Secret Storm (24 page)

The funeral director raised an eyebrow at
Tim.

"Go ahead."

"Yes sir."

He opened the coffin and Mary peered inside.
Tim stepped back while Jack turned his back to them, and Sara bowed
her head.

Mary nodded and signaled to close the lid.
"Thank you."

"Satisfied?" Tim rubbed her shoulder.

"Yes, I am." The man she loved took her hand
and led her to one of the many empty seats.

Sara stood beside Jack as he stared at the
floor, kicking at something she couldn't see. "Jack?"

He didn't respond.

She bit her quivering lip.
Why am I
crying?
Jack had finally asked for her help, but she had no
idea what to do.

She looked to Mary, who got up and hugged her
son. He remained stiff in his mother's arms. "You should...."

He shook his head. "I have nothing to say to
him. I never should've come."

Sara took his hand. "You need to—"

"What?" His dark eyes flashed as he fought to
control his anger.

"You need to relax." She tried to massage the
tension from his hand.

His shoulders dropped as he exhaled.

"Let's sit down." She and Mary led him toward
the front row of cold metal folding chairs.

He refused to look at the casket.

A pastor said a few words and read some
Psalms that sounded nice, but Sara wondered if they really
comforted anyone. Could the pastor have any idea what this funeral
meant?

"Oh Lord, have mercy on your child,
Robert...."

Jack stiffened, and someone else coughed. She
squeezed his hand and he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling
her into his chest.

"Amen," the pastor said, his voice hollow in
the silence.

The family stood up and left the room, Mary
leading the way. Sara followed Jack and nearly ran into him when he
stopped dead.

He spun around and headed straight for the
casket.

Mary and Tim stopped and stared, and Ben went
after him, but as he passed Sara, she grabbed his arm.

"Just go. I'll stay with Jack."

Ben nodded. "All right. Let me know if you
need me."

He escorted the rest of the family outside
while she turned and followed Jack, remaining a respectful distance
away as he approached his father's casket.

***

My father. What a joke—and a cruel one at
that.

"I thought I didn't have anything to say to
you, but I guess I was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. I hoped
to never see you again, but I have to be honest, it's good to see
you like this. I don't even know how you died, but that's not
important. You're dead. That's all I care about." Jack loosened his
tie. "But I'm not here to gloat. I'm not here to tell you I hate
you. You already know that."

Why am I here?
He had something to
say, but the words wouldn't come out right.

"I'll never forgive you." Prentiss already
knew that too; Jack had told him at the trial. "You took away
everything I loved, just because you wanted to."

As he stood in the empty room, thinking about
everything Prentiss had taken from him, he sensed someone else
there with him.
Sara?
At that moment, remembering how she'd
taught him to let go, he realized he hadn't lost everything. He'd
found trust and love, things he'd thought he and his family had
lost forever. His grandparents had a strong marriage and a good
family. His mother had married a man who loved her and treated her
right. Jack would graduate from college, something Prentiss had
never done.

In spite of everything Prentiss had done to
hurt them, they had all managed to be happy.

Jack smiled. "I'm here to tell you I won. You
tried to defeat me and you almost did. I could have let you ruin my
life. I could have held onto the pain of you killing Taylor. I
could have let anger take over my life like you did. But I'm not
going to."

He stood up straight. "I won't give you the
satisfaction. You see, I'm tougher than you. Not because I beat the
shit out of you, not because I sent you to prison, but because I
have a woman here with me—a woman I love more than she'll ever
know—who taught me that real strength comes from knowing my
weaknesses and asking for help. There's nothing wrong with asking
for help.

"When I came up here, I intended to tell you
to go to hell, but you're already there. So I'm here to tell you
I'm letting it go—all of it—the pain, the anger. No more.

"I'll probably have to do this again tomorrow
and the day after, but I'm not going to let you get the best of me.
It's as simple as that."

Jack looked at the coffin.
We're
done. No more words left.

