Page 48 of Bursting With Love
“Oh, Jack,” Elise said. “Honey, you’ve been angry for so long that you probably haven’t grieved.”
Jack sucked in another breath. “I…” His voice was swallowed by more tears. His lower jaw shook with the force of his sadness. “I’m sorry,” he finally managed, though it came out as a whisper. Could I have been so angry that I never really grieved? He had no idea if that was possible, but he was so thankful for Elise’s kindness, and the memory and feelings it evoked, that he didn’t care. If he had yet to grieve, he could face that. Now he could face anything.
“Jack, please. We’re past the accusations and the anger, but we’re all very worried about you. Linda wouldn’t have wanted you to hide away from the world for so long. You know that. She’d want you to be happy and to live a fulfilled life, Jack. Linda loved you, and that’s what people who love each other hope for.”
He sank to the floor. “Thank you,” he said in a gravelly, shaky voice.
“You don’t have to thank me, Jack. I care about you. We all do.”
“Elise, I have…” He took a deep breath, trying to keep the sobs that were wrenching his chest to keep from swallowing his voice again. “I have Linda’s clothes. I can’t keep them.”
“Linda’s clothes? You’ve had them all this time?”
Jack nodded, then realized she couldn’t see him. “Yes. Baby clothes, too.” Fresh sobs burst forth, and he buried his eyes in the crook of his elbow.
“Oh, Jack,” Elise whispered. “Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“I’m coming over.”
The line went dead, but Jack couldn’t lift his arm to set the receiver on the console. He couldn’t raise his head from his arms. He could barely breathe as the grief worked its way through every cell of his body. His limbs trembled, his stomach ached, and his goddamn teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. Jack gave in to the helpless state, and the room filled with his cries as misery worked its way from somewhere deep within the recesses of his heart and soul and left him feeling depleted and hollow.
Chapter Twenty-One
SAVANNAH LEANED ON the wall of the Gapstow Bridge, scanning Central Park for Josh and Riley. There were more families than usual strolling through the park. Whether that was due to the unseasonably cool evening or the impending concert, she couldn’t be sure, but it was nice to see people strolling instead of hustling at the typical frenetic pace of the city. The changing leaves reminded her of the Colorado Mountains, which brought her back to Jack. Savannah sighed, wishing she hadn’t stood up for herself after all. It wasn’t like he was treating her badly or trying to hurt her. He’d told her how confused he was. He was honest. What is wrong with me?
She saw his face in every man she passed and heard his voice when there was no one in the room. She thought about contacting him through his website but then realized that doing so would just be feeding into her weakness when it came to men. This time she wasn’t going to be the woman who chased down unworthy lovers. She’d had enough of that with Connor. But Jack’s not unworthy! There was no comparison between Connor and Jack. Connor never professed a single emotion toward Savannah, while Jack didn’t hesitate to bare his soul and say exactly what he was feeling.
A hand gripped her shoulder, and she started, then spun around and found her younger brother Josh looking down at her with laughter in his eyes.
“You scared the shit out of me.” She hugged him and realized that he was just about the same height as Jack. She felt the difference between Josh’s lean, muscular frame and Jack’s thick, powerful body.
“Hey, Savannah.” Riley embraced her. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” They were a striking couple. Riley appeared youthful and happy in skinny jeans and a red spaghetti-strap blouse with her shoulder-length hair framing her face, and Josh looked handsome in khaki pants and a short-sleeved white dress shirt, which set off his dark eyes and black hair.
“I know. It does feel that way, but ever since you and Josh got together, I see more of you both than ever before, so I can’t complain,” Savannah said.
“We tried to call you.” Josh wrapped his arm around Riley’s waist. “We were going to try to meet earlier, but I guess you’re screening your calls.”
“Not from you I’m not.” She pulled out her phone and made a tsk sound. “It was still on silent from my meeting. I’m sorry. Wow. I have six messages. Did you call me that many times?”
