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My eyes close at the sound of her voice, and the emotions I didn’t show ten minutes ago on my porch come out in the form of a sob. My trembling fist lifts to press against my mouth, but I can’t form words as tears rain down my face. They land on the linoleum floor of my kitchen, each one pronounced in the quiet night.
“Seth?” I hear the worry in her otherwise strong voice, and it just breaks me further. “Honey, is everything okay?”
I don’t know if she consciously used that endearment, but I know I force words out because of it. “He… My father… Was here.” The words are choppy and hard to understand, but Jenna must pick up on them, because I feel her exhale of a breath against my skin. I take in a deep breath of my own, blowing it out slowly, and find a few more words. “He left a few minutes ago.”
“He just…showed up?”
I nod. Then remember she can’t see me, and say, “Yes. He was—he was here when I got home.”
There’s silence for a moment.
“So…” She trails off. “What did he say?”
“Apparently heneedssomething.” A familiar flash of anger bolts through me, and I pace to the sliding doors leading to my back deck. “I don’t know, Jen. Knowing the games he’s played over the past year; I just don’t know. I don’t trust him. But I have to tell my sister. He said he’s going to see her tomorrow.” The thought is like acid on my tongue. “He asked me what it would take to give him a chance to explain why he’s here. I didn’t answer.”
She hesitates. “What would it take?”
“Not showing up at my house unannounced at eleven on a Saturday night.”
“Uh, that already happened, sonowwhat?”
I usually love that Jenna’s optimism can be countered by realism. Except tonight, because it calls me out, and I feel too raw for it right now. “I don’t know. I do need to talk to Jess, because I don’t want my sister to deal with him showing up out of the blue too.”
“What, are you gonna have their house blocked by officers or something?”
I grab my keys off the counter because I need to tell Jess in person, but Jenna’s humor catches me off guard. “Can I?”
“No. No, Seth. You can’t.”
“Party pooper.”
“Name calling is rude.”
“You called mehoney,” I tease as I step onto my porch, a light rain pattering on the roof. “So…”
“Yeah, but that’s different.” She pauses. “Seth?”
“Yes?”
“I love you. And I don’t know what else to say, because I think you have every right to be upset. But… Just remember that we’re all human. That’s all I can say.”
Though I strongly want to rebel against her words, I sigh and duck my chin as I head off the porch for my truck. “I know. I love you, too. I’ll text you when I know—”
A piece of paper tucked into my windshield wiper cuts me off. I reach for it and my words cease to exist at all. It’s not just a piece of paper. It’s a photograph. A photograph of a boy with Down syndrome, likely fifteen or sixteen.
Jenna’s saying something, but I can’t hear her as I turn the picture over, and my heart pounds as I take in the once-familiar handwriting.
Jake Johnson. Your brother.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Jenna
Have you ever been on the same side of the glass as a caged animal on the prowl? No? Yeah, neither had I until today. I don’t know what animal fits the bill best—lion, probably—but Seth is one right now. Has been ever since I got to Jess and Marshall’s house five minutes ago.
And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I find it oddly attractive. I shouldn’t probably find a prowling lion sexy, but here we are, and I’m gonna tell you why:
Seth is in his uniform, and he keeps fisting and un-fisting his hands at his sides, which leads to his tan, muscled arms flexing. Which pulls his navy short-sleeve shirt taut across his broad shoulders. Which leads up to his beautifully severe face. His dark brows are slanted into a deep frown and his blue eyes are icy, but somehow itworksfor him. Lions have always been my favorite animal at the zoo because of their quiet and intensely strong persona.
