Dishonoring Jack

Chapter Twenty Six

Jack inhaled sharply and refused to acknowledge Donovan for the rest of the drive to the church. She had been the one who had told Donovan she would not accept him if he continued to cower in fear. She was the one destroying the tenuous fragile bond between them, the very bond Jack was terrified would break.

They arrived at the church a few moments later and Donovan dismounted from the car and turned to help Jack. She considered refusing him and leaping down to enter alone, but at the look in his eyes, she could scarcely move. He reached for her waist and lifted out of the car. His hands burned hot through her blouse and the touch tingled through her, made more irresistible by the long drought of affection.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Donovan said as he set her on the sidewalk, his fingers lingering for a long moment. "You can't forgive me for refusing to stand up to them, but I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."

With bowed shoulders, he turned and entered the church without her and Jack was left standing speechless on the sidewalk. For a moment, a very brief moment, she had understood him perfectly. Jack was so afraid that his cowardice was a sign that he wasn't the man she was falling for all too quickly, that he was less brave than she thought, but when she'd looked into his eyes, it had all become clear.

He wanted to stand up against the Slate brothers; Donovan wanted to stop them, but he wouldn't because he cared more about Jack than he did about justification or his own safety just as Jack had sacrificed her safety when she went to confront the Slate brothers. Their selfless care for each other was what was driving them apart, and the last thing Jack wanted was to spend any more time apart from Donovan.

After this irritating dance ended, Jack swore to herself she would talk to Donovan, and if there was no other option, she would even apologize. Admitting her own faults was far superior to losing him because of them.

With a skip in her step, Jack walked towards the brightly lit church and the vibrant noise emanating from it. Hannah greeted her at the door with a smile, her face glowing with vibrancy and life.

"Jack, you're here!" She kissed her friend on the cheek. "Oh, please help Corrie with the donations."

Jack was happy to put herself to work even if it meant feigning gratitude when Mr. Robertson, owner of the general store, only donated a can of outdated pickles to the war effort. Perhaps he would behave differently if his son were on the front lines.

As the four Ragtime girls worked, the church began to fill with visitors bedizened in their very best clothes, some so gaudy that they put Jack's harem pants to shame. The familiar Ragtime quartet began to play, music filling the church and rising to the very steeple. Knowing that she would reconcile with Donovan immediately afterwards helped Jack to enjoy the evening and she prided herself on greeting even her arrogant sister with cordiality.

"Good evening, Anita!" Jack said, offering her sister a faux curtsey in the oversized pants.

Anita's lips curled in disgust and she reclined her head just enough to be considered polite. "Jacqueline. So you've worn this...outfit of yours again, I see."

"Well, with the rumors abounding these days, I figure it can't get any worse," Jack said with a shrug. Anita's face blanched and Jack studied her for a moment. "You've heard, have you?"

"Oliver warned you, Jacqueline. That Indian man will bring you nothing but trouble." Though her words spoke of disapproval, Anita's eyes were afraid rather than threatening. She stepped closer to her sister so no one else could hear. "If you're not careful, Jack, you'll be in just as much trouble as he is."

A shiver went down Jack's backbone and every elated feeling evaporated. Was that meant as a threat or a warning? As if on time, the door opened and the Slate brothers, escorting Margaret Hunt, entered the church. Jack's eyes sought Donovan's where he stood in one corner of the room talking to the elderly Schoolmaster Britton. If Anita meant her words as a caution, Jack was afraid Donovan's time of avoiding the Slates in peace had run out.