Left Together (39 page)

“Not
for a few weeks, so keep your big mouth shut. Not one word. Not even to your
mom.”

“I can
do that…I think.”

***

As
Luke pulls into our neighborhood, I make both of them swear to me that they
won’t say anything to anyone about the ring. If Kacie gets wind of this and my
plan gets ruined, I’ll never forgive them. Kacie has absolutely no clue I’m going
to propose, let alone that I went out and bought a custom-made engagement ring.
I need it to stay that way for now.

When
we get to the house, the red convertible is not parked in the driveway. Where
the fuck could she have gone? I don’t like the feeling that has crept into my
gut. There’s no missed call or text on my phone.

Jade,
Jake, and Kyle are coming across the front of the house as I get out of the
car. “Where is she?” I ask them, pointing to the spot Kacie’s car should be
parked.

“I
don’t know,” Jade answers, confused. “They got home the same time we did. Kacie
and Ethan carried the sandwiches in so we could go home and change. It hasn’t
been that long.”

I
sprint up the front steps and push open the front door. Jenna and Ethan are in
the kitchen, setting out plates. “Where’s Kacie?”

“I don’t
know.”

“What
do you mean, you don’t know?”

“We
were talking and she ran upstairs to change her clothes. When she came back
down, she asked me to get the food ready. She said she had to go,” Jenna tells
me.

“Where?”

“She
didn’t say. She only said she had to go.”

“What
did you say to her?” I snap.

“Ethan,
why don’t you take a walk outside with me,” I hear Meg say.

“Jade,
get her on the phone,” I demand. “Jenna, I’m giving you five seconds to tell me
what the fuck you said to her.” I have no idea if Ethan is gone yet or not, but
I’m going to fucking lose it. I know what the feeling in my gut is. It’s the
same thing that happened the last time Kacie left Tampa.

“On
the way home, Ethan fell asleep, so we started talking about how you asked me
to move. I told her after debating it, I didn’t think it was the right thing
for him.”

“She’s
not answering, Evan,” Jade informs me.

“Keep
trying. Get to the part that upset her.”

“I
didn’t say anything to deliberately upset her.”

“Jenna…”

She
sighs. “I said I was going to ask you to move back to New York instead. It
would be so much easier for Ethan that way. I also mentioned I had no intention
of returning to Florida. This trip is too much for me to handle on my own.”

“Why
would you
say
this shit to her? I’m the one that was talking to you
about moving. Not her.” I slam my fist on the counter, rattling the glass bowl.
“Jade?”

“I’m
only getting her voicemail.”

“Son
of a bitch!” I run my hands in my hair. “What else, Jenna?”

“That’s
it.”

“Bullshit!”

“You
have
to come home with us, Evan!” she yells back at me.

“Why
the fuck would I go back to New York?!”

“Because
Ethan needs a father!”

“I’m
not his father! I’m his uncle. There’s a huge ass difference there!”

“Ethan
would want you to look after his son and you know it! You’re the only one he’d
trust!”

“Are
you seriously using my dead brother against me right now?” The anger’s getting
ready to boil over. “Is this why you came here? Did you really think I’d drop
everything in my life for you?”

Tears
are streaming down her face. “I came here because the man told me that by the
time I got here, you’d be looking for a reason to leave!” Her expression tells
me she didn’t mean to say that.

“What
man? What the fuck are you talking about?” She takes a step back, looking
scared. “How did you know where I was?” It’s not like I left a forwarding
address or told anyone where I was going, but something tells me I know the
answer to my own question. I’ve wanted to know how Sam Foster found out about
me from the moment the words came from his disgusting mouth.

“There
was a guy asking around about you. He came into the salon where I work. Someone
from the bar sent him to me.”

“What
did he want?”

“He
said he knew I had a son and how we were connected to you. I was afraid he was
going to do something to us. He knew everything. He knew Ethan died, that you
took off and hadn’t been back since. I told him whatever he wanted to know.” My
glare prompts her to continue. “He asked for any dirt I had on you. He said he
knew I had been looking for you and he could get you to come back to New York.
So, I told him how you and Ethan were escorts and some of the trouble you got
into back then.”

“When
did he come to see you?”

“The
end of June.” The week before Kacie’s dad came to see me at Skyline.

“Who
was it?”

“I
don’t remember his name. He said he was a PI working for someone who wanted you
to disappear.”

