Chapter 26

It had been two weeks since Nick and Jackie’s trip to Aspen, and Nick hadn’t felt this good in over a year. The realtor had called him and said someone made an offer on his brother’s house for the asking price. The couple was from Chicago. They were tired of the big city and harsh winters.

Nick had cleaned out the rest of the house two days ago. What he wanted to keep he put in three boxes. Jackie helped him pack up Danielle and David’s clothes. They drove them to Phoenix and donated them to a homeless shelter. They had dinner. Nick had made a little detour on the way back to town. He had parked around some trees off of Route 501 and made love to Jackie in the back of his truck. Luckily, he had a blanket to lay down in the flatbed, but the steel had been hard on their backs and knees.

Jackie was the most passionate, loving, honest, and loyal woman he had ever known. Nick shook his head as he thought back to five weeks ago when he had thought she was a snotty, rigid, anal repressive.