“This town is hell-bent on making my father into some kind of hero,” Jack grumbles.

“He was a hero. He was the mayor for fifteen years, and they all love him.”

“And they just couldn’t care less about the destruction he left when he walked away with his bottle of whiskey?”

I shrug, not sure what to say. “They really only care about that shit when it impacts them.”

Jack looks to the door, shaking his head. “Let’s talk about happier shit.”

I swear, if he brings up Jessica, I’m going to kill him. “Like?”

“What’s new at the inn?”

“We got the cottage fixed up since the water pipe burst.”

“Yeah? Good. Anything else?”

He’s fishing. Somehow he knows that Jess is going to start working for me tomorrow, and I’m sure he has all kinds of opinions about it.

“Nope.”

“You’re sure?”

“Did you suffer from smoke inhalation or something?” I question.

His brow raises. “No? Why?”

“Because you’re being an idiot.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so.”

Jennie arrives with our food, and I’ve never been more grateful that he’ll be too busy shoveling it into his mouth to talk about Jessica and anything relating to her. It’s bad enough that I’m lying to myself about why I stayed by her side, lying to everyone else is harder.

The truth is, I care about her. I always have, but seeing her again, touching her face, was like being thrust back in time when life was easy and her smile would make my entire day. She’s always been completely irresistible. Now, she’s grown up and it’s as though nothing has changed. She’s still that.

That is why I have to keep her at a distance.

When I lost her, I was miserable for a long time, and I don’t need to ever feel that shit again.

Jack doesn’t dig right in, though. He launches into another bunch of shit I don’t want to hear. “Look, you want to deny the fact that you have some serious unresolved feelings surrounding Jessica, then, hey, live in your lies.”

“Jesus Christ, I’m not lying and pretending. I know how I feel, and while I will always care about her, there’s nothing going on. She was in pain, a pain like I’ve never seen, and I helped her. Stella is who hired her.”

“But you didn’t fire her.” He points the fork at me. “You allowed her to keep the job.”

“Would you have fired Misty?” I bring up the only girl he’s ever mentioned caring about.

“Different circumstances.”

“Is it? Because I don’t see it that way. You never would’ve let someone you have ever cared about be in pain without helping them. But when I do the same thing, suddenly I’m lying to myself.”

Other than the fact that I am.