She watched her friend get up and move out of earshot as she dialed a number on her phone. Holly assumed she was speaking to Jake.
Bernie laughed as she spoke, then ended the call, but continued typing on her phone as she walked back to Holly.
Holly knew she should get Jake’s number from Bernie so she could send him some photos of Jamie, but right then, she just wanted to enjoy the day. To feel what things would have been like if the lie had never happened. And she needed to believe that Jake wouldn’t harm his mother.
At least Leo and Frank were there to make sure he didn’t do something stupid which would land his ass in jail.
Seven
JAKE
Frank and Leo walked alongside Jake to his family’s cabin. He shared a room with Kate, and her baby, Michael.
He hadn’t told Holly about Kate’s child as he was terrified that she might think Michael was his son. Not that that was even remotely possible, considering that Holly was the only woman who had ever gotten him to have a natural orgasm—what she managed to do with her body was nothing he’d ever experienced before.
As of right now, his entire family was under one roof, which would make this confrontation a lot easier.
“You’re too quiet, my boy,” Frank said, placing his hand on Jake’s shoulder.
“I’m just beyond livid.”
“I can imagine. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
“Uncle Frank, you don’t have a mean bone in that body of yours, so please stop apologizing. None of this is your fault. Thank you for helping one of my daughters pull through. You don’t know how much that means to me.”
“It’s my job, Jake, but I’m glad Jamie pulled through. There was a time when I thought she wouldn’t… Holly was in such a bad place after Romy died.”
Jake froze on the spot. He hadn’t known his other daughter’s name was Romy. He’d only spoken about Jamie Bernice with Holly.
Frank and Leo came to a halt.
“What is it, Jake?”
“Her name was Romy?” he asked brokenly.
Frank ran his hand through his hair. “She didn’t tell you?”
Jake shook his head.
“She was named Romalia.”
Shock coursed through Jake, and then he made the connection. “She named her after Robin and Amelia?”
“Romalia…” Leo and Frank said in unison.
“Fuck, I never asked her. I should have picked up on it.”
“Uncle Frank, stop saying you’re sorry, you did nothing wrong. No one could have known that. I need you to pull yourself together because I’m gonna need you in my corner, now more than ever before.”
Frank walked back to Jake. “I promise. I’m there for you. Holly is part of my life, Jake. I guess it really is a small world. You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to introduce them to all of you. We are all family, anyway. Jane thought your father was my brother when I told her about this weekend. Because I spoke of him like my brother. Jake, you need to know your father had no hand in this. He was broken that day when they came to see me.”
“And my mother?”
Frank shrugged.
Jake nodded. “So, I did some thinking, and I want to apply for a position at Seattle Memorial.”
Frank stared at him.
“I’m not going back to P&E. I can’t. My family is in Seattle. I’ll do whatever it takes to get them back, to be there. If you can help me...”
“I’ll pull some strings. You’re already one of the best, Jake. They will see you as an asset, but your mother—”
“I don’t give a shit what she has to say. It’s my life and she can’t dictate it anymore.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
Jake hugged his godfather. “Thanks.”
“It’s nothing, my boy. Just a privilege to be able to give you something.”
“You’ve given me more than you know.”
They continued to the cabin. When Jake asked his godfather for more details, he was assured by Frank that he would fill him in on any blanks where needed.
Jake opened the door and stepped inside, where he found his mother and Kate in the kitchen. His mom was making coffee and Kate was crying.
“Where the hell have you been?” Kate yelled.
Jake sighed in exasperation. “I told you I spent the night at Leo’s.”
“Don’t lie to me, Jake. I saw how you were checking out that strawberry-blond waitress.”
“He was with me, Kate, not fucking a waitress,” Leo snapped.
“So you say. You boys would say anything to cover for each other,” Kate scoffed at Leo, then whirled her head toward Jake. “What is he still doing here? I thought he was going to leave.”
“Kate, sweetie, I think you need to calm down,” Mara said, giving Jake a stern look.
“I can’t do this anymore,” Jake said, his eyes locked on Kate’s.
“Can’t do what?” Kate’s eyes widened with panic.
“Jake, what do you—” Mara started to say.
“That thing we were going to do tonight is not happening.” He looked at the woman whom he’d called mother.
The meaning of his words dawned on her. “Don’t be stupid, Jake,” Mara said scathingly.
Her words only fueled his anger.
“Mara…” Frank warned.
“What was going to happen tonight?” Kate asked.
Gus strode into the kitchen. “Jake, where have you been?” he asked, unknowingly walking himself into drama.
“Not now, Dad.” Jake flicked his eyes over at his father, then looked back at Kate. “This entire getaway was so I could propose to you tonight, Kate, but I can’t do that anymore.”
Kate gasped. “You were going to do what?”
“It doesn’t matter now, because it’s not happening!” Jake spat.
“Why not?” she wailed, her face scrunching up as if she was about to cry. She glared at Leo accusingly. “What did you say to him?”
“Excuse me?” Leo sputtered, confused.
“Don’t let them do this to us again, Jake,” Mara pleaded.
“Mara, what’s going on?” Gus asked.
