Jack (The Family Simon 2)

She nodded but remained silent. Jack thought he’d try another tactic. “You hungry?”

“No.” Her voice was so soft he could barely hear her. She pushed against him until he let her go, and Jack shoved his hands into the front pockets of his cargoes. He was strung tight. Too tight.

“Who were you talking to earlier?” he asked, watching her closely.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ears and turned toward the windows, but the blinds were drawn, so there was nothing for her to see.

“My mother.”

Huh. He didn’t think the two of them were speaking.

“How did that go?”

She shrugged and remained silent. Jack had no idea what the hell

was going on, but he was about done with the not knowing.

“Donnie, can we talk about whatever it is that’s got you so upset?”

She exhaled and turned back to him and his heart turned over at the fear in her eyes. This wasn’t looking good.

“The truth is hard, Jack, and I’m trying to be brave, but I’m scared.”

He frowned. What the hell was she talking about? He thought back to before. Back to Belize and then afterward. He’d been convinced she was hiding something. So what the hell was it?

Impatient, he took the few steps needed to bring him back into her circle. “Babe, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He tipped his head to the side, not liking the turn of events.

“There are things that you don’t know. Something that I did and…” Whoosh. She blew out a long shaky breath. "I don't know if you can handle the truth." Her bottom lip trembled and a tear slid down her cheek. “And the not knowing is killing me.”

“Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”

Could it? When the hell had things turned so dark? Jack pushed his hands through his hair and swore.

“It’s bad,” she whispered.

The air, it was full of dark and heavy things, but Jack had to believe they'd find a way out of this mess.

He took a moment to get his shit together. To find a place of calm. He had to get this right because this right here? This was the end zone. This was four seconds on the clock and one yard to go. There was no room for mistakes, and there was no turning back.

"Donovan it's not about handling anything. It's about trust." He looked into her eyes and hoped like hell she knew that he was fighting for her. For them. For that damn end zone.

"Do you love me enough to trust me with the truth?" he asked.

She stared up at him, those eyes shadowed and full of pain, and he had to ask himself, why the hell wasn’t she answering his question? After everything they’d gone through the last few days—the things they’d done and said—he thought that the love question was pretty much a moot point.

She opened her mouth to speak but the door slammed open behind them and they both turned. Sabrina was there, her face white, her breathing erratic.

“Jack, it’s Brett. He can’t breathe. He’s having such a hard time,” she wailed. “Something’s wrong, and I need to get him to the hospital. Can you help me? He doesn’t want the kids to see him taken away in an ambulance.”

Jesus.

Jack looked at Donovan. “Go,” she whispered. “I’ll be here with the kids when you get back.”

“Thank you,” Sabrina said, her voice shaky. “They’re out in the boathouse with Maverick. I don’t want them to see him so…so broken.”

Jack grabbed his keys, but before he left, he strode over to Donovan. He cupped her face in his hands so that she had no choice to but look up at him. To see what was inside him.

“When I get back, we’ll fix whatever this is. Understand? Whatever the fuck it is doesn’t matter.”