Page 97 of Parrish

“I was throwing out the garbage at your age, bud,” Jack replies, winking at him. “Soon you’ll be cleaning the gutters.”

“No way,” I say, slapping his forearm. “Danny, you’re not cleaning the gutters.”

“Mom’s the boss,” Danny tells his father. “You said so yourself.”

“This is true,” Jack relents.

“It’s your turn,” Danny says.

Cracking his knuckles, Jack leans back and cocks his head to the side, contemplating his two truths and a lie.

“Go easy on me,” I warn.

“You don’t like it when I do,” he teases. In response I swat his arm again. Before I can pull my hand away, he snatches it and laces our hands together once more. “Hold my hand, Reina,” he murmurs. Any trace of playfulness disappears at the soft demand. “I need to touch you.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

Drawing out a heavy breath, he nods.

“One, I had to tie you up and drag you to the altar,” he says.

“That’s the lie.”

“I’m not finished.”

“I don’t care,” I retort.

“Alright, I didn’t have to drag you to the altar but you sure as hell made me work for it. It took you forever to set a date.”

“Did we have a big wedding?”

Abruptly he releases my hand. His jaw tightens, and he pushes himself off the bed.

“You know what, I think we’ve had enough. Don’t want to overdo it,” he basically growls. The change in his mood both shocks and confuses me. How can someone go from hot to cold in a blink of an eye? I start to wonder about the details of his illness and the effects it has on our marriage.

“What just happened?” I ask.

“Nothing.”

“Jack.”

“Danny, you ready? We need to head out before the barbershop closes.”

“Fine,” he sulks. “But can we come back tomorrow?”

“You have school tomorrow.”

“Afterwards?” I ask, forcing a smile at Danny. “You can tell me all about your day then.”

He returns the smile and looks to his father.

“Please Dad?”

“Yeah, bud. I’ll pick you up from school and bring you here. Give your mom a kiss and hug her real tight, okay?”

Jack doesn’t look at me as he starts for the door. Danny throws his arms around me and I bite back the urge to flinch at the pain. It’s another reminder that I’m not just mentally banged up. My body has suffered a severe amount of trauma too.

I press my lips to Danny’s temple and thank him for helping me get some of my memories back. Then, because it feels right…because it feels true, I tell my son I love him. I might be his father’s sunshine, but nothing can erase the fact he’s mine.

With another kiss to my cheek, Danny rushes to his father’s side and takes his hand. Jack finally meets my gaze and the same feeling engulfs me as it did with Danny.

The heart doesn’t forget.

I love Jack Parrish.

“I’ll be back later,” Jack says. “I’ll bring back dinner.”

Broody and broken.

I love him.

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