AllFreeNovel
Share Us
JACKSON
After our morning spent in bed, Rory and I enjoyed a breakfast of ice-cold pancakes and bacon. Rory showered while I did the dishes, and then we hopped in the truck heading for her townhouse. Since she plans on staying a few nights at my place, she insisted on grabbing some of her things. I fought her on it, telling her how sexy she looks in my clothes—or even better, with absolutely nothing on at all. But I lost that argument. Once in the house, she heads straight for her bedroom. I’m left alone in the living room, staring at all the unopened wedding gifts.
“My dad or Lyndsey must have dropped them off yesterday. After…” Rory takes a step forward, standing at my side. “Since I’m off this week, I’ll go through them and make sure they get returned. There’s no point in putting it off.”
“I’ll help you.”
But Rory only shakes her head. “No, it’s my responsibility.” She glances at the packages once more before turning back to me. “I’m ready if you are.”
I know her. She won’t allow me to help with any part of the life she shared with Brad. Even if I’m the cause of all the extra work, she’ll want to do it solo. I’ll push a little harder on the matter, but not right now. Right now, I’ll let her continue to be stubborn.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The two of us walk back out to the truck, and I open the door for her. Before she gets in, she reaches her hand under the passenger seat and pulls out my phone. It must have slid under there after I threw it yesterday. She hands it to me, but it’s dead. Usually, I’m required to have it on me at all times in case something happens with work and I’m needed. But since I had planned on nursing a broken heart and the worst hangover ever today, I’m on PTO, which means no calls.
On the way home, the two of us grab a couple of burgers and shakes from the Whataburger before heading back to the house. Coming up the gravel road, I see two familiar trucks parked off to the side of the house by Rory’s Jeep.
“They couldn’t even give us a day?”
“Huh?” Rory is busy digging a fry out of the bag and hasn’t seen what I have yet.
“Our dads are here.”
Rory’s attention turns toward the house, and I hear the annoyed groan she lets out. “They must have planned this. It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“And I guarantee my father was the ringleader.”
My dad seems relaxed, casually leaning against the side of his truck, both arms folded across his chest. He’s a tall man, built like a brick outhouse, although he’s more flab than muscle these days. Back in his prime, he was the star quarterback, just like Jameson and me, for a hot minute anyway. Instead of going pro or getting hurt the way my brother and I did, he had to turn down the college offers to stay behind and help his parents. As an only child, it’s what they expected of him. Which is why he rode Jameson and I so hard about always playing our best and keeping our grades up in school. He kept our nightstands stocked with condoms to ensure we never got the girl we were with pregnant, trapping us here in Hawk Bend. Dad did everything he could to keep us out of trouble and on the right path, hoping one day we could live the life he never got to. It killed him when I got hurt. All those dreams he had would come true for Jameson, but not me.
Those shattered dreams didn’t earn me any sympathy. Only the opposite. We fought constantly when I worked for him at the garage. Then, when I went to the community college to get my AA in criminal justice, he claimed I was abandoning my responsibilities to the family. Hell, he didn’t even talk to Skip for a month when he found out it was he who put the idea in my head. But over the years we’ve found a mutual ground, mainly thanks to my mom. But now, here I am. The fuck up once again. I can see it written all over his face as I pull the truck forward and eye him and Skip through the windshield.
“United front?” Rory places her hand on my knee, giving it a squeeze. All I do is shake my head. “Jackson, I can handle Mitch.”
“Take the food and go inside with your dad. I’ll join you in a few minutes.” I don’t say we because I have no clue if my dad will be staying after he’s said his peace.
Reluctantly, Rory gets out of the truck. She briefly stops to say a few words to my dad, and then she and Skip walk into the house. Whatever she told my dad brought a smile to his face. He always did have a soft spot for her. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her to go inside. She could have been our mediator.
Lifting the handle, I push the truck door open with my shoulder. My boots hit the gravel, and my dad takes a few steps closer to the porch. The two of us stand here, face-to-face, in silence.
“You just had to go and make a scene, didn’t you?” His voice is low, but there is no denying the irritation.
Running my hand through my hair, I scoff at his words. “I didn’t make a scene, Dad. I wasn’t even there.”
“You were there, and the scene that followed after you left was your fault.” My dad takes another step closer and lowers his voice. “What compelled you to do what you did to that poor girl? And on her wedding day? She embarrassed herself in front of all those people.” My father throws his hands in the air, exasperated with me. “And that fiancé of hers. You didn’t even stick around like a man to face him. You ran away like a coward.”
“No, see, that’s where you’re wrong. When it comes to Rory and how I feel about her, I was a coward. I’ve been in love with her for as long as I can remember. It took a lot of courage on my part to do what I did yesterday. If I was a coward, I would’ve kept my mouth shut and watched her marry that douche who didn’t deserve her.” My eyes drift up to the house, and I know for a fact Rory and Skip can hear our conversation. “I’m tired of having the things I want most in life taken from me. There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen with Rory. I couldn’t lose her, too.”
“The way you went about it was wrong. And your mother and I didn’t raise you to be like that.”
“Yes, you did. You, specifically, raised me to go after the things I want. And there is nothing I’ve ever wanted more in my life than her.”
My dad stares at me for a long, hard minute before he deflates. His proud shoulders slump and he nods his head in surrender or disappointment; one of the two. He runs his fingers through his short gray beard before sticking his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.
“You better mean what you say. That girl is not disposable. She’s not like some of the others you and your brother have brought around over the years. She’s too good for you.”
“Yeah.” I snort. “And I know it.”
My dad backs away, turning toward his truck. “Oh, and call your mother. She’s over the moon about this whole thing.” He juts his chin toward the house. “She wants to have y’all over to the house next weekend for supper.”
