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“You should have been the one to tell me about Lennon, Katie.”
“I tried. Things were tense between Jeff and me. Does it even matter anymore? This is water under the bridge.”
“Katie—”
“Jake, I was just trying to navigate through everything. Jeff thought it would be better if he talked to you first. He said you would be angry, and you had every right. I should have told you sooner, but you were living your dream, and I knew you didn’t want kids. I just, I needed to protect Lennon.”
“Please tell me you know me well enough to know I wouldn’t hurt him.”
“There are different ways to hurt people, Jake. It doesn’t have to be physical,” I respond.
“Youshould have been the one to tell me, Katie.Youshould have told me from the beginning. I should have never had to find out from my brother.”
“Fine. I should have. I know that. I knew it then. Jeff asked, and I didn’t want to see you. It was too much.”
“It was too much? Is that all you have to say? I lost years with my son because you didn’t tell me—years that I will never get back.”
“Don’t you think I feel guilty about that?”
“I don’t know what you feel. We’ve never talked!” Jake growls.
“You don’t get to act like the injured party here, Jake. Not now. You’ve had years to be a part of Lennon’s life, and you didn’t try. In fact, you treated him like you couldn’t stand him. So, don’t come at me now like this is all my fault. You are to blame, too.”
“I treated him like that because I thought he was proof that you moved on from me and didn’t look back!”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, wondering what in the hell Jake’s trying to pull. There’s no way he’s going to blame all of this on me. I know I made mistakes, but that doesn’t negate his own. “You had years to get to know Lennon, Jake—four years to be exact. You didn’t, and instead you could barely spare him the time of day.”
“You should have—” He stops talking, and what can only be described as pure shock comes over his face. I don’t know what’s going on with him. Maybe he didn’t expect me to call him on his shit. I don’t know. Maybe the old Katie wouldn’t have, but I’m not going to let him by with it now. “What do you mean I had years?” he barks.
“Just what I said. Jeff and I were fighting all the time—”
“I don’t want to hear about your relationship with my brother, Katie.”
“The fights werealwaysabout you, Jake. I broke up with him because I just couldn’t be what he wanted. I decided to go to you and tell you the truth, and Jeff asked me to let him. It felt wrong, but things with him were already strained. He was pissed because he didn’t want me telling you about Lennon. He said you already made your stance on kids loud and clear. He was right, I suppose. I couldn’t go on the way I was, though. I couldn’t move forward until you knew. So, Jeff grudgingly agreed to go to you. I shouldn’t have let him, but I didn’t really want to see you. I was still hurt.”
“Hold up here. Are you telling me you thought I’ve known about Lennon for the last four years?”
“Just stop. We both know you have.”
“Fucking hell,” he barks, and then without another word, he turns around and stomps to the door.
“Jake?”
He doesn’t respond. He doesn’t even stop. He goes to the door and leaves by slamming it so hard that I have to check and make sure it’s still on its hinges.
What the hell just happened?
CHAPTER 20
Jake
Two Days Later
“We need to talk.”
I’m mucking out a horse stall and at the sound of Katie’s voice I instantly stop while my body goes rigid. The anger inside of me that has been simmering for the last two days does its best to rage into a boil. My hand shakes with the need to lash out.
“Now’s not the time Katie,” I respond, the words harsh and cold, but there’s just no way I can soften them.
