Jack's Surrender (Holiday Cove 5)

“Why didn’t she tell me, Carly? Why?” I hated the way my voice shook but a day spent pacing, on the edge of a breakdown, had torn me to shreds. “What did she think I would do? Say?”

Carly’s eyes glistened as she squeezed my hands. “Jack, that’s not something I can answer for her. Come back tomorrow and talk to her.”

“If she’ll let me.”

“She will,” Rachel said, a fierce certainty in her voice. She glanced over her shoulder at Holly’s closed door. “I’ll talk to her.”

Carly gave Rachel a quizzical look but I wasn’t about to question her. Holly spent more time with Carly since arriving home from Germany, but that was more of a logistical thing. Rachel was her best friend and the one who’d been there to pick up the pieces after Holly’s divorce. She knew the depths of Holly—the same parts I thought I knew.

“Thank you, Rachel.”

She turned back to face me and gave a somber nod.

“Do you need a ride?” Carly asked me.

“I really don’t want to leave. I think I’ll wait here.”

“Boomer, you’re getting ripe. You need to shower and get some sleep. Come on, I’ll take you up to Aaron’s.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.” Aaron had already left with Gemma after her shift ended and had promised to go to Holly’s and grab Hunter so he wasn’t left alone. Carly led the way out of the hospital and I jumped in the back seat of her sedan. She dropped me off at Aaron’s and then took Rachel back into town to the house she shared with Nick. Hunter and Princess raced out to greet me and I sank down in the driveway to give them attention. Hunter’s blue eyes were soulful, almost like he knew what had happened, and I finally broke.

Aaron found me, sitting in the driveway, both dogs licking at my face to clear away the tears. “Boomer?” He stopped short once he realized I was crying. “Damn, Boom. Come on, come inside.”

I shook my head. “Not yet, man. I just need a minute.”

Aaron hesitated, clearly torn between which way he wanted to go, but in the end, he came over and sank down to sit beside me in the gravel. Hunter greeted him with a sloppy kiss and I chuckled at the string of curses that followed. “Dude, get off,” he said, shoving playfully at the huge Lab. “I thought Princess whipped this one into shape.”

I laughed and wiped at my face. I dropped my head back and stared up at the dark sky. It was a clear night, the moon and stars clearly visible against the velvet backdrop. The perfect night for a walk on the beach. I’d always loved the way the moonlight looked, especially when it was pouring in through the open windows, bouncing off of Holly’s naked body.

“You okay, Boomer?”

“I don’t really know right now.”

Aaron sighed heavily and lounged back, bracing himself against his arms to mirror my posture. I felt his gaze on me but kept my eyes above. “She’s going to be all right. And if you even start giving me some bullshit about how the accident was your fault, I swear I’ll beat the shit out of you.”

I laughed. “Good to know.”

“Just bein’ honest. You didn’t shove her off that cliff.”

“I know.”

“Good.” He paused. “So, what’s going on inside your head then?”

“She’s pregnant. With my baby.” I shook my head, the words sounding foreign and strange. “You know, when we were in Germany, even before we got engaged, we would talk about the future. That dreaming and planning got us through some of the rough patches. We always planned on having a kid or two.”

“Yeah?”

“Sometimes, I wondered how she’d tell me. You know, would she wrap the test in a box with a bow or would she make me my favorite dinner and when I asked what’s the occasion was she’d tell me. Or maybe it would be close enough to Father’s Day that she’d surprise me with a card.”

Aaron chuckled softly. “That’s some sappy shit there, Boom.”

I nodded, smiling through the sting. “Maybe. But I built it up in my mind as this…this momentous moment. This tipping point. Nothing would ever be the same after that. But instead of this beautiful, celebratory moment we’d look back on and treasure, she screams it at me in the middle of an ugly argument, seconds before flipping me off and walking away…” My voice trailed off and fresh tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I shook my head. “How am I ever supposed to get over that?”

“Kinda selfish, ya think?”

“Player, I don’t even know what to do—or think—anymore.”

“I’d start with a shower if I were you.”

“You’re not the first person to tell me that today.” I chuckled. “Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t see her today, huh?”