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Jackson
Afew days later, when Cara runs to the store to grab a few things, I make the phone call.
This is one of the last things I wanted to do, but at this point I feel like there’s no other choice. So, when I hear the door knock a short while later, the nerves in my stomach are warranted. Very warranted. I might get people mad at me, but if I’ve learned anything over my lifetime, it’s that I need to listen to my gut.
It’s time.
“Jackson?” Comes a voice from the other side of the door.
“Come in.” I swallow down the ball of nerves and watch as Rich walks through the door. Cara’s door.
He waltzes in, suit pressed and shiny for no fucking reason, and looks around. “Hmm, nice place. Where’s Cara?”
“She ran to the store.”
“And the baby?”
I nod my head towards the bedroom. “Sleeping.”
He nods. “So, what is it you wanted to talk with me about?” He walks over to the couch, adjusting his suit coat as he sits down.
“Cara’s mom came around the other day.”
His eyebrows lift. “What about the step-father? What’s his name… Jed?”
“Haven’t seen him, but it’s only a matter of time. If she starts coming around, he’ll be right behind her.”
He strokes his chin. “Right.” He looks at me. “So, what do you need from me? You want me to keep her out of here?”
I shake my head. “It’s time I get out of here, Rich.”
He pauses, giving me an inquisitive look as he tries to dissect my meaning. “Go where, Jackson? You have a business to run.”
“I don’t mean leave The Grove, but we need to leave the park. We need to get out of this house where there’s so much… baggage.” My house sits behind Cara’s, vacant an empty, but it lingers like a dark cloud. It curls and heats and wants to strike a heavy storm on me, but it never does. I’m waiting for the inevitable. I think the smartest thing would be to get out of here. Remove myself and my son from the situation.
“Is this such a bad place? I raised three great men in this park.”
I shake my head. I knew he would object. This place holds a special place in his black heart, but all it is, is a cancer to me. “I’m thankful for everything you’ve done, but I need to think what’s best for Cara. For my son.”
“And you think leaving your home is the answer?”
“This isn’t my home. This is Cara’s home, which her mom is about to take back. My house is only a few steps away where my dad did the unimaginable to me and my mom took her own life. This isn’t my home. I want to go make my own home. With my own family.”
He leans back, crossing his arms across his chest. “Where are you thinking, Jackson?”
“There’s about ten acres of land for sale at the south end of town. I was thinking about buying it. Using some of Randall’s money to build a home on it, or something.”
He shakes his head. “That’ll take months to get done. You’re talking about Cara’s mom heading back here soon?”
“Yeah, that’s what she said.”
“How about something like this, maybe bigger. Something big, manufactured. We can go put it on the lot and you guys can live there.”
I nod my head. Anything. Anything but here.
“Let me look into it, okay? I’ll see what I can get set up for you on such a short timeframe. We’ll get it figured out.”
“Thank you. Thank you, Rich.”
