“Hello, this is Jack.”
“You hung up on me!” he shouted. “If Sonia was alive to see how you treat your uncle, she’d be ashamed.”
Just hearing my mother’s name like that caused the knife in my heart to twist. I wished he wouldn’t speak so harshly to me. I was fragile where my mother was concerned. But I knew that it was the alcohol talking and my mother would not want her brother to remain in this condition.
“Do you want the deal or not?” I could feel the clouds of depression closing in. This money felt like a curse at times, and I was tempted at that moment to give it all away.
“Fine,” he growled. “But I want a nice rehab center. One the celebrities go to.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, Uncle Rod. Nothing but the best for you.”
We hung up, and I shot a text to Chloe.
Jack: Will you book Uncle Rod at a nice gambling and alcohol addiction center? Somewhere like Malibu, California, or something posh.
Chloe: You actually took my advice?
Jack: I did.
Chloe: He agreed to go?
Jack: He did.
Chloe: I’ll book it! I’m proud of you, Jack!
Little did she know, Rod would get his money a year from now.Ifhe could remain sober.
I was about to put my phone down when another text came through.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw Hannah’s name.
Hannah with two N’s: Guess what?
I stared at the text for ten minutes, trying to decide if I should respond or not. Ignoring Hannah was killing me, but there was nothing good I had to offer her. She was clean, and sunny, and brand new, and I didn’t want to taint that with my baggage.
Hannah with two N’s: My mom is cancer-free, and it’s in large part because of you. Thank you, Jack. Thank you for everything. We are having a party tonight at the restaurant. Can you hop on your fancy private jet and make it? I know it would mean the world to my mom.
My eyes filled with tears. Cancer-free. I hadn’t heard. It was incredible news. Going to the restaurant, meeting her mom, seeing Hannah—it all sounded good in theory. But the reality was she was probably with that guy Luke now and I was a convicted felon who needed permission to cross state lines. It was like trying to make a fish and a bird live together. It wouldn’t work.Wewouldn’t work.
Instead of responding, I shot Chloe a text and told her to send both Hannah and her mother flowers with a personalized message from me.
This was good. Hannah had her restaurant, her mother was cancer-free, and she had Luke. It was time to just let her be happy and step out of the way.
Chapter Seventeen
HANNAH
A week later
Luke and I had just flown in with some of our friends to Seattle to attend the Broadway showing ofMamma Mia. I was really excited, as I had always loved theater and we didn’t get high-quality Broadway shows in Willow Harbor. But I couldn’t help but think of Jack since he lived there. I’d fully decided to throw all of my energy into my business and my relationship with Luke.
After the first half of the show, we all stepped out into the theater lobby for intermission.
“Oh my gosh, that was amazing!” Jules exclaimed.
I nodded. “I’m inlovewith the costumes!”
“I’m in love with the singing,” Jules said.
