Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13)(79)

"That's a tough one," Jack said. "With the economy the way it is, jobs are tight. Lots of unemployment."

"It doesn't have to be that much of a job. I'm not married--no girl waiting for a ring or anything. I'm still thinking about school. But I could rent a room and hang out for a few months. I saved a little per diem to see me through."

"A few months?" Jack asked.

"If I decide to get more permanent than that, I'll look around for an apartment or duplex or something. For right now if some little old lady would give me a spare bedroom..."

"We could give you a bed," Jack said. "We have a guesthouse or casita or whatever you call it--it's for my dad when he visits, but there's also an extra room for him in the house if he shows up unexpectedly. I mean, if it's not long-term." Jack shrugged. "And you're a marine."

"Wow. That's almost too good to be true."

"I'll give you some directions," he said, pulling out a napkin and writing on it for him.

Late that night, when Mel and Jack were in bed and the children asleep, she said, "Don't we usually talk about things like this?"

"Mel, his mother died, he found out his father wasn't his father, he went to war... He's a marine. We can do this for him--it doesn't cost us anything."

"What if that's not all totally true? What if he's never been a marine? What if his mother is alive and well? What if... Jack, remember Annalee?" she asked, recalling a beautiful con artist who had gotten the best of Jack not long ago. No harm was done--she wasn't after Jack, but someone else. Just the same, Jack was reeled into her con too easily. Jack loved everyone. "What if he's a serial killer or something?"

Jack just shrugged. "We lock the doors to the house, watch him for a while, and if he's a serial killer..." He chuckled low in his throat. His shoulder and arm muscles automatically flexed. "He picked the wrong guesthouse!"

She sighed and settled against him. It had been a long time since Jack had been in a war zone, a long time since he sat alert or on surveillance, but some things never went away. Jack would wake at the flutter of a feather, his reflexes were as sharp as ever and he was strong.

"Right," she said, snuggling up. "But next time can we talk about it first?"

"Sure, babe," he said, his arms going around her. "Try to relax. I like him, he's a nice kid."

After two days at home, Lilly returned to work at the feed store. For the first time in her life she took a very firm hand with her grandfather. "I'm not ready to talk about Clay, so leave me alone about that. And I think it would be best if you asked Manny to deliver feed to the Jensen clinic next week. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be ready to do that."

Instead of riding after work, she returned to yoga in search of peace, calm and serenity. After yoga, she went to the Loving Cup, where Dane offered as much loving as he could. She'd told him all the grim details over the phone and, to her embarrassment, she'd cried on his shoulder a bit more than her pride easily bore.

There were just a few people in the coffeehouse, clear on the other side of the room, when she took her usual seat at the counter.

"Well," Dane said, smiling. "You're looking pretty good. Better than I expected."

"Don't lie," she scolded. "I've learned that falling asleep with a bag of frozen peas on your eyes can be a partial remedy, but you have to be absolutely sure you're done with the crying or your eyelids will stick to the plastic."

"Eww."

"How long do you think this will go on? This obscene, ridiculous, humiliating crying?"

Dane just looked down. When he raised his eyes, they were troubled. "Lilly, have you thought about sitting down with the man, hearing him out to either work it out or officially break it off? Before you invest any more money in frozen peas? I mean, he's begging!"

"He lied to me, Dane...."

Dane shrugged. "Sounds like he didn't tell you a few things, but that doesn't mean he intended to keep it from you forever. You two are pretty new, after all."

She shook her head. "He should have come clean before his wife informed me. Before I caught him pledging his forever love to her!"

"From what you told me, apparently he didn't quite end it with the ex after the divorce was final. Is that a crime? He hadn't even met you yet. And from what we think we know, he hasn't been with her since moving here." Dane leaned on the counter. "I think that happens more often than we realize. My sister? She had a rotten marriage, the worst husband you can imagine, but after they split up she hooked up with him a couple of times before we finally came up here and opened the shop. Just sometimes old habits die hard...."

"Really?" Lilly said. "And how do we know when they're finally dead?"

"I think that's the point in talking it out, or fighting it out, or whatever it turns out to be."

"I can't do that," she said in a strained whisper. "Don't you get it? I can't go through that again!"

"He didn't cheat on you!" Dane said hotly. "Before he knew you, before he was involved with you, he was with another woman! That's not a crime!"

"But he lied to me! Just like the guy before him lied to me!"