Kissing the Rake (Howertys #2)

Chapter 38: Final Confessions

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Jacob looked over his shoulder to see Pensington striding towards him. He'd only just arrived and dismounted his horse at Davenhall. Apparently, he already had a welcoming committee. One which wasn't entirely pleased to see him.

"I'm here to get my wife." He tossed the reins of his horse to a stable boy who had just come running.

"Not sure she wants to see you," Pensington said coldly.

Turning around to face his friend, Jacob readied himself for a fight. He couldn't blame the other man for being concerned about his arrival. It's what any good brother would do, and Pensington was the best one could have. If he would have had a brother, he would have liked it to be this man who was now standing before him, glowering.

"I'm sure she doesn't," he allowed. "But I'm her husband and she bloody well will see me. Where is she?"

"Want to tell me what's going on?" Pensington asked, arms crossed over his chest as he blocked the path to the house.

Jacob was running out of patience, something he had little in supply, to begin with. "Get out of my way, Pensington. This doesn't concern you," he growled.

"She's my sister. That makes it my concern."

"If you'd all learn to stay out of each other's business, this might not even have been an issue!" Jacob snapped, and having lost his temper he pushed past his friend and strode for the door. "Don't get between me and my wife again," he muttered angrily over his shoulder. "If you do, I swear I'll bloody well punch you."

As he opened the door to barge inside, Pensington called after him, sounding amused by the recent sign of bad temper. "She's in the garden."

Nodding shortly, he entered the house and walked through it to where a second exit lead him out onto the terrace and into the garden in the back. Jessica stood a short distance away with her feet bare in the grass despite the colder autumn weather. When she caught sight of him her eyes widened, but at least she didn't take off and start running in the opposite direction. He counted that as a win. As he covered the last stretch between them, he gave her a quick look-over. She was beautiful, as always, but there was an aura of sadness around her. Guilt dug its claws into him. It was all his fault.

"What are you doing here?" she asked warily when he stopped a few feet away.

In his head, he'd gone over and over what he would say when he saw her again, but now that he was actually in her presence he couldn't remember a single thing. All he wanted was to take her in his arms and beg her to forgive him.

"You left me," he said, his voice more raw than he'd have liked. "You said you wouldn't, but you did."

She looked down at her feet, her toes flexing in the grass. "I needed time to think."

"You couldn't think at home?"

A small noise he couldn't decipher escaped her. "No. Your presence makes it difficult for me to gather my thoughts."

He wasn't entirely sure what that meant. "Jessica," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. It was never my intention to hurt you. I was going to tell you everything, but I was a coward and kept putting it off because I worried you wouldn't believe me once you saw that child. How could anyone believe he's not mine? He looks just like me! And with my reputation, I—"

"I know he's not yours," she cut him off, tilting her head to meet his stunned gaze.

"You... You do?"

"I won't lie, when I first saw him I was convinced you'd lied to me and that's why you kept him secret, but once I calmed down and thought about it, it made little sense. You rarely lie, and you seemed so sincere when you spoke about your history with Lady Hearn." She made a wry face. "So I had the man Rain hired from the Rose Agency dig a little deeper. He found out everything about Lady Hearn and Olivia's brother, your cousin. About her health and asking you to take the boy in as your ward."