For Better or Worse (Book 2 in the Forgiving Hearts Trilogy) (4 page)

“That sounds suspiciously like a confession. Did you leave your heart in Cochran?”

A tide of color washed over Jackson’s face. “I wasn’t referring to myself.”

“Well, for my part, I’m beginning to believe true love is a myth.”

“You only say that because you’ve been disappointed. Loving someone always involves sacrifice and the potential to be hurt. There has to be some risk for so great a reward.”

She turned to look at him. “You’ve given this some serious thought, haven’t you?”

“You know what they say: the onlooker sees most of the game.”

Hannah sighed deeply. “It’s a game I prefer not to play again. Thanks for dinner, Jackson. That’s two meals I owe you.”

He followed her into the house. “You don’t owe me anything. Freya and I enjoy having company.”

She picked up her bag and walked over to where he stood by the front door. “If you have second thoughts about tutoring, let me know.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me already?”

“No way. I think you coming here is a blessing in disguise.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “See you later.”

After watching the taillights of her car disappear, Jackson let himself back into the house. His fingers found their way to the spot where she kissed him. Only then did he realize that she’d kissed the damaged side of his face.
How could she do that? How could she bear to touch something so ugly?
If his reaction to such an innocent gesture was anything to go by, he better hope she never kissed his lips. With a mocking smile, he went to let Freya inside.

* * * *

Hannah felt the vibration of her phone as she opened the door to her apartment. Juggling her purse and bag, she stepped inside and dumped everything on the table. Expecting it to be Bradley, she didn’t hurry. She kicked off her shoes and walked over to the couch. When she slid the phone out of her pocket, surprise stopped her cold. Before she could talk herself out of it, she touched the answer button. Over the thudding of her heart, she heard the deep, husky tones of Mitchell.

“I thought you were going to ignore me.”

That would be the smart thing to do.
“I just got home.”

“I’ve been in Savannah for the last few days. Since I’m so close, I thought I’d come by tomorrow.”

“I was going to spend the day at the beach.”

“By yourself or with someone?”

Bradley had wanted to come, but Hannah had put him off. The time had come to cut Bradley loose and let him find someone who wasn’t in love with someone else. This was also the time for her to be strong - to show Mitchell she couldn’t be manipulated so easily.

The words that would send him back to Atlanta were forming on her lips when she stopped herself. Something close to physical pain shot through her at the thought of not seeing him.
What was she doing? Hadn’t she been waiting on this call for weeks?

“I was going alone.”

His warm laughter sent a shiver down her spine. “Then what’s the problem? You’re not afraid to see me, are you?”

Petrified was a better word. She couldn’t think straight when he was around.
“Of course not,” she said in a voice that fooled no one. “Can you be here by ten? I like to get there before the tourists.”

“I just need your address.”

“I’m at the Breezeway Apartments on Beach Road A. Number 13.”

“I’ll be there by nine or a little before. Don’t worry about breakfast. I’ll take care of that.”

Wasn’t there a song about not being strong enough to say no?
Tossing the phone on the table, Hannah walked slowly into the kitchen. Why hadn’t she asked the question burning on her lips?
Because she was afraid to hear the answer.
The truth was she missed Mitchell so much she was willing to risk getting hurt again. In spite of his lying and scheming, there was still a part of her that refused to believe she couldn’t change his mind.

* * * *

A leaky pipe in the kitchen delayed Jackson getting to Amanda’s birthday party. Only after the plumber had come and gone could he make arrangements to leave the house. Dr. Samuels answered the door to his knock and waved him inside with a friendly smile.

“Hey, Jackson. Glad you could make it.”

“Hi, Dr. Samuels. Sorry I’m late.”

“Call me Colton. Dr. Samuels is too formal for a place where I’m hopelessly outnumbered and so far down in the pecking order.”

It took Jackson a few seconds to understand what he meant. “I’ll try to remember, but old habits die hard.”

“Can I get you something to drink? We’ve got sweet tea, lemonade and fruit punch. The latter was a special request by the birthday girl.”

“I’ll take sweet tea.”

Colton motioned Jackson to follow him into the spacious kitchen. “The kids are in the backyard having a water balloon contest. I wouldn’t suggest going out there unless you want to get soaked.” He handed Jackson a glass of tea and then poured one for himself. “So what brought you to Hollis Clinic?”

“When I was in college, I did a semester clinical in Albany. One of the doctors there told me if I wanted to get into sports therapy, I needed to check this place out.”

“It’s nice to know our reputation is growing. We’ve got a great team of doctors and therapists. How do you like St. Simons?”

“I love it. I’m not used to living so close to the ocean.”

“It sounds like the chaos outside is about to come inside. Before we’re overtaken by mass hysteria, I wanted to invite you to visit our church. We go to Celebration Worship Center on King’s Road. The service starts at eleven.”

Jackson smiled. “I actually went there last Sunday.”

Colton laughed. “That’s great. We don’t usually miss, but we were out of town last weekend visiting Laurel’s parents in Charleston. We’ll be there tomorrow.”

The door was thrust open and a flood of children descended upon them.

“Mr. Jackson!” Amanda squealed in delight as she bounced over to where he stood. “You came! You came!” She stopped and looked around. “Where’s Freya?”

Jackson knelt down so he could look her in the face. “Freya is sort of grounded. Do you know what that means?”

Amanda squinted and then shook her head.

Shooting a glance at Colton who was barely holding in a laugh, Jackson said, “Well, it means she did something wrong, and I had to leave her home today.”

“What did she do?” Amanda asked in a hushed voice.

