[Finding Emma 01.5] Dear Jack Read Online Free Page A

if you were. Plus, I know you wouldn’t do that to Mary. It would mean breaking your promise, and we all know that Jack Henry is a man of his word.
    Please Jack…I promise to write more if you promise to just come home.
     
    I won’t break my promise.
    Dottie.
     
     

 
    Jack Douglas Henry,
     
    How dare you! What were you thinking? What possible thought would have gone through that thick skull of yours to make you think that it would be even remotely okay?
    You are my husband. Till death do us part. I don’t remember finding out you were dead and I’m sure not. So why would you think I’d forsake my vows just because you were afraid?
    That’s what all this boils down to. You being afraid.
    Well, let me tell you something mister. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself and our daughter. I am more than capable of taking care of this house and providing for us. I’m doing it now and you can rest assured I’ll continue to do so until you come home.
    Just so you know, I tore a strip off of Doug as well. I do not care that you made him promise to take care of your family if three months passed after you’d been declared MIA. Missing in action is not dead. And I know you’re not dead.
    I hope, when you finally read this, that you will realize your error and apologize. To me, to your daughter and to the best friend willing to throw his life away for you.
    I am so mad at you right now Jack. It’s a good thing I had a lot of flour and sugar in the house. I’ll be heading in to town tomorrow to drop off all the baking I’ve done today.
    Don’t you ever do that again. Is that understood? Never.
     
    Dorothy Julianne Henry – the wife you’ll some day be thanking for never giving up.
     
     

 
     
    Dear Jack,
     
    It’s been six months since that letter arrived that changed my life. There are no more tears to cry. No more hopes to dash. They’re all gone.
    One of your squad mates stopped by for a visit the other day. Jonathan Notley. A nice young man. He carried a bundle in his surviving hand. If it weren’t for Mary being there with me in the garden when he stepped out of the truck, I would have fallen apart.
    He brought us back all the letters we sent you. Tied in a red ribbon, the one I stuffed in your pocket right before you left. He found them beneath your pillow and apologized for not bringing them to us sooner. That’s when I cried. He’d been in the hospital for the past few months due to losing his hand. The poor boy. He said you were a father figure to him, saved him multiple times and taught him more than his own father had. You were his hero.
    You are my hero.
    We invited him to stay but his father was waiting in the vehicle for him and they needed to head home. I wasn’t able to say much, I just held on to the letters, gripping them tight to my chest as he told us about his time with you. Mary hung on to Doug’s hand and wouldn’t let go.
    I stood there, with a smile on my face until he drove away. Doug picked up Mary and followed me into the house. The look on his face…that sweet boy who only meant good…confirmed what I didn’t want to accept.
    You’re really gone. Aren’t you?
    How? How could you be dead? Why doesn’t it feel like you’re gone?
    In my heart, you’re still alive. In my heart, you’ve never left.
    Jack.
    How am I going to tell Mary?
     
    ~~~
     
    You would have been so proud of our daughter, Jack.
    I went up to our room after Jonathan left and hid there for a while. I didn’t want to face Doug knowing he’d been right, and I wasn’t ready to answer Mary’s questions. I know it wasn’t right of me to leave that up to him, that it wasn’t fair to ask him to carry that burden. Yes, I was being a coward. And I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.
    But when I came back downstairs, Doug left to chop some wood for us and I had Mary help me get dinner started. She was the one to start the conversation. Do you want to know what her first words were?
    “At least we know