by Isabel North
He had a couple of inches on Derek, Jenny mused. And heavier muscles. Derek was rangier. Loose-limbed and relaxed. Sunshine to Alex’s thunder.
Alex, still debating the muffin selection, slid her a sideways glance. “You measuring me for a suit or something?” he said, sounding entertained.
“Body bag. In case you’re dumb enough to hurt my sister.”
Alex grunted. He’d heard a hundred threats from Jenny by now. He hadn’t ever seemed fazed. After he and Elle had been together for six blissful months, Jenny had stopped meaning it.
But she liked to throw one out every now and then, to keep him on his toes.
“Why are you eyeing me up? I’m dressed, aren’t I?” Alex asked.
“Yes, Alex. You are indeed dressed.”
This wasn’t the ridiculous question it should be. Once, he’d answered the door wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. While Jenny had admired the view, she could only pray that she’d clapped a hand over Kate’s eyes fast enough before Alex had made as much of an impression on Kate as he had on Jenny.
“Then why are you eyeing me up?” he asked again.
“I’m not eyeing you up. For goodness’ sake. Here.” She took three muffins out of the box, one for Kate, Elle, and herself, and pushed the rest toward him. “I was…” What was she doing? “Comparing.”
Alex switched out one of the muffins she’d set aside with one from the box. “Who are you comparing me to?”
“To whom am I comparing you?” Jenny asked, correcting his grammar with a sweet smile.
His teeth flashed white in his dark stubble. “Stop stalling. Don’t bother. I know to whom. Derek Tate.” He stuffed a muffin in his mouth and chewed. “Right?” he mumbled through the mouthful.
Jenny made a performance of flicking crumbs off her shirtfront.
Alex swallowed, and nodded. “Derek.”
“Why would you even go there?” Jenny demanded, her voice coming out higher than usual.
“Elle showed me the photo.” Alex shoved the rest of his muffin in his mouth.
“What photo?” He had muffin stuck in his stubble. Jenny licked her thumb and reached up to wipe it away.
Alex’s eyes widened and he craned his head back. “Stop it.”
“Hold still. You’ve got food on your face. Alex. Hold still.”
He ducked. “I don’t want your mom spit on me.”
She snatched the cloth from the counter but by the time she got it close to him, he’d scrubbed a hand over his jaw and was giving her a challenging glare. “Yeah,” she said, “you got it, champ. What photo did Elle show you?”
“The one from Kate’s first day. On her phone.” He picked up the box and headed for the back door. “Bring my coffee out to the barn, will you? And thanks for the muffins.”
“I am not your waitress,” Jenny yelled after him.
“I’ll still give you a tip,” he called over his shoulder. “Yes to Derek.”
“No to Derek. There is no Derek!”
“Oh, good,” Elle said behind her. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I know how rabid you are about your private life, but since you brought him up, what’s going on with you and Derek?”
Jenny groaned. “There is no Derek.”
“I have the most adorable photo that suggests otherwise.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Jenny busied herself making tea as Elle darted out of the kitchen. When she came back in, she was carrying her cell phone. It looked less like a phone and more like a prop from a sci-fi film. Jenny jerked her chin at it. “One of Gabe’s?”
“Hmm? Yes.” Elle glanced up from scrolling. “Birthday present.”
“You’re an idiot. You know he’ll be monitoring you on it.”
Gabe had a terrible habit of stalking the people he cared about.
He was a billionaire tech genius, his thought processes and moral code were atypical, to say the least, and he had zero concept of personal boundaries. In Jenny’s opinion, Gabe would make an excellent supervillain.
As it was, he didn’t have an ounce of evil in him. Villainy was out, and Gabe had assumed the role of irritatingly protective and wildly inappropriate older brother instead.
“Either I allow him this,” Elle said, “or I have to worry about him coming up with something even more outrageous. Like a spy drone. Besides, it’s fun. I like to send Alex kinky sexts and photos of weird shit. Look at this one.”
Jenny recoiled when Elle held the phone out.
“Hah,” Elle said. “It’s my bent arm.” She admired the screen. “Could be my butt, couldn’t it?”
