He didn’t want to be in the room anymore. He felt like he was intruding.
“Let’s go,” he said gently. “It’s late and we’re both drained.”
She nodded and he ushered her out, turning off the lights then taking one more look at the space before locking the door and depositing the key back on the door frame.
“If you want, I can help clear it out once I have the books all organized,” he added as Peony stood nearby, her eyes trained on the door.
“You’re a sweet, sweet man, Jake. I’ll think about it. Now off you go and spend some time with my daughter. I think she needs you after today’s scare.”
“Good night, Peony,” he said.
“Thank you for defending our family today, Jake,” Peony said softly before he could turn away. “I think Brett would’ve been very proud of all his boys today.”
Jake swallowed and looked away from her. That was something he’d always wanted. A father to be proud of him. To tell him he was good enough.
With a final squeeze of her shoulder, he strode down the hall and away from the memories.
Chapter Twenty-five
Liz let him in, and he pushed the door closed, leaning on it a moment, eyes closed as she turned back to her living room.
“Glasses are in the top cupboard on the right of the sink if you want some of that now,” she called as she sat down and turned off the TV.
He’d brought the remainder of the wine. He needed a drink, and he needed Liz in his arms so he could let go of the lingering emotion from being in his father’s study.
He looked in Liz’s kitchen for wine glasses, but the only thing he found were mason jars stacked haphazardly on the shelf she said they were on. He poured a measure into two of them and handed her one as he joined her.
“You don’t have wine glasses.”
“Never needed ’em,” she replied, shrugging. “Mason jars are better. If you drop one, it’s twenty-five cents to replace it.”
“Makes sense,” he replied, taking a big gulp of his wine. He expected it to taste different being in a jar, the nose funneling differently in the straight sides. Thankfully, he found no difference, and he drained his glass then set it on the coffee table.
She lived so simply, and he compared it to the list of expensive stemware and dishes he had tucked away in the boxes in the garage. Such a difference in their perceived needs brought him up short, and he sat, thinking about that, staring at the jar.
“You okay? You want to just head back and sleep?” she asked, side-eying him.
“You’re so different from anyone I have ever been with, you know that?” he said impulsively.
She wrinkled her nose, blinking at him.
“Not a bad thing, I just realized that I have glasses that are worth hundreds of dollars apiece, and here you are, happy with twenty-five cent mason jars. Just—”
“I’m pretty simple in my tastes, yeah. Don’t need much to live. My world is pretty small, compared to yours, Jake. I’m sorry if that—” She bristled.
Jake reached out and pulled her hand to him, holding it firmly as she looked back at him suspiciously.Damn it. He didn’t want to step in it now that they had achieved a better communication rhythm.
“No, no. Not what I meant. At all. I just, I think the past couple of weeks have given me some perspective on what is important. It isn’t fancy wine glasses or expensive dishes. Today especially gave me a big jolt of reality.”
“It certainly did, for all of us,” she said and set her own wine down, then folded herself into him. He let out a breath as they relaxed into one another, and shook off the heavy from this evening. He’d tell her about Brett’s office later; right now he wanted to forget it all and just drift on the comfort invading his bones. She played with the collar of his shirt and nestled farther into the crook of his shoulder.
Her soothing warmth felt right, like this, tucked in beside him. Like they were meant to be side by side. He ran a hand over her hair, smoothing it back behind her, and then impulsively kissed her forehead.
“What was that for?” she asked.
He looked down at her, her eyes questioning what was obviously too intimate a gesture for her. He caught the uncertainty.
“Just, this is nice, Liz,” he rumbled. “Comforting.”
