She ducked her gaze, her cheeks rosy. “Well, obviously you’ll see me again. You see me all the time.”
It was funny, all the years that had passed when he hadn’t seen her. He had friends and he’d found ways to stay busy over the past seven years, but with Layla back in town, he almost felt as if his life had been paused until now. His world was more vivid with her in it.
“Layla Dempsey, will you go on a date with me? A real one. I want to take you out to dinner and flirt with you while we wait for our food. I want to hold your hand walking down Main Street where anyone could see us.”
“Oh. Jace, I don’t know if...”
Disappointment curdled in his gut. Layla liked him enough to have sex with him in a barn, just not enough to have everyone in town know about it. “Never mind. Here.” He handed her Addie’s water. “Tell her I said sweet dreams, okay?”
“M-maybe you could meet me at Chris’s?” Layla asked shyly. “I don’t think tomorrow works for lunch or dinner, but we could fit in a milk shake. And, um, some hand-holding.”
He wanted to pump his fist in the air and let out a triumphant whoop. But he was a grown man, and there was a little girl down the hall who was supposed to be getting sleepy. So he settled for giving Layla a huge grin and a brief kiss goodbye. “It’s a date.”
Feeling as though his feet weren’t quite touching the ground, he stepped outside into the cool night air. He palmed his keys and climbed into his truck—where he drummed his hands against the steering wheel and let out the whoop of joy the occasion warranted.
* * *
When Layla entered the physical therapy gym, her brother looked the same way he had after his first junior rodeo win—sweaty and damned happy.
Sierra stood next to his wheelchair, coaxing him to try one final set of arm exercises. Well...not so much “coaxing” as bullying in the voice of a drill sergeant.
Chris gritted his teeth, his face a dark splotchy red, but he made it through four reps. With each one, Layla saw renewed determination in her brother’s eyes.
“All right!” Sierra handed him a bottle of water. “Nice effort, Hot Wheels! I mean, I have a four-year-old patient who’s a bigger badass than you, but give it time. I’ll whip you into shape.”
He grinned at her. “Does Jarrett realize he’s married to a heartless monster?”
“It’s one of the things he loves best about me.” She brightened at the sight of Layla. “Hey! Good to see you again. Don’t even think about leaving town before we’ve had the chance for a proper girls’ night.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Layla promised.
Chris frowned. “I didn’t realize you two were so well acquainted.”
He had no idea Layla had spent a day on the Twisted R. It would be hard to explain until after he knew about the calendar. But Sierra covered with aplomb.
“Girls bond fast in hospital waiting rooms,” she said with a shrug. “It was either get to know your sister or play Sudoku on my phone, and Layla was more interesting. After all, she knows stories about the dumb antics you and Jarrett and the others pulled when you were kids.”
“Oh yeah?” Chris sent a warning glance in Layla’s direction. “Don’t forget—I know all the juicy stories about you, too.”
Not all of them, big brother. She changed the subject. “Ready to go? Dad’s waiting down in Suzanne’s SUV.”
Martin had wanted to be here in case she needed any help maneuvering Chris into the vehicle, but he’d said he hadn’t felt right coming in with her. The two men had made some limited progress. Would they continue working on the estranged relationship after Martin headed home tomorrow? If nothing else, at least he’d had a chance to apologize for past mistakes in person and see with his own eyes that Chris was recovering after his accident.
But that didn’t keep the ride to Chris’s house from being awkward. The tension was thick, worse than the humidity off the coast in summer. Both men tried to solve the problem by directing their comments to Layla instead of conversing with each other.
“You sure you don’t want me to take the pickle back with me?” Martin asked from the backseat. “I know you were worried about her missing so much school.”
Layla hesitated. It had taken Addie weeks to adjust to the routine of her new school. Layla had voiced concerns to her dad that this disruption in schedule would undo all the progress they’d made. But now that Jace and Addie knew about each other, giving them time to bond seemed more important than drawing shapes and going over sight words Addie had known since she was four.
