Driftwood Lane (Nantucket #4)(81)

She’d forgotten Jake was there until he touched her shoulder. “Meridith—”

“You said you’d give him a chance!” Noelle screamed. Tears leaked from her eyes. “You’ve been planning this all along and lying to us! You’re a liar!”

She hated that word. Meridith tamped down her own anger. “I didn’t lie, Noelle. I just hadn’t told you yet.”

“You were never planning to give Uncle Jay a chance! You were planning to sell our home and take us away from day one.”

“No, I wasn’t—”

“Uncle Jay would never take us away, he’d never sell Summer Place, and he’d never lie to us like you have!”

“Well, your Uncle Jay wasn’t here to make those decisions, and if he’d be such a wonderful guardian, why isn’t he here now?”

“He is here!” Noelle’s eyes went past Meridith’s shoulders. “He’s been here all along, right beside us, and we want him to be our guardian, not you!”

The words sank in slowly. Noelle’s eyes, darting toward Jake. His hand tightening on her shoulder. The boys staring wide-eyed at him.

He’s been here all along, right beside us.

“Meridith, I—”

Meridith jerked away from him. Think. She needed to think. Scenes from the past three months raced through her mind. Jake arriving on her doorstep.

The low bid.

Jake carrying Ben to his truck.

Jake teaching her to dance.

“Meridith.”

Jake asking to stay here.

Her chiding him for being alone with Noelle. Hysteria bubbled in her throat. His niece.

Jake saving her from Sean.

The day of the parade.

The kiss in the dark. His declaration of love. She choked back a laugh. Her own declaration of love.

“Meridith—” He set his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t talk to me.” She pushed his hand off, backed away.

It made sense now, all of it. The way the kids had bonded to him so quickly. They’d been keeping a secret from her. Jake, the children. Everyone in the house knew but her. She felt like such a fool!

But . . . the tender moments between her and Jake, his words . . . Was it just a show, some horrible pretense to get access to the kids, to get custody of the kids? She’d let herself trust him, let herself love him—told him she loved him—and it was all . . .

“Get out.”

He held out his hands, palms down. “Meridith, just let me—”

Meridith put her hands over her ears. “I don’t want to hear it!” Her thoughts spun in so many directions, making her dizzy.

Max and Ben were crying. She couldn’t process the chaos, didn’t want to.

“Get out, Jake. I mean it.”

“All right.” His hands dropped. “All right.” He moved toward the door.

“No!” Ben ran to Jake, wrapped his arms around his leg.

“You’re the meanest person ever!” Noelle screamed.

“Let go, Benny.” Jake pried his hands off. He set the boy aside. “I’ll be back.” His gaze flickered to Max, then to Noelle, and back to Meridith.

No, he wouldn’t. She was never letting him in her house, in her heart again.

Meridith walked around Jake, opened the front door.

“Don’t go, Uncle Jay!” Noelle said.

Jake motioned her to settle down. He paused beside Meridith.

She wouldn’t look at him. Couldn’t. Could barely contain everything that was building inside. His shoes blurred. She would not cry.

“I’ll call you,” he whispered.

“Don’t bother.”

He stood there a second that lasted a lifetime. She held her breath. She would not take one last whiff of his cologne. She wouldn’t.

And then he was gone.

She shut the door and turned. Red blotches covered Max’s cheeks. Ben was crying. He darted toward the door and pulled at the handle.

Meridith leaned against it. “No, Ben.”

Noelle’s fists clenched at her sides, her nose flaring.

A sense of déjà vu flashed through her head at the chaos. How had it ended up this way when she’d tried so hard for peace and stability?

She’d let down her guard, that’s how. She’d opened her heart, started to trust, began to love. But now she remembered why feeling was such a bad thing.

Love hurt. She’d forgotten how much.

Jake’s truck rumbled out of the drive, down the road. Meridith let go of the door.

“I hate you!” Noelle screamed. “I hate you!”

But the barrier was in place again, and Meridith hardly felt the jab of anger as she turned and took the stairs.

The road passed in a blur. Jake gripped the steering wheel until his fingers ached.

Meridith. All he could see was her face, her eyes, wild with anger. No, not anger. Noelle had been angry. Meridith had been enraged. Unlike Noelle, her feelings had been tempered with maturity and self-control, but it was all right there in her eyes.

And he deserved every ounce of it. He’d deceived her. Worse than that, he’d instructed the kids to participate in his deception. He was supposed to be the adult here, the role model. He remembered the hero poster Max had made of him and gave a harsh laugh. Some hero he was.