Page 41 of An Unexpected Turn
Age didn’t matter when it came to the people you loved and wanted to be proud of you. I was in my thirties, but I may as well have been a kid again as I searched her face for a reaction.
“No, of course not. I’m angry you were hurt and had to leave a job you loved. As much as Keith would like to think of you as his sweet little niece, you’re a grown-ass woman. You trusted the wrong person and didn’t realize it until it was too late.”
“Thank you.” I swiped a tear off my cheek and rolled my eyes at myself. I’d come here to start over, not dwell in the past. But for the first time, it felt as if maybe I was taking a step toward moving on.
“I love you. No thank-yous.” She nudged my ankle under the table. “So tonight, you’re going to come over and see your cousins and enjoy my husband’s freezing-cold barbecue because he thinks early November is still grilling time.”
“We don’t have to eat outside, do we?”
“Oh, hell no. And you are going to talk to me from now on and remember nothing is too bad that you can’t tell me or that will make me not love you after. Got it?”
I swallowed thickly and nodded, letting out a long breath that seemed to shed a twenty-pound brick from my chest.
Maybe that job posting was a sign after all.
EIGHTEEN
JAKE
“Mike, that’s enough donuts,” I told my son as he settled into a chair in front of my desk with three piled up on a paper plate.
“I could always get more.” Michelle, my office manager, waved a hand at me. “He’s a growing young man, and the more he has, the less tempted I am to swipe one.”
The side of Mike’s mouth lifted in a small smile as he chewed.
“I suppose his thumbs will need the energy for his video games later.”
Michelle had worked for me for almost the entire time we’d been open, close to twenty years. She was a close friend of my sister’s and started only part time at first because she had a young daughter to take care of. But as her daughter grew and then went away to college, she asked for more hours. Now, she put in longer days than I did.
I’d brought Mike in with me for a couple of hours to sort out the week’s jobs. And because I was a chickenshit, I’d sent someone else to fix Peyton’s wall. It could have waited until Monday, but I had to keep up the ruse that it had to be done this weekend, not that I had to see her and sink my face between her legs before I even unloaded my tools.
Every time my life seemed sorted out, it just gave way to more chaos. Adding to the worry about Mike in school, I had no idea where Peyton and I went from here. I knew where I wanted to go—her taste and the sweet sounds she made had reverberated in my brain from the moment I’d opened my eyes this morning—but she’d seemed all too willing to see me out last night. Maybe she had regrets after confessing how she felt, or maybe I’d pushed too hard once I had her in my arms.
No matter from which angle I looked at the last couple of days—or if I was honest, the last couple of months—I was fucked without a way out.
“Are you all right, Jake?” Michelle asked, a sour expression pulling at her mouth. “Unless you’re that into the final estimates, you seem a million miles away.”
I laughed. I wished Iwerea million miles away, but unfortunately, I was right here and without a clue.
“I’m good, Michelle. Trying to sort this out so you don’t get pissed at me and complain to my sister later.” I shot her a smirk.
“I would never complain to your sister before I complained to you. It’s sunny outside. You should go do something.” She nudged my arm. “You’re ruining my quiet Saturday afternoon.”
I smiled until I spotted Keith and the twins through the front window. I’d hoped to have a little prep time before I had to look him in the eye again. I’d been guilty enough of becoming infatuated with his niece for so long that I’d almost gotten used to it. Now I’d lookedandtouched, and if Keith had any idea, he’d pound me into next week and never speak to me again.
And I wouldn’t blame him one bit.
“I thought we’d come in to say hi since I saw your truck outside. I didn’t know you worked on Saturdays.”
“I do after a busy week,” I said, still avoiding his gaze.
“Hey, Keith! There are donuts by the coffee machine in the corner, if you’d like.”
I turned my head, laughing to myself at the twins’ matching widened eyes.
“One,” Keith said, holding up a finger. “Or I’ll have to take you back to the park to burn off the sugar.” He pulled a chair from in front of Michelle’s desk and dragged it over next to Mike before he plopped down. “I’m sorry about what happened at school, Mike. But I heard you did the right thing.” He squeezed his shoulder. “How are you holding up over there, Russo?”
“Fine.” I shrugged, straightening the stack of papers in my hand. “I guess there is nothing we can do about it now. The school knows, and I have to take them at their word that they’re handling it.”