“Don’t stress over school,” Chris told Layla. “Your little girl is sharp as a tack. She’ll catch up with no problem.”
“I hope so.” Layla told herself that Addie would have to readjust after the two-week winter break anyway. Thinking about Addie and Jace reminded Layla that she had a confession to make. The first of many. She cleared her throat. “On another topic, just so you know, Jace is meeting us at your house.”
“Jace Trent?” Martin asked.
Chris snorted. “Of course, Jace Trent. Even you should know that—he’s been my best friend since the dawn of time.”
“Right. And your sister seemed pretty friendly with him, too.”
Layla’s gaze flew to meet her father’s in the rearview mirror. How much did he know?
“When I ran into them at Gena’s the other night—”
“Jace came to check on me,” Layla interrupted her dad. “He’s been a huge help. Bringing Mom soup when she was sick, inviting Addie and I to have dinner with his family when we first got here. I declined, but the offer was thoughtful. He’s always been a good friend to our family.”
Chris nodded. “I’m glad he’s coming over. Maybe I can talk him into staying to watch the game later. We can crack open a couple of beers.”
“With the number of medications you’re on?” Layla challenged. “Not a chance, mister.”
“Fine.” Chris huffed out a sigh. “So we’ll crack open a couple of root beers.”
She hesitated. “Actually, one of the reasons he’s meeting us there is to give me a ride. He and I have...” Plans? A date? “We’re going to the diner to get milk shakes.”
“Seriously?” Her brother laughed. “What are you, twelve?”
Instead of making jokes, her father leaned forward between the seats, studying her. “Is this a date, Layla Anne?”
“Yes.” She gulped, cutting a sideways glance to check Chris’s reaction.
“Wait... Like a date-date? My best friend asked out my kid sister without talking to me about it first?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a grown woman with a kid and my own photo studio. I can drive a car and be out after dark and everything.”
“Smartass,” Chris said affectionately. “Well, at least Trent knows what he’s getting with you. He won’t be expecting some demure lady. He heard the way you swore when you got that fishhook caught in your finger. Hell, he’s seen you yarf.”
She grimaced. “Thanks for the reminder. Very romantic image.”
“My best friend and my sister being romantic. Gross. On the other hand, if you actually started dating, you would have a reason to visit Cupid’s Bow more. Suze and I would love that.”
“Definitely something for me to consider,” she said as they turned onto Chris’s street. All in all, her brother had taken the news quite well—not that meeting for milk shakes in broad daylight was all that scandalous. Still, this was a good omen.
Eager to hear about Chris’s PT session, Suzanne met them in the driveway, a baby monitor receiver sticking out of her skirt pocket. She made sure to include Martin in her warm smile of greeting. Layla was confident that her sister-in-law would do all that she could to help facilitate the family peace.
“I feel like a bad lightbulb joke,” Chris grumbled. “How many people does it take to get one
me into the house?”
“If it will make you feel like less of an invalid,” Suzanne offered, “I can sit in your lap. Wanna give me a ride?”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Definitely.”
Layla made gagging sounds. “Yuck.”
“Oh!” Chris clapped his hands together. “That reminds me...you’ll never believe who Lay-la has a daaate with.” He made the words singsong, like a nine-year-old on the playground. Any minute now, he was going to tell everyone she and Jace had been K-I-S-S-I-NG.
“A date?” Suzanne looked delighted. “That’s wonderful.”
“We’re just getting milk shakes,” Layla mumbled.
“With Jace Trent,” Chris said. “My little sister canoodling with the guy who showed me how to unhook a bra. Forget physical therapy, I may need therapy therapy. Speak of the devil...”
Layla knew that if she turned around, she’d see Jace’s truck pulling in behind them. She was already blushing so hard that it was probably visible from space. The idea of greeting him with her father, brother and sister-in-law watching made her regret telling Chris about the date in the first place.
