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Alana’s voice broke on that last word, and she cursed the response. Cursed, too, that she had to fight back tears since it was that first sign of tears that had Egan going to her side and pulling her to him.
She welcomed the comfort but, oh, there was an irony here. She was cursing tears for Jack seeking comfort with another woman while she was seeking comfort with his best friend. Of course, the difference was—and it was a massive one—had either Egan or she been married, then the comforting wouldn’t have led to sex. No way.
And that was a line that Jack had crossed.
“Yes, Jack should have gone to you,” Melinda admitted, “and I should have acted out on my grief elsewhere.”
There it was. The admission that Alana had wanted to hear. An admission didn’t fix squat. At the end of the day, why did the reason even matter?
It didn’t.
And that was quite a nice revelation to feel. It didn’t matter because that part of her life was over. Jack was dead and buried, and while a part of her would always love him, and never actually forgive him, he was her past. So was this woman standing in front of her.
“You should know that I didn’t come here today to see you,” Melinda went on. “I came to talk to Egan to help me make up my mind about what I should do. Whether or not I should talk to you or Jack’s mother.”
Alana stumbled over her first attempt to answer. “It would be a lousy idea to tell Tilly that you cheated with her son. I’ve already tried, and she doesn’t believe it.”
Melinda’s eyes widened. “You told her that Jack had an affair with me?”
“Well, I didn’t say specifically with you because I didn’t know your name, but yes, I gave her the broad strokes. I regret that, by the way. I was angry when I said it and I should have kept it to myself.” Alana paused to do more studying of the woman’s expression. “Why would you want her to know, anyway?”
The color drained from Melinda’s beautiful face, and Alana saw the hesitation. And more. Unfortunately, Alana didn’t have time to steel herself up for what Melinda was about to say.
“Because the affair isn’t just about me,” Melinda said. “It’s about Easton. Jack’s son.”
EGANWASN’TSUREwho was more stunned by what Melinda had just said, but he thought it was a tie between Alana and him. This was the absolute first time Egan had heard even a whiff of Jack having a son.
“Uh, you got pregnant?” Alana asked, her voice wobbly. Since she seemed wobbly, too, he slid his arm around her waist.
“I did,” Melinda admitted in a whisper. “Jack didn’t know. I didn’t find out until weeks after he died.”
“And you decided not to tell anyone?” Egan asked at the same moment Alana said, “Where is he? Where’s Jack’s son?”
Apparently, Melinda decided to go with Alana’s questions first because she turned toward her. “He’s with my mom in Austin. He’s two now. Would you like to see a picture?” she asked, taking her phone from her pocket.
“No,” Alana said, and she repeated it in a hoarse whisper.
Hell, this was going to cause Alana to spiral straight back to that pit of grief. Or maybe worse. Because the affair wasn’t just an affair that she could possibly dismiss. There was a child involved. Jack’s child.
Melinda looked at Egan. “And, no, I didn’t tell anyone except my mom who Easton’s father was. At first, I was just so bogged down with the pain of losing Jack that I didn’t think to tell anyone else. I especially didn’t want you to know because it would have hurt you.”
Yes, and it was hurting her now. Egan wanted to get Alana the hell out of there, but leaving wasn’t going to fix this. This wasn’t something Alana would just be able to forget.
“Then, I saw the social media posts about the life celebration,” Melinda went on. “I could tell that Jack’s mother was desperately missing him, and I started to think that I had no right to keep Easton from her. After all, she is his grandmother.”
True, but for Tilly to accept that, she’d have to first accept that Jack had, indeed, had an affair, and he wasn’t sure the woman would ever be ready for that. Then again, the little boy would be proof that maybe even Tilly couldn’t deny.
“So, do you think I should tell Tilly about Easton?” Melinda asked.
Egan didn’t have a clue, and he didn’t want to waste any mental energy trying to figure it out. Right now, his mental energy belonged to Alana.
“I don’t know,” Egan muttered.
Melinda nodded as if that was exactly what she’d expected him to say. “I booked a room at the inn here in town,” she said. “I’ll take the day to think about it.” She turned to Alana, then. “You should know that Jack loved you very much.”
Alana shook her head, turned away. “He obviously didn’t love me enough.”
Melinda opened her mouth, no doubt to try to convince Alana otherwise, but Egan hurled a few eye daggers at the woman to get her to back off. There was nothing Melinda could say now to make this better. Nothing she could do, either.
