CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“ROGER, HOLD ON,” Libby said as she put her hand over the mouthpiece. “Roger called to say he was back. He’s in—”
Jake cut her off, “Just wanted to tell you that I’m leaving now.” With that, he turned and strode back through the great room. Libby dropped the receiver down on the desk, then hurried after him. She almost tripped over her own feet trying to get to the step up into the entry before he did. She barely made it, and he stopped a few feet from her.
“Thank you for all you’ve done and for dealing with me,” he said, choosing not to look directly at her, but just beyond her left shoulder. “It’s time for me to head out.”
Libby waved her hand in front of him to get his attention. “Where to?” she asked when he finally looked at her.
“I’m not sure.”
There was no real emotion on his face. “Jake, we need to talk. Please.”
“No. Go and talk to Roger, and be happy.”
“Can’t you just give me a few minutes?”
“Why?”
She fought for the words, then simply said, “I care about you.”
He went very still, studying her for an uneasy moment, then said, “I didn’t ask you to.”
She blinked rapidly, her eyes burning now. “You don’t want…”
“Honestly…” He closed his eyes briefly, then looked at her again. “My life isn’t even close to what your life is. It’s a mess and I have to focus on it.” He lifted his free hand and touched her cheek. “I wish you well, you and Roger, and that your first Christmas together is all you want it to be, and that your wedding, big or little, will be good.”
“Jake, I…” She felt tears threatening and had to swallow. “I need you to…”
“You need me to do what?”
She bit her lip and exhaled. “I need you to be safe and you can’t drive.”
“I haven’t had any dizzy spells. I’m okay to drive.”
“Okay, I…I really hope you can get back to the life you want so badly.”
He stood very still. “Roger is a very lucky man.”
“No, he’s…” She hurt so much she didn’t think she could breathe. “Can’t you stay, just a bit longer?” She was thankful he couldn’t hear her voice when it broke.
“No, I have to go,” he said. He went to the door.
He only stopped because Pax ran up to him and blocked his way. Jake looked down at the dog, then stroked his head before reaching for the handle. Liberty moved to grab Pax by his collar as Jake opened the door. Without a backward glance, Jake was out and closing it behind him.
Libby let go of Pax to move to the side window by the staircase and watch until Jake was out of sight, heading down to the garage. Moments later the truck came into view and swung to go down the driveway. She couldn’t look away until it was out of sight over the rise. Pax nudged Libby, and she crouched to hug him when he whined. “I know, I know,” she whispered. “I tried to get him to stay.” He licked her face, but just once, then headed down into the great room.
She went back to the office and reached for the receiver. “Roger?”
The dial tone buzzed in her ear. Of course he’d been too busy with business to wait for her to come back. She dropped the phone in the cradle and whispered, “Goodbye, Roger,” and no one heard her except Pax as he came in and pressed against her leg.
Libby looked out through the back window and saw snow starting to fall from leaden skies. Whatever she and Roger had was over and done. Maybe it had been over and done earlier, but she hadn’t been smart enough to know it. She’d call Roger soon and let him know, then send the ring back, but right then, she knew it was the right thing to do.
She just wished Jake were still here. She felt empty with him gone, as if she didn’t fit, and she’d never experienced that when Roger had been gone. If what she felt for Jake was love, it sure didn’t feel good right then.
Sliding the top drawer of the desk open, she reached in to pick up the engagement ring but hesitated. The rusty box she’d seen Jake put in his duffel bag days ago—then again last night just before everything had fallen apart—was sitting in the drawer. He must have put it there earlier when she’d seen him coming out of the west wing. She ignored the ring and picked up the box to set it on the desk.
She hesitated, then opened it. On top of the contents was a paper folded in quarters with her name scrawled on it. Jake had left the box behind on purpose.
She picked up the folded paper, opened it and read. Liberty, if you’re reading this, I’m gone. If I were a different man, I might have stuck around to see what could have been. But I am who I am, and I accept that. I’m leaving my past here. I don’t want it. Hope you’ll finally see a Christmas Moon with Roger. J.
The writing started to blur and when her hands became unsteady, she let go of the paper and it drifted down onto the desk by the box. Jake was who he was. She agreed with that, but it didn’t make the hurt she felt any easier to bear right then.
She looked down at another folded paper, yellowed by age. When she picked it up and opened it, there were two thin sheets. The top sheet had a header that read, Bishop, Jake, #ML8180. Under that was an official-looking government stamp, and below that, a morass of legalese. It outlined the “full and complete responsibilities and liabilities” of Child Protection Services “for the aforementioned child.”
She slid it aside to read the paper under it. Its header was painfully brief, only #ML8180 was at the top, not even a name. She read the single-spaced print that laid out everything about a little boy who had been abandoned at a sheriff’s station. No background, no vitals, a guess at his age as five. His mother, father and birthday were all unknown.
She looked down into what remained in the tin—a pack of photos held together by a rubber band and, with it, a small gold coin, about the size of a silver dollar. Maybe it had been a medal or a charm, but whatever had been engraved on it had been worn off long ago. She laid it on the papers, then arranged the photos—all of the same boy—in what she thought was chronological order.