“Leo hasn’t said anything to me,” Jake answered Kate’s question. “Don’t be mad at him. He and Bernie have done nothing. If you want to be mad at someone, Kate, be mad at her”—he cocked his head in his mother’s direction—“for bringing something up yesterday she shouldn’t have.”
“The secret.” Kate smiled wryly. “The one you never want to talk about.”
“That, and—”
“It was a stupid joke, Jake,” Mara said.
“A joke?” he answered. “You call that day a fucking joke?”
“Bud, calm down,” Leo said, patting his back.
“Be mad at her for lying to me, for ruining my life four years ago,” he said through clenched teeth without looking at Kate.
“What?” his father said, utterly lost.
“For ruining Dad’s progress on the shake you said wasn’t working.”
Gus looked at his wife, confusion and pain playing across his face. “Mara, what is he talking about?”
Mara shook her head quickly. “I’m not doing this again. If you suddenly have cold feet, get over it. Kate is the best—”
“I don’t have cold feet, Mom.” He slammed his fist on the table as tears welled up in his eyes. “How could you just sit there and watch me suffer?”
“Bud.” Leo stepped closer.
“No, I’m fine.” He raised his hand and Leo backed off.
“What is going on in here? You’re all so loud,” Amelia asked as she entered the kitchen, first looking at her mother and then Jake.
“Jake, what happened last night?” Gus asked.
“I think it’s time for your wife to finally tell the truth.”
“I have been telling the truth.”
Jake scoffed in disbelief. His mother was still fucking lying. He started to chuckle, then looked at Frank. �
��She’s not going to confess.”
“Jake—”
“I can’t do this, Uncle Frank.”
“I’m here, just tell them, my boy.”
“Tell us what? Frank, what is going on?” Gus yelled.
Frank sighed. “Come now, my boy.”
“I can’t even look at her.”
His mother didn’t even flinch. Was she that hard and heartless?
“What happened?” Mara bit out.
“Well, fine. Since you’re not going to say anything, I’ll just lay it all out for everyone. So they can all see the true you.” He pinned her with a sneer. He felt the anger blazing in his eyes. “You met Uncle Frank’s girlfriend last night, right?”
His parents nodded.
“Her name is Jane.”
“Yes, I know. I spoke to her,” Mara said.
Jake smiled grimly, pacing up and down the length of the kitchen table. “I bet it was really fucking hard for her to sit there and speak to you as if everything was fine.”
“Excuse me?”
“Her name is Jane Scallanger, Mother.”
His mother merely stared at him. No lightbulb went off. He looked at his sister, but then remembered that she’d never heard Holly’s mother’s name. He turned to his father, the other person who shared his and Amelia’s eidetic memory.
His mouth twisted cruelly when he looked back at Mara. “I forgot that you don’t share our memory abilities. You care to fill her in on who Jane is, Dad?”
“What did she say, Jake?”
“Please,” he begged his father.
His father inhaled loudly. “She’s Holly’s mother, Mara.”
Mara gaped at both Gus and Jake. “What?” She sounded hostile.
“What did she say, Jake?” his father asked again.
“The complete opposite of what ‘my mother’ told us four years ago, Dad.”
“So, you’d rather believe a drunk than your own mother?”
This time, Frank hit the table in outrage. “That’s out of line, Mara. She is my sweetheart. Not a single drop of alcohol has passed her lips in the past five years.”
Mara flinched and simply stared at Frank, eyes wide.
“This is a mess, Mara. It’s time for you to tell your family the truth.”
“I’ve been telling the truth. Why would you think I’m lying about this?”
“Because Holly never got an abortion!” Jake yelled.
“What?” Amelia choked on the word.
Angry tears pooled in Jake’s eyes. “I lost my daughter.”
“No, no, no.” Amelia sounded like he had when he first found out.
Gus moved over to Amelia and pulled her into his arms, stroking her back to console her.
“Mom!” Amelia yelled at Mara.
“I didn’t know that,” Mara said as she walked over to Gus.
“Don’t you dare touch my sister. Tell her what you told Holly when she asked about Amelia, Mom. Tell her!”
“What did you say to her?” Amelia asked brokenly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mara insisted. “She is my daughter, and you are my son.”
“Yeah, and we really deserve nothing but love and respect from you. But none of us got it that night. You said Bernie was filling my head with lies, but you were the one doing that. Bernie was just fucking up your plan. That was why you chased her out of your house.”
“She called me a psycho.”
“Well, she wasn’t and isn’t wrong about that.” His jaw muscles jumped as he spoke.
“Enough!” Kate shouted.
“You don’t get to tell me when it’s enough, Kate. My daughter is dead because of my mother’s lies.”
“Jake, are you sure?” Mara asked.
“I have proof right here.” He pointed at Frank. “He was her pediatrician. He tried to save her life. But she was too weak; Holly’s body couldn’t handle the stress of the pregnancy. Do you know how it feels, Mara?” He couldn’t bring himself to call her his mother anymore. No mother would do what she did to her son. “I don’t wish this fucking pain on my worst enemy, because no one deserves to feel the gut-wrenching heartache I am feeling right now. And Holly has had to live with that for the past four years. I hope it never happens to you.”
