“Please, Omen, just stop crying?” Jenny cradled the puppy, begging her to stop the nearly insistent whines.

Each person who pulled into the driveway and knocked on the door or called out to Jenny only made the puppy protest more.

Omen wanted Lucas and there wasn’t anything Jenny could do to sooth the pup. Dolly licked Omen’s face and whined, too. Jenny sniffled and squeezed out another tear.

“I don’t know what to do. Lucas lied. He lied to me, and he helped hide what Walker was doing from me. He participated in it. How could he?” She squeezed Omen a little tighter. “I know you love him, but he left you, too. It hurts, I know it does, but he’s gone. You can’t keep him in one place.”

Her alarm went off, signaling it was time to at least try to go to the convention. She hadn’t slept or eaten, much less showered. She turned the alarm off and put Omen down.

Did she even dare try?

In her current state she’d cry.

Jenny bit the bullet and texted Terry. His response was immediate.

Why not take the week? We can hold down the fort.

She considered the offer.

Terry was dependable and knew the ins and outs of everything. She’d just need to ensure he had the necessary money for the drawer lined up, and the rest she could do later. Even paychecks could be done from the comfort of her bed.

The sound of tinkling water hitting the hardwood sent shivers down her spine.

“Omen—no!” Jenny scooped up the puppy and shoved a towel under her, groaning.

She’d peed no fewer than four times.

“I should have known better.” She groaned and closed her eyes as the puppy continued to pee, soaking the towel.

Well, at least it wasn’t the rug this time.

Omen was suffering from a broken heart, and the only thing to do was to send her back to Lucas. Dolly might fret and be a wreck, but Jenny could find her a companion. Another cheerful animal to help soothe Dolly’s anxiety at being alone.

All she had to do was call Lucas’ mother and she’d handle it. But there was no way Lucas was gone yet. She didn’t want to have to explain anything to anyone.

She glanced at the clock as she wiped up the floor.

Lucas would likely still be asleep.

Jenny could swing by and leave Omen in the little yard. It was still cool enough she could be out there on her own. And then she’d have Lucas back. Dolly and Jenny could survive a day and a night without Omen, and first thing tomorrow, they could go to Everly and find a new friend.

It was the only good idea Jenny had come up with other than crying into her ice cream.

“Come on, girls. We’re going for a ride.”

Jenny tossed the towel into the washer, scrubbed her hands—and Omen—then took stock of herself. Her shirt kind of smelled, so she tossed it into the wash and pulled out a shirt at random from the pile of clean ones.

It unfolded, and kept unfolding. Length wise it would be a dress, but width? That was all Lucas.

Jenny swallowed the lump in her throat and shoved it to the back of the pile. The next shirt she recognized as one of hers and pulled it on.

She could do this.

It would be okay.

Things would suck for a while, her heart would hurt, but she’d gotten over one Hewitt already, found herself and built a life. It wasn’t a big, exciting life, but it was hers and she recognized herself.

She blinked back the desire to cry and gathered the leashes.

Both dogs were excited by the prospect of the outside that wasn’t the back yard.

Jenny got them leashed and to her truck. She secured each dog on the back seat while the AC blew out cool air. By the time she slid behind the wheel, it wasn’t that bad. She’d have to leave Dolly in the truck, running and AC on, but that shouldn’t be a big deal. She would only be out of sight for a moment. The very briefest of time.

She reversed out of the drive, repeating her plan the whole time.

Get to Lucas’ apartment.

Ensure his Jeep was there.

Park.

Leave Dolly in the running truck.

Take Omen around to the back of the building and leave her on the patio.

It wasn’t a great plan. Abandoning Omen like this made her feel rotten, but Omen hadn’t picked Jenny. Omen had picked Lucas, and even if Jenny thought it was a mistake, no one could tell a dog who to love.

Luck was on Jenny’s side. A prime, front-row spot in the shade was open at the apartments. She backed in, the better for a fast escape, and peered at Lucas’ Jeep.

He was there.

He hadn’t left yet.

She swallowed.

This was something she had to do. If everything went well, she wouldn’t have to see—or speak—to Lucas. It would all be okay.

“Dolly, I’m going to be right back, okay?” Jenny got out of the truck and opened the door.

Omen’s whole body wiggled.

She probably associated car rides with getting to see Lucas.

This time the poor dear was right. She’d see him.

Jenny scooped Omen up and closed the truck. She hoofed it toward the apartment building, chanting to herself the whole time.

“Jenny? Hey, Jenny, hold up a second.”

She froze in the grass.

That was not Lucas’ voice.