The first picture was of a small child dressed in jeans and a red striped T-shirt. He stared into the camera with large, bewildered blue eyes under a mop of pale hair. His lips were pressed together. At the bottom of the photo, someone had handwritten, #ML8180/5 yrs/assigned to care, followed by a date.
The other pictures showed that lost child morphing over the years into a teenager. In the last photo, he was rangy and lean, his features sharper, with a shock of dirty-blond hair, a clenched jaw and blue eyes narrowed with defiance. #ML8180/15 yrs/reassigned. Her heart simply broke.
She couldn’t even imagine what Sarge and Maggie had faced with Jake and how hard they’d had to work to rescue him. But nothing the couple could have done would have taken away the scars from the boy’s past.
She was crying now but paid no attention to the tears as she quietly admitted to herself what she should have realized before now. She loved him. She loved him for who he’d been, who he was now and who he’d become. But his decisions had robbed her of any chance to really love him. Even if she went after him, she knew without a doubt he’d send her away. He’d made it clear that whatever their destinies would be, they wouldn’t be together.
JAKE DIDN’T GET more than halfway to Cody before he’d had to pull off the highway. The pain in his ears had come suddenly and so intensely that it was all-encompassing. He couldn’t drive. He waited until the pain lessened before he got out his cell phone and put in a video call to Cal. He explained what was going on, and where he was.
“Stay right there. Do not drive any farther. I’ll have someone there in ten.” The man paused. “Hold on. Okay?”
“I’m trying,” Jake said as the call ended. “I’m trying,” he repeated in the empty truck.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LIBBY DROVE INTO Cody to visit Sa
rge around noon on Christmas Eve day. When she was buzzed into Wicker Pines, she found Julia in the reception area sitting in a wingback chair beside Sarge, who was in his wheelchair. “This man has been waiting for you to show up ever since you called,” Julia said as she stood.
“Liberty,” Sarge said with a smile, his eyes clear. His hair was combed back from his weathered face and he was wearing a plain T-shirt and jeans. He looked better every time she visited. She bent to kiss his cheek, then sat in the chair Julia had vacated for her. “You are looking spiffy,” she said.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Sarge smiled at her. “I told Jake that once when he was all dressed up, and he laughed at me. That boy has an attitude problem.”
“He can have an attitude,” Libby agreed.
Since Jake left, Libby had found her life going in a different direction than she’d ever thought possible when she’d left Seattle. She was going to complete the camp and everything that entailed, then she would look into opening her own firm in Eclipse or maybe in Cody. Roger was gone, and she was okay with that. Jake was gone, and she tried not to think about it. She was exhausted from crying and worrying about him.
Sarge was becoming important to her, and she came to visit him pretty much every other day. The other days she worked on the plans for his suite and had preliminary contractor meetings to start the remodel right after the new year. And she forgot about everything else. When Sarge and Maggie’s dream became reality, she was going to be right there to see his face when he understood how loved he was. That kept her going.
Sarge looked at the present she’d almost forgotten she was holding in her lap. “What’s that, chocolates?” he asked.
She held out the green-foil-wrapped gift. “No, it’s not chocolates, but it is for you.”
He took it and laid it on his lap. “I’ll open this on Christmas,” he said. “Thank you.”
Julia got closer to Sarge, glancing at Libby. “You can open one present on Christmas Eve, you know.”
He seemed hesitant, then Julia said, “I can’t wait. Can I open it for you?” When Sarge nodded, she reached to slip the red ribbon off the foil and tear the paper at its seam. Libby watched the man’s face as Julia took the lid off the box. A simple eight-by-ten-inch silver frame held an enlargement of the picture Jake had left with her. She would make a larger version to hang in Sarge’s new space at the house.
Sarge didn’t take it out of the box, but stared down at it, then a smile Libby had never seen before on his face was there when he looked up at her. “That’s me and my Maggie,” he said.
“You two made a beautiful couple,” Julia said. “Why don’t we go and take this to your room to see where you want to put it.”
Sarge nodded and looked at Libby. “Come on, Liberty.”
She was so relieved he’d called her by name. Dr. Miller had approved her giving him the picture, but she’d worried it might cause more confusion. It hadn’t. Maybe it would later on, but for now he knew who she was and who Maggie had been. Julia pushed him in the wheelchair as they went back to his room.
Libby stripped off her jacket and tossed it on the bench by the door and thought she should have dressed up for Christmas Eve. Instead, she wore a pink thermal top, jeans and boots—her everyday wardrobe now.
She crossed to Julia and Sarge. “Libby, did you know that there’s going to be an almost Christmas Moon tonight?” Julia asked as she positioned Sarge by the low table that held his Christmas tree.
“An almost Christmas Moon?” Libby asked.
“That’s what I call a full moon when it’s on Christmas Eve and not Christmas night,” the woman said.
“A real Christmas Moon is pretty rare,” Sarge chimed in as Julia made sure to set the picture down by the tree where he could see it. “Maggie used to wish to see one and finally did from the porch of the old cabin. It was beautiful, and it made the snow dance. That’s what Maggie said.”
