He turned on the tap, filled a glass with water, and sat down at the table. He’d never had a moment’s trouble withhis grandson. Couldn’t say the same for Junior, though. That child had brought enough sorrow to him and Judy over the years, the apex being when he abandoned his children. That had turned out to be a gift, raising Amber and Rusty. But that didn’t mean he still wasn’t disappointed in Junior. Roxy too. How could a mother ditch her own children for a new family? He shook his head. That was unfathomable to him, but she went and did it, leaving two precious kids behind.
He and Judy had prayed over the years that their grandchildren wouldn’t be too scarred from their parents’ abandonment. If Amber was, she didn’t show it. His granddaughter was tough, but she was also a loving and sensible wife and mother.
Rusty was a different story. The boy was soft through and through and had inherited Judy’s sensitive side. He’d taken his mother’s rejection hard and internalized it, according to Judy. Senior wasn’t too keen on psychobabble, although those daytime medical shows were fairly entertaining. But he was starting to see that Judy was right. Rusty JenkinsIII had the confidence to take apart a car engine and put it together blindfolded, but when it came to relationships, he was at a loss.
Senior shoved away his half-eaten snack. There was nothing he could do except offer encouragement and advice. Although the way Rusty had responded tonight, he might not do that again anytime soon.
He closed his eyes and said a little prayer that his gut was right about Miss Harper. He’d seen the way she looked at Rusty when he walked into the kitchen earlier tonight. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him—admiring eyes, Senior noticed. He wasn’t blind just yet, and the few minutes ofconversation he’d had with her over Oreos and powdered tea proved that she wasn’t only a pretty face. On the surface they were as opposite as salt and pepper, but often that was a good thing when it applied to couples.
Just don’t break his heart, MissHarper. It’s been broken enough.
***
Harper parked her car on the street and jumped out as Jack walked toward her. “Don’t come any closer,” she said, walking to the end of her driveway and stopping there. “I’ll call the police, I swear!” Then she remembered her phone. Oh no, she’d left it at Rusty’s. But Jack didn’t know that, thank God.
He halted, leaving several feet between them, then held up his hands. “I’m sure you’re still mad at me—”
“Oh? What gave you that idea?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You have a right to be, and I’m sorry for what I did. But I really need to talk to you. It’s important.”
She hesitated. He had gone to a lot of trouble to track her down, and he’d been persistent. He’d never been violent in the past. Just a class A jerk. “I’m listening.”
He looked over his shoulder at her house, then back at her. “Can we go inside? It’s a long story.”
Harper pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn’t have the capacity to fight him right now. “Fine. But only until you’ve said whatever it is you need to tell me. Then you have to leave.”
“I promise I will.”
A few minutes later they were sitting at the table, not in the living room. She didn’t want him to feel comfortable, and she didn’t offer him a drink. “All right,” she said. “Spill.”
He tugged at the collar of his dress shirt. He was still wearing a tie and a sports jacket, as if he’d been working up until the moment he came over. That didn’t surprise her. He’d always worked late—or so she’d thought when he was tardy for their dates, until near the end when he didn’t show up for them at all.Too busy cheating on me with Brielle.
“It’s good to see you again,” he said.
She tapped her finger on the table. “I said spill.”
He glanced away, then looked at her again. “All right. First, I’m sorry I broke up with you. I should have never done that.”
“Does that include cheating with Brielle?”
His eyes widened. “I never cheated on you. Honest. She’s the one who said you cheated on me.”
Harper gasped. “What? I would never do something like that to you or anyone else.”
“I believe you... now. I didn’t at the time, though. She was so convincing...” He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is her latest scheme.”
Panic hit her. “Which is?”
“She’s out to ruin you. That’s why she moved back to Hot Springs.”
“I don’t understand.”
Jack looked at her. “Brielle has always seen you as a threat, ever since you both worked at Front Door Realty. You’re younger than her, and when you joined the company,she’d been the top seller for five years straight. Then you toppled her the first year you were there.”
“I worked hard to reach that goal,” Harper ground out. “You know that.”
“I do. So did everyone else there. But that made Brielle jealous. She’d been planning to open her own brokerage firm right before you opened yours. So she blames you for undermining her.”
