at the ranch house at about eight o’clock. I knocked, and Talon let me in, Roger panting at his heels.
The enticing aroma of garlic and thyme wafted out from the kitchen. I inhaled.
“Marj made coq au vin,” Talon said. “There’s plenty left if you want some.”
I hadn’t eaten, and at his words, I found that I was famished.
“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.”
He went with me in the kitchen and pulled a plate out of the cupboard.
“Go and sit down. I can take care of this.” I fixed myself a plate of Marj’s masterpiece, warmed it up in the microwave, and poured myself a glass of red wine. “Do you want a glass of wine?” I asked Talon.
He shook his head.
I sat down at the table and gestured to the seat next to me. “Sit with me while I eat.”
Between bites, I told Talon about the conversation with my mom.
“How does that make you feel?” he asked.
I couldn’t help but smile. “You definitely have been in therapy, haven’t you?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I think that’s the first time you’ve ever asked me how something made me feel.”
His face was troubled for a moment. “Jade, I’ve been selfish.”
I swallowed the bite of delicious chicken I’d taken. “What do you mean? Where did that come from?”
“I’ve been so involved in my own problems, I’ve been blind to everything around me. And I’m…sorry for that.”