by Kate Benson
“Are you sure?” he sneers back, and it takes all I’ve got in me to not speak the venom currently residing on my tongue.
I swear to God, if I didn’t need this job so badly…
“Yes,” I manage. “Please just give me a few more days.”
He studies me for a moment, his beady little eyes narrowed before he finally waves me off.
“Make it happen by Thursday or I’ll do it myself,” he threatens. I’m about to walk out of his office when he turns back toward me, pulling my attention back once more. “You won’t like what happens if I have to handle this myself.”
“Understood,” I nod, pushing the door shut behind me, a stream of profanity running through my head at a steady pace as I bite my tongue.
I hate this job. I hate it even more due to the asshole boss of mine running it. I’d love nothing more than to march right back in there and tell him to shove it up his crotchety, old ass, but my wage at the hospital isn’t enough to cover everything I need for Eli. I might hate this job, but I love my son and there’s not a single thing I won’t endure for him.
“Shit,” I hiss out under my breath, squaring my shoulders before I make my way back out onto the floor.
“Are you okay?” Fiona asks, pulling a nod from me.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I sigh, glancing over the bar and finding Jack’s stool empty. “Where’s Jack?”
“He went to the bathroom,” she replies, leaning against the bar beside me. “I like him. He’s cute. How’d you two meet?”
“He came in one night and asked me out.”
“Aw, man! That’s a total load of crap!” she exclaims, making my eyebrows cinch together in curiosity. “Guys like him never come in on my shifts. All I’ve got is Ned,” she grumbles, gesturing toward the elderly alcoholic who’s been frequenting the bar for decades. “And that handsy old bastard only tips a dollar.”
Her words pull a loud, unexpected laugh from my belly I need more than I can explain, and she feigns irritation with me as she stares back at me.
“I don’t know why you’re laughing, but it’s kind of making me hate you a little.”
“No, it’s not,” I shake my head, waving her off.
“You’re right. I’m all talk,” she admits with a sigh. “So, what did Boss-zilla want?”
“A miracle,” I roll my eyes, redirecting my eyes toward my phone screen, praying I can find one and save myself from losing this job. “He wants a freaking miracle.”
“Well, if there’s anyone in here that can give that to him, it’s you,” she replies sweetly, her words making me smile. “You’ve got this.”
“Thanks,” I reply, taking a moment to glance over the bar as she walks away before I move my eyes back toward my phone.
How the fuck am I going to pull this off in two days?
Chapter Fifteen
Sophie
“Thank you again so much for doing this,” I offer, pulling Heather into my embrace and squeezing her close. “I really can’t say it enough.”
Once Drake left for the airport, it was almost impossible for me to focus on anything work related. Our accounts were all caught up, a few of them waiting on paperwork that wouldn’t be ready until Monday, and I knew I’d be little to no use to Chase at the office. With our new plan that included each of us searching for Ana near our home turf, I knew I’d need to ask for help. We have no idea who will find her first or what state she’ll be in when we do. Over the last few years of us raising JT and having a daughter of our own, Ana’s become very close with both our kids and we all love her dearly. The last thing I want is to have them with us and possibly see something they’d never be able to get over where she’s concerned. I’ve asked Heather to stay with them tonight while Chase and I made our first official trip around Rockport to search for her. Thankfully, she’s been happy to help.
“You can and you already have,” she promises, hugging me back before releasing me and finding my eyes. “Seriously, stop worrying about it. I know this has to be terrible for all of you, but you’re one of my best friends and I love Ana,” she reminds me. “I’ll help any way I can.”
“Thanks,” I say, earning a narrowed gaze.
“Dude, what did we just talk about?”
“I’m sorry,” I laugh, giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek before releasing her altogether and moving toward the kitchen, gesturing for her to follow me. “I’ve got dinner already made. It’s in the fridge, you’ll just have to heat it up. JT won’t be a problem, but Maddie might give you a little hell with it,” I admit. “She hates the broccoli, but she’ll eat the chicken and rice. If she’s still hungry, there’s a ton of fruit and other snacks in here for her, too.”
