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“Physically close. I even gave her a promise ring. It was my plan to return after I told my dad I wasn’t going to work for him. We’d even talked about getting married.”
Jackson’s eyes went impossibly wide, then his brows drew close as he frowned. “How on earth did you manage to spend that much time with her?”
“We actually connected at the end of the summer before that last one. During the school year, we kept in touch through calls and texting.”
“That’s why you wanted to come back here again for the summer,” Jackson said.
Blake nodded. “Charli scheduled a lot of her shifts so she was off when most of you were at work. And since I wasn’t working, it meant that we had plenty of time together.”
“I am just dumbfounded,” Jackson said. “Like… wow… I never would have guessed. And obviously no one else did either.”
“We worked very hard to make sure that was the case.”
“Her family would have objected to your relationship,” Jackson said.
“I’m aware.”
“You weren’t a Christian then. That would have been an issue for them. They would have been super protective of her,” Jackson said. “They still will be. I’d recommend keeping your distance from her. If her siblings find out about how things went back then, you’ll wish you’d moved somewhere else in this country.”
Charli had said something similar back when they’d been spending so much time together. They’d been sneaking around because she’d said that her parents might not approve of them dating. It hadn’t made sense to him, since they were both adults, but he hadn’t argued because he wasn’t sure his parents would have approved either.
His plan had been to go back to California to inform his parents of his plan to become a mechanic, then return to Serenity, where they’d then make their relationship public. It had just felt better to wait, since he was sure that his parents would blame Charli for his change of heart, and he hadn’t wanted that to happen.
“They’d come after me, even though it’s so far in the past?” Blake asked, thinking it was a bit of an extreme reaction, given how much time had passed.
“Maybe not, but better safe than sorry.”
“Is Charli in a relationship?” He remembered how much she’d wanted to get married and have children, so he was prepared to hear that she was.
It didn’t hurt as much as it once had to imagine her moving on and finding love with another man. But the regret that had lingered had become stronger since returning to Serenity, and it was edged in pain.
For some reason, Jackson seemed to give his response some thought. Blake could only assume it was because he felt some sense of protectiveness over Charli, given Blake’s revelation.
“Not at the moment,” Jackson said slowly. “But that doesn’t mean she’d be receptive to you trying to rekindle something. She’s very particular about who she dates these days.”
Was he even interested in that? Or had too much water passed under the bridge?
Way too much water had passed under the bridge, Blake decided. And there was so much baggage between them. Namely, his abrupt text message ending things, followed by his disappearance.
“Not trying to rekindle anything,” Blake said. “I was just curious.”
Jackson’s phone made a sound, and he stretched out his leg to work it free from his pocket. After staring at the screen, he said, “Mom wants me to remind you to send her the school supply list for Amelia.”
The school secretary had emailed him the list the previous afternoon, but he hadn’t even looked at it yet. Thankfully, Jackson’s mom, Julia, had offered to get the supplies and anything else Amelia might need before school started. He was very grateful for her help.
He pulled out his phone to bring up the email, then, after having Jackson recite his mom’s email address, forwarded it to Julia. Since he had the email open, he tapped on the attachment to see how big the list was. Hopefully, it wasn’t too long, though Julia had assured him that she liked to shop, so getting the supplies wouldn’t be an issue.
The heading at the top of the document grabbed his attention. “Looks like I’m not going to be able to avoid seeing Charli, even if I’m not interested in rekindling a relationship.”
“Amelia’s in her class?” Jackson said with a frown.
“Yep. Looks like it.”
Jackson continued to frown. “She’s a great teacher, from what I’ve heard, so that’s good for Amelia.”
After all that had happened between them, Blake wondered how Charli might feel about teaching his daughter. He didn’t think she’d take any negative feelings she had for him out on Amelia. Back then, she’d loved kids, and he doubted that had changed if she was now teaching them.
“Charli is an amazing woman,” Jackson said. “She didn’t deserve for you to break up with her.”
