If for Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,119
truth she’d ever spoken aloud.
Jack raked a hand through his hair. “I wanted you to have the kind of life I’d only ever dreamed of. Your grandparents gave that to you. They made sure you had everything you ever needed.”
Emily narrowed her gaze. “But they didn’t.”
He met her eyes.
“Because what I needed were my parents.”
“No, you needed to be taken care of,” Jack said. “You needed a home and stability and the best education. You deserved those things.”
“Who told you that?” Emily asked. “Who told you that was more important than having a parent?”
Jack looked away.
There was still so much he wasn’t saying. What would it take to get him to be straight with her?
“Was my mom on her way to see you that night?”
Jack maintained his floor-bound gaze as he slowly nodded. “I was going to meet you that night.”
Emily wiped a tear that had slipped down her cheek. “So after the accident . . . ?”
“I felt like it was my fault she was gone,” he said. “That you’d really hate me now. I didn’t deserve any piece of her then, especially not one as beautiful and kind and good as you.”
Emily’s hands turned to fists at her sides. “You should’ve tried harder, Jack.” She started for the door, but before she reached it, he stood.
“Wait,” he said.
She stopped but didn’t turn toward him.
“I found this,” he said. “In your mom’s room. It’s the only one there is, and I thought you might want it.”
Slowly she faced him and saw he was holding a small photograph out toward her. She took it. The faded image of her mother and a much-younger Jack stared back at her.
“I loved her more than anything,” Jack said. “I’m sorry I ever let her go.”
Emily willed herself not to crumple the photo and throw it at Jack. Instead, she dropped it on the floor, then turned and walked out of the cottage, slamming the door behind her as she did.
CHAPTER 43
EMILY PULLED THE LEXUS into the circular drive in front of her grandparents’ cottage, mind spinning.
“Am I supposed to believe you were there for all that?” she said aloud. “What happened to you never leaving me? What happened to you being there when I need you? Where are you now?”
If she’d been angry with God before, her feelings had only intensified after discovering a piece of the truth. When would she find out the rest? When would she ever have all the pieces to make sense of everything that had happened?
Jack said he hadn’t wanted to leave, so why did he? It made no sense.
“Why is everyone lying to me?” A tear escaped, and she angrily wiped it away. She parked the car and drew in a deep breath.
Hollis stood on the porch, leaning against the post and looking painfully handsome. More than that, though, he looked kind. It was obvious from Jack’s comments that Hollis had found out the truth about who the man was—but Emily had to believe he had a reason for keeping it a secret.
And now, simply by meeting his eyes as she turned the engine off, she could see he was worried.
She wanted to collapse in his arms, to draw her strength from him, to finally let herself cry. But she wouldn’t, of course. She was stronger than that.
He met her in the driveway, next to the car, and without saying a word, he pulled her into a protective hug. “Are you okay?”
Emily didn’t want to think about the way any of this made her feel. Thanks to this house in Nantucket, everything—everything—had been dredged to the surface again. How did she get away from it all?
She shrugged softly, aware that her tears were getting his T-shirt wet. Maybe she wasn’t as strong as she thought. “How long have you known?”
Hollis pulled away and looked at her. “Not long, but you have to believe I wanted to tell you. I told Jack I wasn’t going to keep this secret for very long—it was killing me. But he really wanted to tell you himself, in his own way.”
Emily searched Hollis’s eyes for any sign of insincerity. She found none. He would never intentionally hurt her, would he? Still, his keeping this from her stung.
She started toward the backyard. She wanted to drink in the ocean, to be reminded how big this world was. It made her problems feel a little smaller, a little less significant.