“We’ll be fine.”
“I know,” I sigh. “I know you’re more than capable, I just can’t help but worry about missing something.”
“Yeah, I know,” she says, giving my arm a friendly squeeze. “But don’t forget who you’re leaving them with. I’m practically a twelve-year-old boy trapped in a woman’s body,” she winks, making me snort. “We’re going to be just fine,” she promises. “Besides, you have enough shit on your plate right now to worry over. Don’t add this to it.”
I’m about to thank her again, but the evil eye I’m getting when the words begin to form on my lips stops me short and instead, pulls a quiet laugh from my chest.
“Fair enough,” I reply instead.
“So, how have things been going?” she asks, settling on one of the stools on the other side of the bar and thanking me for the sweet tea I slide her way before I go to work on my coffee. “Have things settled down with you and Sweet Cheeks?”
“Yes. Finally,” I nod, releasing a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so upset before, Heather. Certainly not with me,” I admit. Flashes of that first night pop into my head and I swallow hard, willing both them and the emotion they still evoke away from myself as I focus on my friend. “But, thankfully, our marriage is strong enough that once he cooled down, we were able to talk things through.”
“Yeah, I bet you two did a lot of talking,” she replies in a suggestive tone that makes me smirk through my blush. “So, he’s okay now?”
“Well, he’s still upset,” I confess. “More with Drake than with me, but he understands a little more now, I think.”
“That’s good,” she says with a small smile.
“It is,” I nod, returning it. “And I never should have kept it from him.”
“Yeah, but you already knew that, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I sigh, sipping from my coffee. “Yes, I did, and I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t ever put him through that again. Hell, I’ll never put myself or our marriage through that again,” I reiterate, swallowing hard as I glance into the living room, our children sitting on the couch together, both of them laughing at the screen in front of them, completely carefree. “I’m too lucky a girl to be so thoughtless. He means far too much to me.”
“So, now what?” she asks, pulling me from my wayward thoughts. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?”
“Chase will be home soon. He’ll want to take a shower,” I start, laughing at the way her eyes playfully smolder at my words. “Anyway, once he’s ready and he’s had time to play with the kids for a minute, we’re just going to drive around and hope we find something… hope we find her.”
My words trail off, the thought of what my best friend could be going through, what’s at stake if we don’t find her soon, makes my chest clench once more in fear.
“Hey,” Heather says, pulling me from my thoughts, her eyes softening when they find mine filling with unshed tears. “Don’t do that to yourself, honey,” she says, rounding the edge of the bar to pull me in close for a hug. “It’s going to be okay, Sophie,” she promises. “She’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” I admit, my grip on her tightening along with my heart. “Ana’s really strong. She’s a survivor. If anyone can get through this, I know it’s h
er.”
“That’s right. You girls are both tough as nails,” she nods, pulling away and reaching for a tissue, handing it to me. “So, if you know that, why are you crying?”
“Because I have no idea how I will,” I confess, making her eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. “Right now, she has every reason in the world to hate me. She thinks I betrayed her, helped her husband break her heart while she was at her lowest,” I shake my head. “I don’t even know how she’d think I’d be capable of that, but she does.”
“Sophie, Ana’s sick,” Heather tries. “It might take time, but she’ll see clearly again. Despite what’s going through her mind right now, deep down she knows you would never…”
“That’s what I thought, too. I’ve been to hell and back with that woman. We’ve always come through, but this feels different. This time, I’m not sure she’s ever going to forgive me. I’m not even sure she’ll listen, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to get through this,” I admit, my mind trailing off to another time before I face my friend once more. “After Jack enlisted and then didn’t come home, it always felt like it was us against the world. That nothing would ever come between us, but now?” I shake my head, swiping at my tears. “I don’t know, Heather. I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but I do know I have no idea how to survive, who I’ll even be, without Ana.”
