Three Days of Rain (18 page)

“You give me too much credit, Jakey. You always have.”

“Impossible.”

“Thanks for inviting me, too. Jake’s told me so much about you.”

“And we’ve heard all about you, mostly from your uncle. Jake’s always been quiet when it comes to his personal life. Happy to have you dear. Now, both of you, go mingle. Jake, I think your father and brother are over by the food. You can put that on the table next to the other salads.”

“Where else would they be?”

Abby laughed and hugged Jake—the first real hug they shared in two years. It felt good for both of them. He grabbed Lily’s hand and they walked across the yard, stopping to say hello to everyone they knew before meeting up with Andy and Danny, filling their plates with picnic food.

“Jake! You made it!” Danny expressed his gratitude through a mouth full of chicken.

Jake placed the bowl on the table. “Does Megan know you’re eating that? I thought she had you on a diet.”

“I get the day off. I mean, why come if you can’t eat. Right? Is that potato salad? Hey, Lily. You look great.”

Laughing, Lily grabbed a napkin and wiped barbeque sauce from Danny’s chin. “Thanks Danny. Have you lost weight?”

He scooped a large spoonful of potato salad onto his already overloaded plate. “From your lips to God’s ears. Jake, where have you been hiding her?”

“Away from you. Why don’t you slow down? We wouldn’t want you to choke before the desserts come out.”

Andy stepped out from behind Danny. “Glad to see you made it. Wasn’t sure if you would. Hello, Lily. Danny’s right. You look great.”

He leaned in to kiss Lily on the cheek. It was a small gesture that made her feel like she belonged in this small town.

“Thanks, Mr. Morgan. What have you got there?”

“Please, call me Andy. And this here is the best bean salad anywhere. It was my wife’s recipe.”

“Well then, I think I might have to try it.”

“You come with me, young lady. We’ll get you a plate.”

“I’d love to.”

Lily squeezed Jake’s hand and kissed him on the cheek before she followed Andy to the other side of the table. When Jake finally turned his attention back to his brother, he had to smile. Danny’s eyebrows were wiggling like bushy caterpillars.

“What?”

“You know what.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You’ve got a girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s leaving for Atlanta in two weeks, anyway.”

Between bites of potato salad and fried chicken, Danny asked, “Have you told her how you feel?”

“Not exactly.”

“You gotta grab the bull by the horns, Brother! How do you think I got my woman?”

Just as he said that, Megan walked up and smacked him on the butt. “Excuse me?”

Jake laughed as he watched his brother back pedal. “Hey, sweetie. Jake and I were just talking about how lucky I am to have you.”

“Better be careful. This bull might point her horns where the sun don’t shine. Hi, Jake. Glad to see you could make it.”

Jake leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks Megan. I plan on showing up a lot more often.”

“Good to hear. Maybe you can put this bullfighter in his place. Oh geez! I’ll be back. One of the kids just discovered the Jell-O. Excuse me! What do you think you’re doing?”

Megan walked across the yard to her oldest who was, apparently, throwing cubes of bright red Jell-O at some of the other kids.

“You have a good family.”

Danny set his plate down and put his arm around his brother. “I know man. I’m a pretty lucky guy.”

Nodding his head and looking across the way to Lily, who was involved in a conversation with his father, Jake smiled. Lately, he’d been feeling lucky, too.

“Danny,” he said, clapping his hand on Danny’s stomach, “I think I’d better get some food before you eat it all.”

Danny picked up his plate and filled the empty spaces with more drumsticks, biscuits and potato salad. “Try the chicken. It’s freaking amazing!”

Jake quickly filled his plate and walked over to Lily and his father. Something he said had her laughing hysterically.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh nothing. Your dad was just telling me about the time you decided to paint the bathroom walls with your mom’s red nail polish.”

“Thanks dad. Like she needs to hear stuff like that.”

Andy clapped his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Aw Jake. At least I didn’t tell her about the time you ate the dog’s food and ended up painting the walls with something else.”

The twinkle in his father’s eye caught Jake off guard. He realized he hadn’t seen his father this relaxed in a long time. As a matter of fact, his self-imposed isolation kept him from seeing a lot of things. That was all going to change.