The truck door opened and closed. “We having some kind of tailgate party?” Jace asked. “If I’d known, I would’ve brought chips.”
Chris snorted. “We wouldn’t want to keep you from the diner.”
Layla glanced over her shoulder, happiness buzzing through her when Jace met her gaze. “I, um, told him about our date.”
He beamed. “Good.” He crossed the distance between them in a couple of long strides, framed her face with his hands and leaned in to kiss her hello.
“Ugh. It’s worse than I imagined,” Chris heckled, just as Martin added, “I did not need to see that.”
Layla grinned. “You’ll have to forgive my family. They think they’re funny.” In a whisper, she added, “What the hell is this I hear about you teaching my brother to unhook a bra?”
Jace looked upward, his expression all innocence. “So... How was the therapy session with Sierra?”
“Come on inside,” Suzanne invited, “and Chris can tell us all about it. I haven’t got the update yet, either.”
“Sounds good.” Jace dropped his arm around Layla’s shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and she couldn’t resist cuddling closer against him.
From the corner of her eye, she saw her dad smile. When she turned in his direction, he mouthed, Good for you. In the past six years, Martin had spent more time with her than anyone else here, and he knew how rarely she dated. Did her dad ever worry about her being lonely? He certainly hadn’t seemed sorry to see Kyle go; Addie wasn’t the only one who’d disliked her would-be boyfriend.
Inside the house, Jace and Martin got Chris situated in the living room while Layla grabbed a stack of cups and a pitcher of lemonade. Suzanne peeked into the nursery to make sure the twins were still napping peacefully. When Layla rejoined the men, she was happy to discover that they were talking about fishing, one of the hobbies her brother and father had shared before they stopped speaking. She would never be glad that her brother had been in such a terrible accident, but if it brought Chris and their dad closer together, then at least something good had come from it. Not to mention that it reunited you and Jace.
“Did I miss anything?” Suzanne asked as she entered the room.
Chris shook his head. “No, I—”
Outside, a car door slammed.
“You guys expecting anyone?” Layla asked.
Her sister-in-law shrugged. “Lots of folks have been dropping by since Chris got home from the hospital. They’ve kept our freezer so full of casseroles and lasagnas, all I have to do lately to prepare dinner is press—”
The front door flew open. “So it is true!” Claire marched into the room, eyes wide, voice shaking. Her infuriated gaze zeroed in on Martin. “I cannot believe this. My family’s been lying to me, and I had to hear it as secondhand gossip from someone in town? Just like old times, isn’t it, Marty? Once again, you’ve made me look like a fool!”
Martin shot an apologetic glance at Layla, and she knew what he was thinking. If he’d just left one day sooner, they could have avoided this. Or, if Mom and Dad had talked through their differences like civilized human beings years ago, that might have prevented the problem, too.
“Now, Mama.” Chris kept his voice low, either to soothe his mother’s temper or to avoid waking the girls. “It’s not like this was some big conspiracy. Dad just brought Layla a couple of things for her extended stay. I didn’t even know he was in town until Layla—”
“You!” Claire’s head whipped toward her daughter. “I should have known. You always find a way to team up with him against me.”
Layla’s stomach knotted. She was six years old again, the unworthy sibling, the one who always disappointed her mom. Should she have told Claire outright that Martin was in town? She’d been trying to avoid a scenario just like this, but maybe it was time to start standing up to her mom, to face her family’s problems directly.
“And after I bared my soul to you,” Claire continued, shaking a finger at Layla. “To think, I asked you to move back! I wanted—”
“Don’t you take this out on her,” Martin interjected. “The problems between us are between us.”
“Stay out of it,” Claire retorted. “I was talking to my daughter, not you.”
This was awful. It was like the countless screaming matches Layla had endured in the months before the divorce was final. As a teenager, her preoccupation with Jace and his friendship were what got her through the worst of it. Now she reached blindly for his hand, and he squeezed her fingers in his, letting her know she wasn’t alone.
