Page 7

7

Eloise

“Mable, why on earth were you staring at Jack Raider like that?” Grandma demanded. “Lordy, I was about ready to slap you upside the head just to snap you out of it. What’s gotten into you?”

“Oh, hush,” Mable said, waving her hand. “I have to think.”

We all fell silent, waiting for her to finish. Something had clearly rattled her—ever since she met Jack, she’d been acting strangely. I sat next to Maggie, trading puzzled glances with her. Finally, Mable cleared her throat.

“Nate, do you know anything about Jack’s family?”

“No, not really,” Nate said. “Jack’s never talked about them. From what little I know, his childhood wasn’t the happiest.”

Mable nodded slowly. “I think I know who his father is.”

All of us froze.

“There’s a man I met years ago,” she continued. “He was in a terrible accident and lost his memory. He didn’t remember a thing about his past. He’s lived in California for the past twenty years. Married to Carla—Cheryl’s best friend. They have two boys and a girl… and those boys—and the father—look exactly like Jack Raider.”

“What?” I blurted out, staring at her. “You think that’s really his father?”

I turned to Nate, eyes wide. “What do you think?”

Nate looked stunned. “If it is… Jack probably spent all these years thinking his dad abandoned him. How long’s the man been married to Carla?”

“I’m not sure,” Mable admitted, clearly digging through old memories.

Nate shook his head. “I should tell Jack. He might want to look into it.”

“What do I want to look into?” Jack’s voice came from behind us as he walked into the bed-and-breakfast’s sitting room.

Mable blinked, caught off guard.

“Nate, tell him,” Maggie whispered.

“Mable thinks she knows someone who looks just like you,” Nate explained. “The guy lost his memory in an accident twenty years ago, or so. She thinks he might be your father. Is your dad… missing?”

Jack didn’t hesitate. “I don’t think so. I haven’t seen him in twenty-two years. I don’t even know if he’s dead. But I’m not looking for him. I don’t want to know where he is.”

His voice had an edge to it—sharp and worn.

“If it is him,” Maggie offered gently, “maybe seeing you would bring his memory back.”

“That’s not the point,” Jack said. “My father left me. Whether he remembers me or not doesn’t change that. I hope he’s happy—really, I do. I know he wasn’t happy with my mother and me.”

“Maybe he didn’t leave on purpose,” Mable said softly. “If he had amnesia…”

I changed the subject, sensing how much this was hurting Jack.

“I’m just so glad we got to spend a couple of days here with Nate and his team,” I said, glancing over at Jack. “Do you guys ever have to go overseas?”

“Sometimes,” Jack said. “But we don’t let this job take over our lives. I still work on old cars with Max and Nate. Fraiser and Axel run a motorcycle shop nearby. We like keeping busy.”

I nodded, then turned to Max. “What do you want me to do to help? Since I invited us here, I want to contribute.”

My mind drifted back to Jack. I could still hear the pain in his voice when he talked about his father. I looked at Grandma and Mable and could tell they’d noticed it too.

“Me too,” Maggie added, getting up.

“Let’s head outside,” Max said. “We’ve got a full kitchen set up out there—and Jack already made the fruit salad.”

As we walked out, my heart felt heavy. I’d always assumed Jack had this great life growing up. But now I knew better. He’d lived all these years thinking his dad had just… vanished. And maybe he had—but not by choice. If the man Mable described really was Jack’s father… No. I couldn’t go chasing after that thought. That wasn’t my place.

Jack looked at me. “How’s Rover doing?”

“He’s great. I found him a family who absolutely adores him. He didn’t even look like the same dog after I cleaned him up. I had to bathe him three times and give him a haircut. But his fur’s grown back, and he’s just the cutest thing now. He’s only about a year old. You should think about getting a dog.”

Jack chuckled. “Me? I’ve got my wolf. Maybe you should get another dog.”

My family laughed, and I braced myself—Grandma was definitely about to tell a story. And sure enough, she didn’t disappoint.

“Lord have mercy, Beatrice has always been like this. Three dogs, two cats, and who knows what else at home. She’s been bringing animals home since she could walk. I’ll never forget—she was three years old, and we were having a family gathering. Her papa, rest his soul, thought she could do no wrong. So when she came strolling around the back of the house carrying two baby skunks…”

Nate burst out laughing. “She smelled so bad we all ran for the hills, except Grandpa. He went over, took the skunks from her, and then the mama skunk showed up, hissing like crazy. He set the babies down, picked Ellie up, and calmly walked into the house. Handed her off to Mom and said, ‘I’m going to the store to get some tomato juice.’”

Jack laughed, eyes twinkling as he looked at me. I could feel my cheeks turning red.

“You were lucky,” he said softly. “You had a family that let you follow your heart.”

I’d never thought of it that way. All the teasing, all the rolled eyes when I brought home another hurt bird or stray puppy—it hadn’t been cruel. It had been love. Support.

“I’m sure you would’ve done the same,” I said, looking at him.

“Who, me?” he asked, tapping his chest.

“Yes, you.”

“I wasn’t allowed to have pets,” he said. “But… if I could’ve, yeah. I probably would’ve helped animals too. Look at Wolf—I do take good care of him.”

I smiled. He looked so sincere, like that part of him was still a little boy who never got the chance.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me next Friday?” Jack asked.

The room went silent. His eyes were locked on mine like no one else existed.

“Answer him!” Grandma said, practically bouncing in her seat.

“I’d love to go to dinner,” I said, trying not to grin too hard.

“Well, why don’t we all go to dinner?” Mable piped up.

Jack chuckled under his breath, and I turned toward her.

“No,” I said firmly, laughing a little. “What I mean is… I’d like to go alone with Jack.”

“Of course you would,” Grandma said, smirking. “But if he’s driving two hours to take you out, he’ll need to stay the night at my house. Right, Nate?”

Nate jumped in. “Actually, we’re going to stay at Mom and Dad’s. I wanted to talk to them about that big house of theirs. Grandma, you and Mable should stay there too.”

“Oh, that sounds perfect,” Grandma beamed. “We’ll have a little sleepover! Maybe your sisters will bring the kids.”

“Maybe,” Nate said. “I’ll call and ask.”

I was just relieved they weren’t all crashing our date. I looked at Jack again, and he looked like he was trying not to burst out laughing.

“The reason Mom and Dad still have that big house,” I added, “is because our family’s growing. She needs those bedrooms when the grandkids come to visit.”

“I never thought of that,” Nate said.