Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,228

listen.” He ran both hands over his head this time. “It’s not what you think.”

“No? So who the fuck is Ardelle Hewitt, Jack, that she signs her emails ‘love’ and holds your hands in a restaurant? If she’s who’d you’d rather be with than me, at least own up to it!”

“Rather be with…No. Josie, baby, no.” Jack shook his head and reached for her hands, capturing them before she could get away. He held her still until she looked at him. “Ardelle is not my lover, Josie.”

“No?” she challenged.

“No.” Jack shook his head. “She’s my mother.”

Chapter 11

Josie looked at the photos of a much younger Ardelle holding a wrapped bundle. “How old was she?”

“Fifteen.” Jack picked up another photo, this one more recent, of a smiling Ardelle and two young men. “This is her with her two sons, Bryant and Evan.”

Josie looked at the photo. “You look like her.”

He shrugged, but smiled slightly. “A little.”

Josie sighed, her emotions still tangled. “How’d you find out?”

“The papers from my parents had her name on them.” Jack frowned. “They always told me they never knew who she was, or how to get in touch with her. They lied, Josie. Ardelle was my dad’s secretary’s daughter. She got pregnant by one of the lawyers in my dad’s office. They fired him, but then adopted me. They’ve known all along who my real parents were. They just didn’t tell me.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m sure they had their reasons.”

He nodded. “I know. And I never really pushed, you know? Because it hurt Mom. I had the adoption and conversion papers because the rabbi needed them, and when I saw the information there, I knew I had to find out more.”

“And your mom didn’t want you to.”

“No. Even after I told her I wanted to find Ardelle and give her the chance to meet me…” His voice broke and he put his face in his hands again. His shoulders shook, and Josie put her arms around him. She’d never seen him cry.

He looked up, brown eyes wet. “I just wanted her to know me, Josie. To let her know I turned out all right.”

“Sure, baby,” Josie said as she rubbed his back. “Of course.”

“But Mom gave me a really hard time about it, saying Ardelle had given up all rights to me when I was born and had never made any effort to see me since. Which was true,” Jack told her, “but I still had to know for myself.”

“I know, honey.” Josie hugged him.

“So three months ago, I managed to hunt her down and contact her, and we’ve been keeping in touch. She’s married with kids, but…” He hitched in another sobbing breath that broke Josie’s heart, for she’d never seen him like this ever. “But she said she’d always kept track of me. Through high school, college, whatever. She never contacted me because she didn’t want to interfere, but she’d kept up. And her husband and sons always knew. I have…I have two brothers, Josie.”

She held him tight. “Oh, Jack. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

He clung to her, his face hot on her neck. “I should’ve told you the truth right away. I just wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing before I got you involved.”

“It’s all right.” She held him tight, then kissed his cheek. “I understand.”

“I love you, Josie. I would never cheat on you.”

“I know.” And she did, and must have always, or else she’d have opened the envelope before he came home to explain himself to her. “I know, baby.”

His hug nearly crushed her, but she didn’t mind. All that mattered was she’d learned the truth. The rest of it, they’d deal with later.

Chapter 12

“Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi li.” Josie smiled as she said the Hebrew words. “I am my beloved’s as my beloved is mine.”

Jack slipped the plain platinum band on her forefinger. The cantor sang the prayers. The rabbi read the ketubah and pronounced them husband and wife.

And they were married.

Josie felt like her face was going to split from grinning as she took Jack’s hand and turned beneath the chuppah, the wedding canopy, to face the crowd.

“Here we go,” Jack said and crushed the glass beneath his heel.

“Mazel tov!” The cheers of the congregation rang in Josie’s ears as she took Jack’s hand and looked at the crowd.

Josie and Jack’s parents had joined them on the bimah for the ceremony, but Josie looked out at the sea of faces. Her sister and brothers and