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“She put herself through cosmetology school, took classes on massage therapy, and had big plans to go to work at this fancy day spa in downtown Seattle while the dumbass worked as a mechanic. They lived in a studio apartment that wasn’t much better than the one we’d been living in, but she seemed to thrive.” With a sigh, he added, “Until she didn’t.”
Unexpected rage hit him hard. If Cash told him that this husband of hers abused her…
“The good kidney started to fail and she had to start dialysis and was too sick to work most of the time. About three months in, that little shit left her—said she was dragging him down and this wasn’t what he signed on for. She was depressed and her health deteriorated quickly. Henry was desperate to do something and we ran all kinds of fundraisers looking for a donor and found one.”
“That’s amazing! That sort of thing can take years sometimes.”
Cash nodded. “She had the transplant and we thought everything was going to be okay.” He paused and let out a shaky breath. “We’d all been so focused on her that no one was paying attention to Henry’s health. He came home one night and he was coughing and it hit me that he’d had that cough for a while. He told me I was crazy and that it was no big deal, but I forced him to see a doctor. Turns out it was stage 4 lung cancer. He hadn’t had a cigarette since the day they brought Savannah home. He was dead within a month.”
That was enough to make Jackson reel back in shock. How much bad luck could one person have? Leaning back in his chair, he was almost afraid to hear anymore.
“She called me while I was here and she was completely distraught. I had to go, Jackson. Not only had I lost my best friend, but…I felt responsible for her. I’d been there through so much for her that I couldn’t leave her to bury her father alone. No one should have to do that.”
Swallowing hard, Jackson nodded and understood. It was too much to truly process, but his immediate reaction was that he would have done the same thing in his father’s situation. He and his brothers had banded together and it made him realize how lucky he was. The thought of being alone and losing the only person you had in the world was just…it was beyond anything he could imagine.
“Between her needing time to recover from the transplant and burying Henry…” He looked over at Jackson helplessly. “I did what I thought was right.”
“I know,” he replied quietly. “I know.”
“All the money is still there. I never touched it. But my focus had to fully be on what was going on in Seattle. And once things started to calm down…” He shrugged. “Now it’s my turn.”
Damn.
His eyes instantly went to Savannah’s door and all he could think of was how she was going to lose the very last person she cared about.
How the hell was that fair?
Unable to sit still any longer, Jackson stood and turned to look out the front window. “So what happens now?”
For a long moment, Cash said nothing.
Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as his father slowly came to his feet before shuffling over to join him by the window. “Now…I call your brothers. It’s time.”
He nodded.
“But…if you’re not ready to see them and deal with that part of your life, you just say the word and they won’t hear it from me that you’re back.” Carefully, he placed a hand on Jackson’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “It’s not my place to share your secret.”
“Oh, but it was okay to share all of mine?” Savannah asked from her doorway, a look of sadness and betrayal written all over her face. “Dammit, Cash! How could you?” Then she ran out the door.
“Well, shit…,” Cash murmured. “Savi! Wait! Don’t go!”
There was no way his father was in any condition to chase after her.
But Jackson knew he could.
And he did.
