Not Quite Dating(49)

“And if he doesn’t love you, he won’t be back. And if that’s the case, then you made the right decision.”
“You’re right.” Thank God her sister was there to talk reason into her.
“I’m right. But it still hurts.”
“It does.”
When Monica hugged her again, the last of the day’s tears fell.


Jack’s eyes fluttered open as lightning attacked his brain. With his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and the taste and smell of stale whiskey coating his lips, he thought maybe he had woken in hell.
“So, you decided to wake up?” The unsympathetic voice of his sister forced his gaze across the room.
Katie lounged in a chair opposite him. Her slim legs poked out from under a tight skirt while her high-heeled foot tapped against thin air.
Maybe he was still asleep. Jack closed his eyes and ignored the pain exploding in his head.
“Oh, no you don’t, Jacko. I’ve been watching you sleep for too many hours to let you fall back under again.”
Again? How long had she been there? Jack remembered a phone conversation, then a whole lot of nothing.
“What are you doing here?”
“Pulling your sorry butt out of your pity party.”
Jack popped one eye open and saw her push out of the chair. Blonde, slim, beautiful, and loaded, Katie looked as if she was made of porcelain and might break if shaken. Jack knew better. Katie Morrison took crap from no one, ever. When the girl had it in her craw that she needed to fix someone or something, there was no stopping her.
Jack decided right then to keep his lips shut about Jessie. He didn’t need his sister interfering.
Katie stood over him and handed him a glass. “Here. Drink this.”
With his throat dry enough to compete with a desert, Jack drank before he asked what it was. One gulp and Jack sat up, sputtering.
Whiskey.
“What are you trying to do, kill me?”
Katie laughed. “Hair of the pooch.”
“Dog. Hair of the dog,” he corrected.
“Whatever,” she said, sitting down beside him after he’d made room for her on the sofa. “It works when you’ve been as blitzed as you were.”
Jack rubbed a hand over his face and took another gulp for good measure. “How long have you been here?”
She rested a hand on his arm and turned her soft blue eyes on him. “Long enough, big brother.”
No, no, no, no…not good. “How long, Katelyn?”
“Oh, I’m Katelyn now. Must mean you’re sobering up.”
She always was a sassy girl growing up. He could see nothing had changed. Jack finished the contents of the glass in his hands and felt the headache beginning to ease. His clothes were a mess, he smelled bad—even to himself—and if his life depended on it, he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what the date was. The memory of Jessie’s refusal added a familiar ache in his chest.
Dammit.
Where is that bottle?
“Come on. Get your ass in the shower and put on some clothes. I’ll have a plate of steak and eggs up here by the time you’re out. Then we’re out of here.” Katie stood and pulled on his arm until he was standing beside her. With her heels on, she was nearly his height.
“Where are we going?”
“Home. The plane is waiting.” She pushed him toward his room.
“I’m not leaving.” Not without Jessie.
“Yes you are. Sitting here feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to have you thinking clearly. Not to mention the alcohol factor. You need to jump on Dancer’s back and ride the fences. Then maybe you can pull your head out of your ass and figure out what to do. Sitting in this hotel room isn’t going to do it.”
Dancer…he hadn’t thought of his horse back home for months. Riding along the fences of the property was mindless and helped to clear his head. The fact his sister remembered that about him made him smile.
“I think you might be right.”
“Hon, I’m always right. Now shower. You stink.”
He stumbled into his bathroom and the phone in his pocket rang. He managed to pull it out and recognized Dean’s number. “Hello?”
“Well, hell, at least you sound sober this time.”
“I take it we talked last night?” Not that Jack remembered.
“You slurred, I listened.”
“I’m sure it was very entertaining.” He sat on the edge of the counter and pulled off his socks.
“Enlightening, actually. I just wanted to call and make sure you were OK.”
His heart was shattered in a zillion pieces. He was anything but OK. “I’m fine.”
Dean snorted into the phone. “Right. Listen, while you’re sober I thought I might try and give you some advice. You know when you told me that Maggie and I had two different ideas on what life was all about?”
“Yeah.” It took Maggie dumping Dean for Jack to tell his friend he was better off without her.
“Well, this girl, Jessie…she’s a waitress at Denny’s, Jack. Not exactly the kind of woman you’ve dated before.”
Jack’s jaw started to throb as his back teeth gritted together. “Dean,” he warned.
“I mean, a waitress. C’mon. Did she even finish high school?”
“It’s a damn fine thing you’re calling on the phone, Dean, or my fist would be through your face.” Jack clutched his phone with one hand and pounded on the counter with the other.
“Whoa, OK, Jack. Calm down. Just wanted to point out that these things happen for a reason. You said the same thing to me not too long ago.”