on.”
She lowered her hands and met his waiting eyes. He was standing across the coffee table from her, his hands in his pockets, accepting of whatever she might say, willing to listen. Ready to understand. She tipped her head at the cushion beside her. He took her invitation, crossing around the low table, dropping down next to her, stretching his arm out along the back of the couch in an invitation of his own.
An invitation she couldn’t pass up at that moment. With a sad little sigh, she leaned her head on his shoulder. He smoothed her hair, but only lightly, and then draped his big arm around her.
It was a nice moment. Comforting. He was so large and warm and solid. And he smelled so clean and manly. And she really needed a strong shoulder to lean on. Just for a minute or two.
She said, “That was my mom.”
“Yeah, I got that much.”
“I told you she raised me on her own, didn’t I?”
“You mentioned that, yeah.”
“My dad disappeared when I was two. My mom says he just told her he was through one day and walked out. We never heard from him again.”
“That’s rough, Joss. Really rough.” He squeezed her shoulder, a touch that comforted, that seemed to acknowledge how hard it had been for her. “It can really mess with your mind, to lose your dad when you’re only a kid. It can leave you feeling like you’re on the outside looking in—at all your friends and their happy, whole families. You grow up knowing what normal is. It’s what all the other kids have.”
She realized he was speaking from personal experience. “How old were you when your dad died?”
“Jackson and I were six.”
“So at least you knew him, your dad.”
“Kind of. He was always working, making his mark on the world, you could say. But yeah, we all looked up to him with stars in our eyes. We felt safe, just knowing he was our dad. He was one of those guys who really fills up a room. Rose always claims it was worse for her than for us boys. She never knew him—well, at least she doesn’t remember him. She was two when he was killed.”
“Same age I was when my dad left. And I don’t remember him either. All I have is the… absence of him.” She pulled away enough to meet Jace’s eyes. “You really don’t need to hear this. You’re sweet to be so understanding, but it’s old news and it’s got nothing to do with you.”
He reached for her, pulled her back down to him. She started to resist, but then, well, why not, if he was willing to listen? She gave in and sagged against him, settling her head against his shoulder again—and yeah, she’d promised herself she would never cuddle up with him. But this wasn’t cuddling. This was only leaning. And there was nothing wrong with a little leaning when a girl needed comfort from a friend.
“Keep talkin’,” he said. “What’s your mom’s name?”
“RaeEllen. Her maiden name was Louvacek, but she kept my father’s name, never changed it back. She always said she only wanted a good guy to stand by her. But I don’t think she went looking after my dad left. It was like she… gave up when it came to men. She never dated when I was growing up, not that I can remember. She worked at Safeway, eventually moving up to managing her own store, which she still does to this day. And she took care of me. She was a good mom, a strict mom. And she always wanted the best for me. To her, Kenny seemed like a dream come true.”
“So for some reason, she decided she could trust the cheater?”
“He was always good to her—kissing up to her really, it seems to me, in hindsight. When she would have us over for dinner, he would bring her flowers every time and fall all over her praising her cooking. And she knew how well he was doing at work, getting promotions, one after the other. She just… bought Kenny’s act, hook, line and sinker. She refuses to believe that the thing with Kimberly even happened. Kenny’s convinced her that I’ve blown an ‘innocent encounter’ all out of proportion.”
“Convinced her? You’re saying she’s speaking to him, after what he did to you?”
“Because she doesn’t believe he did anything bad, I guess she figures she’s got no reason not to speak to him.”
“She’s your mom and I won’t speak ill of her. But I will say she ought to get her loyalties straight.”
“Hah, I wish. When it comes to Kenny, she’s got on her rose-colored glasses and I’ve yet to convince her she really needs to take them off. I try to see it from her point of view. She finally decided to give another man a break, to trust Kenny—for my sake. And now she just can’t bear to admit she got it wrong again.”
“I guess it’s understandable,” Jace said. “But still. You’re her daughter. She should be backing you up.”
“Yeah, I wish. You know how I told you I had doubts about Kenny before I caught him with Kimberly?”
“I remember.”
“Well, I went to my mom and confided in her. I told her that Kenny wasn’t the guy I loved anymore, that sometimes I felt like I didn’t even know him, he was so different from who he used to be. She was the one who convinced me my fears were groundless, that I only had a very normal case of pre-wedding jitters, that Kenny was a wonderful man and it was all going to be fine.”
Jace touched her hair again, gently, an easing kind of touch. “So your judgment about the guy was solid. And your mom couldn’t—and still can’t—let herself see the truth. I’m betting she’ll get the picture in time.”
“I hope so.”
“And the main thing is that you didn’t go through with it. You had the guts to turn and walk away. You’re a strong woman. And you’re going to be fine.”
Joss could have stayed in Jace’s arms all night. But she’d had her head on his shoulder for several minutes now—too long really. She needed to pull herself together, no matter how good it felt to lean on him.
She sat up and retreated to her end of the sofa. That time, he didn’t try to stop her, and she was glad that he didn’t. If she was going to have a man for a friend—even just for a week—it was nice to think he was the kind of guy who would know when to put his arm around her.
And when to let her go.
“Mostly,” she said, “I think I’m doing pretty well, you know?”
He gave her a slow nod, his dark eyes steady on hers.
“I tell myself I’m getting past what happened last Saturday. But every time my mom calls, she just brings the whole mess into painful focus all over again. Her blindness to the reality of the situation makes me see way too clearly what a huge mistake I made.” She held up her thumb and forefinger, with just a sliver of space between them. “I got this close to marrying a guy who cheated on me on our wedding day—and with my own cousin, no less.”
“But you didn’t marry him. Focus on that, Joss.”
She braced her elbow on the sofa arm and rested her chin on her hand.
