“I guess I understand why you did it, but back then I hated you,” Jess admitted. “I felt betrayed. I was only seven, and you didn’t even say goodbye. You left Abby to break it to all of us that you’d gone.”
“That was unfair to you and to her,” Megan admitted candidly. “I’ve done everything I can think of to make it up to each of you. I will tell you how sorry I am forever, if that’s what it takes.” She looked into Jess’s eyes. “Will that ever be enough?”
“I don’t know,” Jess said. “I want it to be. I want it to be behind me, so I can move forward, not just with Will, but with anyone. I’m not sure it’s possible for a kid to seal off her heart, but I think that’s exactly what I did. I’m terrified to feel that way again.”
“So you don’t trust anyone,” Megan said sorrowfully.
“Not a hundred percent, no. I’ve even been cautious with Abby, Bree, Kevin and Connor. They left, too. Oh, the circumstances were obviously different, but I still felt left behind. I resented them for a time, too, though I know they didn’t deserve it. They had their own lives to live, just like you did.”
“Oh, sweetie, you have no idea how awful that makes me feel,” Megan said, her eyes brimming with tears.
Jess thought she’d come out here to get her mother’s approval of her relationship with Will, but she realized now it was to air all of this old anger and bitterness. She and her mother had been tiptoeing around each other ever since Megan had come back to Chesapeake Shores a few years back. There had been peace, but not reconciliation.
Jess recognized that it was time either to let go of the past, or accept that they would never share the bond of mother and daughter again. She realized how desperately she wanted that bond, and the only way to have it was to forgive.
Swallowing hard, she stared into her mother’s tear-filled eyes, saw the genuine pain, and somehow her heart released the last of the anger she’d felt for so many years.
“I want things between us to get better,” Jess whispered. “I want my mom back.”
Megan opened her arms and Jess walked into them. “I’m right here, sweetie. I’m right here.”
They were both openly crying when Mick found them to announce that Sunday dinner was on the table.
“Everything okay here?” he asked worriedly.
“Everything’s good,” Megan assured him, a catch in her voice.
He looked toward Jess, awaiting her answer.
She couldn’t seem to squeeze a word past the lump in her throat, but she nodded.
Mick gave a nod of satisfaction, then left them to make their way back to the house on their own.
Jess knew the reconciliation, so long in coming, would be bumpy, but today had been a good start. Linking arms with her mother, she slanted a look at her.
“Quite a day, huh?”
Megan smiled, her cheeks still damp. “The very best,” she agreed. “I finally feel as if I have my family whole again.”
Ever since they’d sat down at dinner, Will had been watching Jess, lines of worry etched on his face. Jess had tried smiling to reassure him, but he didn’t seem to buy the smiles or her upbeat chitchat with the rest of the family. As soon as dinner and the cleanup had been completed, he snagged her hand.
“How about heading back to the inn?” he suggested. “You can show me the progress your dad has made on the attic.”
“You’re going to be amazed,” she told him, as eager to be alone with him as he seemed to be with her. “The windows are in and the views are fantastic. Let’s go.”
“Sneaking out?” Abby inquired, looking amused when she caught them leaving through the kitchen door.
“Nobody’s sneaking,” Jess said indignantly. “Everybody’s busy. They won’t even notice we’ve left.”
“Only reason I know to slip out without saying goodbye is because you don’t want anybody asking what you’re off to do,” Abby teased. “As your big sister, it’s my duty to ask.”
“And as your very independent sister, I’ll tell you it’s none of your business,” Jess retorted. “You have plenty of other siblings to watch over like the mother hen you’ve always been. Go interfere in their lives.”
Abby laughed. “What am I going to do now that even you are too grown up for me to boss around?”
“Believe me, Caitlyn and Carrie will be teenagers soon enough,” Jess reminded her. “You’ll have your hands full with those two.”
“Don’t remind me,” Abby said. “Thank goodness for Trace. They actually listen to him. Their father and I are considered the enemies already.”
“Maybe it’s time for you to think about adding to your family,” Jess said, broaching a subject that almost no one else had dared. “I know Trace would love to have a baby or two of his own. Have you considered it?”
Abby’s expression froze. “Now it’s my turn to tell you to butt out,” she retorted.
The unexpectedly sharp tone of voice told Jess that she’d stumbled into something very touchy. “Will, why don’t you wait for me outside?” she suggested, determined not to drop the topic now that it had been raised.
When he’d gone without comment, she turned a penetrating look on her sister. “Okay, what’s going on?”
Abby frowned. “Didn’t I just tell you to leave it alone?”
“You know I never do what I’m told. Sit down and talk to me. Is there a problem?”
Abby sat, but she avoided Jess’s gaze. “Not with me getting pregnant, if that’s what you mean.
