Page 72 of I'll Carry You
“Because you need to.” Mildred wiped her mouth with her napkin delicately. “You’re never going to be truly happy until you do, Jason. Look what happened to Kevin. It ate him alive. And even Jen couldn’t fix that. She can’t save you.”
Jason winced at her words. At the parallel. “It wasn’t Kevin’s fault, though.”
“He still blamed himself for it. It wasn’t your fault either.” Mildred coughed into her napkin. “And I can tell you still blame yourself.”
Because she was wrong. It was my fault.
“I’ve talked to professional therapists.” Jason held her gaze. “I’ve talked about it plenty.” Not the complete truth, but she didn’t need to know the details of his therapy sessions.
“Then you need your money back. You have a chip on your shoulder, and it’s weighing you down so heavy you look like you’re going to topple over.”
Jason gave her a brittle laugh, shifting in his seat. “Mildred, this whole thing with the inheritance and Jen and Colby have nothing to do with my father’s death. They’re two separate issues.”
She pulled out her purse and took out her wallet, counting out bills. “No, they’re not.”
“Yes, they really are.” Now he was growing irritated. He felt it building in his chest. She was being stubborn and ridiculous.
Her bright blue gaze sliced through him. “You don’t think that the whole reason you’re so desperate to keep that company going, the main reason, in fact, is because deep down you know your daddy would be running things if he hadn’t died?”
His throat went dry. His palms broke out in an aching sweat, and he rubbed them softly over his thighs under the table.
The waves broke over his head, and he was kicking, kicking, exhausted. Water filled his nose, and he felt himself pulled by the currents. Powerless to get out of them...
He sucked in a sharp breath. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then looked back at that severing gaze. “People will lose their jobs if I don’t save that company.”
Mildred shrugged. “People lose their jobs every day, Jason. What you don’t want is for the Cavanaugh name to lose its importance under your watch. Because you’re the last man standing. And you don’t think you deserve to be.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
“You’re right.The view from the loft is better,” Jason said, rolling over in the bed to look at Jen. She lay there, long hair over her shoulders, only half covered by a sheet, her body still flushed from sleepy sex. He loved watching her body’s response to him. The way she looked in the morning. She was so naturally beautiful—one of the rare women who woke up looking like the same person he’d taken to bed. Not that she even used that much makeup.
“Remind me why I have to get up to go to church.” She checked her phone.
He nuzzled her neck with a light kiss. “You don’t. You can stay here with me, and I promise it’ll be a lot more fun.”
She laughed and swatted him. “You’re practically wearing a red cape and horns.” Sitting up, she brushed her hair from her face with her fingers. “You know, if you really wanted to impress my parents, you could go with me.”
He interlaced his hand with hers. “I could, but then the church might burn down from that lightning strike when I go in. And then where would we be?”
Jen rolled her eyes. “I’m serious.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll see them tonight. I think spending the entire afternoon yesterday moving boxes from your apartment with your dad and brothersanda family dinner tonight is probably all I should attempt at this point. Don’t want to give them too much time to poke holes in our story.”
“Or, God forbid, have them think you like me?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want that.” He grinned.
She climbed out of the bed. “I guess if I show up to church with you, they’re going to know for sure that I spent the night here last night, anyway.”
Grabbing his pants, Jason stood. “Or you could just tell them.”
“Thanks, but no. Ever since your dumb brother, my whole family thinks I’m a screwup. My mom already gave me a talk about how it would be a good idea for us to ‘get to know each other before we decide to be intimate,’ and I really don’t want to have another discussion with her like that again.”
Considering the way Dan had acted, her church-going parents would probably despise him if they knew even a shadow of truth about their relationship. “At least they don’t have the expectation that you’re a virgin.”
She gaped at him, her eyes widening. “Asshole.”
He chuckled. “I’m serious. Lots of religious parents hold their kids to that standard.” He came over to where she stood, still naked, and ran his hands over the smooth curves of her hips, cupping her ass. “And we both know you are anything but.”