He turned and strode out, stopping when he
caught sight of Sara waiting for him behind the last row of chairs.
He'd suspected she'd been listening—even hoped she'd heard all he
had to say. He wanted no more secrets between them.

"Are you all right?" Her beautiful blue eyes
filled with unshed tears.

"Yeah." He smiled and pulled her into his
arms. "I'm okay. Thank you for being here."

"I didn't do anything."

"You did more than you'll ever know," he
whispered as his lips caressed hers. "Let's get out of here."

His family waited outside, looking anxious.
Jack smiled and put his arm around his mom's shoulders. "I'm
okay."

"I love you, honey."

"I love you too, Mom."

Tim smiled and patted his shoulder. Jack let
him. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, we should do it more often." About
time he got to know his mom's husband—his stepfather—better. "I
have a game in Oak Grove next week. That's not too far from you, is
it?"

"Not at all. I think we can make it."

"I'll call you later and let you know when
and where." He shook Tim's hand, then turned and found Sara talking
to his grandpa.

"I'm glad you're finally giving Tim a
chance," Ben said. "He's a pretty good guy."

Had he overheard their conversation? "How did
you know...?"

"I've always been able to read you like a
book, son."

"Yeah, that's true."

"Don't be afraid to take a risk every now and
then. Sometimes the rewards are worth it." Ben's gaze drifted
toward Sara.

"I'll remember that."

"Think you can handle the burial
service?"

Jack looked past them at the casket being
loaded into the hearse while his mother waited in the car. "Yeah,
I'll make it."

"Good. Afterward, everybody's invited to our
house for lunch. Stay as long as you like."

"We need to get back to school."

"Don't argue with me, Johnnie. Your
grandmother needs to feed you before you leave." Ben got in the
car.

"I guess you were told," said Sara as she
walked with him to the Jeep.

"I'm sorry. I hope missing so many classes
doesn't cause problems for you."

She smiled and shook her head. "No. I already
got into grad school. I'll catch up when we get back."

Grad school: the last lingering shadow over
their bright future. He wished he knew if he'd gotten the job in
Forest Glen. He looked at her, and she flashed him a smile brighter
than any sun. Maybe he didn't need to know.

The graveside service took only a few
minutes. This time Jack didn't mind the bright sunshine. Maybe it
meant something new had started for him. New things were a little
scary, but for the first time in his life, he felt confident in
taking the risk.

***

Sara sat at the picnic table in Ben and
Elizabeth's backyard, quietly observing the people around her. Mary
and her former mother-in-law gushed over the food, comparing
recipes and techniques. Jack and his stepfather talked sports, each
one trying to top the other with stories from their glory days. A
good-natured competition, and from what Sara could hear, Jack
won.

That left her chatting with Ben, a charming
gentleman. His old-fashioned side contradicted his open-mindedness,
and he seemed to enjoy playing the sexist rogue.

"So are you and Jack hitting the sheets
yet?"

She nearly choked on her lemonade. Apparently
he enjoyed shocking people too. "That is none of your
business."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"If you're trying to embarrass me, it won't
work." She had no problem discussing sex. She'd prove it to the old
man if he pushed her.

"I noticed. You're a tough cookie. Exactly
what Johnnie needs."

"Thank you."

"You need to warm up a little though. Men
like their women soft."

Oh, this is going to be interesting.
"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let him wear the pants once in a while, even
if you're the boss."

"Oh really?"

"Like this." Ben put his empty glass in front
of Elizabeth. "Pour me another lemonade, sugar."

Elizabeth ignored him and continued talking
to Mary.

Sara laughed. "Like what?"

"Sometimes it works better than others."

Jack cast a wary eye at his grandfather.
"What are you up to?"

"Charming your girl."

"So I see." He turned to Sara. "I should get
you out of here before he totally corrupts you."

"I can handle him." Obviously Jack got his
naughty streak from his grandfather.

