Mara turned her head in time to see a flash of intense pain cross over Jared’s expression. She very much doubted that the relationship was sexual. The woman was old enough to be his mother, but judging from Jared’s reaction, he obviously knew her.
“Mrs. Olsen?” Jared’s voice cracked as he acknowledged her.
For the first time, Evan rose and strode over to the couch. “Ah . . . it seems to be the night for family skeletons to come out of the closet. But not this particular secret, and not tonight. You, madam, may leave immediately or I’ll call the police and have you thrown out.” The eldest Sinclair brother’s voice was chillier than Antarctica.
“The police are already here,” Dante growled as he rose and stood next to Evan. “What the hell is going on?”
“Who is she?” Mara asked breathlessly, sensing the tension in Jared’s body.
“Selena’s mother,” Jared ground out painfully.
Mara vaulted to her feet, unable to contain her fury that this woman had actually sought Jared out after all he’d been through, after everything he’d done to protect her feelings in the past. She gritted her teeth as she spoke. “I’m sorry you lost your daughter, but Jared has been through enough over the years. Enough! Now leave.” She wasn’t letting this woman anywhere near Jared, and she stepped between them, essentially blocking Jared’s vision so he didn’t have to look at the woman who had slapped him down and blamed him for her daughter’s death.
“I’m not here to hurt him again,” the woman said nervously, anxiously.
“Then why are you here?” Mara demanded to know.
“I was hoping I could have a word alone with Jared,” Mrs. Olsen said quietly, fidgeting uncomfortably.
“Not until hell freezes over,” Mara spat out at her vehemently. She wasn’t leaving this woman alone with Jared so she could spew more venom at him. It might have been understandable when Selena’s death was so new, so heart wrenching. But several years later, she wasn’t getting her claws into Jared again.
“We’re all family here. Say what you have to say now or leave,” Evan demanded icily. “But be warned that if I don’t like what you’re saying, your ass will be outside in seconds.”
“I can’t say I know exactly what’s happening, but I’ll be helping him remove you,” Dante agreed.
“Selena kept journals,” Mrs. Olsen blurted out suddenly. “After she died, I couldn’t bring myself to read any of them, and I wasn’t sure I should. About a month ago, I found them packed away. I decided that I wanted to know her thoughts during the year before she died. She’d grown distant, and I wanted to know why.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I know she was in love with Alan, and she was sleeping with him even though she was in a relationship with you, Jared. I want to know what really happened the night she died.” Tears flowed down the woman’s haggard, worn-out expression. “I don’t think I can let it go until I do know, now that I’ve read those journals.”
Jared stood and brought Mara up against his side. “There’s no point in rehashing it now,” Jared insisted. “Selena and Alan are gone, Mrs. Olsen. As much as I wish that wasn’t true, we can’t bring them back. I told you how sorry I was, and I don’t expect you to ever stop hating me. But let it go.”
“I just need to know, Jared,” the woman pleaded.
Jared kept his mouth clamped shut, shaking his head regretfully.
He can’t do it even now. He can’t get the words out or hurt her mother.
Mara clasped his hand in support. Obviously, he still wasn’t going to tell the truth, even though Selena’s mother knew the worst of it.
So Evan spoke for him. “My brother didn’t know about the two of them, or that they were sleeping together. Jared was working, trying to get the business going that he generously offered to partner with Alan. On the night of the party, Jared was there, and he was sober just like he had promised to be. When your daughter and Alan disappeared, he went looking for them and caught them having sex in one of the bedrooms where the party was being held. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, which he was, he left. An ordinary reaction from a man who’d just had his heart figuratively dug out of his chest with a spoon, madam.” Jared pinned the woman with his intense, blue-eyed stare. “Nobody knows what happened after that except the three people involved, and they’re all dead. I understand you were devastated when your daughter died, and so was Jared. He took the blame at an extremely high price to his own mental health. He never said a disparaging word about your daughter to you or anyone, never told anyone that she had cheated. He wanted you to have your happy memories without besmirching your daughter’s reputation.” Evan’s voice had been eerily calm, as though he’d been talking about a minor business deal. He crossed his arms in front of him, his gaze never leaving the distraught woman in front of him.
“Evan. Stop.” Jared put a hand on his oldest brother’s shoulder. “This won’t change anything.”
Shaking off Jared’s hold, Evan said, “I hope for your sake that it does change things for you, Jared.”
“I’m so sorry,” Mrs. Olsen wailed. “I understand why you left. It was a natural reaction. You were good to Selena, and I’m so sorry she hurt you.”
“I should have stayed,” Jared grunted uncomfortably. “I should have taken both of them home myself even though I was hurt.”