She couldn’t talk. Judy and I hurried over to her and wrapped her into our arms. I didn’t have a clue what was breaking her. I didn’t have any idea why she was falling apart. All I knew was that she needed me there for her, and right there was where I’d be.

There was something so heartbreaking about seeing your parents fall apart.

It was as if you were watching Superwoman fall from the sky.

“Is everything okay?” Dad asked, walking into the room. His glasses sat on top of his head as always, and he stuffed his hands into his pockets as we released Mama.

“He loves her, Samuel,” Mama confessed, gesturing toward me. “That boy loves her.”

“What? No…” I whispered. Jackson didn’t love me…

Jackson Emery didn’t love at all.

“Yes,” Dad agreed, “he does.”

Mama wiped at her eyes. “Even after what I told him, he still stood by her side. For the past years, I’d been trying to delete that woman from our lives, and then her son has the nerve to fall in love with my daughter.”

“That woman?” I questioned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Mama sighed, wiping her eyes, and then she walked out of the room, leaving a confused Judy and I standing there.

I turned to my father. “Dad? What is she talking about?”

He swallowed hard, and I watched as the emotion that once lived in Mama swarmed his eyes. “We should have a talk.”

*

“You’re upset,” Dad remarked, meeting me on the front porch where I’d been sitting for the past ten minutes after he told me about his past.

“I’m confused,” I corrected.

He sat down beside me, guilt written all over his face as we both stared out into the night sky.

“Jackson’s mother…did you love her?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“If she were alive, you’d still be with her?”

He frowned. “Yes.”

“Do you love Mama?”

“Your mother has been my rock for years now.”

I gently laughed, shaking my head. “That wasn’t my question.”

“I know.”

“Before Hannah Emery, were there other women? Or was she the only one?”

“Grace…you must understand…” he started, but I rolled my eyes.

“No. I get it. You were unfaithful to a woman who stood by you no matter what. It all makes sense to me now. Mama being so pushy about me going back to Finn. She truly believes that no matter what, you’re supposed to stand by your man. That’s all she’s ever done, too. She’s always stood by you, and you kept betraying her.”

He sniffled, glancing up at the stars in the sky. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes.”

“You’re not wrong, and you used her loyalty to abuse her heart. No wonder she’s so cold. She doesn’t know what love is anymore.”

“You hate me,” he remarked.

“Yes.” I paused. “No.”

It was complicated, my feelings for my father. I felt as if I’d been hit by a freight train, and I was left trying to gather all the pieces of my soul.

“You told me when I came here this summer that we were created to feel, and sometimes our feelings came out of order. You said in one second, your heart can beat for love, and in the next, hate could show up. That’s how I’m feeling right now. Just confused.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. It’s just funny. I always wondered where I went wrong with Finn. How I stumbled into a relationship where the foundation of loyalty didn’t exist.” I took a deep breath and looked up at the same stars he studied that night. “It just turns out that I married a man who was exactly like my father.”

“I’ve let you down.”

“Yes, but I’ll heal. I’m stronger than I ever thought I could be. It turns out that we all are. But just do me one favor, will you?”

“Anything.”

Mama swirled in my thoughts. I couldn’t imagine how lost she felt. How hurt her soul must’ve been. I lay my head on his shoulder and softly spoke my one request. “Love her fully, or let her go.”

49

Jackson

My father woke up that evening.

Doctors and nurses were in the room with him, and I was waiting outside for them to allow me to come back. I didn’t know how to handle it. My heartbeats wouldn’t slow down.

He was awake, and the first person I messaged about it was Grace.

Whenever something good or bad happened, she was the first one I wanted to tell. Whenever I fell asleep, she was who I’d wish was beside me. I wasn’t a praying man, but if praying meant I’d receive Gracelyn Mae, I’d fall to my knees each night.

“He’s awake?” Grace asked, coming my way. Before I could reply, she wrapped her arms around me.

“Yeah. I’m just waiting until they let me back in.”

“Jackson, this is amazing.” She smiled, bright. “So amazing.”

“Maybe your family’s prayers worked,” I joked.

“My family…” Her eyes darted away from my stare, and she stepped back. Her smile faded, and her lips turned down. “I have to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

She swallowed hard. “It was my father. He was the one your mother was having an affair with.”

I stuffed my hands into my pockets. “Yeah, I know.”

“What?”

“That’s what your mom told me all those weeks ago. It’s what pushed me away, and I hate myself for it. For allowing our parents’ scars to make me want to run. I owe you an apology for that—for how I walked away. It was selfish and childish. I just…it felt as if I was losing my mom all over again. Only this time, I knew why.”

“No. I feel like I owe you the apology. My father is pretty much the reason your mother’s gone. If he hadn’t…” Her eyes watered over.

“That’s not true. Whatever you are about to say isn’t true. None of this was anyone’s fault. The truth of the matter was two people fell in love, and then life got in the way of it.”

She kept frowning. “Why didn’t you tell me? Once you found out?”

“Your dad is your world. I’d never take that away from you.”

A doctor came out of the room and told me that I could go in to see him. I grimaced and nodded, looking toward Grace. “Do you want to come with me?”

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “He just got out of a coma. The last thing he needs is to see a Harris smiling in his face.” She gently snickered. “Besides, you two need that time together and I should get back on the road, seeing as how I work in the morning.”

I pulled her close to me and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for coming down here to see me.”

“I’ll be back next weekend.”

“You don’t have to,” I warned.

“I’ll be back next weekend,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Keep me updated on your father, will you?”

“I will.” I placed my lips against her forehead. “And princess, can you do one thing for me?”

“Of course, anything.”

I combed her hair behind her ears and looked straight into those beautiful blue eyes as I spoke her way. “If you ever fall in love again, please let it be with me.”

50

Grace

Mike had been out of the hospital for a few days now, and he was lucky enough not to have suffered any brain damage. Ever since Mike had returned home, Jackson kept a close eye on him. He was terrified of his father relapsing, which wouldn’t have been uncommon.

The amount of alcohol that Mike Emery consumed on the regular was terrifying. I couldn’t even imagine the amount of worry that existed in Jackson’s soul.

When I got back to town Saturday morning, I headed straight for the auto shop to check on Jackson, where he said he’d be.

As I waited, I watched as the back door of the shop opened and Mike walked in with a coffee mug. He headed straight for the coffee machine and poured himself a mug of black coffee.

Then he topped it off with a small bottle of whiskey that he pulled from his pocket.

“Are you kidding me right now?” I asked, completely baffled. After everything he’d been through, after Jackson almost lost him, he had gone right back to the bottle.

That broke my heart more than words could express, and I knew if Jackson found out, he’d lose it.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he barked.

“Waiting for your son. Are you really drinking? After everything you just went through?”

“Don’t come in here judging my choices like you know me.”

“You’re right, I don’t know you, but I know your son, and what you’re doing is destroying him.”

“You don’t know anything about that boy. You spend a few weeks with him, and now you know the ins and outs of how his brain works? You don’t know anything. That kid is messed up.”

“I wonder what made him that way.”

He grimaced, turning to walk out.

“You’re stealing his life away,” I told him.

He paused. “Pick your next words wisely.”

“You are. Do you know he doesn’t even like working on cars? He wanted to go to college to study art, like his mother. He wanted to see the world.”

“Now I know you know nothing about Jackson. He loves cars.”

“No, he learned so he could help out around here. He wanted to help take care of you.”

“Nobody asked for his help.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “They did.”

He raised an eyebrow and grumbled, “What are you talking about?”

“The last thing your wife said to him was, ‘Take care of your father.’”