DUST IN THE WIND
Chapter Seventeen
Jack sighed, stepping out onto
the porch. After that talk with Rose, he once again needed to clear his head.
He couldn’t believe the mess he’d made of everything.
"Jack?" a tear-filled
voice asked from the far edge of the porch. Jack turned to stare into Maria’s
tear-stained face. He cursed as he felt the feelings return. Yes, this was very
bad. He shouldn’t be feeling this way for anyone but Rose.
"Maria. What are you doing
out here?" Jack approached her. He knelt next to her and wiped away a
tear. "What’s wrong?"
Maria turned her eyes away,
afraid that he’d see the truth behind her tears. That she loved him. So she
made something up. Something that Jack was sure to believe. "I--I miss
him, Jack. Fabri wanted a life in America for the both of us. It’s not fair
that I’m the only one who made it here. He should be here with me, too."
Understanding her grief, Jack
wrapped his arms around her shivering frame. His only intention was to comfort
her the way Fabrizio would have if he was there. To take away her tears.
"He’s with us in spirit, Maria. He’s here in America with us."
"You think so?" Maria
sniffed, looking up into Jack’s eyes, getting lost in them. She sighed. If only
he was hers. Oh, why, Jack? Why did you have to get married? Why did I have to
fall so deeply in love with you?
Jack was struck speechless by the
warmth in her brown eyes and the fullness of her pink lips. He wondered if she
knew just how lovely she really was. He closed his eyes at the whiff of jasmine
perfume she wore. Oh, what was she doing to him? "Maria…"
"I love you, Jack," she
confessed, not knowing what else to say but the truth.
He didn’t know how to respond to
her confession. He knew that he should walk away. That he should tell her to
leave and not to come back. But he couldn’t. So instead…he kissed her. He
kissed her in a way that was almost identical to the way he kissed Rose. They
were caught in their own world. A world where Jack wasn’t married. A world full
of freedom and light, fluffy feelings. But that world didn’t last for long.
Reality soon came flooding back in the form of a startled, shocked gasp.
Jack pulled away to find Rose
staring at them, her eyes full of tears of shock and betrayal. She didn’t even
say anything. She just turned and ran back into the house, where George and Sam
were descending the stairs.
"Rose! Rose, wait!"
Jack came in after her, wanting to explain himself, even though he couldn’t
understand his kissing Maria either.
"What, Jack? What? You lied
to me! You said…you said that you didn’t have those types of feelings for
Maria!" Rose backed away, tears falling from her eyes, her heart breaking
in two. She just couldn’t believe that this was happening. She and Jack had
loved each other so much.
Maybe it was karma. She had
cheated on Cal with Jack, and now it was coming back to her. Sighing, her anger
faded away and was replaced by the pain of seeing her Jack in the arms of
another woman. "I want an explanation, Jack. Don’t you love me
anymore?"
Tears were also in Jack’s eyes.
This was his worst nightmare. Losing Rose. He sighed, wondering how he could be
pulled in two directions like this. "Of course I love you, Rose. I never
stopped."
"Well, then, why were you
kissing Maria, Jack?"
"What?" Sam gasped in
shock. She had never expected such a thing from Jack. Not after all Jack and
Rose had been through. "You kissed Maria?"
"Shh," George quieted.
"I…I guess…I…I love you
both." Jack bowed his head, tears spilling from his eyes. He couldn’t
believe the mess he was in now. Rose was going to leave him and take his heart
with her. He could at least see that much happening.
Rose frowned. She wanted to
understand. She really did. "How can you be in love with us both?"
"I don’t know."
Rose sighed. She didn’t want to
lose her family, but she needed some space. Who knew? Maybe that space would
help Jack make up his mind. "Well…let me know when you make up your mind
who you really want. Let me know. But right now, I need to get some
space." She disappeared up the stairs, leaving George and Sam glaring at
Jack in disappointment.