Libby smiled at him. “She probably thought you made that happen for her.”
“How do you know I didn’t make it happen?” he asked her with a twinkle in his eye. She loved seeing him like this and couldn’t help wishing Jake was there.
“I’m sure you did,” Libby said as she took the chair Julia had brought over for her and sat down by him.
“His therapy is going great,” Julia said. “He’s starting to use the walker, and he can move pretty well with it.”
The door suddenly swung back, and a man looked inside. He was sturdily built, maybe in his forties. He had a shaved head and wore casual clothing. He stayed in the doorway as he looked over at Sarge, then seemed a bit taken back when he noticed Libby. “Oh, uh. Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
“Hey, there,” Julia said as she approached him.
“Can I speak to you?” the man asked her.
Sarge spoke up. “Have you met Liberty?”
“No, I can’t say I have.” The man came over to where they sat. “Pleased to meet you, Liberty.” He held out his hand to her, and his grip was firm. “I’ve heard all about you.”
“She’s Sarge’s favorite visitor,” Julia said.
“I’m flattered,” Libby said without pointing out that Sarge was limited on the number of visitors he could have just yet. Even Jake hadn’t shown up here after he’d left. She looked at the sign-in book every time she wrote her name in it, just in case his name was there. It never had been.
Julia looked over at the man. “You said we need to talk?”
“We do,” he said, then spoke to Libby. “Nice to meet you. Cool name, by the way.”
When he and Julia left the room together, Libby spoke to Sarge. “Does he work here?”
He looked confused for a minute, then said, “I don’t know, but he was a marine and hangs out around here.”
“Oh,” she said, then, “Seth and Ben will be here first thing tomorrow for Christmas. That’s pretty great, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my boys,” he said. “That’s the best present.”
Julia came back in and seemed rushed as she spoke to Sarge. “Any requests for dinner?”
“Anything but that vegetable stuff,” he said.
“Okay, got it.” She glanced at Libby. “Are you going to hang around long enough to eat with Sarge?”
She hadn’t planned on it this visit, but she found she didn’t want to get back to the ranch too soon. “What time is dinner?”
“Around four. You’re welcome to stay.”
“Yes, thanks.” She asked Sarge, “Do you want to stay in here for dinner or go to the fancy dining room?”
“I’ll stay in here with you.”
“Okay, I’ll go and put in your orders,” Julia said before glancing at Libby. “Are you coming for Christmas?”
“No, the boys are going to be here, and they need time together with Sarge. I’ll see them later.”
“Okay,” Julia said, then left.
Sarge sighed as he looked at the picture. “My Maggie. So long ago.”
Libby touched his hand. “Good memories, though.”
He looked at her, some sadness in his eyes, but no confusion. “Good memories,” he said softly.
Then his gaze shifted past her, and he suddenly smiled. She turned to see what he was looking at, and her world almost jolted to a stop. Jake was there, his eyes on Sarge, and he was smiling. She’d thought she might see him again, sooner or later, and she’d truly believed that she could handle it if that happened. But his sudden appearance in jeans, a loose white shirt open at the throat and tooled Western boots robbed her of any of the peace or the acceptance she thought she’d found.
Jake finally saw her and his smile vanished. He turned, and she knew he would’ve walked right back out if the other man she’d just met hadn’t been standing in the doorway.
She heard Jake say tightly to the man, “Tell me you did
n’t know?”
“I can’t do that,” the man said.
Libby just wanted out of there. She looked away from the two men and said to Sarge, “I need to go and see about something. You visit with Jake, okay?”
“Yes, okay,” he said, but looked confused.
She stood and kissed him on the cheek, then turned to head for the door. Jake made no eye contact as she went around him, and the other man cleared the doorway for her. As Libby slipped out into the hall and the door closed behind her, Julia came toward her.
“I’m so sorry. That was all Cal’s doing.”
Cal? That name sounded familiar. “What did he do?”
“He didn’t tell Jake you were in with Sarge.”
“I can’t understand how Jake didn’t know I was here. I’m parked outside, and he knows my Jeep. My name’s in the guest book, too.”
It didn’t make any sense to her, but she didn’t care. She was leaving. Sarge needed to see Jake without any emotional undertones from her, and she wasn’t certain she could be close to Jake without doing something she’d regret, one way or the other. “Could you please explain to Sarge that I had to leave? I won’t be here for dinner.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” she said, feeling off-balance from the shock of seeing Jake. “I’ll…call before I come back.”
“Okay…but Sarge is going to be disappointed. He’s very attached to you.”
Libby was attached to Sarge, too. “I’ll come back after Christmas. Oh, shoot, I left my jacket on the bench in his room.”
“No problem, wait here and I’ll get it.”
But Julia didn’t bring it back. The man called Cal came through the door to hand it to her. “Julia said I owe you an apology, and I know I do. I thought Jake needed to see you and hopefully talk to you. I was wrong. I really do apologize.”
She took her jacket and slipped it on. She barely knew what to say. “He doesn’t want to see me.”
Cal smiled slightly. “That’s what he believes, I guess.”
Harlequin Heartwarming December 2020 Box Set Page 66
