Page 28 of Steel & Jenna
Jack blinked, not sure what to say. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m going to be straight with you, Jack. My wife is the love of my life, the apple of my eye. I will do anything and everything for her.” His eyes narrowed slightly, “I have a feeling you are familiar with the sentiment.”
Stiffly, Jack nodded.
“You’re a great brother, Jack. There’s no disputing that. But you’re also just a kid. You deserve to be able to do kid things—like taking your girl out on a proper date without having to consider who will watch your little sister. Or having to work yourself to the bone so you can afford tofeedyour little sister.”
Jack’s spine straightened. As much as he agreed with Mr. Zarin’s words, he wasn’t sure he appreciated them. His circumstances were what they were and he was doing the best he could about them.
“Mrs. Zarin, my beautiful Daphne, says that she taught you when you were in first grade, too. Ten years ago?”
“Nine,” Jack confirmed.
“Did you know she had a miscarriage that year?”
Shock filled him. He shook his head. At that age, Jack wasn’t sure he would have understood what a miscarriage was.
“She’s had several,” Mr. Zarin said, a note of sadness in his soft voice. “Just when we start to get our hopes up that maybe this one will…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head. “I can’t watch my wife go through that pain again. We’ve stopped trying, but that doesn’t mean we’ve given up hope of having children.”
Not knowing what else to say, Jack said, “I’m sorry.”
“My wife has always had a very generous heart, Jack. She sees the good in people, even when sometimes there’s not good to be seen. She wants me to take you and Lilly home tonight, to have a talk with your father.”
Jack leapt out of his seat. “No! You can’t?—”
Mr. Zarin calmly put a palm up to stop Jack’s outburst. “I know.” His voice was stern as he repeated, “Iknow.”
His heart still racing, Jack slowly sank back down onto the stool. There was something there, something in Mr. Zarin’s eyes that told Jack that maybe hedidknow. Sometimes it was hard to remember that adults had once been kids too. He didn’t know a thing about Mr. Zarin’s childhood or what he’d been through to shape him into the man he was today. But…something told Jack that their situations might not be all that different.
“It’s sad and unfortunate, but there are men in this world who will never change, never see the harm they are doing. Or worse, they do see it and they choose to ignore it.” Mr. Zarin crossed his arms over his chest. “My father was one of those men. I was lucky, though, because I had a grandfather who saw and stepped in to rescue my mom and me. Do you have other family, Jack? Anyone else you can go to?”
Jack wanted to deny the truth, but the words got caught in his throat. Just like the first day of school when Mrs. Zarin had confronted Jack, he felt like he owed this man his honesty. After all, he’d confided in Jack what Jack was sure not many people knew or guessed about his childhood.
Slowly, Jack shook his head. “I tried. They… They don’t want anything to do with us.”
The expression on Mr. Zarin’s face was sad, but not surprised. “I’m sorry to hear that. Now, will you tell me about your father? I know your mom abandoned you, even though there are many in town who believe her to be dead.”
“She walked out on us.” Hatred for his mom that he tried to keep buried started to rise up. The word ‘abandoned’ struck a chord inside him. “I begged her to take Lilly away, but she just…” His voice cracked. “She left us.”
“Have you heard from her since?”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know where she is or what she’s doing. If I did, I might risk tracking her down and taking Lilly to her.” He’d never told anyone that before, not even Jenna. Maybe if their mom saw how badly Lilly needed her, she might change her mind.
“What’s your dad’s relationship like with Lilly?”
Jack had a feeling he knew what Mr. Zarin was really asking. It was the same question Jenna had asked in a roundabout way. His answer was the same. “Nonexistent. He refuses to have anything to do with her.”
“Is she in danger with him?”
As much as Jack hated to admit it, he nodded.
“Are you?”
Jack stiffened, straightening on the stool. That was not something anyone had ever asked him before. “Lilly’s the one who needs looking after,” he said defensively.
“Oh, of that, I have no doubt,” Mr. Zarin agreed. “But that doesn’t answer my question. Areyouin danger?”
Jack tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. He didn’t know what it was Mr. Zarin was after. Truth or lie, it changed nothing. “I’m…careful,” Jack finally said. “I’ve learned how to avoid him.”
