Page 74 of Deadly Conflicts

20

Twenty

The afternoon courtsession ended early, but Mandy remained busy at her desk. She finished her legitimate work an hour before and could’ve left early, but instead she focused on the task James gave her the day before. She kept running into roadblocks, and the inside of her head wasn’t a pretty place to visit right about now.

She was so lost in thought she didn’t notice a quiet figure standing in the doorframe until the sound of a clearing throat wafted through the room and interrupted her steely concentration. She was surprised to find Jake standing there when she lifted her head.

“Am I interrupting?” Jake looked nervous but resolute.

“It’s okay,” Mandy said, motioning for him to come closer. She couldn’t remember him ever stopping in at her office before. He probably visited a time or two with James, but if he did, she couldn’t recall the nature of the visit. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah,” Jake said, bobbing his head. “I was wrong.”

“About what? Oh, please tell me you haven’t changed your mind about proposing to Ally,” Mandy said, tears filling her eyes. “You’re going to break my heart and then I’m going to have to break your neck. James isn’t going to like it if I go to prison.”

Jake chuckled at her dramatic reaction. He should’ve expected nothing less. “I haven’t changed my mind about that,” he said, closing the remaining distance between them and resting his hands on top of her desk. “I’ll never change my mind about that.”

“Oh.” Mandy was relieved. “What were you wrong about?”

“You,” Jake replied, not missing a beat. “I was wrong for suspecting you were the one to mess with Ally’s head about getting married.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah, that,” Jake said. “I wasn’t worried that you told her on purpose or that you were trying to ruin things. I want you to know that I would never think that about you. You’re a good person. In fact, you’re one of the best people I know.”

“We don’t have to get into this, Jake,” Mandy said, averting her eyes. “Everyone made mistakes. I made a big one.”

“You did, but you were upset and I can’t blame you for that,” Jake said. “For what it’s worth, I don’t believe Rose will tell Ally. Even Grady can keep his big mouth shut. Rose is just like you in the fact that she would never want to ruin Ally’s surprise.”

“I still should’ve kept my big mouth shut,” Mandy supplied. “I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand. That wasn’t fair to you. Heck, it wouldn’t be fair to Ally if it got out because of me. I would never forgive myself.”

Jake tentatively reached out his hand and rested it on top of Mandy’s. “I know you’re the one person who loves Ally almost as much as I do.”

“I think you’re forgetting about her brothers and parents.”

“They love her in a different way,” Jake said. “You and I love her in different ways, too. That doesn’t mean they’re not equally strong.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” Mandy said, fanning her face with her free hand. “I know you love Ally. I have never doubted that. For some reason I knew the day I met you that you were going to become important to this family.”

“I remember that day,” Jake said. “You came into the kitchen to check me out and admitted you were looking to see if I was wearing a wedding ring. James thought you were looking for yourself, but then Ally gave me the most adorable wave.

“Before that point in my life I didn’t think love was in the cards for me,” he continued. “I was wrong. I was so wrong. I felt some of the ice in my chest melt that day. A few weeks later it was all gone.”

Mandy smiled. “Because of Ally.”

“Mostly because of Ally,” Jake clarified. “The rest of you had a part in it, too. I love watching you and Ally together, Mandy. You love each other so much … you’re like sisters. I love watching Ally with her brothers, too, don’t get me wrong. You guys, though … you’re magic.”

“Now I’m definitely going to cry,” Mandy said, working overtime to control her sniffles. “Since we’re being honest with each other, I need you to know that I wasn’t really angry at you yesterday. I wasn’t happy with you, but I was really upset over something else and I took it out on you.”

“Well, that’s what happened to me, too,” Jake said. “I wasn’t angry, though. I’m terrified and nervous. I want Ally to be my wife more than anything. I’m afraid she’ll turn me down, though. If that happens … we can never go back.”

Mandy barked out a hoarse laugh, catching Jake by surprise. “She won’t say no.”

“She might.”

“You just said we’re close like sisters,” Mandy reminded him. “I can guarantee she won’t say no. The only thing she can think about right now is you proposing to her. She’s convinced you’re not doing it because you don’t love her.”

“That’s ridiculous.”