A week later, Jack bumped along the trails at Evergreen Park with a trash collection bag and a long-handled reacher.
Park events were a great way to pull the community together, but it usually left a lot of work to be done the next morning. Who knew the Save the Bears event last night would create such a mess? There were maintenance workers who handled trash pickup, of course, but Jack tried to give them a hand when possible.
He stopped to grab empty cans, tossed out by event goers who’d decided to go for a walk in the woods. What those lovers had done in the woods he didn’t want to know.
Once the area was clean, he moved to another. He came to a clearing in the woods near Blue Sky Point where he’d found Diana. He wondered how her interviews had gone. He hoped someone had given her a shot. Everyone deserved a second chance. Even him. He and Emma were dating now, and this time he was going to do right by her. During the past week, they’d spent every possible second they could together. It wasn’t easy with a fifteen-year-old shadowing him, but they’d made it work.
Jack pointed the ATV back toward his office. He had a full bag of trash that he dropped in the dumpster behind the building before going inside for a cool drink. When he walked inside, Amanda was waiting for him.
Jack wiped the sweat off his brow. “What are you doing here?”
She shrugged and got up to hug him.
He held up his hands. “Oh no. You don’t want to do that. I’m gross.”
“You’ve always been gross,” she said, hugging him anyway. “I’m out.”
“You didn’t tell me you were leaving the facility so soon.”
“Well, I checked myself in, and I can check myself out. I’m feeling a lot better, and I miss Sam.”
Jack inspected his sister outwardly. She looked much better than she had when she’d first gone into treatment. “Sam is working at the café this morning. He’s got two jobs this summer.”
“I think I’ll wait to let him know I’m here until his shift is over.” Amanda smiled. “Maybe I’ll take him out to dinner.”
Jack nodded. “I recommend somewhere with a buffet because your son can eat.”
This made Amanda laugh. “Oh, I know.”
It was good to see his sister happy. “You work from home so there’s no reason to run off anytime soon. Why don’t you stay with me on the lake for the rest of the summer?” he asked.
“What?” Her smile dropped.
Jack shrugged. “I have room. Stay with me. Sam is just getting settled in here, and I think he’s got himself a girlfriend.” At least Jack suspected that’s why Sam’s mood had been so chipper lately. Emma had mentioned a teenage girl who was frequenting the café when Sam was on shift.
“My Sam?” Amanda asked with a little surprise. “Wow. I guess he’s growing up.” Amanda shook her head. “If I stayed awhile, we’d probably drive one another batty like we did as kids.”
“Doubt it. Just consider it.”
“I will, but don’t get your hopes up.”
Jack nodded. “Too late.” He gestured toward the refrigerator in the far corner of the room. “I’m going to grab a water. Want one?” he asked.
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
He brought two bottles back and sat on a chair across from her. The cool AC felt good on his skin after being outside in the hot sun for the last couple hours. “So you’re doing better, huh?”
Amanda twisted the cap off her bottled water. “A lot.”
“You never did tell me all the details. I mean, did something happen to put you in a tailspin?”
She sipped for a long moment. “It was just a slow descent. Sometimes it happens so slowly that you don’t even know it’s happening.”
Jack nodded.
“I tried to get better on my own. I wanted to be there for Sam. He needs me.”
“He’s pretty grown these days,” Jack countered.
“He is. One day he’ll leave to live his own life, and then I’ll really be alone.”
“You’re never alone. You know that. You can always call me. Or Mom…Probably not Dad,” he said, knowing it would get her to laugh.
“Yeah, Dad is about the last person I’d call for help.”
“If you won’t commit for the rest of the summer,” Jack said, “just commit to staying until next weekend. Emma has organized a 5K event in her mom’s memory for next Saturday. She’s doing it alongside the Women’s Wellness Fair in Evergreen