AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, but she didn’t get out of the truck. She was going to come down here to see you, but I told her you were busy. She said she’d be waiting for your call.”
In one swift jerk, he ripped the card in two and dropped it at his feet. “There is nothing I have to say to her.”
“Don’t you want to at least find out what she wants?” Merry prodded.
“Why would I extend her a courtesy that she never once considered giving me?”
“Because she’s Jace’s mother,” Merry said softly.
“Not according to the court system.” He cupped the back of her neck and kissed her forehead roughly. “I gotta get back to work.”
The kiss lacked his usual tenderness and he walked away from her without looking back, his stride eating up the ground and putting more distance between them. Her chest ached as she watched him go, imagining all the memories, the pain he’d thought long buried rising to the surface, and for the briefest moment, she hated Patrice for coming back and hurting the man she loved all over again.
Maybe she’d come here to make amends?
The thought hovered at the back of her mind as Merry picked up the pieces of the card and put them in her pocket. For two more hours, she carried trees out to the parking lot, handing out door prizes, and taking payments, jumping in wherever she was needed. By the time the last car pulled out of the parking lot and the gates were shut, it was after five and Clark was nowhere to be seen.
Merry walked by her parents’ house and headed straight home. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Her mother would take one look at her and know something was amiss and it wasn’t her place to share Clark’s troubles, even if they affected her too.
She noticed Clark on her front step when she’d almost reached the bottom of the hill, his elbows resting on his knees and his head down. Her stomach flipped on itself nervously as she picked up the pace.
“Hi,” she said when she reached her fence. He looked up then, his expression ragged, and her chest squeezed. “Clark.”
Merry came through the gate and he stood up, crushing her to him. Her arms went around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest.
“I’m here,” she whispered.
“I hate her, Merry. I don’t even hate my parents, but I can’t stand the thought of seeing her. And if she asks about him…”
“She already did.”
“What?” He pulled away, his eyes blazing. “What did you say?”
“She asked what he was like. I said he was a great kid and she said, ‘Nothing like me, then.’”
“You shouldn’t have said anything.” His voice broke over the words and she shook her head.
“Maybe not, but I wanted her to know she screwed up.” Merry’s fingers dug into the muscles of his back, her voice shaking with anger she hadn’t realized had been simmering under the surface for hours. “That she left an amazing man, who raised an extraordinary kid. I promise I didn’t tell her anything more than that and I said it with the best of intentions.”
“I’m sorry, Merry. God, I’m sorry.”
“Hey, stop.” She pulled him down onto the step with her and he buried his face in her neck.
“I don’t think I can do it, Merry. You don’t know the hell she put me through. And when she left…she left him all alone in the room. Who does that?”
Merry kissed his cheek, her arms looping around his shoulders. “I don’t know. The only person who can answer that question is Patrice. And you’re right, you don’t owe her anything.”
Clark lifted his head, a small smile tilting his mouth. “I sense a but coming.”
“I’m a little scared to overstep.”
“Merry…” He cradled her cheeks, his gaze boring into hers. “Your opinion matters to me. If we’re going to have a future, then I want you to be a part of my life, even the messy sections I’d rather forget exist.”
Merry kissed his lips, happy tears stinging her eyes despite the stressful situation they found themselves in. “But, I think if you don’t talk to her, it could make the situation much worse. Who knows, she may surprise you.”
Chapter 26
Clark
