CHAPTER 1
Katie
It can’t be good for your body to go from the ultimate high to a horrifying reality within the blink of an eye. Yet, when I see Jeff standing at the door, his face cold and filled with hate, that’s exactly what happens. The change is so sudden that my knees go weak.
“Shit,” Jake hisses, coming over to pick me up as my knees buckle under my weight. He carries me over to the couch, and I sit—all without taking my eyes off Jeff. He looks like a caged lion, the anger inside of him is that palpable. In all my years with him, I was never afraid to leave Lennon alone with him, but now, my instinct is to get my son away from the hostility shining on his face.
“Jeff! You came back! I knew you would!” my son yells, unaware of all the angry undercurrents in the air.
He runs into Jeff’s arms, and Jake lets out an inhuman sound that should terrify me, but instead, I just hear his pain—pain I am responsible for. I guess it’s never too late to be punished for your sins.
“Yeah, little man, I’m back,” Jeff answers, his voice gruff.
The anger may be thick and written on his face, but he’s at least gentle as he returns Lennon’s hug. Jake, on the other hand,is not handling his rage at all. It’s slowly sucking all the air out of the room. On instinct, I reach over and wrap my hand in his. There’s every chance in the world that he will knock my hand away, stomp out, and disappear. He could even tell me to fuck off. I’m worried, but I fight through it. I squeeze his hand. He looks down at me. Anger may be vibrating from him, but it’s anguish that is telegraphed on his face.
“So?” Jeff prompts. “Are congratulations in order?”
“Now’s not the time, Jeff,” Jake responds, his voice a rumbled mixture of anger and frustration.
“I think it’s the perfect time. Besides,” he adds with a shrug, “it’s a simple question. Are you marrying my fiancée.”
“Hey, Lennon? Can you go with Grandma into her room and help her find a pretty outfit for our celebration?” I ask, all too aware that the interaction and tension in the room is confusing my son—even if he’s clueless as to what’s going on.
“But, Mom,” he whines.
“Please?”
“But Jeff’s back, and I want to show him all the things he missed. He hasn’t even seen my new dinosaur,” Lennon insists.
“You can show him later, baby. I promise.”
“You aren’t leaving again—right, Jeff?”
“I’m not planning on it, Lenny. I have unfinished business here,” he says, staring right at me.
“Okay,” Lenny pouts as Mom uses her chair to go to him.
“Climb up on my lap, baby,” Mom says.
“I don’t see why I have to leave,” he mutters, but does as she asks.
“Sometimes, grownups have to talk about stuff they let build up too long,” she says wisely.
“I don’t want to be a grown up,” he says. “They’re dumb.”
“They definitely can be,” Mom murmurs, sparing me a look. She doesn’t tell me, but I can see the message in her eyes, pleading with me not to be stupid.
It might be too late for that.
The door to Mom’s bedroom barely closes when Jake growls, sounding like a wounded animal. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.”
“That’s rich coming from you. Did you forget you exited out of Katie and Lennon’s life years ago?” Jeff snaps.
I know I need to intercede before this gets out of hand, but right now, I’m not sure what to say—probably because I don’t know what I’m feeling.
“Typical of you to point out how other people fuck up. You’re not saying one word about what you did, are you, Jeff?”
“I did what I had to do to protect the woman I loved. The woman I’ve always loved.”