Amelia sniffed. “What did you tell Holly about me, Mom?”
Mara didn’t answer.
“Jake, please. Tell me what she said,” Amelia begged.
“That blood is thicker than water, and Holly believed her. Your mother told Holly that you agreed with the decision that she should get an abortion. That I’d decided it was for the best, and that you backed my decision.”
Mara closed her eyes. “That’s not true, I would never—”
“You fucking did!” Jake roared.
“Son, how sure are you?” Gus asked.
“Dad, Frank delivered her. I don’t know much of the details, but she died a few days later.”
“Nine days,” Frank said softly, yet loud enough for everyone to hear.
Jake looked at him, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. That feeling of wanting to rip Mara’s heart out consumed him again.
He opened his eyes. “I wasn’t there. She died without me holding her, without me begging her to hold on.” He then went for his mother, but Leo was fast and pulled him back. “I could fucking kill you.”
Mara gaped at her son.
“Buddy, let’s take a break,” Leo urged him. “You won’t be able to see Jamie and hold her if you’re behind bars.” Leo led him out of the cabin where they sat on the step right outside the front door.
Jake’s entire body was shaking with anger.
“You have to calm down, bud. You have Jamie’s entire life in front of you. Your mother isn’t worth it.”
“I know. I’m just so fucking livid.”
“Believe me, I can tell.”
They were quiet for a moment, then Jake spoke again. “You remember the day I fought Romakoff?”
Leo nodded.
“When I was on the verge of losing, I had no strength. My punches and kicks were so weak. This? It’s a million fucking times worse.”
“Bud.” Leo put a hand on his shoulder. “I can only imagine how you’re feeling, but you have to keep it together for them. Your daughter needs you, and so does Holly.”
Jake nodded on a grunt, trying to expel some of the anger. His phone rang and when he saw it was Bernie, he pulled himself together enough to answer.
“We’re on the boat, and it’s setting sail now. Jake, Jamie is so gorgeous. You have a beautiful family, and your daughter deserves a father, so please don’t do anything stupid.”
Jake finally smiled.
“Leo got me out of there before that happened.”
“Do I even want to know?” Bernie asked.
“No. Just make sure she has the time of her life.”
“I will, and tell that ogre that I love him.”
He laughed. “I will. Thanks, Bern.”
“I’m sending you an incentive so you don’t lose your shit,” she said, ending the call.
Jake waited patiently for the photo he knew she was going to send. When his phone beeped, he handed it over to Leo. He needed his friend to look at it first while he prepared himself to see a picture of his daughter for the first time.
Upon opening the photo, Leo gasped. “Bud, you are going to need to buy the biggest shotgun you can find.”
Jake snatched the phone out of Leo’s hands. He was looking at a photo of Bernie with her tongue out, holding the most beautiful angel who also had her tongue out. Jamie was the spitting image of him and Amelia when they were her age. She had long, raven curls cascading around her face.
“She is gorgeous, bud.”
“That she is. Fuck, I shouldn’t be here.”
“No, you need to say what you have to. You know the truth, you don’t need her version, but the others need to hear. She also lied to your father, Jake. And I know you are ignoring
what is going on in there now, but I can hear it. Say what you came to say and move on.”
Jake nodded, then got up and trudged back into the cabin.
“Are you calm?” Gus asked, repositioning himself.
Armand had joined the crowd in the kitchen and was sitting next to Amelia.
Jake’s eyes flicked over to Kate, who was sitting next to the woman who didn’t deserve the title of mother.
“Not really, but I will be. As soon as this is over. Dad, did you have anything to do with this?”
“Jake,” Frank reprimanded him.
“I have to know.”
His father narrowed his eyes. “I threw away all my research, Jake. A decade of research. Do you think that if I had anything to do with this, I’d have done that?”
It made sense. Jake shook his head. “Okay.” He turned to his mother. “So, this was all you?”
“Jake, what happened?” Amelia asked.
“What do you think happened, Amelia? She recorded the conversation we had that Sunday, chose nine stupid words, and pushed me into a surgery I shouldn’t have been in when another resident deserved it more.”
“Oh, don’t be absurd, Jake,” Mara scoffed.
“Shut up! You had more than enough time to come out with the truth, and yet you chose to keep up the lie. She probably stole your phone, Amelia.” He didn’t take his eyes off Mara, who was gaping at him now. “Because she knew you would phone Holly that day. Then, she took mine from my locker to pull off this scheme, this premeditated murder.”
“I’m not a killer!”
“Your lies killed my daughter. To me, that makes you a murderer.”
“I didn’t know she would change her mind, Jake. I told the truth that day. Do you really think I would stoop so low as to tell your father, my husband, that everything he’d worked for was a failure when it wasn’t?”
“Yes, you would, if it helped you to get rid of her. And you did.”
“Your mind is so clouded, Jake.”
“Mom, she gave birth to twins. Why didn’t she phone me, or Bernie—her best friend?”
“I don’t know. Shows you how wrong she was for you.”
“Wrong?” Jake repeated, beginning to realize why she’d done what she had.
Luck Page 8
