Frantically I flailed my arms to get him to stop and talk to me, but he ignored me and peeled out into the night. Wracking sobs overtook my body. I wasn’t sure what had happened.
Did we really just break up?
Running back into the house, I grabbed my phone off the charger and called him. No answer. I tried half a dozen times. He wouldn’t answer. Part of me considered throwing my stuff in a bag and following him, but I’d just never been in the situation before. Plus, I had chores to do to take care of Gloria and Banjo. I stood there shivering in the cold, staring at the tire marks for God knows how long before I felt a soft hand on my shoulder.
“Hey.” Jen gave me a side hug.
“Hey,” I said sadly.
“Did Jace leave?”
“Yes.” I wiped my nose with my sweatshirt.
“Let’s go have a chat.” She steered me inside.
Once inside, she put the tea kettle on. I wasn’t much for tea, but it sounded comforting, so I gladly accepted a steaming cup. My crying had subsided, but the throb in my head and heart hadn’t. All I could think about is how badly our lives had been fucked up by that one call.
Jen got right to the point. “Alex, do you love my brother?”
“Yes, with all of my heart.” My voice caught; I was on the verge of tears again.
“Enough to stick with him if this is his kid?” Jen tapped her chin with her finger and stared into my eyes with the same crazy green eyes that Jace had.
“We will cross that bridge—” I began.
“No.” She shook her finger at me. “Nope. Not the right answer.”
“Jen, he left me just now. He said he needs a break.” My voice was so whiny, which made me angry at myself.
Jen sat back and blew on her tea and steered the conversation in a way I didn’t expect. “I know about your pregnancy scare all those years ago.”
“Oh.” I looked down, unable to hold her gaze. “I hoped he hadn’t told anyone about it.”
“Well, you broke up the next day and his heart was smashed in bits for a long time afterward.” Jen assessed me. “He was planning to commit to you. He was devastated when you left and gutted about your reaction to that test. You fled the scene, babe.”
“There’s more than one side to the story, you know,” I protested. “What you probably aren’t aware of was his idea of a commitment was me flying into cities where LTZ was playing on dates that were convenient for his schedule. He didn’t even ask about what I was up to.”
“Well, I didn’t say he wasn’t a dumbass.”
“His inability to place value on the work that I was doing is why I left, Jen.” I tucked my legs under me and wrapped a soft throw around my body. “I don’t blame him; when we first met, I was in high school, and he gave me ideas of how to build up an Instagram following to pay for travel. It morphed into so much more when I started raising money for animal rescues, all of the fluffier stuff I did was to save money for this ranch. We got back together when he finally realized how important my work was. It was only then that we were equals.”
“I was surprised that you guys got back together, truth be told.”
“Me too, but at the same time I’m not.” I shut my eyes. “We belong to each other. I think we always have.”
“I hope so.” Jen reached over to stroke my shoulder. “Have you changed your stance on kids then?”
I sighed. It was a lot to process, and it wasn’t really Jen’s business. Until this situation with Cassie was brought to our attention, I hadn’t really thought about kids at all. Horses had been all I ever wanted to focus on.
“I mean, well—” I stammered. “I mean, I don’t feel as strongly as I once did.”
“Dude, I love you. So does Becca. But Jace loves you more than anyone, and I’m guessing he’s scared shitless that you’re going to leave him over this. Can’t you understand that?” Jen regarded me with a furrowed brow. “Can you imagine suddenly being a single father with a child that—”
“He doesn’t remember making,” I finished.
“He’s been through a trauma.” Jen blinked. “I’d give anything to protect my baby brother from that witch, God rest her soul. I can’t believe I let her near Jace.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I lamented. “He wanted just a bit of space, and now I’ve gone and uninvited myself from New York.”
“How about you pack your things and go get him? Let Becca and I handle things here. He’s probably at his condo. Show him you really will be there for him no matter what,” Jen advised.
“Jen, for the record. If that little girl is a part of him, then I will welcome her into my life. Our life.” When I said it out loud, it felt right. True.
“Good.” Jen smiled. “I hope it’s his child, if I’m honest. If she’s not, who the hell knows what will happen to her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Their whole family is fucked up.” Jen sighed. “For years I felt bad for Cassie, so I let her hang around for far too long. She all but stalked Jace until LTZ was successful enough that he had security and buffers.
“Were they together long?” I was trying to place who she was. Vague memories of the red-haired girl from the club crossed my mind.
“Jace probably let it go too far, she was wild and sexual, he couldn’t stay away when he was younger,” Jen explained in too much detail for my taste. “Even after he still hooked up with other girls, she still had fantasies of him being her boyfriend. He managed to keep her as a friends-with-benefits thing up until
