Page 66 of Bursting With Love
He parked the truck and unlocked the front door of the chalet, thinking about his visit with Ralph. He hadn’t been prepared for the reality of Ralph’s deteriorating condition or for his reaction to all that had transpired between them. Ralph’s love for Jack, and his acceptance of the idea of another woman in Jack’s life, should have been all Jack needed to move forward, but mending the fissure with his own family still loomed over him. He used the good that came from his visit with Ralph to spur himself into action. He couldn’t change the past, but he could create a better future. First he had to gain control of his own life.
Jack carried the new door over his head as he mounted the stairs to the second floor. The sight of the splintered wood on the floor of the nursery turned his stomach. What if Savannah had seen this? Jack didn’t work very hard at fooling himself. He knew that Savannah had seen that angry side of him. Hell, everyone had. But she didn’t need to see the evidence of his broken shell. He didn’t want to be that angry man anymore, and with Ralph’s blessing and a plan in mind, he was determined to change.
With the new door installed and the old one in the back of the truck, he swept the last of the rubble into the dustpan, then vacuumed the small room and drew the curtains open. The afternoon sun had already disappeared, and evening was creeping in. He checked his watch and wondered what time Savannah got off work. Savannah. Even her name felt exotic. She’d blown his mind last night with her honesty, her openness, and her loving touch. It wasn’t the physical act of being intimate. It was the way she put her heart into every stroke of her hand, every spoken word, and every kiss of her full, soft lips. She accepted his baggage. Instead of pushing him to move past it or ridiculing him for being weak, she’d simply led him away from the bedroom. Jack imagined that was not how most women would have reacted. Then again, Savannah wasn’t like any woman he’d ever known. He’d been so damn nervous when he’d touched her, and she felt so good beneath him and on top of him. Damn, she felt good. But there was more to a relationship than sex, and if anyone knew that, it was Jack. When he was in the military, he’d seen too many marriages fall apart while the men were on tour. A third of his team lost their wives to infidelity. He hadn’t understood it then, and he didn’t understand it now. Sex was a great release, but intimacy encompassed so much more, and it was the closeness of knowing each other that he missed most.
Jack went downstairs and pulled his cell phone from the drawer in the kitchen. He typed in Savannah’s number, which had been running through his mind since the evening before, and created a contact and speed-dial number for her. He scrolled through the few names in his address book. Elise, Kurt, Linda, Mom and Dad, Ralph, Rush, Sage, Dex and Siena. He scrolled back up to Linda’s name and hovered over the edit icon. I will always love you. He clicked edit, took a deep breath and closed his eyes, steeling himself against whatever emotions might fight back, and then Jack opened his eyes and clicked delete. He released his breath and stood frozen in place, waiting for the emotional onslaught to hit. The house was silent, save for the fluttering of the curtains. Jack’s pulse remained constant. His gut didn’t take a nosedive. He carried the phone to the back deck and sat on a chair.
“I did it. That’s a step.” Jack looked up at the sky, contemplating his next move. He felt like he was in a giant chess game and the right move would bring him to the other side, but the wrong move might take him out of the game altogether—and he’d already been out of the game for way too long. He pushed Savannah’s speed-dial number, and she answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful.” Her voice sent a thrill through his chest.
“Jack, hi. How’d it go?”
He pictured their kiss goodbye earlier that morning, the way her black slacks hugged her curves and drove a streak of jealousy through his heart. He’d had no competition when they were on the mountain, and the thought of her being ogled by men was unsettling.
“It went well. Ralph isn’t doing well, but we talked and it was good.”
“Yeah?” Savannah asked.
He could hear the restraint in her voice and knew she had a million questions. “Yeah. I’ll share the details when we see each other.” Shit. I shouldn’t assume you’re free to see me.
“Okay. I’m getting off work in about an hour. What’s on your plate tonight?”
“I was hoping you were.” I sound like a cheesy movie. “I mean—”
