Redeeming Jack by Kate Pearce

fact—” he glanced hopefully at Nia, “—I was thinking of asking Nia to come out with me to buy some, some…handkerchiefs. Would you care to escort Carys home, Jack?”
    Jack’s thoughtful brown eyes met Carys’s. He shrugged one broad shoulder and bowed. “It would be an honor. Shall we? Perhaps it will keep Gareth quiet if we make an effort to be civil to each other.”
    Carys studied her brother and sister as they rushed toward the door. “I will remember this when either of you need a favor from me.” She raised her voice as Gareth avoided her gaze and scuttled cravenly after Nia. “You had better present yourself for dinner at Llewelyn House tonight, Pastor Gareth Evans. We have a lot to discuss.”
    Jack sank into the chair opposite Carys as Gareth shut the door. He placed his cup back on the tray, his expression serious. “Gareth means well and he is right. I do need to talk to you.”
    Carys primly crossed her feet at the ankle and stared down at Jack’s filthy boots. As her gaze traveled upward, she realized she wanted to take him home, cut his blond hair and dress him in better clothes. Appalled at the direction of her thoughts, which were not entirely motherly, she sought for composure. “You didn’t want to talk to me last night. You told me to communicate with you via your father’s solicitors.”
    “I only said that because I thought you would prefer it. After speaking with Gareth, I hoped we might sort things out on a less formal level.” He leaned forward and touched her gloved hand. “We used to be friends.”
    Carys retreated to the small window overlooking the coaching yard. Yes, she had thought Jack her best friend and her whole life before he’d left her. But he’d torn such a hole in her that for a long while after his departure, her skin had felt like the thinnest frayed silk.
    She reined in her first instinct, which was to hotly deny his words. For in truth, she needed him. He no longer had the power to hurt her unless she gave it to him, and she had no intention of doing so. For Owen’s sake, she could only hope he had grown up too.
    She turned to face him. “All right, Jack. We are both adults. We should be able to brush through this amicably enough. I need you to return to Wales with me. There are matters of property and possessions that need to be discussed.”
    Jack nodded, his gaze fixed on hers. The sun came out and squeezed thin fingers of light through the dirty window. Carys noticed new, harsher lines on his face. Had he suffered in the years that separated them? She at least had a family to comfort and console her. Jack had been cast adrift from all he knew and loved. How could he have been happy?”
    “That will suit me very well, Carys. There are certain obligations I need to fulfill in Swansea before I can return to Llewelyn Hall with you, but they should not keep me long.”
    She went to pick up her coat. He deftly removed it from her hands and held it out with a flourish.
    “I don’t live at Llewelyn Hall anymore. I live on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea.” Carys hesitated as she slid her arms into her coat and his hands came around to fasten the gold buttons. She let him complete the task, guiltily enjoying the brush of his fingers and his soft breath on the back of her neck. When she went to step away, his hands tightened at her waist and he dropped his face into the curve of her neck.
    “Even after all this time, you still smell the same,” he murmured. “Like butterscotch and spring flowers. I knew it was you the moment I touched you in the hall.”
    She’d known it was him as well. She’d have known him blindfolded. Carys forced herself to leave his embrace. “Oh my goodness, Jack, you haven’t changed at all. Still trying to seduce every woman you meet.” She patted him lightly on the cheek. “Unfortunately, I have grown up. I no longer believe the lies and flattery of rakes. You will have to find another naïve sixteen-year-old to try your