“You
gave some fucking stranger information about me? Do you have any idea the chain
of events you set off by telling him anything?!” My hands grip onto the
counter. She shakes her head. “Of course you don’t! You’re nothing but a
selfish bitch! Kacie was almost killed because of you!”

“Evan,
chill for a second,” Jake says. I turn to him. He should’ve been the last one
to speak, considering the fact that one of those events that shouldn’t have
happened was him sleeping with my girlfriend. “Let’s find Kacie and deal with
this later.”

“I’m
far from selfish, Evan!” Jenna blurts out. “My only reason for finding you was
for Ethan.” She’s not referring to her son. “He would have wanted you to know
your nephew. He would have wanted you to look out for him. Any decent brother
would do just that!”

“Isn’t
that what I’ve been doing since you got here? I offered to help you out. I said
I’d move you here, give you my condo, do whatever you needed to help get you on
your feet, get Ethan into school, everything! I offered you everything and this
is what I get?! You chase my girlfriend out of her own house? Kacie has bent
over backward since the second you walked into her life! You think this is what
she
deserves?”

“That’s
not at all what I meant to happen…”

“The
worst part is that I already love that little kid. I would do absolutely
anything for Ethan, whether he’s here or in New York.”

“You
love me?” I didn’t even know he came back.

“Sorry.
He heard the yelling and got upset. He came running in,” Meg explains. “He’s a
little faster than I thought he’d be.”

I turn
to him and kneel down. “I do, buddy. I love you so much.” I pull him into my
chest, kiss his head, and release him. “I don’t want you to forget it. Even
though we just met you, everyone in this room, and Kacie, love you. I’m sure
you won’t understand this right now, but I can’t just pack my stuff and move to
New York. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop loving you or taking care of you.”

“I
know, Uncle Evan. You can’t leave because you love Kacie like my daddy loved my
mommy.”

“You’re
so damn smart.”

“What’s
going on?” I jump at the sound of Kacie’s voice. My head whips around until my
eyes land on hers. She’s here. She didn’t leave.

“You
didn’t run?” I ask softly, slowly standing.

“Run
where?” It takes a second before I accept she’s really standing here, then close
the gap separating us and hug her tighter than I’ve ever hugged her before.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” she asks, holding me tightly.

“Jenna
said…you were gone… I thought you left…like last time…” It’s all just
incoherent phrases, but she gets what’s going through my head. Tears fill her
eyes and she doesn’t bother to stop them.

“After
all this time, after everything, you still don’t believe I’m not going anywhere?”
She hates crying in front of people, especially strangers, so she pulls herself
together and wipes her face. “Sorry, but you’re stuck with me.”

“You
weren’t upset? You didn’t think I’d go back to New York?”

“Upset?
No. I didn’t think you would go, but even if you did, it wouldn’t be the end of
us. We’d do whatever we had to. He’s your family. I’d never expect you to
choose between us.”

“Where
did you go?”

“Jenna
said she might leave tomorrow so I wanted to get Ethan’s present ready just in
case she did. I didn’t want him to go home without it.”

“You
didn’t answer your phone.”

“I
needed it for the present, and since someone made me hang out on a stupid boat
all damn day, the battery was drained. Luckily, there was a lady there who had
a cord for me to plug it in long enough to do what I had to.”

“You
got me a present?” Ethan squeezes his way in between us.

“I
did. You want it now or after we eat?”

“Now!”

“Stupid
question, huh? Come here.” She keeps hold of my hand and takes me with her to
the sofa. Once we sit, she hands him a blue gift bag. “Here you go.” He pulls
out the tissue paper, then a book. More specifically, a photo album. He opens
it to the first page and there’s one of the pictures I sent to Kacie while he
and I were fishing yesterday. “This is so when you go home, you can take part
of your uncle with you. When you miss him, you can pull this out and remember
the fun things you guys did while you were together. Later, you can add more
pictures from other visits.”

He
flips to the next page and laughs. “That’s when I caught my first fish. I
almost fell in the water and Uncle Evan had to catch me.”

“See?
Now you have something to remind you of that.” He looks at a couple more pages.
There are pictures from out on the boat today. That’s why her phone died and
why she stayed sitting on the bench most of the day.

“Thanks,
Kacie.” He hugs her and this time, I can’t even blame him. She’s too goddamned
perfect not to.

