The Hearts We Mend (30 page)

The words poured out and Evie didn't realize she'd been twisting her wedding ring around and around on her finger until God answered.

Will you trust me, Evie?

Will.

Evie closed her eyes.

Because that's what it always came down to—an act of the will. Evie believed God could heal the past. She believed in heaven. But was she going to trust God with all the moments in between?

Yes.

Not a whisper. A battle cry.

And the fear loosened its grip and Evie knew exactly where her first steps would take her.

She took the stairs two at a time to her bedroom and changed into jeans and a T-shirt. Unhooked the bracelet on her wrist and reached for the porcelain jewelry box she'd found while browsing the aisles of the thrift shop on Bird Street. Max had pointed out the chip in the cover, but Evie had been drawn to the tiny porcelain bluebird perched inside of it, meant to hold a ring. He'd given it to her a few days later, on her sixteenth birthday.

Slowly Evie pulled off her wedding band, knowing she would never forget the day Max slipped the ring on her finger. The love they'd had for each other.

She also knew that Max, the boy who'd always been larger-than-life, so full of courage, wouldn't have wanted Evie to be held captive by fear after his death.

And that he would have liked the man who'd reminded Evie she was still alive.

The door opened and Jack glanced over his shoulder. Blinked, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Seeing Evie in snug-fitting faded jeans, a Post-it note–pink T-shirt, and the tennis shoes she'd worn on the hike to Sandy Point.

Conversation ceased as she wove through the maze of guys and building supplies and stopped in front of him.

“Evie.” Jack tried not to stare at the rhinestone—
rhinestone
—heart that almost completely covered the front of her shirt. “I didn't expect to see you tonight.”

“I . . . forgot something.”

Jack frowned, trying to remember if she'd left something in his apartment. “You did? What?”

“This.” Evie went up on her tiptoes, anchored her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him.

Jack's hands instinctively molded to the curve of her waist. To keep himself upright.

As far as kisses went, it was appropriately rated G, especially given the fact they had an audience. But the soft-as-satin touch of Evie's lips ignited a flame inside Jack that would burn for a hundred years. Maybe two.

Lily's giggle brought Jack back to his senses. He felt Evie's smile against his lips right before they stepped apart. But her hand slid down his arm, and she wove her fingers through his, linking them together.

“Your cheeks are all pink, Uncle Jack!”

John Moretti grinned. “It is getting kind of warm in here.” He pushed away from the table. “I think it's time to leave, boys.”

“Or stay longer,” Dan muttered.

Jack couldn't tell if the guy was teasing or not. He joined in the cleanup and followed the men as they filed toward the door. Dan was the last one, and Jack stretched out his hand.

“Thanks again for all your help tonight.”

“Brothers, remember?” Dan gave him a smile and a cuff on the shoulder at the same time. “Vale—”

“Don't worry.” Jack might be in way over his head when it came to his feelings for Evie, but he wasn't stupid. “Lily makes a great chaperone.”

Dan's lips twitched. “Good, because I'd hate to have to break out the pitchfork.”

Jack turned, and his eyes met Evie's across the room. Faded jeans, rhinestone shirt, and the memory of the kiss still simmering in her blue, blue eyes, she took his breath away.

And she was here. With him.

Bert cleared her throat. “Lily, what do you say we take the leftover pie to Josh to celebrate the A he got on his geometry exam?”

“Can you braid my hair when I get back?” Lily wrapped her
arms around Evie, tight as insulation on a pipe, and hugged her. “Uncle Jack tries but it looks crooked.”

“Hey, that's only because I can't use my plumb line.”

“I'll send her back down in a few minutes.” Bert's eyes twinkled. “My arthritis is acting up today though.” She patted her hip. “We'll have to take the stairs pretty slow.”

Uh-huh. Jack couldn't remember Bert mentioning she suffered from arthritis, but he was willing to go with it.

The moment they were alone, Jack drew Evie into his arms.

Touched an emerald-green rhinestone glued to the hem of her T-shirt.

“I cannot believe you did that.” Jack's breath feathered against Evie's cheek. “When there were dozens of tools within reach that could have been used against me. Hammers. Wrenches.
Nail guns
. . .” He faked a shudder.

“That's kind of what I thought was happening when I recognized the vehicles parked in front of the building,” Evie confessed.

“So you planned to rescue me?”

“I
planned
to kiss you.” She peeked up at him through a fringe of gold-tipped lashes, and Jack's heart turned over in his chest. “And no one was going to get in my way.”

“You gotta love a woman with a plan.”

The smile that curved Evie's lips made Jack want to taste their sweetness all over again.

“Thank you for the photograph.”

Jack had forgotten about the photograph. “You're not upset that I took it, are you?”

Evie shook her head. “My first thought was
Who is that?
And then I realized it was me. I wish . . .”

“Max could have seen you?”

“That I would have been brave enough to do it a long time ago.”

C
HAPTER
35

J
ack's hands tightened on the curve of Evie's waist.

“Don't be so hard on yourself,” he chided gently. “It doesn't mean you aren't brave. And just for the record, I almost had a heart attack when you grabbed that rope and took off.”

