Resilient Love (Navy Love Series Book 3) by jc santo Read Free Book Online

Jo, and to be honest with you, I don’t need to. Whatever you guys had going on was between the two of you. I want both of you happy, and neither of you have been for the past eight months or so.”
    On the outside, I fight the smile that wants to surface knowing he’s unhappy too, but inside I’m giddy that he’s as upset as I am with how things ended with us.
    “Well, I’m not going into those details, but I was the one who called things off, I suppose. Something happened that shouldn’t have which lead to me pulling away from everyone in the group and I’ve been struggling with how to make amends for all of it now. But I have to start with J.C. As terrified as I am that he’ll hate me when he comes home, I have to know for certain.”
    Reed’s eyebrows pull in as he takes a bite of his burger, thinking over what I said as he chews.
    “What the fuck happened, Jo? All I know is you distanced yourself from everyone, including Tegan and Marsh. The three of you have been attached at the hips until one day you woke up and decided you didn’t want to be around anymore.”
    I can sense his frustration. He wants to be a good and understanding friend towards me, but he’s offended by my behavior towards Tegan. It took Reed forever to finally admit his true feelings for my best friend’s younger sister; now that he finally has, he’s fiercely protective over her.
    “You really want to know?” I ask timidly.
    “I don’t fucking know, Jo. I want you and J.C. to both get past all of this shit. One day you guys are sneaking around together and the next you refuse to speak to one another.”
    “Reed, I...I was pregnant and miscarried.”
    He looks bewildered by my confession. To be honest, I didn’t want to tell him what exactly had happened but it just slipped out. I feel like I need to be completely honest with him, with everyone, in order for them to understand my behavior.
    “Jo, I had no idea...Are you alright? When was this? What did J.C. say?”
    Taking a deep breath, I explain it all.
    “I found out in November. Miller had me take a test when she noticed the symptoms. I miscarried a week after finding out and I had to go to the hospital for a procedure to help my body pass everything. Miller went with me to the hospital and took care of me afterwards.”
    Releasing a harsh breath, Reed asks the dreaded question.
    “Where the fuck was J.C. for all of this? Why wasn’t he with you?”
    His tone is eerily low, no doubt pissed off that his friend would leave me alone to handle the situation by myself.
    “Don’t get mad at J.C.”
    He opens his mouth to argue but I stop him by finishing my thought.
    “He didn’t know, Reed. I was too scared to tell him I was pregnant and then when I miscarried, part of me thought there was no reason to mention it to him.”
    Shame fills me when I realize that I’m fully to blame for J.C.’s reaction when he figured everything out. I should have manned up and told him from the beginning, but I didn’t. I lumped him into the category of a deadbeat ‘baby daddy’ before he had a chance to prove otherwise.
    “I was still recovering from the procedure on Thanksgiving, that’s why I left early and was so standoffish. J.C. came over later and found my medication from the procedure. When he questioned me about it, I confessed everything. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”
    Reed sits in silence, processing everything he’s just learned over the last few minutes. Meanwhile, I scoot my food around on my plate, trying to keep the tears threatening to fall at bay and focus on something other than my impending waterworks.
    “Why are you telling me all this, Jo?”
    “I don’t know. I feel like everyone is entitled to know why I’ve been so distant. And why I will be again after J.C. comes back.”
    He looks shocked.
    “Why’s that?”
    “J.C. doesn’t want anything to do with me, Reed. I’m the one who fucked up, so I don’t expect him to walk away from all of