“Why did he cut us out then, apart from his illness? What did I do to him to make him treat me like this? I don’t understand. You were there, you explain it to me.” Now her crying jag was over, her anger had reared its head again.
“I can’t tell you yet. He made me promise.”
“Rake put you up to this?”
Mari squirmed in her seat. It felt like she was using him for an excuse but she had no choice. A promise was a promise and Rake had insisted she discuss it with Jeff before anyone else. “Apart from him wanting to do something you were adamant you didn’t approve of, no.”
“So many years I’ve missed out on. So many milestones I’ll never get back.” The pain in her eyes burned into Mari’s soul, making her ache deep down. “How could anyone do that to a grandparent? How could you let my own boy do that to me?”
“I promised Rake. That’s all I can say for now but he’s gone and we can’t question his decisions even if we wanted to. But I came back so I could bring Noah up around you. Surely that counts for something?” A small token of thanks from Pearl was all Mari needed.
She hated being in this position but when her husband was dying in pain, she’d have promised him anything he wanted if it gave him a moment’s comfort.
“Of course it does.” Pearl blew her nose. “I’m so grateful you came home, really. But I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around not being there for you both, not seeing Noah as a baby. If only I knew what it was that really made you leave? Was it me? Did I do something to make you both unhappy?”
“No, Pearl. You were the one that held it all together the longest. It was mainly my mother’s fault for putting us all in this situation. I could only take so much before I broke.” She handed Pearl the tissue box from the side table. “I left and we can’t change that.”
“Yes, you’re right. We can’t change anything. No point crying over what might have been. I’m sure more questions will come later and don’t think I’m going to let you get away without a damned good reason.” She took a couple of tissues and handed the box back. “I’m so grateful we have another chance. Now, tell me everything about Noah. When can I see him? How big was he when he was born? Do you have photos I can have?”
*
“How’d your day go?” Christian handed him a bottle of beer from their favorite brewery and leaned back in his chair, feet on the desk.
“Good. I think she’s going to be pretty happy with it when we’re done.” Ethan twisted the top off his beer and took a sip. It was their habit to touch base every day after work and sort out any issues they might’ve had on the job so they could cover any details for the following day. “Now that I’m on the site, I can get a feel for the place and I have to say, I like the building. It has a nice warmth to it, great history. Mari seems pretty excited we’ve started work.”
“She should be. We spent a fair amount of time making sure it was exactly right and what she wanted.” He pushed a few papers to the side of his desk. “I gotta ask, do you still have a thing for her?”
Ethan shouldn’t have been surprised at the question but he was. It was the same thing that had been going through his mind but he didn’t want to give it any substance by saying the words out loud. “I’m not sure.”
Christian looked at him over his beer, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“I’m not. Honestly. I was gutted when she left even though it was my own stupid fault but I understand why she felt she had to stay away. Even you said you didn’t blame her for going.”
“I did but that was then. I’m the poor fool that had to sit and watch you try and cope without her around. The same poor fool that watched from the sidelines every time you took out a date and she didn’t measure up to Mari.” He snorted a laugh. “Also the guy that told you to grow up and get a life more than once. Did you ever listen?”
“You know I did.” He pulled a chair close to the desk, sat down and leaned his elbows on the crowded surface, rubbed his hand over his five-o’clock shadow. “I had a couple of serious relationships. You know that.”
“Yeah, but none of them ever amounted to much.”
“They weren’t the right girl obviously.” It was hard to follow up on the girl you thought you’d be with forever. It was even harder to know that his brother had managed to marry her when he couldn’t. He took a sip of beer, let it wash down the regret in his throat.
“And now she’s back and available from what I hear. Are you going to ask her out?” Christian drained his beer and threw the bottle in the trash.
“No idea. I don’t know her anymore. I guess it stands to reason that she’d have changed after what happened. I dumped her, remember, and I wasn’t nice about it. She might not be in the market for a relationship.” Saying the words out loud had a certain truth to them. “There’re still so many unanswered questions to be dealt with first. We can hardly ignore everything that happened between us. And she needs to explain a few things before I’m satisfied.”
“You have unfinished business, mainly Noah. What’s the worst that can happen? She’ll say no and you can sulk, then move on. Share custody or something?”
“I don’t sulk.”
Christian roared with laughter. He slapped his leg, looked at Ethan, and laughed again, holding his belly. “Oh, man. You’re
