The Promise (35 page)

“Hey
little man,” Chase greets him. JT glances between Chase and I, seemingly turning a little shy.

“JT
, where are your manners? Say hello to Chase,” I say a little more firmly this time and watch as he looks over to Chase again.

“Hi,” JT starts in a small voice
, “you’re a big boy!” he says in amazement as he takes in Chase’s height and build. His outburst causes the both of us to laugh.

“Yep, I’m a big boy,” Chase says simply a
s he looks down at us. “You’re a big boy too!” he adds, but JT looks at him as though he’s nuts before shaking his head.

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yep. Wanna know how I know you are?” Chase asks him and I watch as JT nods. “Big boys can give high fives. Can you give me a high five?” He asks. JT grins and nods even more vigorously before smacking Chase’s hand with his own. Chase pulls an exaggeratedly impressed face as JT laughs.

“Aunt Sophie
? I want down now,” he manages to say once his giggles subside. Kissing him on the cheek, I place him onto his feet and watch as he runs over to Ana so he can say his hellos. JT run over to where Ana and Drake are standing and I laugh at the goofy face she pulls, before she tickles him and pulls him in for a hug.

“Hey little cuz! Where’s your momma?” she asks
. JT points towards the front door and she takes a hold of his hand so she can lead him into the house. “Say hi to Drake, buddy.”

JT
glances over at me again, as though for approval and so I nod to remind him of his manners again. He releases an exhausted hello to Drake before Ana leads him inside.

“Are you okay?” Chase asks me
, bringing my attention back to him as I turn to face him. Taking a deep breath, I nod. He rubs my arm affectionately as we walk inside to help Lucy get things ready for Jack’s memorial. Making my way through the door, I see everything she’s done and stop dead in my tracks.

Jack is everywhere.

***

Chase

If there was ever any doubt in my mind about the picture in Sophie’s room, there never will be again. I have my head hanging down low as we walk through the door and so I don’t notice her pausing just inside the doorway until I run straight into the back of her.

As I
look up, I quickly understand why she paused. There are dozens of pictures scattered all over the room, all with Jack’s face on them. Many of them are of him with various people, but most are of him and Sophie.

The picture of them
down by the lake I’ve already seen, but then there are pictures of them at homecoming, around the house making goofy faces at the camera and loads more. There are even pictures of him in his BDU’s and holding her, with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist as they kissed each other at the airport. There’s a picture of the two of them with Matt at a party taking shots, one of them singing together while Jack held onto a guitar and one of Jack carrying her piggyback as she kissed him on the cheek. There’s one of the two of them in a hospital and holding a baby for who I assume to be JT, them in front of a Christmas tree, a picture of them laughing at the police station in their prom clothes while Sophie helped Jack ice his busted lip …

Every holiday
is covered.  In one, they’re dressed up for Halloween, Sophie a sexy cop and Jack a smiling inmate. Sophie kissing him in his football uniform after a game, them sleeping on the couch with writing on their faces and Ana pointing at them while laughing.

Of course
I knew they’d had a life together, but seeing it here in front of me like this is quite a shock to my system.

I
bring my eyes up until they land over on Drake and Ana, seeing that they’ve also stopped not too far in front of us. They both seem to turn around at the same time, so they can gauge our reactions, Ana watches Sophie as Drake watches me.

Suddenly, I fe
el unbelievably out of place, but as I look down and see Sophie bringing her hands up to her face, I remember the reason as to why I’m here. I won’t leave her unless she asks me to.

P
lacing my hands softly on Sophie’s shoulders, I rub them gently and kiss her on the back of the head. A young, short, blonde haired woman walks out of the kitchen and focuses her eyes directly on Sophie before walking over and pulling her towards her and into her chest.

“I’m sorry, Baby Girl. I tried to call and give you a head’s up but you didn’t answer your phone,” she
begins to explain as Sophie lifts her head up to look at her.

“My phone died last night,” she whispers.

“Do you want me to take it all down? I’ll take it all down right this second if that’s what you want, sugar,” she says, although Sophie is already shaking her head at her in reply.

“No, this is what everyone want
s. It’s just a shock but I’ll be okay,” Sophie answers as she pulls away. “Luce, this is Chase. Chase this is Ana and Jack’s cousin, Lucy. She’s also JT’s mother.”

I put my hand out to shake hers a
s I smile. “Hi Lucy, it’s nice to meet you,” I say, receiving a warm smile from her.

“Y’all hungry or anything? I made some
things for us to snack on while we finish getting everything put together for tomorrow,” Lucy says.

“I need a drink,” Ana says
as she heads towards the kitchen. Ana glances towards Sophie before asking, “You want your usual?”

Sophie looks at JT who’s just walk
ing into the room as she shakes her head. “No thanks. I think I’ll just have some sweet tea or something for now.”

“Chase? Beer?” she ask
s but I shake my head.

“Aunt Sophie?” JT
grabs her attention as she kneels down to talk to him.

“What
, Baby?” she asks, looking into his big blue eyes before kissing him on the cheek and smoothing his light hair back.

“Why are there pictures of you and
my Uncle Jack everywhere?” he asks quietly. Sophie’s features soften as she gives him a small smile.

“Because Uncle Jack is special and we miss him. We wanted to see him,” she whisper
s, with JT now playing with a strand of her long hair.

“Why can’t you
just ask him to come over?” he asks with confusion. Sophie pulls him closer to her before picking him up in her arms and squeezing him tightly

“Oh Baby, come on. Let’s go sit down and we’ll talk
okay?” she asks before carrying him through to the living room and sitting down with him in her lap on the couch. “Uncle Jack really wants to come over and see you but he’s really, really far away in Heaven and so he can’t come here right now.” I can see the tears forming in her eyes as she cradles him in her arms while speaking softly. “But Baby, he loves you so much, do you know that?” JT nods at Sophie and I watch as she smiles back at him before she gives him a kiss on the forehead.