She turned her head, staring in horror at Walker climbing out of the driver’s seat of Lucas’ Jeep.

No.

This could not be happening.

Then again, why not?

They used to hang out all the time.

Walker circled around the front of the Jeep.

“Stay away from me,” Jenny yelled.

“Jenny, I just want the chance to apologize—”

“I don’t care what you want.” Omen wiggled her little body and though Jenny tried to keep hold of her, she slid to the ground and darted off. “Omen!”

Jenny whirled, and stared at Lucas all of five feet away.

Omen plastered herself to the man’s ankles.

Jenny swallowed.

He was wearing shorts.

She hardly ever saw him in shorts.

It was weird.

Why was she thinking about his legs?

“I have to go.” She turned.

“Jenny—”

“Leave her alone, Walker.”

Those harshly-spoken words should not make her heart twinge.

Jenny jogged toward the truck and threw herself into the driver’s seat.

Don’t look in the rearview mirror. Don’t do it...

She shifted into drive and glanced up, completely out of habit.

Lucas stood just behind the tailgate, staring right at her, Omen cradled in his arms like a baby. If Jenny tried that, Omen would freak out and flip herself onto the floor.

Jenny choked down a sob and stomped on the gas.

She sped out of the parking lot and merged onto the street, her vision blurring with tears. She made it through three or four lights before she had to pull over into a Whataburger parking lot. Dolly strained at her harness, licking Jenny’s arm. She turned, burying her face against Dolly’s shoulder.

Giving Omen back and shutting Lucas out of her life was the right thing to do. She couldn’t withstand what Walker had put her through again. So why did she feel a hundred times more broken than she’d ever been before?

g

Lucas hadn’t stepped foot into So Inked since Saturday. Four days away and it felt like a lifetime. Then again, that was probably the hangover talking. He was old enough to know better than to believe his solutions resided in the bottom of a bottle, but at least being drunk had eased the pain. Given the choice, he wouldn’t be here now, but Mom and Walker had asked him in a weak moment. The dirty, rotten team of them.

“Lucas, hey.” Autumn stood from her chair and took a few steps toward him. “Welcome back.”

“I’m just here for today.”

He proceeded to the spot he’d briefly called his own. Pandora was focused on a client, Carly glanced his way but didn’t speak to him, and Mary was nowhere to be seen.

The plan for the day was to knock out a handful of clients who needed either finishing or limited work. He felt like a tool for reaching out to the clients he’d left hanging years ago, but he couldn’t live his life for everyone else. This was about him finally getting some peace.

“Hey, can we talk?” Autumn followed him to the station.

“What?”

“You’re angry with me, and you have every right to be.” Autumn wrung her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry.”

“Forgiven.”

“Oh.” Autumn blinked at him.

He didn’t see the point in carrying stupid grudges. After days spent listening to how much Walker had changed, meeting his fiancée and realizing the only person who hadn’t moved on was Lucas, he wasn’t about to put any more effort into being ticked off at people.

“Have you heard from Jenny, by any chance?” Autumn pitched her voice lower.

“I’m the last person Jenny wants to talk to.” The memory of her fleeing from him, not once, but twice, was burned into his mind.

“She hasn’t been into work since Saturday. She’s never taken a sick day that I know about, and now she’s not showing up. No one can get her on the phone. Terry’s going to have to shut the shop down tomorrow if he doesn’t hear from her.”

Lucas paused facing the wall. He gripped the edge of the counter and fought his instinct to go to her. To see how Jenny was. What she needed. That sure as hell wasn’t him. The best thing for her, for both of them, was to stay the hell away from her.

“Look, this whole thing is my fault—”

“No.” Lucas turned to face Autumn. “It’s my fault. I’m the last thing she needs. Now, why are you still here?”

“I just...I wanted to apologize to you.”

“Okay. Done. You’re good. Go.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Look, my cousin is coming in today for a tattoo and you can’t scream at him the whole time.”

“I wanted to talk to Walker.” Autumn crossed her arms over her chest.

“You—what?”

“My husband has twisted my arm into seeing a head doctor over the last year. He thinks I have a lot of unresolved issues stemming from those years, and...I wanted to talk to Walker. I need to face my past and he’s part of it.”

The front door chimed.

Lucas glanced at the man and waved him back.

Walker edged closer, his expression nervous. Lucas had offered to do this at the house, but the pre-wedding schedule was tight and too many people were staying at his place.

“I’m not going to bite you,” Autumn said. “Sit. Please?”

