Last First Kiss Read Free Page B

grunted and cleared his throat.
    “ So, that was Giselle Granger. Tell me again what it was you did to piss that little lady off so bad.”
    Glad, for once, to be talking about his major foot in mouth episode, he took a deep breath. “I uh...accused her of being incapable of following directions during a plan in hand meeting.” He puffed out his cheeks as Bill gave a low whistle. “I know...in a room full of engineers and consultants.”
    “ What happened after that?”
    “ She...ah...told me I’d better search my steel trap of a mind to remember who I’d given those directions to. She walked out, straight backed, head held high, with a grudge from hell.”
    “ Hell hath no fury...”
    “ Like a woman humiliated and blamed for something she didn’t do,” Jackson finished.
    “ Did you ever apologize?”
    “ I never got the opportunity.” He stared at his uncle’s incredulous gaze. “It’s impossible to apologize to someone who avoids being in the same room with you.”
    “ Difficult maybe, but not impossible.”
    “ Whatever.”
    Bill gave him a deep chuckle. “Surely she has to discuss work with you.”
    “ Yes, when others are present, and always very civil, very professional...Cold as an Arctic frontal system.”
    Bill shook his head. “How’d you and her husband get to be such good friends, anyway?”
    “ We met building Sam and Carrie’s deck last year. I don’t know; we just hit it off right away.”
    “ You think he’d want you to look after his wife and daughters until they come to terms with things?”
    Jackson let his head fall back on the seat again as he thought of Toby and how hard Giselle and her girls would take his death. As much as he’d miss his friend, he couldn’t even imagine how Toby’s family would suffer over the months ahead. “I know he would, but that doesn’t mean she’ll let me,” he finally admitted.
    He suddenly found a reason to be grateful that he and Chloe’s marriage had been so miserable. It wasn’t fair that God spared him, but took Toby from the wife and children who desperately needed him. This must be what they call survivor’s guilt.
    “ Do you want me to go with you?” Bill asked, interrupting Jackson’s thoughts.
    He blinked as they pulled into his driveway. “No. Thanks for the ride, though.”
    “ Call me if you need anything, you hear me, Son?”
    “ I will.” After Bill left him standing in his driveway, he went inside to shower and dress. He popped a couple of pain relievers, grabbed the keys to Chloe’s Vette, and drove himself to the dealership.
     
    <><><>
     
    Two hours later, he pulled his new truck into the garage, turned off the ignition, and sat, listening to the sounds of the engine cool. His head fell heavily against the headrest as he fought to keep his eyes opened. His muscles ached, along with his head, and his eyes burned from exhaustion. Even so, he couldn’t help but remember the last time he and his wife had arrived home together.
    The trip to a newly opened restaurant began pleasantly enough, until Chloe accused their waitress of flirting with him. He’d never forget the horrified expression on the poor girl’s face. His own face had burned with embarrassment while Chloe raged on, making certain everyone in the room was focused on her. Management asked them to leave quietly, but Chloe never did anything quietly, especially when asked to.
    On the entire trip home she’d ranted, raved, and rebuked him for apologizing to restaurant personnel, insisting she deserved the apology. The rant ended with her usual snide remark. “Way to show your support, loser.”
    Ten minutes after getting home, she performed her infamous “Chloe”...the hundred and eighty degree mood swing that always left him confused and no matter how hard he tried not to be, annoyed as all hell. She’d initiated sex for the first time in a month, and he knew a turn-down would have caused an all night bout of crying and suicide threats he’d been