“There’s my girl!” he calls out, the sound of the front door opening, and his booming voice followed by Maddie’s melodic laughter pulling me from my anxious thoughts. “Daddy missed you, angel,” he croons, beaming as he bends to lift her into his arms. “Did you have a good day?”
“Yeah,” she chirps back, her tiny voice making my heart melt.
“Yeah?” he mimics her, his smile broadening as she nods back.
“Yeah,” she repeats, pulling a low chuckle from his chest before he tickles her neck with his scruff, making her squeal. “Daddy it’s funny!”
“It’s funny?” he beams back, still chuckling low as she nods once more.
“Yeah, it’s funny,” she grins, instantly drying the last of my tears. “Funny Daddy.”
“You’re funny, Maddie,” he teases, blowing into her cheek and making her fall apart in laughter all over again.
“No funny Maddie. Funny Daddy!” she insists with a snort. “Funny Daddy!”
“I love you,” he vows, his eyes still dancing in adoration as her little hands grab his face.
“A-too,” she replies, kissing his cheek.
“There ya go,” Heather says, the hand still resting on my shoulder moving over my arm to offer me comfort. “How can you be sad when you’ve got that? That’s just downright adorable.”
“Yeah,” I admit, sniffing back the remnants of my emotion as I continue to watch them together. “It’s pretty hard to keep a frown on your face around here.”
“Maddie’s pretty cute, too,” she muses playfully, sipping her tea and pulling a much-needed chuckle from my chest.
“You’re such a dork,” I shake my head, giving her a side hug of thanks for her friendship. “I’m glad you’re my friend.”
“Me, too,” she smiles.
“Where’s JT?” Chase asks Madison, pulling my attention back to find her pointing at the hallway.
“He poopin’,” she announces, pulling a round of amusement from us all.
“He is?” Chase laughs, making her nod.
“Yeah, like a lion.”
“He’s poopin’ like a lion?” Chase snorts, his words barely intelligible through his laughter. “How’s a lion poop?”
“Like… like… rawr!” she answers, her little round face morphing into a serious scowl, complete with scary claws.
“Oh, my God,” he howls, holding her close as he makes his way toward me. “That sounds serious, babygirl.”
“Yeah,” she nods. “It serious.”
He steps into the kitchen, his eyes tearing with happiness as he comes to a stop in front of me.
“Do it again for Mama,” he tells her, and we watch her face morph once more, her little hands miming claws.
“Rawr!” she repeats. “Rawr!”
I reach up on my toes, kissing her cheek and straightening her shirt to cover her skin, Mommy-mode taking over in an effort to shield her from the world outside these walls.
“I love you, silly girl,” I say low, gratitude swirling in my chest for the umpteenth time today.
“A-too,” she replies sweetly, warming my heart all over again.
“How’s my silly girl?” Chase asks, pulling my eyes to his and I savor in the feel of his calloused hand falling low on my waist, holding me close.
“I’m okay,” I promise, willing the words to be true as I hold his cerulean gaze, swallowing hard when I see the adoration for me there, too. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me, too,” he whispers, pulling me close and bending to press his lips to mine. Maddie’s hands rest gently on us, one hand playing with my hair, the other gripping Chase around his shoulder despite his secure hold on her. In this moment, I’m reminded just how lucky I am. My arms wind around his waist of their own accord, emotion swirling inside my chest all over again as I pull him close and rest easily against him. “It’s going to be alright, baby,” he reminds me, kissing my forehead before he gives my hair a gentle tug and pulls my teary gaze back to his. “You and me, right?”
“Yeah,” I nod, giving him the best smile I can manage under my duress. “You and me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jenna
Shortly after the stressful discussion with my boss, Jack returned to me, asking questions about my sudden shift in mood. I didn’t want to talk about it then and for a while, he gave me the space I needed to clear my head. However, once we made it back to my apartment and more than twenty minutes had passed without a word from me on the subject, he’d had his fill and asked me to talk to him about everything going through my mind.
