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He shook his head. “No, I…I wanted to be here with everyone. Needed it, actually.”
Grace walked over and hugged him before sitting down. “I think we’re just waiting on Savannah, right?”
All eyes turned to look at him and he froze. “Um…I don’t think she’s coming.”
“I’m sure this is devastating for her,” Georgia said as she took her seat. “She spent more time with him than any of us have in recent years. Should we put her on speakerphone?”
Dammit.
“You can try,” he forced himself to say. “But I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Grace asked. “What’s going on?”
Sighing loudly, he said, “She left. I don’t know where she is. I drove by the house a couple of times but…the car’s not there. I think…” Taking a minute, he blew out a long breath. “I think she might be on her way back to Seattle.”
“But…that can’t be, Jackson!” Grace cried. “Why would you let her go like that? The poor girl is devastated and shouldn’t be driving across the country all by herself!”
“It wasn’t my choice, Mom. We woke up that morning and she was crying and said she couldn’t do this.” He shook his head. “Her whole life, people have made decisions that affected her in the worst possible ways. She never had a choice, and this time…she needed to be the one to make it. I just didn’t think she’d really leave.” He looked up at her helplessly. “I love her so much and she still left.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” she said as she came over and hugged him. “I’m so sorry.” Then she turned and said, “Georgia?”
“I’m on it!”
“No, don’t,” he called out. “Please don’t make her feel bad or pressure her to come back. She’s been through enough.”
“Jackson,” his mother said softly, “if you love her, you can’t just let her go.”
“I’m not. Believe me. This is about giving her the time she needs to grieve,” he explained, even though it made him miserable just thinking of her being out there all by herself.
“Are you sure? I think your father would be devastated if he knew she was out there on her own.”
Jackson knew Cash would be upset, but this was what had to happen. Savannah needed to be in control of her life. He just wished he knew how she was and prayed she was okay.
After a few minutes, everyone settled down and Georgia dropped a bit of a bombshell.
“I am the executor of Cash’s estate,” she began. “He asked Susannah and I to take care of things for him and…” She stopped and looked around. “And I really don’t feel right about doing this without Savannah here. It’s just wrong. There are things he wanted done that are specific to her and I’m unsure of what to do.”
If Jackson wasn’t mistaken, there were tears in her eyes and it was wild to him that his snooty pain in the ass aunt was suddenly developing a softer side and showing actual compassion. It was oddly comforting right now.
“Suz? What should we do?” she asked.
“Um…I’m not sure. I know what Cash wanted and we’re trying to honor it, but…” She paused. “Grace? Any suggestions?”
It was borderline ridiculous how no one seemed to know what to do. He wanted to get up and leave and tell them all to let him know when they have all the details figured out, but, again, his mother would kill him for making a scene and being a brat. So he let his head loll back against the sofa cushion and simply waited for his aunts to figure this out.
“I think there’s only one thing we can do,” Grace said wearily. There was a long pause and Jackson heard the front door open but thought nothing of it. It was probably Colton, or maybe one of his cousins coming to join them.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Savannah.
He nearly fell out of his chair as he straightened at the sound of her voice. She was standing under the archway of the living room and looked more beautiful than he ever remembered her being. He got to his feet, his eyes never leaving hers. “What are you doing here?”
Her smile was a little shy. “Well, we’re planning Cash’s memorial, right?”
“We were just getting started, sweetheart,” Georgia said. “Why don’t you have a seat and Susannah and I will share Cash’s plans with all of you.”
Right then, he was more curious about where she had been and how she ended up showing up at the exact moment they were all looking for her, but he knew he’d have to bide his time.
