Page 116 of The Moment They Can't Forget

“I miss you too, but I need to go before security arrives to ask why I’m lurking at the end of my parents’ driveway.”

“Okay, and we’re walking with you, but we’re not actually, so you just remember that. Then come home. You and Zoe need to sort out this shit, and we’ll deal with the fallout whichever way it goes. But hurt her and I’ll kill you.”

“I’d let you. Later.”

“Later, and don’t take any crap.”

“No crap. Got it.” He finished the call, smiling. Suddenly the prospect of what he was about to do didn’t feel as bad as it had. Things were still up in the air with Zoe, but Sawyer had spoken to him, and for now that was enough. He’d talk to her soon, but right now he needed to do something he should have done years ago.

The trees were bigger, which was to be expected. His mother loved them because in fall the colors were amazing. The Hopper residence was huge, and on either side of them were neighbors that were of equal wealth and status. People JD had grown up with. Good people for the most, and he’d had friends here as a child.

The house was huge, with a gable roof and a long, low garage to the right. JD knocked on the large, impressive front door, and a woman opened it he didn’t know.

“Hello, I’m JD Hopper. Is my family at home?”

The woman’s eyes widened briefly, and then she nodded and stepped back to let him inside. “They are taking afternoon tea out the back, sir.”

“I know the way, thank you.” JD looked around as he walked. Nothing he could see had changed. The walls were still cream, and the entrance was huge, with a massive chandelier. He walked, reacquainting himself with the place that had once been his home.

But no more, JD realized. His home was in Lyntacky with the Dukes. With Zoe. He wanted to wake up in his bed surrounded by the things and people he loved. He wanted the chaos and crazy of Lyntacky.

Walking out the french doors, he found his family seated at a table. His eyes went to his father, and JD was shocked at what he saw. The once big, powerful Julian Hopper Sr. was now anything but.

All eyes turned as he approached, but it was his father he looked at. He was still dressed immaculately in a button-down dress shirt, but it hung on him. He’d lost a lot of weight, and he was pale. The once black hair was now streaked with silver.

“Julian,” his mother said, getting out of her seat. He saw the tears and felt another tug of shame that he’d punished her, too, for what her husband had done.

“Hello, Mother.” He hugged her gently. Her hands gripped his shirt, and he felt the sobs that shook her body, and his shame grew. “I’m sorry I stayed away so long.”

She let him go and then cupped his cheeks. He saw more lines on her face than there had been when last he saw her. His mother was a gentle soul who had been pampered and cared for her entire life. He should have realized she’d never stand up to her husband.

“It’s wonderful to see you, son.”

“And you, Mom.”

JD shook Henry’s hand and accepted his hug; then he approached his father.

“Father.”

“Julian, I’m glad to see you.” The words were still strong. “Will you sit and eat with us?”

He nodded and took a seat beside his brother.

“I had the compatibility tests,” JD said, looking at his father.

“I know, and I’m grateful considering how you feel about me and my behavior.”

“I’m not here to discuss that. I’m here to see you all and then go home. If it turns out the tests show I’m compatible, I will give you a kidney.”

“I would like to say something about my actions,” his father surprised him by saying.

JD nodded.

“It has taken my approaching death to make me see the man I was and the impact what I did had on others,” his father added solemnly. “My behavior was ruthless, and I know that because of my money, I avoided jail. That was wrong, and I see that now.”

Words had always been easy for his father, but he doubted the head of the Hopper family had done anything to correct the pain he’d caused others. However, at least he had admitted wrongdoing.

“You’ve changed, Julian,” his mother said, the peacemaker as she had always been.

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