*Jethro looked up as the car door slammed. This wasn’t going to be easy. He got up to meet her at the door. The dried tear streaks on her cheeks told exactly how much her father had spilled.
“Is it true?”
“What part are we talking about?”
“You being a drug dealer. The papers say you got caught for possession, but Daddy said you were dealing. I need to know, Jethro. Is that true?”
“You’re a lawyer. I got convicted, so what do you think?” Bitterness coated his tongue, making his stomach heave. But what hurt him more was the defeat in her eyes. As if he’d kicked a kitten and turned his back on everything she professed to love. Like he’d admitted he done wrong.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He moved away from the door, his shoulders drooping. He could read it on her face. It was over. This was her way of making the break. Getting him to say it out loud so she didn’t miss a word of it.
“Nothing much to tell. I got caught, I got convicted, end of story.” He threw himself on the couch and lifted his feet to the coffee table.
“But I told you how I feel about drugs. When we were lying in bed together, we went through the whole, ‘ten things you hate and ten things you love’ about each other. Not once did you mention you’ve been in court for them.”
He shrugged, avoided her gaze while she wound herself up.
“And I expressly told you how I feel about drugs. Remember the conversation? You asked me how I could defend someone who dealt drugs and I told you. But you never said then that you’d been caught. Oh no, you had to leave it up to my father to tell me.”
“Sorry.” More than she would ever know.
Sadie moved into the room and pushed his legs off the table, sat down in front of him. “And that’s it? Sorry? That’s all you have to say to me?”
“What else do you want me to say?” That I love you and we can work past this if you’ll only give me a chance and I’ll never do anything like it again and I can’t bear to lose you? That you’re the only reason I’m the man I am today?
Sadie stared at him with tears in her eyes for what seemed like the longest time before she got up and walked out. Jethro listened to her receding footsteps, the slam of a car door, and the sound of gravel as she tore off down the driveway.
When Nate came in hours later to look for food, Jethro was still sitting where she’d left him. “What’s up with you?”
“She’s gone.”
Nate lifted his head from the refrigerator. “What?”
“She’s gone. It’s over between us.” All his hopes and dreams for the future had left with her.
“What did you do?” Nate walked into the lounge with a slab of cheese in his hand.
“Her father told her about the drug conviction. Threatened me with the bank calling in the mortgage.”
“That lousy fucker! And you let him get away with that?” Nate pushed his way onto the couch beside Jethro. “Not like you to give in so easy. Girl’s worth fighting for, in my opinion.”
Jethro turned his head and gazed at his brother. “I can’t do it. You know that.”
“Idiot. It’s time this family got what it wants instead of the crap everyone keeps piling on us.” He kicked Jethro in the ankle and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
*
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it was going to turn out this way, Sadie. I thought there was something between you and Jethro.” Layla moved her son to her shoulder and patted his back. She’d dropped by Sadie’s house just as she returned from seeing Jethro, and insisted on staying to console her and talk it through. “Do you want to tear up the contract? I only want you here if it’s what you want. No point moping around when you’d rather be back in Denver.” She pouted regardless of her kind words, and Sadie hated upsetting her.
“No. I think I want to stay here.” She tried to smile. “I’ve decided I feel more at home here than I ever did in Denver. People in Marietta accept me for me, not some image of what I’m destined to be. And I realized something else, too. Did you know I had a baby brother?”
Layla shook her head and rubbed her baby’s back. “No, I thought you were an only child.”
“I am. Robert Noel St. Martin was born too early. But unlike your beautiful boy, he had other problems, too, and never had a chance. Then my mom contracted an infection, which meant she’d never have another child. I was it.”
Realization dawned on Layla’s face. “And you’re trying to make up for it by being the person you think he might have been. Oh, honey, I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through.
“Pathetic, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not. I don’t know how you were treated as a child because of this, but if it was hammered into you that you needed to step up because he couldn’t, I can understand why you’d be such an overachiever.”
“As I said, pathetic.” She sniffled and blinked away the humiliation wavering over her. “I want to work with people who need me for what I do. They know nothing of my family and their expectations. They only know what they see, and I like being accepted for that. Having the pressure off is kind of liberating. I don’t want to lose that feeling.”
A frown creased Layla’s brow. “But Jethro’s a client of ours. You’ll have to deal with him once in a while. Can you do that?”
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” She held her hands out. “Let me have a cuddle. I haven’t seen him since the day he was born.” A day she wasn’t likely to forget in a hurry. The day Jethro went from being a client to being something much more.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you and Jethro did at the hospital. I know I’ve said it before, but I can’t get over how fast everything changed. I panicked when I couldn’t get hold of Tyson.” She rested her son against Sadie’s shoulder and then sat back, watching. “Not the usual cool demeanor you expect of me, I know. Funny how you’re never prepared for childbirth no matter how well advised you are.”
“Hey there, little one.” Sadie cooed as the baby made mewling noises like a kitten. “You’re so much cuter now that you’re all clean and dressed.” She’d never been a baby person, but this little guy could make her change her mind. Or at least he could have if Jethro hadn’t let her down so badly. Had she been too harsh on him?
“Talk to me. I can see the wheels turning in your head.” Layla leaned back in the chair and watched her, a small smile playing on her lips. “You love him, don’t you?”
“I shouldn’t, really. I know that, but even though he’s lied to me and was convicted of drug possession. I can’t help wondering if I’ve made a rash decision.”
“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even know about the charges. I don’t want you to think I was holding something back from you.” Layla reached over and caught a milk bubble from the baby’s mouth. “I like him, a lot.”
“I do, too, but drugs and me… I don’t want to be involved with anyone who has a history of drug use or possession. Something about it makes my skin crawl.”
“Have you ever…”
“No! I saw too much in college to make me want to even try anything. It’s just that if he kept that from me, what else don’t I know about? Makes me feel like he’s only half there for me.” Sadie began to cry, small sobs that shook her shoulders. Eventually, it turned into a heartbreaking crying jag.
Layla took the baby and sat beside her, one arm holding her little boy and one arm around Sadie. “Leave it with me.” She kissed her on the head and squeezed tight. “This ain’t over yet.”