Page 43 of The Choices I've Made
“But I can’t live without you,” he said. “I need you, Molly.”
My heart broke over his words. Because I knew it wasn’t true.
If he needed me, he wouldn’t leave.
If he needed me, he would stay.
“Go, Jake. Find yourself. Grieve and heal…but do it without me. Because I will not be your constant reminder of everything you lost.”
He could see the truth in my words. He knew it, too.
We were over, and there was nothing either of us could do to change that.
I swallowed down a bit of regret, realizing how difficult it must be for him to be so close to it all. No wonder he’d run back to the inn—the one place that still felt like home.
“You stay here,” he instructed as he put the car in park on the gravel driveway.
“Like hell,” I countered, pulling my swollen foot off the dash.
“You’re supposed to be resting,” he argued, knowing it was no use.
I was just as stubborn as he was, but the difference was this was my town now.
My business.
And I’d be damned if I let him stomp all over my hard work.
“Well, at least use the damn crutches I grabbed from the clinic for you,” he said as he stepped out of the car, stopping by the trunk to grab the metal sticks of death.
“I hate those things,” I whined. “I can just hop.”
He laughed, like it was the most ludicrous idea on the planet. “No. Use them, or stay in the fucking car, Molly.”
His voice sent chills down my spine as I remembered just how demanding he could be.
“Fine,” I complied, taking the crutches from him.
After adjusting them to my height and taking a few practice steps, I had to admit, they did help.
Of course, I’d never tell him that.
“So, what do you need from Terri?” he asked as he walked alongside me, making sure I didn’t fall.
“Just let me do the talking. You…” I paused, turning my head toward him. “You just stand there and look pretty.”
“And get interrogated by Terri?”
“Naturally.”
“Sounds like a blast,” he said sarcastically.
He let me take my time going up the worn steps and pressed the buzzer. We waited for Terri to arrive.
“It’s been taking her longer and longer to answer the door lately,” I told him.
The door pulled open, and Terri appeared. “But I still have ears like an elephant. So, stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
Jake snorted in amusement next to me, and I shot him a death stare.