So, I did.
It was scary, but I told him everything I could, cutting nothing out. I explained all the worries I had over not being able to appease my boss’s unreasonable request in the time it would take to secure my hours and position. Jack listened intently, said all the right things and was perfect. He even went so far as to insist on helping me pay the bills at my apartment, so I didn’t feel so much of the financial burden, but that’s exactly what I didn’t want from him.
For so long, I’ve been on my own with Eli. I love Jack and I love being with him, but once you’ve learned how to build your own path, make your own way, it’s hard to take help. It’s hard to put your future in the hands of someone else, especially when there’s more to consider than simply you at the end of the day.
Even when it’s someone you love with all you’ve got.
Sometimes, that’s even harder.
I don’t want Jack to carry the burden of my financial security. That’s not why I’m with him and he knows as much. He said it himself, but this life I’ve built? While it’s small, just a twinkle of light in the sand, it’s mine and I work hard to make sure my son and I are be taken care of, come what may. Relinquishing control over something that means so much to me now feels like an impossible step. Maybe it’s pride, maybe I’m just as stubborn as my mother always claimed me to be. Whatever it is, I don’t ever want to depend on anyone to give me and Eli the life we deserve.
I’m many things, but a damsel has never been one of them.
I want Jack to love me for the woman I’ve become, not feel obligated to save me.
I told him all of this, reiterated half a dozen times how grateful I am for him, for us. He wasn’t thrilled with my determination to keep doing it all on my own, but promised to let it be, let me use the strength I’d found over the last four years to find my own way through this hurdle, simply making me promise to let him know if I needed him.
That’s really all I want.
We’ve been home for more than an hour now and despite my quiet insistence of doing it all on my
own, there’s a part of me that wishes I could think like he does. Having endured all he has, Jack’s got a unique way of looking at life that I envy. He understands exactly what’s important and what isn’t. He knows when to walk away and when stand his ground. I thought I knew all those things, too.
It’s funny how meeting one person can so irrevocably shift your perspective.
“So, did you decide what you want to do for our date?” he asks as he moves back toward the couch, pulling me from my thoughts.
We promised after his shower, we’d lay off all the heavy talk, just focus on enjoying each other.
Lord knows I’m enjoying the hell out of him right now.
The sight of him falling gently onto the cushions beside me in a pair of low-slung sweats, his hair still damp from the shower, does crazy things to my brain. I shake the myriad of blush inducing images away for a moment and refocus my attention back to his blue-green eyes, unable to ignore the way his lips curve up into a smug, lopsided grin.
“You good, baby?”
“Yes,” I reply, unable to shake the crimson in my cheeks. “I don’t care what we do. I just miss our normal.”
“I know, sugar. I miss it, too,” he says, winding his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to his chest, the unneeded apology already obvious in his eyes. “I’m sorry shit’s been so crazy lately.”
I’m already shaking my head in protest.
“Don’t be. It’s not like I don’t have my own laundry list of issues and even if I didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. Family first,” I insist, looking up at him as I stifle a yawn. “But I am looking forward to putting this behind us, moving on to happier things.”
“Me, too,” he whispers, holding my eyes as he presses his lips to the end of my nose. “You know you’re a part of that now, too, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean?” I admit, resting gently against his chest, savoring in the warmth that constantly radiates from him.
“Family first,” he says low, his eyes locked on me, gauging my reaction.
We’ve talked often and at length about our feelings for each other, neither of us shy in our adoration now that we’ve decided what we want and that it’s each other. However, there’s something in his words, his gaze, that wasn’t there all those times before. Something that feels a lot more serious than any of the other talks we’ve shared. I’m about to reply to his words, to say what I’ve honestly no clue, but before I can, his soft voice cuts me short.
