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“What does she want?”
“She wants to know where we are. She’s been to the house I rented, but obviously, we aren’t there. She’s demanding to see Jacob.” His voice sounds strained, and I can’t imagine how hard this must be for him.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to the bare skin of his back. “What are you going to tell her?”
“That I’m in Texas with Lib, and I don’t know when I’ll be home. She can demand as much as she wants. She’s the one who walked out.” His fingers fly over the screen of his phone as he replies, and I move back, not wanting to seem like I’m reading over his shoulder. I can’t think of him and Jacob going home, it hurts too much. Climbing out of bed, I pull on a tank and some yoga pants and pad silently to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Gripping onto the sink, I drop my head, nerves bubbling in my stomach at what this might mean for us. I guess at the back of my mind I had a tiny glimmer of hope he might decide to stay at the ranch, that his parents might see how happy he is here with me. I know he’s worried about taking Jacob away from them with Libby already living here. That one text crushed those hopes though, and makes me realize this is so much bigger than just his relationship with his parents. Jacob’s mom is in England, and regardless of how rocky their relationship is, she will always be his mom. He can never move halfway across the world.
After using the bathroom, I open the bedroom door and see Jack still sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching his phone. “You okay, babe?” I ask, crossing the room and standing in front of him. He raises his head and smiles, dropping his phone onto the comforter. He reaches for me and pulls me to stand between his open legs. His arms wind around my waist and he drops his head on my stomach. My fingers tangle in his hair as I hold him against me. Before either of us can say anything, his phone rings from the side of him, and I glance down, seeing Zara’s name flashing across the screen. I feel him sigh heavily, his head still pressed against my stomach. He must have known she was going to call.
“I’ll leave you to talk to her,” I say quietly, and his head shoots up.
“No, stay. Please. It won’t be a long conversation,” he says, and I can’t say no to him as his eyes bore into mine.
“Okay,” I whisper, moving from between his legs and sitting on the bed next to him. He sighs again before picking up his phone.
“Hello,” he says, his voice tight. He’s silent for a few seconds before he stands and starts pacing the room. “I wasn’t aware I needed your permission, Zara,” he spits. “Last time I checked, you didn’t care!” I can’t help but feel awkward as I listen to their heated conversation. I can only hear Jack’s side, but I can guess from his responses what Zara is saying. “You know what’s not fair? You walking out on your son… I don’t know when I’m coming home.” He’s still pacing the bedroom and I lower my eyes, my fingers fiddling with the edge of the comforter. “That’s none of your goddamn business. I don’t ask who you’re sleeping with. I don’t care.” My head shoots up and I look across to see him staring at me. He winks at me and I give him a small smile. “Look, Zara,” he says with a sigh. “I’ll let you know when I’m home, and if you still want to see him, then we can work something out. I won’t be home for a while, though.” I drop my eyes from his. I don’t want him to ever go home, but I know he has to. “What? No! That’s not happening, Zara. I have to go. Jacob needs me.” I look up as he ends the call and tosses his phone across the room and onto the bed.
I stand up and make my way toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “What did she say?” I ask as his arms envelop me.
“That I should have asked her before leaving the country with Jacob, and that she’s going to fly out here to see him.” I can’t believe how calm he sounds after what he’s just told me.
“What?” I tilt my head to look at him. “She’s coming here? To the ranch?”
He shakes his head. “No, baby. She won’t come here. She couldn’t be bothered to visit Jacob when he lived in the same city as her, let alone when he’s on the other side of the world.”
“Do you think she’ll call again?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want her flitting in and out of his life. That’s not fair on him. He deserves so much more.”
“He does, but he has you. You’re a great dad to him, Jack,” I assure him, going up on my tiptoes to kiss him. He smiles before kissing me back.
“You have a better relationship with him than Zara. Even before she left, she wasn’t really present, if that makes sense. He adores you,” he says quietly.
“I adore him too, Jack. He’s easy to love…” I trail off and voice what I know I’ve been struggling to say. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when you both go home.” He wraps his arms around me, and I rest my head on his chest.
“I can’t imagine being away from you either.” I can feel his heart racing under my cheek, and my stomach flips at his words. Telling him how I feel is on the tip of my tongue, but I hold back. It’ll only confuse things. I was the one who pushed for casual, even though we both know it’s been far from that for weeks.
“Daddy! Ria!” a little voice calls, and I smile, loving how he’s started calling for me along with Jack in the morning. He’s been doing it for a few days, and it makes my heart swell with love for him.
“I think someone’s awake,” Jack says as he brushes his lips against my hair. Reaching for my hand, he guides me out of his room and along the hallway to Jacob’s bedroom. Pushing the door open, I smile as I see him standing up in his crib, his little chubby hands holding on to the bars.
“Daddy, up!” he cries when he sees Jack, who walks in and scoops him up, dropping a kiss on his cheek.
“Guess who’s coming today?” Jack says to him as he lays him on the changing table and begins to change his diaper. Exposing his tummy, he lowers his mouth and blows a raspberry on his skin. Jacob laughs and I can’t help but smile. “Nanny and Pops!” Jack exclaims, and Jacob squeals with excitement. Jack sits him up and he reaches out his arms to me. Crossing the room, I pick him up and put him on my hip.
“Hungry?” I ask, brushing my lips across his blond hair. He nods and I tickle his waist. “Let’s get breakfast.”
Half an hour later I’ve left Jack and Jacob in the kitchen finishing off their breakfast. I need to shower and get out to the exercise area. The young horse Savannah and I went to look at a few weeks ago arrived on the ranch yesterday, and today I’m starting to work with her so she’s ready for Hope to ride.
Standing under the hot spray of the shower, my mind wanders back to the conversation Jack had with Zara earlier. We hadn’t talked about his ex. I hadn’t asked and he’d never mentioned her. I knew little bits from Libby, but it wasn’t really anything to do with me. It must be so hard for Jack to have her walk out and then just randomly want to see Jacob whenever it suits her. I really hoped she doesn’t turn up at the ranch. I know it’s likely she was just angry and making empty threats, but she seems unpredictable, so anything is possible.
Jack
Driving to the airport, I glance in the rearview mirror and see Jacob is fast asleep. I’m about twenty minutes from Austin International Airport, and he’s been asleep since before we got out of Marble Falls. The car always had that effect on him. I’m looking forward to seeing my parents, and I know Jacob is excited to see them too. I’m a little nervous about introducing them to Aria. I know they’ll see how much she means to me when they see us together, and I know my mum especially will worry I’m not going to come home. I want them to enjoy their time here and not worry about me.
I park in arrivals and pull out my phone, groaning when I see two missed calls from Zara. Ignoring them, I check my parents’ flight number. The flight’s only just landed, so I know they’ll be a while yet, getting their luggage and then passing through security. Glancing over my shoulder, I check Jacob is still asleep before stepping out of the truck. Sighing, I pull up Zara’s number. I’d tried to forget that I’d spoken to her this morning. I’m finally in a place where I’m happy, and it’s like she somehow knows and wants to fuck everything up for me. Why did she have to contact me now? Hitting her name, I put the phone to my ear and wait for her to answer. It rings and rings, and just when I think she isn’t going to answer, I hear her voice.
“Hello.”
