Tears welled up once again. “Jack—”
“I broke those promises to you. And I’m sorry. You have every right to get pissed off and tell me to fuck off. I have to accept that you want nothing to do with me anymore.” He paused and let out a long breath. “You know when you said I’d flake out on our child, I was pissed, ‘cause you’re wrong. I messed up with you, Holly, and I’ll regret that for the rest of my life, but I swear to you that I won’t let you raise our child alone. I will be here.”
I looked down at Hunter, unable to hold Jack’s gaze anymore. Hunter licked my hand and rested a paw on the couch beside my legs. “I don’t want to do this on my own, Jack. That was never the way this was supposed to go. I’m sorry I said our baby would be better off without you. I was hurt. I’m still hurt. We might not have worked out, but I know you’ll be a great dad and I’m not going to try and take that away from you. We’re just going to have to work together—instead of fighting one another—to figure it out.”
“Thank you,” Jack replied, his voice soft. “I want to figure it out. Aaron and I were talking about the charter idea and I think I’m going to take him up on the offer. It’ll take some time. I’ll need to find some investors who can help me get the plans off the ground, but I’ll figure that out. I want to be here, for you and for our baby.”
“Good.”
All the worries about whether or not he’d resent me—or even our child—for tying him down, for anchoring him in one place when he’d been hell bent on being free, vanished at the earnest look in his eyes. I hadn’t forced his decision and it was relieving to hear he hadn’t really been having the time of his life in New York.
A sadness came over me as I realized neither one of us said anything about our relationship or getting back together, but having him back in Holiday Cove, and here for our child was far more important. I could wait it out and I knew time would eventually heal my heart. But the idea of depriving my baby of his or her father was a burden I couldn’t carry.
Jack scratched Hunter’s head and then pushed up from the ottoman. “Are you hungry? I can make you something. Carly told me that she and Rachel stocked your fridge.”
It was jolting to get yanked out of such a serious conversation into something as mundane as food, but my stomach disagreed, growling at the thought of a full refrigerator. “Sure.”
From my place on the couch, I watched Jack as he stepped into the kitchen and flicked on the pendant lights that hung above the island. Hunter raced into the kitchen, eager to see if he could wrangle a treat out of Jack and I laughed, immediately regretting it. I pressed my hand on my ribs and waited for the pain to pass.
“You okay?” Jack asked, turning at my sharp inhale.
I nodded and took a slower breath. “Sore. That’s all.”
“They really can’t give you anything to help?”
“I don’t want to take anything. I’ve put this little guy or gal through enough,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m lucky my injuries weren’t worse. I can’t even think about what might have happened. If I’d lost…” my words broke off and tears overwhelmed me.
Jack hurried back to my side and wrapped an arm over my shoulders. I leaned into him as the silent tears slid past my lashes. “It’s okay, Holly. You’re all right and the baby is strong and healthy.”
I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. “I know. It’s just…scary. You know? It’s not just me anymore.”
“I know.” He brushed my hair out of my face and my heart jumped in my chest at the sudden realization of how close we were. It felt like it had been ages since he’d held me in his strong arms. The smell of his body wash and aftershave washed over me, familiar and somehow new at the same time. I breathed in as deeply as I dared and then rested my head against his shoulder. “I’ve been worried sick. Can’t sleep, can barely eat.”
“I’m so sorry, Jack. I shouldn’t have done that to you.”
He stroked my hair, running his fingers through the strands and then sinking deeper to massage my scalp. It was one of his favorite things to do when we were watching a movie or show and my eyes slid shut as the sensations danced over my skin. He used to tease me that he expected me to start purring.
Jack’s lips brushed my temple. “It’s okay. I’m a pretty tough bastard, remember?”