“Why would you want Gabe to see a photo that could be your butt?”
“Think of it as a game of chicken. Eventually, Gabe is going to break. He won’t be able to help himself. He’ll have to ask me what is up with all the weird photos. Look at this one.”
Against her better judgement, Jenny looked. And shuddered. “You’re my sister! I can’t see that! Nobody should see that!”
“It’s not what it looks like!”
“I still don’t get what you’re doing.”
“Neither will Gabe,” Elle said with satisfaction. “Call it the price of my privacy.”
Jenny put Elle’s muffin on a plate and placed it in front of her, along with a cup of tea. She sat across from her sister and picked at the chocolate chips in her own muffin as Elle continued fiddling.
“Ah.” Elle found what she’d been looking for. “Adorable photo.” She turned the screen to Jenny.
Jenny snatched the phone from Elle. “How did you get this?” she said, appalled.
“You sent it to me.”
“I…what? No. I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“Did not.”
“Did too. On Monday. It’s one of Kate’s first day photos.”
Jenny stared at the picture of Kate and Derek.
She thought back to when she’d been sitting in Megan’s.
She closed her eyes and groaned. She’d selected all the photos she’d taken in the parking lot and attached them to an email. She must have included the last one, the Derek one, by mistake, before she deleted it.
Her thumb hovered over the screen for a moment. She swiped.
“Don’t you dare delete it.” Elle lunged across the table.
“Too late.” Jenny gave her back the phone.
Elle frowned. “I liked that photo. It was cute.”
Jenny sipped her tea and shrugged, pleased with herself.
“Good thing I already forwarded it to Derek on Monday,” Elle said.
Jenny choked. “You didn’t.”
“Was I not supposed to? He’s in it. I assumed he knew you were taking it.”
“I didn’t take it on purpose. My finger slipped.”
“Uh-huh.” Elle grinned. “Spill.”
“There is nothing to spill.”
“Talk, Jenny, or I won’t tell you if I really did send it to Derek or not.”
Jenny glared at her. “He’s been helpful with the car, that’s all. And…friendly.” Her stomach clenched as she remembered how friendly they’d been on her living room floor. Jenny blew her hair from her hot face.
“Derek is a friendly soul.”
“Yes, he is. That’s all.”
“Of course, if there were more to it than Derek being friendly, and if someone was being defensive about her love life and whether or not she should get back on the horse which, by the way, she totally should get back on the horse, and if the horse is Derek she would be crazy not to get on that, then I’d say go for it. Let me know when I should invite Kate for a sleepover. On the other hand, if he’s being his usual friendly self, then—”
“You are such a dork, Elle, I swear—”
“—then I would say I’m going to invite Kate for a sleepover and you should invite Derek for your own special sleepover—”
“You can stop talking any time now—”
“—gra
b that bull by the horns and make it more than friendly. You deserve some romance, honey. It’s been long enough since your divorce.”
“I’m confused. Is Derek a horse or a bull?” Jenny sighed. “And it’s not about my divorce or how long it’s been.”
Elle braced her elbows on the table, leaning in. “What, then? Because I know how you feel about Derek.” She held up a hand. “Don’t bother. I saw you two together months ago when I moved back to Emerson. Something was happening, and then it stopped. I didn’t pry. But that photo says maybe it’s starting again, and I want you to know, it’s okay for you to have something with Derek.”
“I don’t need your permission to date, Elle,” Jenny said.
“I’m not giving you permission to date. I’m giving you encouragement to find happiness. I think Derek makes you happy.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m focusing on Kate. I have to focus on what’s best for Kate. You, of all people, know why.”
“I know. I agree. I don’t agree that you exploring something with Derek and you providing a stable childhood for Kate are mutually exclusive.”
“She lost her father.”
Elle scowled. “Dean didn’t die. He walked away.”
“Same result. My girl has no father. And before you say it, I know. Derek would be a great dad.” Stupid photo. “But if her biological father found it easy enough to walk away from a kid as amazing as Kate, what’s to say Derek won’t?”
Elle gazed at her with sympathy. “Because it’s Derek,” she said simply.
