If it weren’t for Piper, Jake never would have spoken to them again.
His daughter sat quietly in the passenger seat next to him. Although she wouldn’t give him the pleasure of knowing it, Jake could tell she was happy about getting to spend her thirteenth birthday with friends and family. They hadn’t been back to Austin since he’d packed them up four months ago and moved them into the old house his father had left for him in Simonton—a small town of less than a thousand outside Houston, where Jake had grown up.
Jake had to get away from Sarah’s parents and try to start over. They had put him through a brutal custody battle for Piper in the aftermath of Sarah’s death. In the darkest moment of Jake’s life, Lars Kingston had chosen to leverage every bit of his money and power to prove to the courts that Jake was an unfit father and Piper would be better off living with them. Jake might have had many problems dealing with Sarah’s death—some more serious than others, he’d admit—but he was still a good father. For Lars to use such a difficult time to make an opportunistic play for Piper was incredibly cruel—even for him. In a desperate response, Jake had finally played a card with Lars he’d held on to for more than a decade. He threatened to expose the affair he’d stumbled upon many years ago. Jake had recognized the woman. She was the wife of a prominent politician. Jake knew word leaking out, even years later, would cause serious havoc for his father-in-law. Not only could it jeopardize his in-laws’ marriage, but it might potentially have devastating consequences for Kingston Financial. Lars erupted on him with a rage he’d never seen before ultimately backing down.
Nevertheless, Jake couldn’t keep Piper away from his in-laws forever. Like it or not, they were still her grandparents.
Jake waited for the automatic metal gate to open in front of them.
“You excited?” he asked Piper.
She gave a quick nod but didn’t say anything. The entire drive had been pretty quiet, no matter how much he’d tried to initiate conversation. Of course, it had been this way between them for the better part of the past year and had grown only worse since he’d forced her to leave her friends behind in Austin.
Although she’d never said it to him directly, Jake knew Piper also partly blamed him for her mother’s death. She’d been in the car watching them argue that night. In many ways, he blamed himself. It was impossible not to wonder if he could have done something differently. Jake had replayed the moment repeatedly in his mind. Had he not been paying attention when he’d pulled into the intersection? Was it still a red light? Had he been distracted by his own anger at Sarah? Unfortunately, Jake would never get those questions answered. Whoever had hit them with the speeding truck had disappeared before anyone else arrived. And the police were never able to track them down.
Jake hated that his once-special relationship with his daughter had been so severely damaged this past year but felt determined to somehow get it back. Which was why he’d had the idea to bring her here for her birthday. When the gate fully opened, he pulled up the driveway to the house and parked in the huge circular courtyard. Two white cargo trucks were also parked in front of the house, and various workers were busy lifting out tables and chairs and what looked like other assorted party decorations. Jake was not surprised his in-laws were going over the top for this birthday celebration. He resented them for continuing to use their money to buy his daughter’s affection.
Jake felt his stomach twist when he spotted his mother-in-law, Janice, appear on the front porch. Per usual, her dyed black hair was dolled up perfectly. She wore a white silk blouse, black dress pants, and heels. Jake could see her diamond jewelry sparkling in the midday sun. There had never been anything casual about Janice. Seconds later, the man he now despised more than anyone in the world stepped out behind her. Lars Kingston. Jake felt the rage immediately bubble up inside him. But he knew he had to somehow play nice for Piper’s sake. He wasn’t going to ruin this for her.
They got out of his Jeep. He watched as Piper hurried over to them, limping slightly with each step. The car wreck had badly fractured her left leg, and doctors still weren’t sure if she’d ever be able to compete in acro-tumbling again. She’d been doing intense physical therapy for the past year, but progress had been excruciatingly slow. His daughter had lost more than just her mother.
He watched as his daughter hugged both of her grandparents. Then he made his way up to the front of the house. Jake exchanged a quick but cold-natured nod with Lars. Janice gave him a fake hug and a kiss on the cheek, as if everything were normal, as if she hadn’t testified to the judge about him being a horrible father only six months ago. Jake felt his whole chest tightening and knew he needed to make an exit as soon as possible.