“You’re
welcome. Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

“I
need to talk to you,” I whisper.

“I
know.”

“What
do you know?”

“I
know how she found you. If you want to know the truth, I’m not sure if I’m
sorry for what my dad did or not.” She glances over at Ethan as he hands the
book to his mom. “You would never have found out about him otherwise.”

“Your
dad knew when he came to see me and didn’t say anything. He had more than one
opportunity to tell us about Ethan and didn’t. The accident happened because of
this mess. I almost lost someone else I love because of her.”

“Evan.”
She runs her fingers over my cheek. “We’re not going there, remember?”

“But
she…”

“No.
We’re not doing this.”

“Why do
you stick up for her?”

“Because
she’s Ethan’s mom and the one who controls when and where you get to see him.
Right now, I’m letting her do what she thinks she needs to for her son. Once
things settle, I’ll have my say. Trust me, I have plenty.”

“You
do?”

“I’ve
seen a lot more than you have. She’s been testing you since she stepped foot in
Skyline. I knew she was going to try to get you back to New York.”

“Really?”

She
shrugs. “Females are ruthless and will do whatever’s necessary to get what they
want.”

“Hmm.
And what do you want?”

“I
already have what I want and I’m never letting him go.”

“How
far would you go to keep him?”

She
smiles. “All you need to know is you’ll be spending the rest of your life with
me.”

It
takes everything in me not to drop to one knee and put the ring on her finger
right this second. “Sweetheart, there’s absolutely nothing I’d ever want more
than that.”

Kacie

The
day Jenna Sheridan walked into our lives was the day I put on the biggest and
best damn game face I’ve ever worn. To everyone, except Evan, her reason for
being in Tampa was blatantly obvious. She was here to find a father for her son,
and she was ready to do whatever it took for Evan to be the one. Who could
blame her? Who better to step up and fill the void in a little boy’s life than
the identical twin of his deceased father? He looks exactly like him. He knows
everything about the biological father, as well as the history between him and
Jenna. There’s nothing to explain to Evan because he gets it. He feels the same
pain and heartache she feels over the emptiness. But the most important thing was
how much Evan instantly loved Ethan. She wouldn’t be able to find anyone who
could love that boy as much as his own flesh and blood. She’d secure the
perfect father figure who would never, ever abandon him. My mistake was not
figuring out the real reason why.

I’ll
give her one thing. Jenna loves her son unconditionally and clearly has his
best interests at heart. I truly feel for her in that she had to grow up before
she was ready. Right after finding out she was pregnant, she lost her boyfriend
in a tragic accident. She was entirely too young to be faced with such a
horrific reality by herself. She could have rolled over and let the devastation
ruin her, but she didn’t. Other than that she’s the mother of Evan’s nephew, I
think I have a soft spot for her mainly because she reminds me of my own mother
and how their situations are similar. Neither one of them asked for what
happened, yet they were standing tall, ready to take on whatever got thrown at
them. I admire them both for that alone.

What I
don’t like about her is the way she unmistakably disrespects Evan’s
relationship and uses his love for Ethan to manipulate things. It has nothing
to do with the fact I’m the other one in the relationship. Seriously. There’s
no one in this entire world who could shake me into worrying about our future
together. After all of the shit we’ve already been through, someone like Jenna
doesn’t stand a chance. Since he laid eyes on that little kid, he took on the
mindset that whatever Ethan needs, he’ll give it to him. My guess is Jenna
knows that. Evan has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Before he and I
met, he tried to conceal it but, deep down, that’s not him. When someone he
loves needs him, he’ll be there.

As
much as I would’ve loved to send her to Evan’s condo, I couldn’t do that to
Ethan. Not that there is anything wrong with where Evan used to live. It’s
actually quite nice and the neighborhood is beautiful. It would have definitely
been much nicer than any hotel in the area. The problem was I wanted Evan and
Ethan to spend as much time as possible together. There was also the fact that
my grandmother’s voice was screaming in my head not to let them stay somewhere
else. That’s not the Marie Foster way.