“I’m sure I could come up with a story or two to tell her about you, too, you know.”

Lily watched Jake interact with his father and enjoyed how easily they slipped into what she assumed was an old routine. She was close to her parents, but they were a bit stuffier than most people. She wasn’t sure where her free spirit came from, but Jake, his family, and the rest of this tiny town welcomed it with open arms.

“You two are so funny. I feel like I’ve known you my entire life. I feel so, I don’t know, comfortable, around all of you.”

“Well, darlin’, if you ever decide to come visit when that big city gets you down, you’ll always have a place here.”

Jake caught Lily’s eye. Sadness and promise swept through each of them.

“Then again, maybe that big city could wait a bit.” Andy winked and walked away leaving Jake and Lily a bit speechless.

“Don’t mind my dad.”

“Oh, no. He’s very kind.”

“Yeah but sometimes he sticks his nose in where it shouldn’t be.”

“It’s fine, Jake.”

“Well, okay.” He shifted his body not quite sure where to take the conversation.

“Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk to you a little bit about that.”

He put his plate on the picnic table. “About Atlanta?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it, too.”

“Do you think after this, after the picnic, I could come over? Maybe we could talk then.”

“Of course. You can come over anytime you want. You do have a toothbrush there, you know.”

Lily smiled. “I do know.”

As she looked down, she realized she was wringing her hands raw. She couldn’t understand why on earth was that particular decision was proving so difficult for her. Anticipation of the conversation to come left her breathless.

Jake reached over and gently covered her hands with his. “Hey. It will be all right. We’ll talk and everything will be fine. I promise.”

She looked up at him and knew he was right.

“Son of a bitch.”

Danny’s whispered words pulled Jake and Lily out of their shared world. Soon, everyone at the picnic hushed and all eyes focused on one spot. Lily looked up and wasn’t sure what the fuss was about. It wasn’t until Jake turned his head in the direction of the stares that she felt him tense.

“What’s going on?” Lily whispered.

Jake had lost his voice. No words could describe the emotions that made him feel like he would immediately collapse. Torn between hatred and sickness, he squeezed Lily’s hand. He’d hoped she would be able to provide the strength that rushed away from him.

Lily squeezed back.

“Well, hey, everyone. God, I’m famished. The food looks great.”

The small blonde woman searched the silent crowd until her gaze finally came to rest on Jake and woman holding his hand. The blonde raised an eyebrow and smirked. With her heart about to explode, Lily finally figured out what was happening.

She watched the woman walk purposefully across the lawn until she was within inches of Jake. Lily cringed as the she reached up and hugged him. Motionless, Jake turned back to Lily, and the fear, sadness and grief, that had once promised to leave him, magnified. A small tear fell down his face, breaking Lily’s heart. She could see the wall go up, she could feel his heart harden, and when he closed his eyes and let go of her hand, distance spread between them.

“What’s the matter, Jakey? Didn’t you miss me?”

“What are you doing here Madison?”

CHAPTER 26

Stepping in front of Lily as if to shield her, Jake looked Madison square in the eye. Hatred burned from him and she flinched like she could feel it.

“Jake—”

“Answer me, Madison. What are you doing here?”

“Can’t a girl stop in to visit her family?”

“You never just stop in anywhere. Why are you here?”

“Can we talk in private?”

He jerked away from her touch. “No.”

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Jake, please. I came back for you. I wanted to talk to you about, well, about everything that happened.”

“You think you can walk back into town and
talk to me
about everything that happened? You’re fucking delusional.”

“Jake. Stop. Just listen to me.”

He turned back to look at Lily, and she saw something in his eyes that she’d never seen before. He really looked like he was going to lose it. It scared her.

Danny caught the look, too, but he’d seen it before, and he
knew
Jake was about to lose it. He walked up to Lily and took her elbow. “Lily, we should go. You don’t want to see this.”

She looked at Danny, saw the pleading look in his eyes, and turned back to Jake. For an instant, sadness filled his face before it twisted back to hatred. She allowed Danny to pull her away from them.

