The sun continued its descent and they stayed locked in each other’s embrace until it was almost dark. Finally, Mallory spoke.
“I dreaded this day so much and I just want it to be over.”
“I know what you mean,” he replied softly, placing a kiss on her forehead. She shivered slightly and he held her tighter. The September nights were starting to grow cooler and he knew her sleeveless dress wasn’t going to keep her warm. Slipping his suit jacket off, Jake placed it over her shoulders before pulling her in close again.
“Thank you.”
It was probably the wrong time to ask, but he couldn’t seem to stop the words from coming out of his mouth. “Want to come home with me for a little while?”
Pulling back, Mallory blinked up at him. He was waiting for her refusal–expecting it–but as usual, she surprised him. “I’d like that.”
They turned and hadn’t gone more than a few steps when Sam appeared at the top of the steps. “There you are, Mal. Everyone’s looking for you.”
The way she angled away from Jake was probably only noticeable to him, but it annoyed him nonetheless. “Why?” she asked.
Sam shrugged. “Aunt Grace and the guys left already and everyone else was getting ready to go and wanted to say goodbye, I guess.” He eyed Jake suspiciously before returning his attention to his sister. “You know Peyton and Parker will want to talk to you before they go.”
Off in the distance, they all turned at the sound of car doors slamming shut. A minute later, it wasn’t hard to see the headlights and taillights as the car pulled away.
“So much for wanting to say goodbye,” she murmured.
The way he saw it, they could all stand here awkwardly, or he could just put it out there what they were already planning. “We were just going to hang out over at my place,” he said, placing his arm around Mallory. Jake had to admit, he almost pulled it back when Sam’s expression turned a little fierce. “Why don’t you join us?” he blurted out and almost laughed at both Sam and Mallory’s confused expressions.
“Um…” Sam said, looking away.
“Oh, uh…sure,” Mallory said to her brother. “You should come and hang out for a bit. It could be fun.”
None of this was going quite the way Jake had planned, but if getting to hang out with Mallory meant Sam coming along, he’d deal with it.
“Sure,” Sam eventually said. “I’ll text Mom and let her know where we are.”
They all made their way down from the deck, up the pier, and across the yard in relative silence. Once they were inside Jake’s house, he gave Sam a beer, grabbed one for himself, and looked to Mallory. “What would you like?”
“I’m going to be the lame one and ask if you have any tea,” she said shyly. “Hot or cold, doesn’t matter.”
Jake reached into the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of sweet tea and handed it to her before motioning them all to the living room. He had to admit, he was relieved when Mallory sat close beside him while Sam sat across the room in the large recliner. Clearing his throat, Jake asked, “So how’ve you been, Sam? It’s been a while.”
Clearly, Sam couldn’t be fooled. He eyed the two of them before sagging back against the cushions. “You two are back together, huh?”
This time Jake knew to let Mallory speak first. He glanced at her and held his breath while he waited for her response.
“I wouldn’t say back together,” she said slowly, kicking her shoes off and curling her legs up beside her. “But…we’re spending time together while I’m here.”
With a curt nod, Sam took a pull of his beer. “And when do you go home?”
“Next weekend. Sunday, actually. I need to be back at work on Monday.” She sighed and took a sip of her tea. “I already got grief for taking two weeks off on such short notice, and with the new position…”
“There was a death in the family,” Sam snapped. “How much advanced notice did they think you could give?”
“I know, I know…and considering I hardly ever take time off, you’d think they’d be a little more understanding. Still, I think they’re just a little lost without me. I’m always there and I was ready to lead up a new team for an upcoming project so…I really should touch base with my boss and make sure everything is okay.”
Jake frowned as he listened to the conversation and felt a little out of the loop. Mallory was talking about how much she liked her job and she sounded very enthusiastic about it. Leaning back, he took a pull of his own beer and wondered what a typical day was like for her. Was she one of those big city career women in a power suit or did she work in a more casual atmosphere?
“Don’t you have any extra time coming to you?” Sam asked. “I mean, it’s not going to solve anything because you’re eventually going to go back, but with all the storm damage, the funeral, and we still have the reading of the will on Wednesday, I just think you should take more time.”
“For what?” she asked.
“You don’t know what we’re going to find out in the will, right? For all you know, Pops left you a small fortune and…and…you can quit your job!” Sam saluted her with his bottle and took another drink. “How freaking cool would that be?”
Jake laughed softly and noticed Mallory did too. “It would definitely be cool, but I’m not counting on it,” she replied logically. “That’s not the kind of thing he would’ve done. We all know he had a lot of money and he invested it in a lot of different ways, but I don’t think he had the kind of money that would mean all of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren could all retire and never work again.”
But Sam shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. We all know you were his favorite. For all you know, he left you everything.”
Her blue eyes went wide and she looked at Jake incredulously before looking at her brother. “Are you crazy? How much have you had to drink today?”
“Not nearly enough,” he said, finishing off his beer. “Look, maybe I’m way off base here, but you can’t deny that you and Pops were closer than any of us ever were. Everyone knows it.”
“They do not,” she denied. “Stop it. You’re crazy.”
Sam just laughed and looked at Jake. “Tell her. You know you spent a lot of time with the old man. You tell her how much time he spent with any of our cousins.”
When Mallory turned to look at him, Jake knew he looked more than a little panicked. The truth was, Sam was right. None of Zeke’s grandchildren or great-grandchildren spent the kind of time with him the way Mallory did and, on top of that, Zeke never talked about anyone else the way he did with Mallory. Still…he was no expert on the matter.
“You think Sam’s crazy too, right?” she prompted.
Letting out a long breath, he glanced at Sam and saw him nod before looking back at Mallory. “He’s right, Mal. You and Zeke were like…nothing else I’ve ever seen,” he said softly, watching as her expression went a little sad. Reaching out, he took one of her hands in his. “You were the one he talked about the most, the one he bragged most about, and…you were the only one who seemed to spend any quality time with him.” When he saw tears welling in her eyes, he knew he needed to lighten the mood. “Not that I think he’s leaving you millions or anything, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he left you a little something extra.”