Seeing
Jenna in action around Evan was interesting and, in a way, comical. It didn’t
matter what provocative clothing she was wearing or how close she physically got
to him. None of it affected him. Hell, he didn’t even notice how she looked at
him like the two of them were in the bedroom. I’ve seen this shit before. There
was a time that some of the regulars at Skyline knew he had a girlfriend but
didn’t care. The second he would walk away from me, they’d vie for his
attention. Not one of them ever got it. If anyone had, my story would be a lot
different and I’d be single. Where Evan sometimes feels jealous or irritation toward
certain guys, I have no problem when girls throw themselves at him. Of course,
I always pay close attention because watching them fall on their asses when
they aren’t caught is usually the highlight of my day. Sometimes I wonder if
knowing what will happen and not warning them makes me just as devious as they
are. Then I laugh and chalk it up to how they wouldn’t listen anyway.

I knew
if I spoke my mind, Jenna could easily take Ethan and leave. Knowing it would
crush Evan, I kept my mouth shut. I watched as she allowed them to get closer
and closer. She hoped they’d connect enough that Evan would drop everything and
follow her back to New York. What she wasn’t counting on was how much he loves
me or how strong our bond will always be.

Jenna
told me how she found out where Evan worked. As soon as she said a man showed
up looking for information on him last summer, I knew it was my dad’s doing. I
didn’t bother explaining it to her. Evan definitely would. When he found out,
he was going to blame himself for what happened to us back in July all over
again. Are we ever going to be able to leave this shit in the past, or will it
continue to haunt us forever?

Scaring
the shit out of Evan wasn’t my intention. It hurt a little that he
automatically assumed I would take off because of something someone like Jenna
said. I felt an awful ache in my chest when I saw his face as I walked into the
house. When it came down to it, I only had myself to blame. It’s hard to ignore
my past track record with that sort of thing. Sooner or later, he’ll realize
that under no circumstance will I be going anywhere without him. Until that day
comes, I can only remind him the only place I want to be is wherever he is.

Our
company left shortly after everyone ate that night. Whether it was because they
felt uncomfortable given the situation or they wanted to give Evan space to
calm down, I wasn’t sure, but I was grateful. He disappeared upstairs without
eating much himself. Before I went up with him, I cornered Jenna in the
kitchen. Ethan was busy watching something on TV.

“What
the hell was that all about?”

“Kacie,
I’m so…”

“You’re
so what? Sorry? Why would that be exactly?”

“I
didn’t mean for this to happen.” She threw her hands in the air dramatically.

“The
thing is, I don’t think
you
get what happened. I doubt you have any idea
how much you just hurt Evan. I know you’ve been through a lot…”

“Don’t
you
dare
stand here and pretend you know what it feels like to have to
tell your son his father is gone and never coming back. You have no idea how
painful it is not to be able to stop the crying and begging for him to see his
dad just once.”

“That
shit isn’t going to work on me, Jenna! I get all of that and my heart breaks
for the both of you. Truly, it does. My problem isn’t that you love your son
and would sacrifice everything to be able to give him what would keep him from
hurting. Any decent mother would want that. My problem is you were willing to
use the situation to manipulate Evan to do what you wanted. In case you haven’t
noticed, the man would give you anything. All you’d have to do is ask. You
brought Ethan here knowing Evan would instantly love him, then you could take
him away to hurt him. That’s beyond fucked up! He has hurt long enough. You all
have. You went about this the wrong way…”

Then
something hit me. I was wrong. Why would any mother in her right mind risk
putting her child through potential heartbreak. What if Evan didn’t want
anything to do with them? Her reason for coming to Tampa had to run deeper than
I thought. What I should’ve been asking this whole time was
why now
? “If
you found out where he was ten months ago, why the hell are you just showing up
now? If it’s so important to you that Evan and Ethan know each other, why
didn’t you call and talk to him last summer?”

“He
wouldn’t have taken a phone call from me.”

“Why
did you let ten months pass?” She was avoiding my question and making me lose
my patience. Something was going on and I was determined to get to the bottom
of it. I despise drama, especially when it drags out unnecessarily. “What’s
really going on?”

Her
expression lets me know I was getting closer. She froze and her eyes became
glassy. “Please don’t do this, Kacie,” she whispered, shaking her head. She
didn’t want me to press the issue, but she left me no choice. She hurt Evan and
it was never going to sit well with me unless I knew why.

“If
you don’t want to tell me, fine, but you have to at least tell Evan.” She shook
her head harder as if that wasn’t an option. Her hand flew to her face, trying
to stop the tears from coming out. I reached for the box of tissues on the
counter and handed it to her. “Jenna, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I
haven’t told anyone. I haven’t even said it out loud to myself.”

