“Of course not.” She was missing the point entirely.
“Seven years, Jack. Seven years I’ve waited for you. And in all that time, I have been a thinking, functional adult. I’ve held down a job, I’ve attended night school and earned a degree. Living day to day, sometimes minute to minute, never knowing if you were alive or dead; wondering if you would ever come back to me.” Tears streamed down her face, unchecked. “You should have talked to me.”
“Kathleen, please,” he said, rising from the stool to go to her, but she held up her hand in a ‘stop’ motion.
“Don’t. I love you, Jack, but I need some time to think about this.”
He swallowed hard; his heart had become a solid, heavy mass in his chest, keeping him from taking a full breath. “What is there to think about?”
She didn’t answer. She turned away, averting her eyes. “I’ve called Erin. She’s going to pick me up and take me back to the house so I can get my things.”
The pressure eased slightly. She wasn’t leaving him, she only wanted her things. Thank God.
“I can take you.”
She glared pointedly at the open bottle of Irish whiskey sitting on the bar. “No, you can’t.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“And I’m not willing to take the chance your self-perception is skewed.”
He clamped his lips together. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, she was right. He hadn’t been drinking a lot, but it was more than he should have had before even thinking about getting behind the wheel.
A late-model Chevy pulled up outside the front of the bar and honked the horn. “She’s here,” Kathleen said, her voice uncharacteristically flat. “I have to go.”
It took everything he had not to reach out and keep her from leaving, but one look at her face and he knew it would only make things worse. “When are you coming back?”
She paused at the door without turning back. “I don’t know.”
And then she was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Darkness had fallen, and it had been snowing for the past several hours. Jack’s mood darkened as it became increasingly likely that Kathleen wouldn’t be making it back anytime soon. He was torn between wanting to see her walk through the door and worrying that she would try to drive in the deteriorating weather conditions.
“Tell me again why you’re shooting pool with me instead of making love to your beautiful bride?” Brian said, lining up his shot.
“Because you picked the lock and forced your way in.”
“You hung up on me. And you have my car. Do you have any idea how long it took me to rip off all those damn cans?”
Jack grunted. Hell yes he’d hung up on him, because he wanted to avoid this. While he appreciated Brian returning the Galaxie can-free, he wished he would have left it in the lot and used the keys Jack had left under to floor mat to reclaim his own.
“She was pretty pissed about the bar, huh.”
“Yeah.”
Jack waited for the “I told you so”, but it didn’t come. Good man, Brian.
He leaned over and missed his shot. Brian stepped up and cleared the table before racking up again. “It’s hard, isn’t it?” Brian said without looking at him. “Coming home. Pretending as though nothing’s changed. Trying to remember how to be normal, when in your gut, you know that it’s just not possible.”
“Yeah.”
“But when I’m with Adonia, I don’t feel quite as ... broken.”
Jack nodded. Yes, that was it exactly. Kathleen made him feel whole again, or as close as he’d ever come. Her love and the dream of making a life with her were the only things that had gotten him through Hell. Kathleen was his croie. His heart. “Same.”
“So? What are you going to do about it?”
“What can I do? Kathleen’s really pissed. She left, man. And I can’t say I blame her.”
Brian looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “You’re kidding, right? This is Jack Callaghan I’m talking to, isn’t it?” Jack curled his upper lip, baring his teeth, but Brian was not intimidated. “You do what any man would do. You get your ass in gear and go after your woman. You tell her you fucked up big time and ask her forgiveness.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“You go down on your knees and beg. Not where anyone else can see you, though,” he added with a smirk. “Don’t want anyone thinking you’re completely pussy-whipped, even if it is the truth.”
Despite his foul mood, Jack’s lips quirked.
“Oh, and promise her you’re going to take her to that place in the Poconos as soon as the check clears. Then bring her back here and make love to her till walking away again isn’t an option.”
The plan had merit. “How’d you get to be so smart?”
“Experience. I’ve fucked up a lot. Hey, you okay to drive?”
“Yeah.” He hadn’t had anything stronger than water since she left; maybe, in the back of his mind, he’d known he’d go after her all along. Maybe that’s what she wanted –—a demonstration of sorts.