“Aunt Sophie?” he asks.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sweepy. Can
you sing to me?” he asks her with a yawn. She nods, picks him up and then carries him to a room down the hallway. I hear her muffled voice travelling out from the other room. In an effort to give them more privacy and clear my head, I walk out to the porch and sit down on the chair by the door.

L
eaning back, I take a deep breath as I think about everything that’s happened between us. I can’t believe how drastic a turn we’ve taken in just a few short days. It’s extremely overwhelming but I know I’d do it all over again if it means I’ll be with her. I just wish I could take away some of her pain.

My thoughts are broken by the sound of the door opening
. I turn to see Matt walking through the door. I didn’t know that he was here but I’m not at all surprised either.

“Wow, man. That was
pretty awkward … Are you good?” he asks as he takes a seat beside me.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just wanted to give her a little space
… I figured she could use some right about now,” I answer him as he hands me a beer.

“Go ahead
. I saw you eyeing one in the kitchen and Sophie won’t care. She’s just weird about drinking in front of JT because of her mom, ya know?” I don’t really know at all but I nod anyway as I accept the beer from him. “Besides, he’s going to take a nap anyway.”

I sit quietly, nursing my beer
as my thoughts return back to Sophie. She’s been through so much tragedy in her short life already, but she’s remained so strong to be able to still get out of bed every morning. I can’t imagine how she’s feeling right now. To be honest, I don’t think that I would ever want to. I’ve only had her in my life for two months but I really can’t imagine what my life would be like without her now. Having her for four years and then having her taken away from me would fucking kill me.

An old truck pull
ing up in the driveway draws my attention and I find that my eyes stay fixed on a tall, muscular man with tattoos and black hair as he steps out, before walking over to the porch. He’s wearing jeans and one of those tight t-shirts that douche bags wear when they’re trying to show off. He removes his sunglasses and the cowboy hat he’s wearing as he approaches the door. Looking me over from head to toe, he greets Matt.

“What’s up
, bro?” he asks smiling in Matt’s direction before giving him a hug.

“Hey man, how’s it going?” Matt
returns his greeting before looking over at me. “Chase, this is Maverick, He’s an old friend of Ana’s.”

“I don’t know if call
ing me an old ‘friend’ of Ana’s is the best way to introduce me … but whatever,” Maverick laughs. He puts his hand out and I accept, shaking it to be civil but I can already tell that I’m not a fan. Drake’s gonna kick this guy’s ass if he steps out of line with Ana and this thought alone makes me inwardly smirk.

“Hey, I’m Chase. How’s it going?”

“You here with Ana?” he asks, sizing me up no doubt,

“No, I’m here with Sophie,” I answer
, and although he appears to be a little surprised, he nods his acceptance

“Aw shit,” I hear Sophie
mumble as she opens the door up. I turn in her direction and see her almost glaring at Maverick before I stand and walk over to her side.

“You okay?” I ask
, receiving a small smile from her.

“Yeah but he won’t be if Ana sees him here,” she gestures to
wards Maverick and I notice a look of surprise spreading across his face at her words. “Maverick, what are you doing here? Ana’s gonna lose her shit if she sees you.”

“I heard y’all were back in town
and just wanted to drop by and say hi,” he answers, giving her a small sideways hug as she rolls her eyes at him.

“Well, did you also hear that she brought her boyfriend with her?”
she asks him as she crosses her arms across her chest. His grin widens at this and so Sophie smacks him. “I swear you’re an idiot sometimes. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get back in your truck and get the hell out of here before she sees you.”

“Who are you talking to?” Ana
asks as she and Drake walk out of the front door to join us. She pauses in the doorway when her eyes land on Maverick. “Oh, shit.”

Matt laughs, “Why
is it that every woman seems to say those exact words whenever they see you, Maverick?”

“Cause he’s an ass,” Sophie whispers a
s she moves over to stand beside me. I pull her in closer to my side and place my arm around her.

I notice that s
he’s showered and changed into a pair of white shorts and a blue tank top. Her hair is still wet and smells of her usual coconut shampoo. I lean and place a kiss on her head as I inhale the smell.

“Mmm, you smell good,” I whisper
. She hugs me closer to her as we watch the scene in front of us.

Drake must sense the awkward position Ana’s in
as he walks up next to her. He places his hand around her waist before sticking his hand out. “Hey, I’m Drake, Ana’s
boyfriend
.” Yes. The emphasis he adds to his last spoken word makes me realize that Drake obviously detects something off with this whole scenario.

Maverick looks at Drake
before bringing his eyes back onto Ana, his eyes now glancing between the two of them. Seemingly defeated, he accepts Drake’s hand, “Maverick … I’m the ex …”

Drake smirks
, presumably from the glumness displaying over Maverick’s features, before letting go of his hand after a quick shake and patting him on the shoulder.

“That’s rough, man,” he says to Maverick with a small, sympathetic smile
. I hear Sophie giggling under her breath by my side. “Ready, Baby?” he asks Ana and she nods, still appearing a little stunned by the turn of events before she looks back over to Sophie.

“We’re heading to the store
. Do you guys need anything?” she asks us, but we both shake our heads as a way of reply. She walks over to Sophie and gives her a hug before whispering, “I love you.”

“Love you back,” Sophie answers
before we watch them heading down the steps and towards Drake’s car.