“While I was taking a shower this morning, Freya ate the muffins I left sitting on the stove.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no! Did that mean you didn’t have anything to eat for breakfast?”

“It means I had to have cereal instead.” He stopped and shook his head sadly. “I really wanted those muffins.”

“Freya must have wanted the muffins more.”

“That’s what I figured, but I can’t have her stealing my muffins.”

She nodded solemnly. “Stealing is wrong. Isn’t that right, Mommy?”

“Yes, sweet pea, it is. Is everyone ready for cake and ice cream?” The answer was deafening. “Okay, then, let’s all go into the dining room.” After the last child left the kitchen, Laurel looked back at the two men. “Come on, guys. You can talk about muscles and bones later.”

Colton laughed as he crossed the room and kissed Laurel. Standing side by side, they made a striking couple, but it was the look in their eyes that Jackson envied. Not only could he see the love between these two, he could feel it. Taking a long drink of tea, he wondered if he’d ever have anything close to that.

“I’ll get the camera and be right with you,” Colton said as he tugged on the long braid hanging over Laurel’s shoulder.

“I’m going to light the candles.” She picked up a box of matches from the granite countertop.

Jackson was on the point of following them into the dining room when the doorbell rang. “If you two want to go ahead, I’ll see who’s at the door.”

“Thanks,” Colton replied. “It’s probably Taryn. She had to work today.”

Jackson opened the front door and met the smiling glance of the woman standing on the portico. “Hi, there. I’m Jackson, a neighbor from down the street.”

“I’m Taryn, a sort of old maid aunt to Amanda.”

He looked her over with a grin. “You’re kind of young to be an old maid. Everyone’s in the dining room.”

Taryn laid her purse on the pedestal table in the foyer, and then removed a square box wrapped in striped paper from a large shopping bag. “After the last few days, I’m feeling every one of my twenty-eight years.”

“I know the perfect remedy for that,” he said as he led the way down the hallway.

“A few days at an expensive resort?” she suggested.

“No way. A big piece of birthday cake smothered in ice cream.”

Taryn laughed. “That might just do it.”

They walked into the dining room together and were immediately called over to Amanda who was trying to talk and eat cake at the same time.

Laurel slid over to stand next to Colton. “Is Jackson married?”

“I know where this is going, darling. May I remind you that we agreed to leave Taryn’s social life alone?”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “I wasn’t going to do anything. I was just curious.”

“I haven’t forgotten the last time you were ‘just curious’.”

“I really thought Cody might be the one.”

“You also thought that about Phillip, Shane, and whatever the other guy’s name was. It looks like the kids are almost done. What’s next? Opening gifts?”

Laurel pinched his cheek. “You act as if you’ve done this before.” She scooted away before he could retaliate.

After the gifts had been opened, Colton took the kids outside for another game while they waited for their parents to arrive. Jackson and Taryn helped Laurel restore some semblance of normalcy to the dining room and kitchen before they drifted outside to the deck. With a secret smile, Laurel invited the other two to sit down and quickly found an excuse to leave them alone.

Recognizing an old tactic, Taryn turned to Jackson. “Are any of those little darlings down there yours?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No. Amanda and I sort of ran into each other last weekend, and she invited me to her party.”

“She’s something else, isn’t she? A perfect combination of Laurel’s sweetness and Colton’s charm.”

“How long have you known them?”

“I guess it’s been about eight years now. They’re the most genuine people I’ve ever met.”

“I only met them a few days ago, but I see what you mean. Colton said you had to work today. What do you do?”

“I’m a nurse at St. Francis Hospital.”

“That’s just down the street from Hollis Clinic, isn’t it? I started at Hollis this week.”

“So you know Colton works there. I did, too, for a short time before I went to nursing school.”

“Is Laurel something in the medical field, too?”

“No, she used to teach high school. She stopped working after Amanda was born.”

While they were talking, a steady stream of moms and dads arrived to take their children home. A smiling, but definitely tired, Amanda came up the stairs with Laurel and Colton.

“Aunt Taryn, look at my new bracelet. Mommy and Daddy gave it to me yesterday so I could wear it today.”

Taryn dutifully examined each of the charms fastened to the tiny circle of silver. “It’s lovely, Amanda.”

Amanda looked at Jackson. “Do you want to see my bracelet?”

“Of course I do.”

To his surprise, she climbed onto his lap and lifted her hand to his face. “There are four butterflies because I’m four years old.”

Jackson smiled. “That’s how old Freya is.”

“Is her birthday today, too?”

“No, her birthday was a few months ago.”

She scrambled off his lap and went to stand by Colton. “Did you hear that, Daddy? Freya is four like me.”

“Yes, sweet pea, I heard.” Colton ruffled the silky dark hair and exchanged a glance with Laurel. “I think it would be a good idea if you tell Mr. Jackson ‘thank you’ for coming to your party. Then we’ll go inside and watch one of your new movies.”

Amanda wrapped her arms around Colton’s leg. “Okay, Daddy.” She turned to Jackson. “Thank you, Mr. Jackson.”

“You’re welcome, Amanda.”

After Colton and Amanda went inside, Jackson rose to his feet. “I appreciate you letting me come to Amanda’s party, Laurel.”

“We enjoyed having you.” She started down the stairs leading to the sidewalk. “Come this way; I’ll let you out through the gate.”

Jackson held out his hand to Taryn. “It was nice meeting you, Taryn.”

As she took his hand, she smiled. “You’ll probably run into me again. I practically live here.”

Laurel returned to the deck after seeing Jackson to his truck and slipped her arm around Taryn’s shoulders. “He seems nice.”

Taryn laughed. “He’s
very
nice, but a bit young for me. I wonder what happened to his face.”