Page 58 of The Library of Borrowed Hearts

That made Jasper snort. “You think we’re over here all day talking about the mom who walked out on you? And that I gave him grandfatherly advice about how to deal with it?”

An infinitesimal relaxing around the corners of Chloe’s eyes was all Jasper needed to know that she understood. Most of the time, he and Noodle merely sat in blissful, companionable silence.

“Are you going to stand outside in your underwear all morning, or did you want to come in for coffee?” he asked. There was nothing about his tone to indicate she was welcome, but he held his breath, hoping she’d know it anyway.

Chloe took her lower lip between her teeth. After casting a quick look back at her house, where lights and footsteps continued to indicate that life was awakening inside, she nodded.

“His name is Todd,” she said with a grimace.

At that, Jasper was in danger of laughing out loud. “Todd?”

“Todd Aarons. He works in insurance, but only because his pro football career didn’t pan out the way he wanted it to. Apparently, his knees are bad.”

“Guys like thatalwayshave bad knees,” Jasper agreed, fighting a smile. From the way Chloe spoke, you’d think the guy was a regularBluebeard about to unleash his horde of dead wives. “Is it safe to leave Noodle with them for a few minutes?”

“He’s nice, all things considered,” Chloe admitted, her lip curling as though “nice” was the worst thing she could say of anyone. She paused before adding, “And I think he’s good to my mom. He seems really supportive of her.”

Jasper only nodded. He knew what an admission like that must be costing her. “Then come on in. You can see for yourself that Theo and Trixie are perfectly fine.”

Her hand touched his arm, the movement so quick that he almost thought it was the rustle of the wind. But then she spoke up, and with the tight pinch of worry that always bound up her expression.

“And you? How are you holding up?”

“If that’s your way of asking whether or not that brother of yours has tried burning down the house already, the answer is yes.” Jasper turned on his heel and stalked into his house. “But I have excellent smoke alarms and made sure to hide all the accelerants. We’re safe for now.”

They entered the house to find that both children were awake, alert, and making a mess of Jasper’s kitchen.

“Chloe, did you come for breakfast?”

“Chloe, look-it! Jasper—I mean Mr. Holmes—I mean Jasper—hasfivedifferent kinds of cereal. And they’re the good ones, too.”

“Chloe, will you tell Theo that he can’t just pour all five kinds into one bowl? Mixing Grape Nuts and Lucky Charms is an abomination against nature.”

Instead of answering her siblings, who were apparently unable to exist inside a room without destroying it, Chloe peeked over her shoulder at Jasper.

“You just happen to have five different kinds of name-brand cereal in your house?” she asked.

He rolled an uncomfortable shoulder. “I didn’t know how long they planned to stay. I picked up a few supplies while I was in town.”

“Cocoa Puffs! Real live Cocoa Puffs.” Theo gave up on trying to mix the cereals and poured himself out enough sugary bounty to keep him bouncing off the walls for hours. “Sorry, Chloe, but I’m officially moving in with Jasper.”

Trixie snatched the box out of Theo’s hands before he could pour it all into a single bowl. “Save some of that for me, you jerk.” She had the decency to blush as she glanced at Chloe, but with a determined set of her jaw that dared anyone to contradict her. “If you’re here to make us come home, you can save it. I don’t want anything to do with that woman or the deadweight she dragged in with her. If you try to make me, I’ll run away.”

At these clear lines of battle, Chloe held her own.

“Oh yeah?” she asked. “Where will you go? To the forest cliff where Noodle almost fell to his death? Because I feel like that approach is getting old.”

Trixie’s chin jutted out. “Yes, if I have to. I’d rather die of exposure than share breathing space with that woman.”

“She came all the way from Vancouver to help out,” Chloe said.

“That woman could have journeyed from Mars, and I’d feel the same way. You might be willing to accept a first edition copy ofThe Princess Brideas a peace offering, but my price is a lot higher than that.”

Jasper turned curiously toward Chloe, watching as a touch of red started creeping up her cheeks.The Princess Bride, huh? Strange. The tongue-in-cheek narrative style wasn’t his personal favorite, but from the way Chloe clamped her mouth shut, he was guessing the book meant a lot to her.

“You keep calling her ‘that woman,’” Theo said around a mouthful of Cocoa Puffs. “Shouldn’t you just call her Mom?”

“I’ll call her Mom when she starts acting like one.”