Chapter 20 - Jack

A few days after the big meeting, I'm getting ready for work with Sam and Lena. I miss the intimate moments Lena and I had in the mornings, but I understand it's important to make Sam feel welcome.

Lena and I will get our quiet mornings back soon. After Sam graduates, he'll probably move out, or he might get himself a different job.

Sam is happy enough when Lena's around but gets very quiet around me and other members of the pack. Lena has explained to me the kind of brainwashing her Father did to them, so I try to take it slow and show him he can trust us.

We drive into work together, my truck starting to feel a bit crowded. Lena has been working at the shop for a while now and is very comfortable with the routines, but Sam looks completely lost on his first day.

I get Sam started packing some orders while Lena heads in to help Betty with admin and calls. I go to my office to talk to the clients, and for a few hours, I lose track of time.

When I come out onto the shop floor, Sam is nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," I call out to Derek. "You seen Sam?"

"Oh, he went out the back to get some scrap wood. He's been out there a while. I was just about to go and get him."

"I'll do it," I say, heading out the back. Extended from the main warehouse is a storage shed where scraps go, everything from small tools to bags of concrete. We can often sell it as small lots to people doing personal projects. The big construction companies we usually sell to would have no use for it.

"Sam?" I call out. "You around?"

I can hear a bit of noise towards the back of the shed, so I head that way. When I finally find Sam, he's seated at a big worktable with several small pieces of soft white wood. He's whittling away with a small knife, completely focused on his work.

"What are you doing?" I ask, curiously. Sam jumps in his seat like he's been shot and looks at me with guilty eyes.

"Nothing!" he exclaims. "Just fiddling with some wood. The guys said this stuff out here wasn't important…I hope I haven't done something wrong."

As I get closer, I see that Sam has been carving small wooden figures. Little cats, dogs, and frogs are scattered under his hands. The lines are simple, and the carving itself is crude, but I'm impressed by how easily he has shaped the wood.

"These are amazing!" I exclaim, reaching out to get a closer look. "Have you ever done any carving before?"

"Ah, no," he mutters. "I got out of shop at school to do extra math. And my father wouldn't allow a frivolous activity like this."

"Well, I think you've done great," I say, slapping him on the shoulder. "How about we go and grab some food for the morning break?"

Sam nods eagerly, and we head out to the diner, bringing back food and coffee for the crew. While we eat, everyone laughs and talks together, and I can slowly see Sam beginning to relax.

Over the next few days, Sam works odd hours at the store around his school hours. He gets a feel for the business and obviously enjoys everyone's company, but he still has a nervous look, as if he's waiting for a bomb to drop.

At the end of the week, it's time for dinner at my mom's house. Lena is excited, but I can tell Sam is nervous.

What the hell did Peter tell him to make him so scared? And how did he justify giving Lena to such horrible people?

When we arrive, my mother abandons her kitchen and charges down the hallway like a horse out of a gate. Lena leaps towards her, and they hug, but Sam hangs back behind me.

"Hi, Babykin!" she cries, hugging me.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Mom."

She laughs, messing up my hair, then turns to Sam. "Lovely to meet you, young man," she says, holding out a hand. He takes it hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you, too," he answers, shaking her hand. "Thank you for having me."

"My absolute pleasure," Carla says, not letting go of his hand. "Come on into the kitchen with me and see what I'm cooking. A young man like you needs feeding, and I've made so much food in honor of our new guest."

I can't hold in my groan. Mother always makes too much food as it is. I can't imagine what "extra" even means.

We head out the back and join Bailey and Gina, and Dad at the barbecue. As Dad finishes up cooking the meat, Mom comes out with Sam, both of them carrying trays of salad and sides.

Sam looks relaxed and happy, a big smile on his face. When I look over at Lena, she's grinning, too.

"I never thought I'd see him so happy!" she says. "He's definitely taking his time settling in, but I think this might be the turning point."

"Mom has gone to extra effort tonight, not that she needs to."

Lena nods. "It was your mom who convinced me, too. I couldn't equate her with the image Dad gave me of your family. I knew it had to be a lie."

I reach out for her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Now you know what it means to be safe," I whisper, leaning over to kiss her cheek. She giggles and kisses me back.

As the night goes on, Sam looks more and more relaxed, laughing and joking with Dad and Bailey. I can tell he's still holding on to some fear, but he's learning quickly that there is no need for it.