“He’s just here to pick out which one he likes so I can finish it.” Lucas laid out three different designs, based on what they’d talked about. The images were heavy black with some color, since the heart of the job was to cover up Jenny’s name on Walker’s forearm.

“Can I see?” Autumn leaned over.

Walker approached Lucas’ other side and they stared at the three potential tattoos in silence. After talking to Walker and Sophia for hours, he’d picked up on some nuances of their new life, tried to have that reflected in the tattoo.

“This one.” Walker tapped the image of a triangle surrounded by a burning circle and a phoenix-like bird rising from the flames.

“Cool. Let me take a trace of your arm and some pictures.” Lucas had to size and position everything just right so the tattoo not only fit Walker’s arm, but covered the aging script someone else had inked on him.

“Walker, when you’re done, can we talk?” Autumn dropped her arms to her side, the look on her face pained.

“Sure,” Walker said slowly.

“Do it while I trace.” Lucas wasn’t about to leave Autumn and Walker alone. Given their history and how much baggage they were both carrying around, it was a potentially explosive mix.

“Okay. I guess I’ll just say it.” Autumn braced her hand against the desk and her other on her hip. “Walker, I need to forgive you. Part of me doesn’t want to. That whole period of my life was a mess. I let people manipulate and use me, but if I hold onto it, if I keep being this hurt and angry, it’s going to do more damage to me than good, you know?”

“I do, actually,” Walker said.

Lucas kept his head down and his eyes on the paper, but deep down, he was proud of them both for conquering their demons.

“You know, it doesn’t help if you say you forgive someone but don’t mean it. I’m not that far away, if you want to do this when you’re ready?” Walker suggested.

“No, I’m ready, I just...I have to work myself up to it.” Autumn closed her eyes and breathed in a deep breath.

“How about I go first?” Walker turned slightly toward her. “I’m sorry that my actions have caused you pain. I made a lot of choices out of fear and self-hatred, without ever thinking how it impacted other people. If I could go back, I’d do it differently.”

“I get that, and that’s why I want to forgive you. I forgive you, I should say.”

“That means more to me than you know,” Walker said.

“Are you two going to hug and make up now? Because I’m done.” Lucas rolled back with the traced image in hand.

“No, I don’t want to hug anyone. What are we going to do about Jenny?” Autumn asked.

“Nothing. Leave her alone,” Lucas said.

“What’s going on with Jenny?” Walker asked.

Autumn went into greater detail, expanding on the brief account of Jenny’s disappearance. Walker’s face creased and he seemed genuinely upset by Jenny’s plight.

“Look, I know you want to help her, but don’t you think we’ve all done enough?” Lucas sighed and stared at Autumn. “Leave her alone.”

Jenny deserved some peace, and the freedom to do what she wanted.

g

A bus had hit Jenny at some point during the night. She was positive. There was no reason for her whole body to hurt this much.

Dolly whined and pawed at her.

Jenny frowned.

Last she remembered, she’d put Dolly in the back yard. It was cooler, and the neighbor’s dogs were out, so she wasn’t exactly alone.

She lifted her head and peered at the dog stretched out on the bed next to her.

“How did you get in here?” she asked.

“I let her in.”

Jenny’s chin snapped up and she stared at the man hovering in her doorway.

“You should drink this.” He edged forward enough to set the bottle on the nightstand, then took a step back.

“What are you doing here?” Jenny sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest as though it were a shield.

“I was worried about you, and selfishly, I wanted to apologize.” Walker held his hands up.

He didn’t yell or jeer at her. There was no flinging of objects in her direction. His eyes were clear, his clothes clean. It was almost as if this were another person entirely.

“I had this whole speech planned out. I’ve written it a dozen—hundreds—of times.” Walker’s gaze dropped to the ground. “I hurt you a lot, and I know it. Sometimes I did it because I didn’t want you to be happy when I couldn’t be. I was selfish, and wrong, and it’s still not enough. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, I’m not asking for it, I just...I guess I wanted you to know that I realize all of that now. I’m trying to be better.”

“Did Lucas put you up to this? How did you even get inside?”

“If Lucas knew I was here, he’d beat my ass.” Walker chuckled. “He always was protective of you.”

Jenny bit her lip, fighting back the longing at the sound of Lucas’ name.

“Look, I told Lucas this and I’ll tell you, too. I was all geared up to divorce you, then...I saw you two together. You looked happier than I’d seen you in years, and that made me hold on, to make sure you were just as miserable as I was.” Walker practically hung his head. “I’m not a good person, Jenny. I was the worst to you. I saw someone who could love you like you deserved, and all I did was hang on harder.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” She hugged the sheet to her chest, only now realizing that she was still completely dressed from yesterday, right down to her bra and her socks.

