“Ethan.” Jacob stands, and I want to say that it doesn’t hurt me, but I’m gutted. Hearing his son call him dad and knowing that our son would be his age. I’m about to get up and excuse myself to leave when I hear Cristine.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she hisses, and it’s Jacob who talks now.

“Buddy, bring your bag in your room and bring me down your laundry,” he tells Ethan. The little boy looks at me, and I just smile.

“Okay, Dad,” he says softly and walks away. Only when Jacob knows he’s out of the room does he look at his mother.

“This ends now,” he tells her. “This shit. All of it.”

“She deserted you in your hour of need,” Cristine says. I want to tell her she’s right, but instead, I excuse myself.

“I’m going to let myself out,” I say, not making eye contact. I turn to walk out of the house, hoping like fuck it’s an easy way to go. Luckily for me, the foyer is right in front of me, and the front door is now shining at me.

My hand grabs the door handle, and I’m about to open it when I feel his hand on mine. “You can’t leave,” he says, my back against his chest. “You can’t just leave.”

“I’m not leaving,” I say, but really, I am. “I’m just … we just have a lot to process, so I was going to go.” He turns me in his arms.

“You were escaping again, and I’m not going to let you,” he says.

“I just need some time,” I say. “I wasn’t running forever. I was just …” I look down. “It’s a lot to take in, and I just laid a lot out there for you, too. So it’s a good time to go to our separate corners and talk later.”

I hear the crunch of rock, and I look over to see that it’s Casey. “Besides, you have Ethan here, and I just …”

“Can I call you later?” he asks, wrapping his arms around me, and I nod at him. “Okay, then.” He kisses my lips softly. “But we have to finish this conversation.”

“We will,” I say, and I turn to walk out of the door toward Casey, who looks at me when I get in the truck.

“What’s the story?” he asks, and I look at him. “Do I need to take him out?”

I shake my head with a laugh, my heart feeling just a touch lighter. “Not today.”

Chapter Nineteen

Jacob

I watch her walk to Casey’s truck and get in and fucking hate it. I want her to stay here with us always.

“You cannot be serious right now, Jacob,” my mother says from behind me, and I take a deep breath. “You brought that woman into your home.”