Page 75 of I'll Carry You
Ned descended the steps in front of the porch, then sauntered down the front walkway in front of the Kleins’ house. He practically glowed. Giving Jason a mock salute with two fingers, he crossed the street toward his car.
“Warren. Dan. Get inside the house,” Bob said in a flat tone. “Now.”
Jason gave Dan a pleading look. “I need to talk to Jen. I didn’t lie to you.”
“You’re never talking to her again.” Dan shook his head and pointed a thick finger at Jason. “I’m taking her to the precinct after this to get a restraining order. You stay away from her, you hear?” He grabbed Warren by the elbow and dragged him away.
Bob came to the top of the steps and stared at Jason as his sons passed him. Betty joined her husband for a moment, murmuring something, then went inside along with Warren’s wife.
Jason stood, feeling unsteady. He turned toward Bob and walked a few feet forward. “Please let me talk to Jen.”
Bob clasped his hands in front of him. He was like a bodyguard, except that he didn’t remotely have the stature of his sons. He was much smaller. He took a few steps down. “Listen, Jason. Jenneeds a little time to process things. It’d be best if you just went on home.”
“To Chicago?” Jason lifted a brow.
“That’d be preferable.” Bob shrugged. “I know you don’t have any children, Jason. And it’s hard to be a dad. Hard to see your little girl grow up and get hurt by a man who leaves her in the worst sort of position. But it’s a little worse when that man’s brother comes around and tries to pull a fast one over her.”
“I swear to you that wasn’t my intention. And I know how much you love your daughter—”
Bob gave him a stern look. “When my daughter came to tell me she was pregnant, I told her, ‘Jen, that’s my grandbaby, not bad news.’ And that’s the truth. I love that girl. And I love that baby. And I will not let anyone hurt them if I can intercede.”
Jason drew a shaky breath. “I don’t know what that man told you, sir, but he doesn’t know the whole story. I want to take care of Jen. I want to marry her and adopt Colby—”
The door to the house opened.
Jen stood at the door, pale, eyes puffy as though she’d been crying. She wore an oversized sweater, and somehow, it made her look smaller, younger. The sound of her footsteps on the wooden slats of the porch caught Bob’s attention, and he looked back at his daughter. “Jen, honey, I can handle this.”
“No, Dad.” Jen didn’t look at Jason. “I want to—need to—talk to him.”
Bob sucked air in through his teeth. Then he gave her a nod and went back up the stairs. “We’ll be right inside if you need anything. And please”—Bob gave her a stern glance—“don’t go anywhere with him.”
“I won’t.” Jen wiped her eyes, then turned away from her father.
Jason crossed the yellowed grass on the lawn toward her. “Jen, babe, please listen to me—”
“Don’t.” Her voice was so quiet that he barely heard her. She turned a watery gaze toward him, not moving. “Don’t call me that.”
Jason clenched his teeth, a tightness closing in over his chest and heart, so fierce that it felt as though it would burst. “Jen...I...there’s more to it than what that guy told you.”
“All right.” Jen crossed her arms. “Then answer a few questions for me.”
Although she still had tears on her face, her words gave him the faintest notion of hope. “I’ll answer anything you ask.”
“Did you come down to Brandywood to make sure that no one would ever find out about Colby so you could inherit your grandfather’s money instead of Colby?”
Wow.A trap right off the bat. Not a chance he could make this sound better than it was. He gave her a stiff nod, his neck aching from Warren’s tackle. “Yes.”
She choked back a sob. “And you had no intention of telling me that not only were you amulti-millionaire, but that Colby was your grandfather’s heir?”
He came closer to her. Brutal honesty might be his best bet. “Not at first. I didn’t think Colby deserved it. Or you.” He saw the tears welling in her eyes once again. “But I knew nothing about you, Jen. I didn’t know that Kevin loved you. Kevin liked to party hard and sleep around. The chance of you just being some chick he knocked up was pretty high.”
She blinked tears away, her eyes narrowing. “And that’s—that’s what you thought I was when you met me? Just some ‘chick’ your brother knocked up?”
He put his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. I did. But it didn’t take long for me to think differently.” He cleared his throat, finding it hard to breathe. “Listen, Jen, I didn’t know what happened to Kevin. With him dying of an overdose, I just assumed his life went on a downward spiral of drugs and God knows what else. But when I talked to Mildred last week, she told me the type of relationship Kevin had with you.”
“Millie?” Jen looked at him in disbelief. “She knows about all this?”
He didn’t want to throw his grandmother under the bus. “She knows some of it. Enough to tell me that Kevin left because he loved you so much he wanted to protect you and Colby from my grandfather. I don’t know what he was thinking, but I can tell you that my grandfather was cruel and controlling. Even Kevin didn’t want my grandfather finding out about you.”