Ch 13
1071 Words
"Your dad has convinced everyone to load up and go into town. It will give you and Jake some time to talk."
"I highly doubt that he wants to talk to me right now."
"You need to talk. One on one. And we will get out of the way so you can do that. And this will give Amy and me some time to get to know Dominic a little more."
Allie laughed. "Have fun with that. He is not some shy little boy. He is very vocal and well, you will see."
"Should we be worried?"
"No, but you are in for a surprise."
"Okay. I will get everyone out of here. Make yourself at home and relax."
"Thank you."
Charlie patted Allie's knee and stood up and went back to join the group. She sat there until she heard the car doors shut and the tires against the gravel road. She took a deep breath and headed back to the front of the house. Part of her hoped that Jake went with them but then that would defeat the purpose of their spontaneous trip. Sure enough, he was sitting on the porch, head in his hands.
"Hey."
He looked up at Allie. "Hey"
"Think we need to talk?"
Jake placed the book carefully on the little table beside him and stood. "Was he good to Dominic?"
"Yes. He was an amazing father. He treated Dominic like he was his own flesh and blood from the moment he laid eyes on him. Sometimes I felt like he was only with me because of Dominic."
Jake nodded and took a step towards Allie. "Was he good to you?"
"Yes. Better than I deserved most of the time." She could feel the tears burning her eyes. She was trying to hold them back, but was struggling with control. Her heart and mind were bouncing back and forth between the widowed mother she was now and that teenage girl head-over-heels in love with her summer fling all those years ago. "Uh, what was in the book? They kept it from me."
"Pictures of Dominic growing up and a letter from Steve."
"Do you mind if I take a look at it?"
"Later." One more step closer. "Did you love him?"
"Yes. Yes, I did love him. I still do."
One more step closer. He was right in front of Allie. She tried to stand tall when, in fact, she was a little intimidated by his closeness. She looked in his eyes, knowing what the next question was going to be.
"Did you ever love me? Or was I just a summer fling for you?"
"Yes, I loved you. You know that. You were not just some summer fling. I never saw us like that. You know that. You have to know that." Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Jake wiped a tear from her cheek with his fingertip. "You know, I never stopped loving you. You have been on my mind constantly. I could not tell anyone that, though. I never stopped thinking about you and wondering where you were in life. Not once did I stop loving you. I still love you now."
Before she could respond, Jake's lips were on hers. He gently pulled her closer and held her. Her mind swirled at the familiar touch. He still had that effect on her after all the time apart. For a moment, she allowed herself to get lost in his kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck for a brief moment. Then she snapped back to the reality of the situation. She wasn't the same person she was all those years ago and they were left alone to talk, not take a stroll down memory lane, straight to the bedroom.
"Jake, I-" Allie took a step back, putting some distance between them.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to do that the minute that you stepped out of your truck."
"I am not that person anymore. We need to talk about things."
"We have plenty of time to talk."
"No, we need to talk now while everyone is gone."
Jake ran his hand through his hair and sat back down, slightly annoyed. "Fine. Talk."
"Is this the way that you are going to act now? Just because I did not give in to you and rush into the bedroom?"
"Grown a little high and mighty over the years, I see."
"I knew this was a mistake. I never should have come here. I never should have listened to my dad."
"So why did you come here? What do you want?"
"I came to tell you about Dominic."
"Why? Why now? Steve is dead so now all of a sudden you want to give me the chance to be a father?"
"I tried giving you a chance to be a father. You didn't want to hear it and automatically started talking about how ruined your life was going to be." Allie was trying to maintain her temper. Jake was getting seriously close to crossing a line. Once he did, he was not going to want to see that side of Allie.
"In one sentence you say you are pregnant and in the next that it is not mine. What the hell am I supposed to think at this point? You show up on my mom's doorstep after seven years of absolutely no contact. None. Not a f*****g word. No phone call, no text, no letter. Nothing. You just show up and drop a kid in my lap and tell me I'm the dad and not the guy you said. Did you guys plan this when you called to tell me? Was this the plan the entire time?"
"You son of a bitch."
"What do you expect me to think? All this time you let me believe that you cheated on me. That I wasn't good enough for you. That what we had was not enough for you. And I am sorry, it is hard to believe that a person will just step up and be a parent with no hesitation at all. Did he plan this the entire time? Was he planting the little seeds of doubt in your head?"
"How dare you!" Allie didn't even realize she had turned and grabbed one of the citronella mosquito repellent candles that was resting on the rail and hurled it towards Jake, narrowly missing him.
"What the hell!"
- Writer
