“She would,” Jean breathed, her eyes falling on the red roses. “They were always her favorite, and you never forgot. I love how you still don’t forget.”
Silence fell over the group, no doubt because we were all thinking back to the times we gave Allie flowers, and she acted like somebody had given her the Hope Diamond.
My wife loved the simple things. She was also stubborn and liked me to splash out on birthdays, so a bunch of gas station flowers wouldn’t cut it. Once, as a joke, I gave her a rose in a vial. For a while there, I thought I’d be walking around with it shoved up my ass for the rest of my days.
“How’s Hendrix?” my dad asked, taking a sip of beer.
I grinned. “Good. Loved up and taking to fatherhood like a duck to water. He’s obsessed with JT. Poor kid doesn’t get a minute’s peace from him.”
“Never thought I’d see the day,” Malcolm interjected.
My thoughts went to my bud and how he’d pined for his woman over the years they’d been apart. “I did. Knew if he ever got another shot with Anna, he’d make it work. It was rocky there for a while, but he did the job. I’m happy for him. She’s a good woman and a great mom. He deserves this.”
“You deserve it too,” Mom murmured. “Isn’t there a girl who’s caught your eye? You’re still young, Jacob, and Allie wouldn’t want you to be alone.”
Heat burned through my throat.
The answer was no.
I always thought I was lucky to meet the love of my life so young, but after Allie died, it quickly became a curse. How was I meant to find something that specialagain? Whoever I met had a lot to live up to, and it wasn’t fair to compare any woman to perfection.
In all the time since Allie’s death, I’d come across two women who made me feel something. One of them was now married to a brother, Atlas, and had two daughters with him, whereas the other...
A vision of blonde hair flashed behind my eyes, and my heart leaped ten feet high, though, for the life of me, I couldn’t understand my ongoing reaction to her. We only ever got to spend one night together, and I hadn’t seen her in years.
“No,” I muttered. “It’s hard to beat perfection.”
Dad’s hand reached out, clasped my shoulder, and squeezed. “She means well,” he said under his breath. “You take the time you need, Son.”
“It’s been twelve years, Doug,” Ma cut in. “Jean and I want grandchildren, and Jacob’s not getting any younger,”
“Kathy, will you leave the boy alone?” Dad bit back, his tone exasperated. “He’s still in mourning.”
“He’s hardly a boy,” Ma sniffed. “He’s knocking on forty’s door. Allie would slap him upside the head if she saw how he was wasting his life away.”
Jean shrugged. “She’s got a point.”
Malcom sighed.
Dad’s lips pursed.
I grinned. “Hardly wasting my life, Mom. I run with a band of mercenaries, fly planes, shoot evil motherfuckers, and generally help save the day. If I never had another girlfriend again, I’d die a happy man ‘cause, for a while at least, I had Allie and even knowing her means I’ve been luckier than some.”
“Do you date?” Jean asked quietly. “Allie would want you to date.”
The memory of the train I helped run on Tia forty-eight hours before flashed through my mind. “I see women,” I admitted. “But I wouldn’t call it dating.”
“Those girls at the club don’t count.” Mom sniffed haughtily.
“What do you know about girls at the club?” I asked.
Her eyes bored into mine. “I’ve seenSons of Anarchy.”
“So have I,” Dad muttered. “And I reckon those girls count just fine.”
Daggers flew from Mom’s eyes at Dad’s head.
“Those girls are okay for the short term, Jacob,” Jean pointed out. “But they’re not the settling down types. How about me and ya mama introduce you to a couple of nice girls?”