“You stop, Madison. No one wants you here. Just go back to whatever filthy hole you dragged yourself from and get out of my sight.”

He turned his back to her and she reached out and grabbed his shirt. “You listen to me, Jacob Morgan. You and I have to talk about this. I will stay here and meet you around every corner until you talk to me.”

He knocked her hand off of him. “Don’t touch me. Don’t you ever touch me again. You’re a lying whore and I want nothing to do with you.”

Mrs. Olsen walked over. “Jake. Please don’t. Just hear her out.”

He looked at her like he hadn’t heard correctly. Mr. Olsen stood beside him.

“Leave him alone, Abby. Madison, haven’t you caused enough trouble?”

“Dad?”

“Honey, I love you but come on. What’s going on? Why are you here?”

Jake had heard enough. He stormed across the yard towards his truck.

“Damn it, Jake. Don’t walk away from me.”

“Fuck you, Madison.”

He jumped into his truck, started the engine, and peeled out of the driveway. Lily stood back, with Danny, Megan and Andy, and watched him leave. Anger and confusion filled her. She’d just realized Danny was still holding her elbow. She quickly pulled it away and walked towards Madison.

“Lily, don’t...” But Danny’s words trailed off as everyone in the yard stood still watching the drama unfold.

Madison looked at her father and started to turn around, but Lily was in her face before she could.

“What is wrong with you?”

Shocked, Madison replied, “Who the hell are you?”

“It doesn’t matter who I am. Haven’t you caused enough pain?”

“Oh, I see. You’re Jake’s flavor of the summer, right? Well, let me tell you something, sweetheart. I’m not leaving until Jake talks to me. So if you want to get rid of me, convince your
boyfriend
to give me a call. I’ll be staying with my parents.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can. He is my husband, after all.”

Madison looked around at the people staring at her and smiled sweetly before turning and walking into her parent’s house, slamming the door loudly behind her.

Tears welled up in Lily’s eyes.
Husband
? Her voice was small. “Danny, what is she talking about?”

Andy walked up, took her hand, and steered her away from prying eyes. When he finally pulled her far enough away, he sat her down on an old tree stump. “Look at me.”

Barely a whisper, she asked, “What is she talking about, Andy? What does she mean
husband
? I thought that was done.”

Rubbing his hand over her face, he silently cursed Jake for not coming clean with her. It wasn’t his place, after all, to talk to Lily about this, but he was going to have to clear it up.

“Lily, he filed for divorce not long after Madison left. The only problem is, no one could find her. She moved around a lot, and when she would call her parents, she never gave a concrete location. Technically, they are still married.”

The thought made her want to vomit. Clutching her stomach, she bent over, tears streaming down her face.

“Oh my God. He’s married?”

“No, listen. It’s been over for two years. In his mind, they aren’t. Unfortunately, he was never able to get her to sign the papers. He didn’t tell you any of this?”

“No. No he didn’t. I mean, yesterday, we went to the cemetery. I thought that was everything.”

He leaned back. “So he told you about Joey.”

She looked up at him and saw his eyes water. “Yes. He told me all of that.”

“Lily, he hasn’t talked about that with anyone, ever. Not me, not his brother. The fact that he opened up, that he told you about that, just proves what I’ve known all along.”

“What’s that?”

“That he loves you.”

She looked away. “How he was with her today, how he spoke to her, how he looked, I’ve never seen him like that.”

“She brings it out in him.”

“I didn’t like it.”

“Can you blame him?”

“I guess not.”

Andy reached out and grabbed her hands. “Hey. It will be all right. But if Madison says she isn’t leaving until she talks to him, then take her at her word. She’s the most stubborn—”

“You want me to convince him to talk to her?”

“I think you are the only one who can.”

She thought for a moment. “You think she’ll leave?”

“I know she will. Sadly, she doesn’t care enough for anyone here to stay.”

“All right, Andy. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good. You wanna leave? I’ll drive you home.”

“My Jeep is at Jake’s.”

“I can take you there.”

“No that’s okay. I just want to be alone right now. If I gave you my keys, do you think one of you could get it for me and drop it at Billy’s?”