She squeezes my hand. I can tell she’s disappointed, but it’s all I can offer. I gave up the right to be her brother the moment I left.
“He wanted you home, Jack. Stay. If Dad meant anything to you at all, you’ll do it. You’ll at least try.”
I nod shortly. I doubt that, but I’ll let Kiara believe it if she needs to. He was her father, after all. Not mine.
She won’t ever know this, but he called me a coward when I left Diamond Bay.
My chest aches. It’s ironic that this restaurant, in this town that never wanted me, is my only option. Right now, it’s all I have. All I can do.
“Will you stay here?” she asks. “You know there’s plenty of room.”
I hate to crush the hopeful note in her voice, but I shake my head. “I’ll stay on the houseboat.” The other thing Sal left me. Feels fitting.
She makes a face. “That thing is so crappy.”
“I don’t want to be in your hair.”
“But—”
“It’s easier this way, okay?”
“Fine.” She breaks her piece of cornbread in half but doesn’t take a bite. “Have you gotten in touch with Chester yet?”
At my guilty silence, she rolls her eyes. “He’d love to see you.He’s mostly been bartending down in Delray, but he’ll come up for you.”
“I doubt that.”
Chester Harrison was pretty much the only friend I had growing up. He was goofy, a bit of a nerd, and after I fought a bunch of kids picking on him during recess, we were inseparable. Worth the black eye and scolding from my case worker—no kid had wanted to be my friend before then. He didn’t mind that I was weird and angry and couldn’t sit still to save my life, or that my address changed every few months. After I left, we tried to keep in touch, but as time passed, that petered off, too. Another regret, festering like a wound.
She eyes me with the scrappy determination that no doubt makes her great at her job. She always loved animals, always wanted to be a vet. I’m glad she achieved that dream. I remember watching her at horseback riding competitions, waving to me and Sal with a wide grin.
“Come on. It’s just Chester.”
“Fine.” I hold up my hands. I wonder if he still has a crush on Ki, or if that finally faded. If they were together, he wouldn’t be spending his time down in Delray, that’s for sure. “I will.”
“Good.” She gives me a satisfied look. “Text him now.”
“Later.”
“Jackson.”
“Kiara.”
“Ugh. You’re so stubborn.”
Yet when I leave, an hour later and two beers drained, Kiara stops me in the entryway with a feather-soft touch.
“Jack?”
“Yeah?”
She hugs me, quick and fierce. “You better not leave again without saying goodbye.”
Chapter 5
Pain Au Chocolat
Poppy
