A/N: If you have not read Easy Like Sunday Morning, this story will not make sense. This is the second in a five part series. Please read Easy Like Sunday Morning first!
How Sweet It Is
Prologue
Jack sat by the edge of Ebony's four poster bed in the saloon in Liberty. He stroked her arm gently. It had been a month since they had arrived. Aeryn had only left two days before, giving Jack strict warnings that he had sighed at, but listened to. Jetta had left a week ago, taking Hope with her.
Everything had started out fine, well, once everyone was over the initial shock. After a week or so, however, things started going downhill. There were fights. Plenty of them. Not just between Ebony and Jetta, but between all of them. Skye got sick of playing baby-sitter when Jack wasn't feeling well and Jetta had to take her turn at work. Ebony tried for Jack's sake, but there was only so much the ex-warrior could take, although Jack loved her just for trying. The clincher came when Jetta tried to confide in Jack. She was upset about something Skye had said, Hope had been acting up and had only just gone off to sleep and there had been trouble in the bar: all bad enough on their own, but put together, they had her in tears.
It had been Jack who had finally got his daughter to sleep that night, so it had been Jack who was there when Jetta broke down. She had sat there, floods of tears rolling down her cheeks, holding her breath to stop herself crying out loud and waking her daughter again. Jack had taken her out of the room and into his own, where they could talk. She had told him everything that had happened that day, even though he already knew most of it anyway, then burst into another fit of tears. What else could Jack do but put his arms around her and hold her close until the sobs eased. Unfortunately, that was when Ebony decided to open the adjoining door to their rooms. The argument that ensued had woken most, if not all of the saloon residents, including Hope. The next morning, Jetta packed up her things and left, taking her daughter with her and leaving a note for Jack.
He had spent the past week trying to abide by that note. To believe her when she said that she would be back. To stay with Ebony and patch things up. To not worry about his daughter. It had got harder every day.
Jack leant down and kissed Ebony's lips gently. She stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake. Jack got up and picked up his pack. Taking a folded note out of his pocket and laying it on Ebony's bedside table, he slowly, quietly, walked out of the room, and out of her life.