“Oh, so now she’s your daughter?” Martin challenged. “The one you couldn’t be bothered to check on while she was in labor? The one you hardly call unless you feel like guilt-tripping her? Lord, no wonder she rarely visits you, Claire. You—”
“How dare you!” his ex-wife yelled. “You don’t get to judge me, you adulterous, deceitful—”
Down the hall, a baby began crying, and Suzanne groaned.
“Enough!” Chris thundered. “Do you see what you people did? You woke one of the—”
A second infant joined the first.
Chris and Martin both swore, father and son mirror images of each other. Claire ignored them both, shrieking at Layla about ungrateful daughters.
“So.” Jace loudly cleared his throat. “Did Layla happen to mention that I’m Addie’s father?”
The living room fell into shocked silence. Even the twins were quieting now that Suzanne had reached them. All eyes turned to Layla, but for one blessed second, her family was speechless. She could finally hear herself think.
She eyed Jace, nearly as stunned by his announcement as everyone else. “Thanks. I think.”
Chapter 13
Admittedly, Jace hadn’t done much mental analysis before lobbing his verbal grenade into the middle of the room. Instead, he’d reacted on instinct, spurred by the increasing panic on Layla’s face. He’d always known Claire disapproved of her daughter’s teenage pregnancy, and it had occurred to him as Claire lashed out that he was partly responsible for the rift between mother and daughter. So he’d offered himself up as a potential target, hoping to deflect attention from the pale woman who’d had his hand in a death grip. Now, Layla’s parents and brother were staring at him with murder in their eyes, and he wasn’t entirely sure whether Layla herself wanted to throttle him.
On the other hand, at least the secret was out. So, if he lived through this, he could finally tell his family about Addie.
Chris spoke through gritted teeth. “What the hell do you mean you’re Addie’s father?”
Jace tightened his hold on Layla, subtly putting himself between her and her family. “Exactly what I said,” he said evenly. “And I underst
and if you’re ticked at me, man, but I will not apologize for being part of the reason Addie Rose is in this world. She’s a great kid.”
Chris opened his mouth, then closed it again, unable to argue that.
Claire Brewer was not as willing to let him off the hook. “You seduced my daughter? After all the times I welcomed you into my home, and—”
“Mom, you’ve got it backward. I, uh... The whole thing was—”
“Mutual,” Jace said quickly. “It was also years ago, so we’re just going to have to move past it like adults. And I’m sorry to have announced it in such a tactless way, but Layla already told me her dad is leaving town in the morning. It’s been what, seven years since you’ve all been in the same room together? So I impulsively seized this rare opportunity to tell you something Layla has been dying to get off her chest. I’m sure she would have told you sooner if she hadn’t been worried about people yelling and screaming and generally losing their shit.”
Claire’s face was red, and he could tell she wanted to yell at him for his not-so-subtle dig, but since that would just prove his point, she pursed her lips and contented herself with glaring daggers.
Martin, on the other hand, stepped forward. “You got my daughter pregnant and didn’t do a blasted thing to help her until now?”
“Daddy, he didn’t even know. I didn’t want to derail Jace’s life just as he was headed off to college, and I was half-afraid our families would make us get married—”
“Damn straight.”
“—and I was terrified he’d end up hating me. Like you and Mom hate each other. That’s the last thing I wanted.”
Martin drew back a little, deflated. “I don’t hate your mama.”
“Well, I—”
“Really, Mom?” Chris chided gently. “Maybe, right at this exact second, it shouldn’t be about you.” He narrowed his gaze on Jace. “You’re my best friend. You should have told me. Not about being Addie’s father,” he clarified when both Layla and Jace started to point out that Jace hadn’t been aware. “About you and Layla, period. The two of you were together seven years ago, and the first I’m hearing of it is her casual mention that you’re grabbing a milk shake today? Not cool.”
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