“This is kind of sweet. Let them have their moment.”
“Kari,” Dad said, nodding his head back and forth. “Behave.”
“I will, as always.” She kissed him on the cheek and joined Max in line. “Goodbye, Papa.”
“My Jada,” Dad said, eyeing me curiously. “I know something’s going on with you. But I won’t push. Just be safe and check in every now and then. And although you haven’t worked long enough to ensure I have to hire you back when you return, the odds are in your favor.”
I watched him, and he winced, placing his hand on his chest.
“Daddy? Are you okay?”
“Of course,” he said, looking uncomfortable. “My breakfast just isn’t settling the right way. And I hate seeing you go.”
I hugged him once more before joining Kari and Max in the boarding line. I hated leaving him, but hopefully, it would just be for a few days.
We boarded quickly, and I got comfortable in my seat. As I watched Max and Kari across the aisle, I smiled.
“You okay, Jada?” Kari asked across the aisle.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“I know that’s a lie, but I’m going to take it as a good sign that you care enough to lie.” Kari smiled.
“You can take that for whatever you want to.” I leaned back against my chair, getting situated so I didn’t bother the old lady on my right.
“Chicago seems like a fun place,” Kari said thoughtfully. “We’ll just think of this as a mini vacation.”
“I suppose so.” I sighed sadly, knowing this would not be a vacation of any sort. “You know, Chicago is where I wanted to move originally after my divorce. It’s bizarre that I’m ending up there now, don’t you think?” I paused, thinking about what I had just said. “There’s that saying, ‘For every door that closes, another opens.’ Mom used to say that. Do you remember?”
Kari nodded.
“I feel like a door in my life may be closing. I’ve worried about it for a while, but sitting here on this plane, heading for Illinois, it seems very … real.” I closed my eyes for a second, absorbing the words I had just spoken.
“I’m grateful for this door opening, Kari. I have options, and a lot of people don’t. But I just really liked the door that closed, you know?”
“Yeah,” Kari said, looking at me warily. “I’m not liking how you’re talking right now.”
I shrugged sadly. “I can’t be afraid to lose something that may not be meant to be.”
“I’m calling bullshit on that.” Kari reached over the walkway and grabbed my hand. “For the record, although I’d like to chop his ballsoff right now, I don’t think necessarily that any door is closed right now. Just leave that one cracked a little, okay?”
My heart clenched.
I loved Cane. There was zero doubt about that. But I wasn’t sure that I could trust him. He didn’t tell me about Simon, and he was pulling away before any of that started. Well, before I thought it had started. He had lied so much about that, that I wasn’t even sure when it began. And then Ashley was in his office.
Had she been calling him? Did she have something to do with his distance from me? Or was his pulling away really about the Simon thing and work, as he said? Was I in the beginning stages of the same thing I was in with Decker?
I began to feel overwhelmed and a bit claustrophobic as the last people boarding the plane took their seats.
I had a vision of Cane running onto the plane and asking me to stay, and as the doors began to close, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I was leaving him behind in harm’s way.
My chest began to squeeze, and I forced air in and out of my lungs.
In. Out. In. Out.
He has to be okay. He just has to be.
I blew out a breath hastily, shaking my head. I needed to stay calm. Panicking wasn’t going to help anything, but it was easier said than done.
