8. Suzie

8

SUZIE

" W hat do you mean you haven't told him yet?" Carrie gives me her disapproving glare. "He has a right to know."

I pull the door closed to the living room, leaving George to the miniature farm animals he's playing with. "I don't really know why he's here, Carrie. He might up and leave at any moment."

She raises her eyebrows. "He's here for your fine ass, didn't he make that clear?" She's grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and she does an eyebrow wiggle.

Why is everyone in this town so eager to see me get laid?

The thought of Jack coming all the way to find me after three years makes my stomach flutter. But who's to stay he'll stay around this time?

"He ghosted me, Carrie. He left without a word. Forgive me for being a little cautious."

She shakes her head and sighs like a wide old sage and not my little sister who's never had a serious boyfriend in her life. "This isn't going to end well. If you want a relationship, it's got to start with trust."

The kitchen counter is covered in plastic bowls from George's dinner, and I run the sink and add dish soap. "Who said anything about a relationship?"

Carrie giggles, and I give her a pointed look. "That's not what I meant." Although the thought of Jack's hands on me has my body inflamed.

"Why not?" Carrie asks. "You can't be celibate for the rest of your life."

She's got a point. Maybe Jack would be a good distraction, but a complicated one. "Maybe."

Carrie picks up a dishcloth and runs it around the plastic plate I just washed. "But you've got to tell him about George."

I put another plate on the dish rack. "I don't think he's going to be happy about finding out he's got a kid."

"It doesn't matter if he's happy or not. It's his kid, and he has a right to know."

I think about her words, but I'm not sure. Our own father walked out on us when we were kids, and it hurt like hell. "I can't bear the thought of George getting close to someone that up and leaves."

Carrie raises the plate as if she wants to hit me over the head with it. "Not everyone leaves, Suzie."

She might be right, but my experience says otherwise. "Do you remember Dad?"

Carrie shrugs. "Not really."

She was only three when he left. To her, he's just a man from old photos and someone we used to talk about. But I remember him. I remember his warm hug and riding on his shoulders and the way he could sweep me into the air with one hand.

It broke my heart when he left one day and never came back. I saw him a few times over the years, but it was always strained. There was never the easy laughter and play we used to have together.

"I just don't believe a man like Jack will ever want to settle down somewhere."

"You don't know that. Maybe he's genuine, Suzie. Maybe he really did travel halfway around the world to find you. And maybe finding out he has a son will be everything he ever wanted."

I take a deep breath, enjoying the fantasy. That's a lot of maybes. But what if she's right? There's only one way to find out.

I dry my hands and grab my phone from my purse. I swapped numbers with Jack after lunch, and there's a text from him that I haven't answered yet asking when I'm free.

I tap out a reply.

I'm free tomorrow.

The reply comes back immediately.

.

I'll pick you up at 9.

I drop George at the daycare center at nine, and I don't want him anywhere near Jack. Despite what Carrie says, I'm not ready to tell him about his son yet.

I can meet you somewhere at 9:30.

9:30 at the start of Wildman's Gully

Typical of Jack to choose a hike for a date. But I love the trails around here, and it will be nice to show him my mountain.

I tap a quick reply and stash the phone in my bag. At least on a hike we're not likely to fall into bed together.