She nodded, but didn’t interrupt him.
He took a deep breath. “You’re right,” he softly admitted. “I do still love Pete. Not like I used to, obviously. But there’s a part of me who never quit loving him and that hurt more than anything.” He looked into her eyes and was surprised to see her smiling. “What?”
She threw her arms around him and hugged him. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For trying.”
He hugged her harder. “Does this mean you won’t leave?”
“As long as you promise to keep trying and don’t shut me out again.”
“I promise, baby.” He kissed her, wanting to cry at how sweet she tasted and how good she felt in his arms. “I promise I won’t stop trying. You and Tim may need to give me a nudge here and there to remind me if I’m shutting down again, but I’ll keep trying.”
“That’s all I ask.”
Gwen wanted to sob with relief but somehow held it together. He couldn’t have given her a more perfect answer if she’d written it for him. With her heart feeling a thousand pounds lighter, she let Jack lead her down the hall to the kitchen where Tim had put dinner out. Thank god it was stew and vegetables, along with a huge salad, so nothing was ruined by the delay.
Tim acted nervous, glancing at the two of them. Even after she sent him a reassuring smile, which he returned, he still seemed on edge. They’d just finished eating and she was helping him clear the table when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Tim rushed toward the foyer.
Her intuition pinged. Tim had acted not at all surprised to hear the doorbell, but as if he’d expected it.
A horrible feeling rolled in her gut, confirmed when she heard male voices in the foyer. She stuck her head out the doorway and glanced down the hallway. Behind Tim walked Pete Sacher.
She jumped when Liam laid his hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” he softly asked. She shook her head, staying his questions.
Jack had stood and was also helping clear the table, his back to the kitchen. “Who is it, Tim?” he called out.
Tim, followed by Pete, walked into the kitchen. Tim’s expression when he briefly met her gaze screamed, “I’ll tell you later.” Pete just looked ready to bolt.
She couldn’t blame him.
Tim cleared his throat and stood next to Pete. “Jack,” he softly said, “you can hate me later, but I asked him to come over.”
Jack turned. It was only because Liam had walked back to the table and grabbed the salad bowl as Jack let go that it didn’t hit the floor and shatter. Jack stared at Pete in shock for a long, silent moment.
“What are you doing here?” Jack finally asked, his voice sounding shaky.
Tim intervened. “I told you, I asked him to come by.” He looked at Gwen. “I’m sorry. I eavesdropped on you and Liam earlier. You left your purse in here, and I found your notepad and called him.”
Jack looked torn between grief stricken and murderous. “What the hell are you talking about? Why would Gwen have his number?”
She decided Tim needed a little help and stepped forward on his other side. “Your mom wasn’t having a confused moment when she said Pete visited her in the hospital. He showed up again this morning while Tim and I were there. I convinced him to talk to me.” She took a deep breath. “This isn’t how I would have handled it, but Tim’s right. The two of you are long overdue for a talk.”
Pete stood silently, his head down and gaze fixed on the floor.
Tim stepped over to Jack. “Please? Just hear him out.” He guided Jack toward the living room while Gwen touched Pete’s arm.
“It’s okay,” she said, leading him. “It’s time the truth comes out.”
Jack stood, his body rigid, by the back sliders. He didn’t speak to Pete. Liam had already taken over finishing the dishes while Gwen retreated to the doorway. Tim stood with Jack, softly pleading with him.
“Please, babe, you need to put this behind you. Talk to him.”
“What do you want me to say?” Jack choked out. He finally turned and looked at Pete. “He killed her. What more is there?”
“There’s more,” Tim assured him. He looked at Pete. “You need to tell him.”
Pete, still unable to look at Jack, repeated the story he’d told her in the hospital. Both men cried as he talked, and even Tim looked close to tears.
When he finished, Pete took a deep breath. “It’s still my fault, regardless,” he said. “I take the blame. No, I wasn’t behind the wheel, but I still killed her. You’re right about that. Every morning I wake up hating myself for destroying our lives like that.”
Jack had listened in silence, Tim standing close. Gwen didn’t know if he stood there for comfort or to quickly intervene if he thought Jack would go after Pete. Jack stared at the floor, tears silently rolling down his face, his fingers clenching and flexing as he struggled to maintain his composure. Then Jack crumpled to his knees with a loud sob.
She thought Tim would comfort him, but he waved Pete over. As Pete knelt next to Jack, the two men embraced, both crying and talking too softly for her to hear.
Now Tim was crying, too. He walked over and caught her hand and led her from the room. Back in the kitchen, he hugged her. “I think Jack won’t kill him,” he whispered in her ear. “And I think we need to leave them alone for a while.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, her heart racing. This was what she wanted, for Jack to face his past and cleanse his emotional wounds so he could finally move on for good. But now a worrying thought struck her: What if he wanted Pete back?
As if reading her mind, Tim buried his face in her hair. With his lips next to her ear he whispered, “No matter what, babe, you never lose me. Ever. I have faith in him and how he feels about us, but in case I’m wrong, you never lose me. I swear it.”
Liam walked over. Keeping his voice low, he said, “Why don’t you two go on out to the RV for a while? I’ll make sure they don’t get into it. I’ll finish cleaning up dinner.”
Tim agreed. Together, they went outside and curled up in the large bed in back. She felt safe in his arms, secure, even as her heart wondered if they would ever hold Jack again.
As if reading her mind, Tim spoke. “A lot of water has passed under that bridge, babe,” he said. “Too much, I think, for him to ever go back. But he needs to face this once and for all or we’ll never have him all to ourselves. We’ll always be sharing him with his memories and his hatred.”
She couldn’t fault that logic.
She had dozed off in Tim’s arms when a soft knock on the RV door startled her awake. Tim called out. “Yeah?”
Liam stuck his head inside. “It’s okay for you guys to come back in now, I think. They’re still talking, but they’re sitting in the living room.”
“Thanks,” Tim said. He looked at her. “Ready?”
She nodded. “I have to be, don’t I?”
With her stomach a mass of jumbled nerves, she let Tim lead her inside. Jack looked up from where he sat on the sofa as Tim and Gwen stood in the living room doorway. He stood, walked over to them, and hugged them both. “Thank you.”
Tim voiced the question she was afraid to ask. “Everything okay?”
He kissed Tim. “Everything’s fine.” Then he kissed her. “Please sleep inside tonight? If not with us, at least in the house.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
“In the house?” Jack asked.
She kissed him back. “In your bed.”
His happy smile nearly broke her heart. Could he finally find the peace that had eluded him for so many years?