A Summer Love Chapter 6, by Deb Kastner

Jake had trouble sleeping that night. Even the gentle sounds of the breeze and the ocean waves couldn’t settle him down. It didn’t help that Ralph lay sprawled across the bottom of the bed snoring like a chainsaw.

He was home. This is where he’d instinctively come to seek comfort and peace. Instead, the ache in his heart grew with every breath he took.

How had it become so complicated? He’d known going into this that his mother had left the house to both him and Jenny. And he’d had every intention of giving her first dibs on the sale of his half. But now that he’d seen her face-to-face, that all seemed wrong somehow.

Jenny.

She had been there for his mother in her last hours, not him. Guilt flooded through him, but at the same time he was grateful for Jenny's support. He knew how much his mother cared for Jenny, the hopes and dreams she'd had that Jenny and Jake would have a future together.

He'd been the one to screw that future up, and yet Jenny had apologized to him tonight for her part in their troubled past. He’d had the feeling she’d been waiting for something—something from him.

Like what? To tell her he was sorry he’d impulsively enlisted before discussing it with her? That he’d assumed she’d go along with his plans and leave the hometown she loved? That he'd spent his whole life ignoring the gaping hole in his heart?

What difference would it make now? The past was past.

And now? He was nothing more than a broken down man with a broken down dog. What could he possibly offer her?

And yet…

Suddenly it felt as if his mother’s presence was in the room with him. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he remembered her comforting arms around him, the sage wisdom she had so often shared.

Maybe…maybe he was looking at this all wrong.

What if his mom hadn’t overlooked the change in her will? What if she’d left it the way it was on purpose?

Could it possibly be that she’d intentionally left him this one last message? All she’d ever wanted was her son’s happiness.

And the only thing in the world that could truly make Jake’s heart happy was…

Jenny.