“But you let me do it anyway.” Evie cupped his jaw, every nerve ending in her body responding to the soft scrape of Jack's whiskers against her fingertips. “Thank you.”

“You didn't really give me a chance to stop you.” He folded his hand over hers and brought it to his lips. Stilled when he realized what was missing. “Your wedding ring . . .”

“It's in my jewelry box at home.”

“Evie.” Jack groaned. “Please tell me it wasn't because of me. I was being an idiot before. I was afraid people would always compare me to Max—that
you
would compare me to Max—and I'd never measure up—”

“Stop.” Evie pressed her finger against Jack's lips. “I didn't take it off because of you—I did it for me. I guess I thought if I took the ring off, put it away, it meant I would be forgetting Max.”

“You won't forget him, Evie. I don't
want
you to forget him. Max built a beautiful home for you, provided for you and Cody.
Loved you.” Regret flashed in Jack's eyes. “When I was that age, I wouldn't have been able to do any of those things. If anything, it makes me want to get down on my knees and thank God for bringing someone like Max Bennett into your life.”

Evie could tell he meant every word, and she silently thanked God for bringing Jack into her life too.

A door snapped shut above them, and the patter of footsteps on the outside staircase let them know that Lily was coming back.

Jack's lips grazed her temple. “I told Dan she made a good chaperone,” he whispered.

Evie didn't get a chance to ask him why the topic had come up in the first place, because Lily burst through the door, waving a hairbrush and a pink-and-white scrunchie.

“I'm ready!”

Jack released Evie—reluctantly—and she ducked her head to hide a smile. “Hop up on that stool by the counter, and I'll braid your hair while your Uncle Jack finishes cleaning up.”

Lily obeyed, chatting about cutting up the strawberries for the pie and how next time, Bert promised, they'd make an apple cobbler.

“There's an orchard a few miles outside Banister Falls where you can pick your own apples in the fall,” Evie told her. “There are hayrides and a corn maze and samples of homemade apple cider. Cody enjoyed it when he was your age.”

Lily's face lit up and she twisted around. “Can we go, Uncle Jack?”

Jack didn't answer.

Evie glanced up and realized he wasn't paying any attention to them. His gaze was riveted on the man standing in the doorway.

Lily shrieked and launched herself off the stool.

“Daddy!”

Travis was the last person Jack expected to see. At least he could take comfort in the fact that his brother was wearing jeans and a T-shirt instead of an orange jumpsuit.

“Hey, bro.” Trav lifted Lily off her feet and swung her around. “How's my favorite girl?”

“Is Mommy with you?”

Travis's smile slipped a notch as he set Lily down again. “Nope . . . just me, Princess. Have you been keeping your Uncle Jack on his toes while I was gone?”

“While I was gone.”

Only Travis could make it sound like he'd just returned from two weeks at Disney World instead of a ten-by-ten jail cell.

“Uh-huh.”

“That's good.” Travis turned his attention to Evie, and the glint of approval in his eyes immediately set Jack's teeth on edge.

“Trav, this is Evie Bennett . . . Evie, my brother, Travis.”

“Nice to meet you, Evie.” Trav had two ways of charming women—a '57 Gibson Les Paul and his smile—and he played both to his advantage.

“Hello.”

Evie returned the smile, but Jack could tell she wasn't charmed.

How had his brother posted a five-thousand-dollar bond?

Why now, God? I thought we decided Trav was better off in jail.

And the honest, gut-twisting truth? It was better for Jack too.

Because when Travis was in jail, Jack knew he wasn't using or snapping at his wife and daughter. A sheriff 's deputy wasn't going to wake Jack up in the middle of the night and tell him that Travis had driven his car into a tree.

“I stopped by the house on my way here. Did you know Phil stuck a For Sale sign in the yard?”

“He mentioned it.” And Travis would have known too, if he had put Jack's name on his visitors list at the county jail. “Phil
decided he'd rather buy and sell than rent, but you're paid up until the end of the month.”

Travis's smile hardened. “Looks like you and I have some catching up to do.”

Evie took the hint. “I should be going anyway.” She reached out and straightened the bow at the bottom of Lily's braid. “'Night, sweetheart.”

Lily detached from her father's side long enough to give Evie a hug. “I'll see you tomorrow, Evie!”

Jack ignored the smirk on Travis's face. “I'll be right back.”

He waited until he and Evie were outside before he released the sigh that had been building up. “No, I didn't know.”

“Why did they let him out?” Evie shivered even though the temperature was in the high seventies. “Did he appear before the judge already?”

“He must have convinced someone to pay his bond.” Jack had no idea who could come up with that kind of cash, but Travis could have called in a favor from one of his former bandmates.

“What's going to happen now? What about Lily?”

Jack could tell Evie was waiting for him to say that everything would be okay, but he didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep.

“I don't know.”

“It'll be all right.”

Evie sounded confident, but Jack saw the question in her eyes, understood her need for reassurance, but he couldn't keep that promise either.

He brushed a kiss against her lips instead.

Trav was waiting on the sidewalk when he crossed the street. “I wasn't gone that long, Jack. Where've you been hiding the beautiful Evie Bennett?”