Page 74

The defensiveness in his voice helped rinse away any lingering resentment over the fact that he could never get along with her father, once again putting them on the same side. “No.” She hesitated. “We still haven’t spoken.”

“No kidding? This has to be the longest you’ve ever gone.”

“It is.”

“Maybe you should call him. I can’t imagine whatever happened is worth ruining Christmas.”

“It’s not. I need to do something soon. He and Ari are going to want to celebrate together. But my dad isn’t why I left the festival early.”

He came over to her desk. “Then what was it?”

Now that she was seeing Jack almost every day, and Glenda was no longer in his life, it was difficult not to relax and confide in him. Their personal lives were already so intertwined—few people knew her better. “Kanon’s leaving town.”

He studied her carefully. “That upset you so badly you had to leave the festival you’ve worked so hard to create?”

She didn’t answer.

“Patience, you don’t know Kanon that well.”

“It doesn’t feel that way, Jack. It feels like…like we’ve known each other since forever.”

He winced. “I’m not going to lie. That stings even though I know it shouldn’t.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“You care about him.”

She was in love for the first time, but she didn’t want to hurt Jack again by admitting that, so she simply nodded.

“Where’s he going?”

“Has a good job offer in North Dakota, I guess.”

“So back to the oil fields.”

“Apparently.”

“He’s stupid to leave you. He’ll never find anyone better.”

She gave him a smile. “That’s pretty nice coming from you. I appreciate it. But he’s been through so much I think I might be the reason he’s leaving. He doesn’t know how to trust and hold on to anyone—is too afraid it’ll blow up in his face. It’s easier to keep rolling along, you know?”

He didn’t say anything.

“Did I ever tell you that I once found him sleeping in the bushes of the church? I was thirteen, so he would only have been sixteen. It was so cold outside, Jack. It was the dead of winter. And he didn’t even have a warm coat.”

“That makes me sick.”

“I brought him a blanket, but he was so embarrassed he snapped at me when I offered it to him. Then he left. I have no idea where he went afterward, but I’ll never forget how I felt in that moment.”

“His father was an alcoholic.”

“His father was an abusive alcoholic. Kanon won’t talk about it, but the clues are there for anyone who really cares to look. I think people have labeled him a troublemaker because there were problems whenever he was around. He was an angry kid, struggling to cope on his own. They remember him as he was when they last saw him, and the same goes for Frankie, except Frankie managed to sober up and change his life, thanks to Suzanne, so they forget what a mess he was.”

“Kanon seems to be pretty functional, considering.”

“Which just goes to show you how strong and resilient he is.”

He sighed as he rubbed his chin. “Are you seeing the reality of the situation, though? He has to have some pretty deep scars, which is why I tried to warn you away from him. People like that… As sad as it is, sometimes they never fully recover and end up taking down all the people who try to love them. Would you really want to take such a risk even if you had the chance? On a guy like that?”