Free Loving Jack by Cat Miller

their heart on my Jack just to have it broken when he’s done with playing with them. I have nothing to be jealous of. He always comes back to me.”
    “Let me go, Victor,” she ordered and pulled to get free. They’d drawn the attention of the smokers and people milling about on their phones.
    “Is there a problem here?” A man asked from behind them and Victor stiffened. Grace peered around Victor and had the breath knocked out of her. For a split second she thought it was Jack. Then the man’s military cut hair, slightly larger build, and dress uniform sank into her brain. At the funeral she’d only seen Jack’s brother, Everett, from behind. Now the resemblance between the brothers struck her momentarily speechless.
    “No problem,” Victor told Everett and turned his back on the man, dismissing him. Victor tugged on her arm. “I’m just escorting Ms. Yates to her car.”
    “I don’t think the lady needs or wants your assistance, Victor.” The warning was clear in Everett’s tone. Victor stopped and let her go. Grace kept walking.
    “Just remember, honey, one fuck means nothing.” Victor fired one more shot at her back. Grace spun around and glared at him.
    “Go to hell,” Grace wanted to shout, but what she had to say would be best delivered calmly and without any additional drama. “Let’s get a few things straight, honey, ” she mocked him and stepped closer so the whole street wouldn’t hear her. “First off, Jack didn’t bend me over his car. He held me to his chest and loved me hard, on his car.” Victor’s eyes widened. Maybe he didn’t have the whole story after all. “Secondly, that wasn’t the only time we were together.” That deflated Victor’s bravado a bit.
    “I’m not here to have a bitch fight with you. I’m here because Jack came to me distraught over the loss of his father. I love him, Victor.” Victor’s mouth fell open. Everett’s eyebrows rose sharply. Fuck! Why had she said that out loud? Verbalizing her feelings gave them so much more weight.
    “I love him enough to put aside my own hurt feelings and drag my sorry ass across the country to be here today, even if he really didn’t need me. And clearly he didn’t. You have the situation well in hand. So I’m just going to leave now.” Tears filled Grace’s eyes. Her composure crumbled there on the sidewalk. “I’m sorry I came, because Jack deserves better than this.” She sniffed and gestured between them.
    Grace turned and hurried down the sidewalk toward her rental. Everett caught up with her and lifted her bag from the ground as they crossed the street and she let him do it. After opening the door she took the bag back from Everett and stuffed it in the back seat. Everett was watching her the whole time but she couldn’t return his gaze. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She felt horrible for causing a scene, even if she hadn’t instigated it. She slammed the back door of the compact car and opened the driver door.
    This was a nightmare. Jack had been concerned about a confrontation over his sexuality. Grace had made his fears a reality. It was no wonder Everett felt the need to escort her away from the inn. The only thing she was grateful for was that Jack hadn’t seen her or heard anything that transpired. She hopped in the driver’s seat, turned the engine over, and rolled down the window. Everett was still standing by Grace’s car watching her carefully.
    “Thank you for walking me to my car,” she told him and made brief eye contact. “I’m terribly sorry for what happened over there.” She cleared her throat. Swallowing shame over the scene with Victor and sadness because she knew everything Victor had said was painfully true. “You won’t see me again,” she promised.
    “Well, that’s a damn shame,” Everett replied. What had that meant? She looked up at Everett. He was about to say something when he was cut off.
    “Everett?” An all too familiar voice called from across