“Said
what?”

She
glanced over to check on Ethan. He hadn’t moved from his spot on the sofa and
very well may have fallen asleep. She took a step back to lean against the
cabinets. Feeling she was about to tell me something that was more complicated
than anticipated, I went to stand next to her. Only after my arm touched hers,
did she start to speak, “A few months ago, I found a lump in my breast.” Not
all that long ago, my grandmother began to give me a speech very much like that
one. It was something I’d never forget because it ruined my life. Jenna saw my
reaction. She knew I knew what she was going to say. I grabbed onto her hand
and squeezed it tightly. She skipped through the story to the part I needed to
hear. “I had a lumpectomy and I’ve been going through radiation. I find out on
Wednesday if it worked. They were hopeful since it was caught fairly early.”

“I’m
so sorry,” I whispered through my tears.

“If
something happens to me, I need to know that Ethan will be taken care of by
someone who loves him.”

“We’re
not going to do that shit right now.”

“Kacie,
do you think Evan will take him in?”

“Jenna…”

“Please,”
she begged.

“Of
course he would.” I wanted to tell her that it wouldn’t be necessary, that she
was going to be fine, but I couldn’t. I know all too well the havoc the disease
could cause.

Her
body relaxed, but she was still visibly upset. “How fucked up is it that the
poor kid already lost his dad and now might lose his mom, too? I don’t get it.
How the hell is this fair?”

“It
isn’t.” What else could I say? She was right. It was so fucked up and unfair
for it to happen to anyone. “You really need to tell Evan.”

“I
doubt he’ll care after I just pissed him off.”

“Then
you don’t know him very well. Do you want me to go talk to him so you don’t
have to talk about it again?”

“You’d
do that?” She looked at me as if she had no idea why I’d say such a thing.

“Yes.”

“Thank
you.” Before I could reply, she continued, “I really am sorry for storming in
and being such a bitch. Honestly, I had every intention of coming down here to
tell him in person, but then I saw the two of you. I wasn’t expecting it, I
guess. It’s not an excuse. It’s just what happened.”

“I
wish you were just being a bitch and this wasn’t happening to you.” She smiled,
despite the heaviness of the conversation. “I’m sorry for not realizing there
was something more going on sooner. We could’ve avoided all of this.” In a way,
that was me apologizing for thinking the worst of her.

“I’m
pretty sure that was my fault.” She sighed, disgusted with how things played
out.

“Just
so you know, I’m here if you need anything. Even if it’s just a shoulder to cry
on or someone to listen.”

“Why
are you being so nice to me? I really don’t deserve it.”

“You’re
not a bad person, Jenna. Sometimes certain things make us do shit we wish we
hadn’t. We’ve all been there. That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a friend.” I
nudged her arm with mine. “Stop being so hard on yourself and accept what I’m
giving you. I’m going to run up and talk to Evan. Will you be all right for a
few minutes?”

“Yeah.
I’m good.” She wiped away another tear from her face. I knew she wasn’t, but
she didn’t know me well enough to tell me otherwise.

Evan
was sitting on his side of the bed, facing away from me. He was hunched over,
elbows on his knees, head in his hands. Without a thought, I went to him and
looped my arm through his as I sat next to him. “Hey.”

“Hey,”
he mumbled, not moving.

“I was
talking to Jenna…”

“Can
we not discuss her right now?” He turned to look at me and I saw how much he
was hurting.

“There’s
something you should know.”

Evan
pushed off the bed and headed toward the bathroom door. “Not now,” he said. I
followed him into the bathroom. He was about to yank his shirt over his head to
get into the shower.

“It’s
important. We have to talk about this.”

“Are
you seriously doing this right now? What the fuck, Kacie?! She came here to
fucking destroy me and you’re taking her side?!” he yelled. It wasn’t like him
to speak to me that way and he must’ve seen the shock I felt. “I’m sorry.” He
came over to me.

Before
he could do or say anything else, I blurted out what he had to hear, “Jenna has
been battling breast cancer for a few months. She finds out this week if her
treatments worked or not. The poor thing is terrified, Evan. She didn’t mean to
upset anyone. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen to her and she’s worried about
who will take care of Ethan. That’s why she brought him here to meet you. You
have to tell her that you’ll be there for him. She needs to know her son will
be safe.”