“Because...if I can make up for anything I did to you, I want to try. I’ll never be able to fix what I did to you and us, but...I can try? I was a wreck. Always was.”

“Why now?”

“Because...I’m getting married again.”

Jenny gaped at the man, shocked those words were coming out of his mouth. Who was he? And who was the poor soul?

“Yeah, that’s a look I get a lot.” He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t deserve any sort of kindness. She was my AA sponsor’s sister, and when he passed away we became close. I fought it for a while, but Sophia has this quiet way of making people do what she wants. We’re getting married at the family reunion next weekend, and I’ve been making the rounds, apologizing for my past. I guess I’m trying to do what I can to clean the slate and get things right.”

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut, bitter tears spilling out. How was it fair that this man, the one who’d hurt her so much, got to remake himself? Why couldn’t she have that? All Jenny had were the broken pieces of a girl who just wanted a different life.

“You know Lucas really loves you?”

“Don’t say his name. I know what you two did.”

“That’s just it, Jen.” Walker took a step toward her. “Autumn had it all mixed up. It wasn’t Lucas she remembered, he was in California. Lucas. Wasn’t. There. Sure, he drove me to Magic City the first couple of times we went, but after that I was there on my own. I know he’s beating himself up because he felt like he caused all of this, but I never needed any help self-destructing. I did that all on my own. His only crime was caring about you too much. He loved you more than I ever did. When you said jump, he asked, ‘How high?’ When you said leave, he didn’t hesitate. Lucas dropped everything because you asked him to go away. And he’s about to do it again, unless you change your mind.”

“That’s not what Autumn said.” Jenny swallowed.

“Autumn had it wrong. She’s worried about you, too.”

“She talked to you?”

“She did. I made my apologies to her, too.”

Jenny took the bottle of water and twisted the cap off. Her head was spinning with too much information.

Lucas had taken Walker to a strip club. Not exactly something she’d have appreciated, but in the grand scheme of things, Lucas wasn’t buying her ex-husband booze or drugs. Walker always did have low impulse control, which was great when they were young and wanted to be adventurous, but as they’d gotten older it’d been a less endearing trait. One of the things she’d liked about Lucas was that he was responsible. If they were doing a BBQ and she needed something, she never had to worry about it if Lucas said he was getting it. He’d become her rock, the person she leaned on instead of Walker.

And Walker was right.

She’d told Lucas to leave.

Was the distance, him going away, because of her?

“How’s he doing?” she asked.

“Lucas? He’s trying to drink himself to death.” Walker sighed. “It’s hard watching him do this to himself. I’ve been sober since day two of being out again and hardly ever looked back. I wish there was something I could do for him. I think he’s let himself feel guilt for everything for years now, and he can’t deal with it.”

Jenny’s fear all along was that the identity she’d found on her own would get swallowed up by Lucas. But that wasn’t giving her any credit for the strength she’d gathered while on her own. She hurt so badly because she loved Lucas. The panic and fear—she didn’t want to repeat the past. But Lucas wasn’t Walker, that was why they’d been drawn to each other back then.

“Have I made a mistake?” she whispered.

“I don’t know, Jenny. I just want you to be happy. Lucas always made you smile.” Walker shrugged.

“But...he’s gone, or leaving?”

“That’s his plan, though he hasn’t set a date to leave or bought a ticket. His mom’s trying to keep him here long enough to talk some sense into his dad. You know how they are.”

“Yeah.” Jenny chuckled.

“He’s actually at the shop today.” Walker held out his arm, her name glaring back at her. She’d always hated that tattoo. “He’s going to do a cover up.”

Jenny stared at the man in her bedroom. She didn’t recognize him in the least. This was not the man she’d been married to, so how could she hate him? How could she continue to resent him?

“Walker, I forgive you, for what it matters.” She slid out of the bed and gulped down some more water. “We aren’t the same people we used to be.”

“I don’t know. You were always pretty amazing.” He smiled and his face creased, his eyes kind.

“I don’t even recognize you.” She blinked back her own tears. For all their wrongs, all the ways they’d hurt each other, she really had cared about him. “It’s like...you’re totally different, aren’t you?”

“I try my best to be.”

“How’d you get into my house?”

“Oh, the back door’s a little wobbly.”

Jenny sighed and added it to her mental list of projects, but even that didn’t seem important enough to hold her attention.

“What do I do, Walker? About Lucas?”

“What do you want to do?”

Jenny was scared of her answer, could hardly bring herself to think it, much less voice it to Walker.

•  •