"How long is the drive?" Ben asked.

"Almost six hours."

"It would only take you five hours in the
Mustang. Why aren't you driving it?"

"Because the Mustang's failed me one too many
times. I'm gonna have to let it go, Gramp."

"I was afraid of that." He sighed. "At least
sell her for parts so she can live on somewhere else."

"I will." Jack looked at his watch. "It's
getting late. We should get going."

"Stay here tonight," Ben said. "We don't get
to see you enough, and you know your grandmother needs you to get
rid of all this food."

Jack laughed and looked at Sara.

She kind of enjoyed being away from school
for awhile.

"What do you think?" he said.

They would miss more classes, but keeping
Jack with his family awhile longer might be a good idea. Besides,
she couldn't leave until she'd matched wits with that dirty old
man. "I'd rather make the drive after a good night's sleep." She
covered up a yawn, hoping she didn't look as tired as she felt.

"Me too." He yawned with her. "Okay, Gramp,
we'll stay."

"Good. Jack, you can stay in Jacob's old room
and Sara—"

"I'll stay with Jack." No point pretending
they weren't sharing a bed.

Ben nodded. "Sara knows what she wants."

"Yes I do." She wanted to be with Jack no
matter where life took them.

She could put grad school off for a year, do
an internship, or get some work experience. Or maybe they could
give a long-distance relationship a try. They would figure out
something. Looking at the people around her—a family who'd loved
each other through hell and back—she realized no career was as
important as being with the man she loved.

Ben laughed. "Give up now, Johnnie. She'll
always get what she wants." He stood up and slapped Jack on the
shoulder, winking. "Which is not such a bad thing." He grabbed his
glass and disappeared into the house.

"Why does he call you Johnnie?"

"Because I let him." He smiled and slid
closer to her. "I think it reminds him of what might have been. Not
everyone can let it go completely."

"Can you?"

He smiled, and she saw something in his eyes
she'd never seen before—peace.

"Let's go for a walk. I want to show you
something." He led her to a secluded, untamed part of the property
where a large oak tree spread its branches out like a canopy,
shading the grass below. A few broken boards nailed to the trunk
were all that remained of a makeshift ladder. He looked up into the
network of branches. "I'm surprised it's still here."

"What is?" She stood beside him, staring up
in the same direction, seeing only leaves and branches.
Oh
wait... is that a wall?

"Gramp built this tree house for me when I
was ten. No one knew about it except me and him. I used to play out
here for hours—all night sometimes. It was my hiding place."

"Were you always alone?"

He grabbed her hand. "You're the first person
I've ever brought here."

A simple thing, but still an honor.
"Thank you for sharing this with me."

He looked into the tree again. "I wonder if I
can still get up there."

"The ladder doesn't look much like a ladder
anymore."

"No problem." He jumped up and grabbed the
lowest branch, and pulled himself up.

His feat of strength would have been a real
turn-on if she hadn't been so worried he'd break his neck. "Be
careful. That tree house has been there a long time. It might not
be safe anymore."

He stuck his head through the window. "It
looks solid." He opened the wobbly door and ducked inside.

She listened to the weathered gray planks
creak and groan under his weight. "You're not as light as you used
to be."

"Nah. It's fine. I— Whoa shit!"

The weak boards snapped. He crashed though
the old floor and hit the ground with a thud.

"Jack!" She scrambled to where he lay
stretched out on his back gasping for breath. "Are you hurt? Can
you move?"

He groaned and tested his arms and legs,
slowly turning his head. "I'm okay." He took a deep breath and
chuckled. "Must've landed on my head."

"Your thick skull saved you."

"You think so, huh?" He grabbed her and
pulled her down beside him.

They laughed and kissed, cuddled-up in each
other's arms in the soft cool grass. Sara sprawled across his
chest, listening to his slow and calm breaths.

"It's so peaceful here," she whispered.

"That's why I liked it. This was my escape. I
came here to get away from my life."