A couple of days later, Jenks is holding one of his parties. Lena convinces Sam to come with us and meet more of the pack. Sam is clearly anxious but agrees.

When we arrive there are so many people in Jenks' house they are all over the front porch and scattered across the lawn. I grin over at Lena, remembering the last time we were here. She grins back, her cheeks colored up just slightly as she thinks about our intimate moment.

Sam is looking around eagerly, seeming to get into the atmosphere. As we head for the stairs to go inside, Jenks appears in the doorway in a bright red leotard with his vibrant wizard hat perched crookedly on his head.

"My friends!" he announces, raising a plastic tumbler of beer over his head. "Join me in a toast to celebrate this wonderful occasion."

"What occasion?" someone yells from the crowd.

"My party," Jenks replies, laughing. "The occasion is always the party."

"Just the party?" someone else calls out.

"The words ‘just' and ‘party' do not belong in the same sentence!" Jenks yells, waving his beer. "Every party is grand, every party is its own occasion. Why do I party so much? Because life is the occasion, my friends, and we should live for happiness and pleasure!"

People clap and cheer and Jenks does a very melodramatic bow, completely spilling his beer. He approaches the steep wooden stairs, attempts a grand descent, but trips on the first step.

He tumbles dangerously towards the ground, does a flip, and lands on his feet. The crowd roars its approval and Jenks bows again.

Throughout this display, Sam has remained silent and wide-eyed. I watch him closely, waiting to see how he reacts. This might just be the proof he needs to decide the pack is a bunch of maniacs.

Sam drops his head down, and his shoulders shake. For a moment, I'm worried, but then he throws his head back and laughs, his voice joining the enthusiastic crowd.

"Oh my God," he gasps. "That was fucking gold. Who is this guy?"

"My cousin," I answer, chuckling. "He's not always this bad."

"Yeah," Lena puts in. "Sometimes, he's worse."

Sam laughs even harder, and the way Lena looks at her little brother warms my heart. I'm betting he has never been this happy before.

We finally make it up onto the porch and out onto the back deck. Tons of food is set out. All of us fill our plates, then head over to the seats along the back area to eat.

I look over at Lena, remembering the last time we were at Jenks' place. I can tell she's thinking about it, too, but she smiles softly. I know now that she got so upset because of how much she loves me, and I still feel like a rotten man for letting the interaction with Tara go on as long as it did.

When we finish our food, Sam goes back for seconds and Lena moves her chair over to mine and leans against me. We watch the mountains that rise behind Jenks' house, the shadows growing and deepening as the sun finally sinks beyond the horizon.

"Sam looks very happy," I say softly. Lena nods and squeezes my hand. "He is. He told me yesterday that he doesn't believe anything Father said, and he's sorry that he took it as truth at the time."

"He's still doing well at school?"

She nods. "Yes. He enjoys working at the store, too. He said you got him a set of woodworking tools?"

"I did, yeah," I agree, enjoying Lena's warm weight against my side and the touch of her fingers on my arm. "He has a natural talent for it. I just want to give him the chance to develop it."

Lena straightens up and looks into my eyes, reaching over to stroke my cheek.

"Thank you, Jack. Thank you for everything."

I shake my head. "No, Lena. Thank you for everything. You've made me so happy, you forgave me for all my past mistakes. I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me."

She smiles, and it's an expression of such joy it affects me physically. Seeing that smile, knowing she is happy, it changes my entire world.

"I love you," she whispers. "Every time I look at you, it overwhelms me. It gets stronger every time we touch. I feel like the word ‘love' is not enough. This is all the passion and intensity of infatuation but without the danger. I can feel how much you love me… almost as if it is a living thing, with a mind of its own, that exists between us and grows every day."

"I feel the same," I answer softly. "I am constantly in awe of you, your beautiful, kind heart, and how it survived the abuse you suffered. It gives me so much happiness to see your joy, those little moments where you realize, you don't have to hold yourself back. The absolute relief and freedom in your eyes when you know you don't have to hide anymore."

Lena kisses me, softly at first, then harder. I return the kiss, feeling that intensity, that magic, grow between us even more. It's a magnetism that draws me to her. It's a thrill that makes me crave her, but most of all, it's absolute safety. It's eagerly throwing my heart out into the world and knowing she will catch it.

It is true love.