“Whose house is that anyway?”
“I don’t know. I rented it.”
“Is this your first time back to Alienn?” he asked, then could have kicked himself. He didn’t want to find out that she’d been back before and hadn’t bothered to look him up.
“Yes. The first time since—”
“Yeah. I know,” he finished for her and turned his head to stare at the dark forest.
“Where am I going? Left or right?” she asked once they reached the stop sign at the main road. Light traffic passed in front of them in both directions.
Jack pushed out a long sigh and closed his eyes, realizing this whole adventure together was going to be filled with all sorts of uncomfortable reminders of their past.
“Remember that house you and I looked at a month or so before you left?” he said.
After a few long, very charged moments of silence, she said, “Yes. I remember.”
“Yeah. Well, I bought it. So hang a right.”
“Yes. I know.” She put her blinker on and merged into traffic. They didn’t say another word until they got to his street, his house, his quiet, empty life without her.
Madelaine parked in the driveway behind his truck. Aunt Dixie had insisted on picking him up and personally delivering him to tonight’s bachelor auction, just in case he planned to escape what she called his “family duty.”
Jack opened his door as Madelaine turned the engine off. “I’ll be right back.” He was not ready for her to see inside the home he’d wanted them to share.
Once they graduated from college.
Once they started their adult lives.
Their combined once-upon-a-time and happily-ever-after—that had never happened.
Madelaine sucked in a deep breath and held it after Jack exited her rental car. As long as she didn’t breathe, she wouldn’t tear up. Why was this so hard?Because this is the life you wanted that you didn’t get to have, said the mean little voice in her head. As if she didn’t already know it.
The house looked exactly as it did in her memories. Even the color was the same, though Jack must have repainted it at some point. The soft yellow with white trim looked much better than when they’d seen the “unique fixer-upper” listed for sale more than five years ago.
It was a three-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow with an unfinished basement. It had a very small den that was really just an alcove with accordion doors. It had a lovely oversized backyard that had looked like a slice of the Amazonian jungle five years ago.
Still, the two of them had been confident they could tame the wild foliage, fix all the problems with the house and make it perfect for their picture-perfect forever. The future that never happened and, sadly, never would.
Despite her best efforts, tears sprang into her eyes.
Madelaine released the breath she’d been holding because it was pointless. Being with Jack was going to be one long, tearful memory from start to finish. She needed to do a better job of shaking off her unyielding emotions.
Remember what you had to do to get here…
Once all her tasks were completed for this mission, it wasn’t like she could do what she wanted. No. She’d have to go back to Alpha-Prime and the Paladin Cabal, the group that had conscripted her into service.
The commitment she’d been forced into was a lifelong proposition, whether she liked it or not. And she didn’t. Not one single bit.
However, the alternative was unacceptable.
Madelaine breathed in slowly and then exhaled.
I can do this.
Remember what you had to do to get here…