“He’s not perfect, Elle.” Eh. He might be.
“Screw perfect. Derek is loyal. He is steadfast. He might not look it, with his tattoos and his piercings but he’s—” Elle broke off and sat up straight. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you? He really has a genital piercing?”
“No! Seen what? No! Also, don’t say it like that. Genital piercing? Only you could make something cool sound medical and weird.”
Elle slapped the table with both palms. “I want details. Right now.”
“I am not giving you details about Derek’s piercing.” She cut off and rolled her eyes when Elle grinned wide. “Fine. I didn’t say can’t. I said won’t. Yes. I’ve seen it.” And played with it. “Are you happy?”
“Probably not as happy as you. Okay.” She waved her hands. “I want details but I respect your privacy.”
“It’s not about my privacy, it’s about his,” Jenny snapped.
“You’re protective of him. Sweet.”
“You know what? No more muffin for you. Too busy prying.” She leaned over and snatched Elle’s muffin from her plate, ate it in front of her. “Mmm.”
“You are such a child.”
“I am a responsible mother and adult.” Jenny licked her forefinger and scraped every last crumb from the plate. She sat back, raising a brow.
“I saw the box,” Elle said. “I know you brought more.”
“Alex took it with him to the barn.”
Elle jumped up. “Back in a minute.” She ran for the barn.
“Wait. Take his coffee.”
Elle circled back, collected the mug Jenny had prepared when she’d made their tea, and ducked out the back door.
Jenny called Kate in for her muffin and a glass of juice while she made another pot of tea for her and Elle. She wiped down the counters, looked around for something else to do, and when she couldn’t find anything, she sat at the table.
Angling her chair to keep an eye on the door, she slipped her phone out of her pocket. She opened the text messages and smiled at the photo of Derek and Kate she’d texted herself from Elle’s phone before she’d deleted it.
Catching sight of Elle coming back from the barn, carrying the box of muffins, Jenny tucked the phone away. “You didn’t send it to Derek, did you?” she asked as soon as Elle was in range.
“What, the photo? No. Wish I had, though. I can’t believe you deleted it. It was cute.”
“Uh-huh. Anyway. I have news. Ronnie asked me to be the consultant slash project manager for a garden design job.”
“Jenny, that’s huge!”
She grinned. “I know.”
“What’s the project?”
“The community center.”
“Yikes.” Elle pulled a face.
“Yikes?”
“Take it you haven’t seen the community center garden recently?”
“No. Is it bad?”
Elle nodded, her eyes wide.
Jenny sat back. “Ronnie said there may be bears. I assumed she was joking.”
Elle laughed. “No bears. Just a whole lot of vegetation. If anything, Sleeping Beauty’s castle might be back there. Take your machete. You’ll be fine.”
Jenny pulled out her phone and made a note: Sleeping Beauty play fort. She didn’t have her brief yet, but it was a fair bet that a children’s play area would be part of the design.
“You’re excited about this, aren’t you?” Elle was watching her.
“Yeah. I’m ready, Elle. It’s taken a while to get here, but I’m ready for change. I can feel it coming. And I’m not afraid of it anymore. I’m…I’m starting to think that I’m finally okay. Ulk.”
Elle had jumped up and dragged Jenny into a hug.
Jenny squeezed back. “Why are we hugging?” she whispered.
“Because you said you’re okay. I’ve waited a long time for you to be okay, after that asshole Dean—”
Kate and Gargoyle barreled through the back door and Jenny gave Elle a warning pinch. Elle yelped indignantly and Jenny ducked out of reach before she could return the pinch.
As they were leaving an hour later, Elle said, walking them to the car, “Good luck with the community center on Monday.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s right next to the clinic. We should get lunch. And, Jenny?”
Jenny rolled down her window.
“Call me when you want…when Kate wants a sleepover.”
Jenny wrinkled her nose. “Kate doesn’t want a sleepover.”
“Yes, she does,” Kate said from the back seat. “Next Friday!”
“Sound good?” Elle asked.
“Subtle.” Jenny started the car.
“Subtlety is my superpower.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Jenny!”
Startled by Lila’s shout, Jenny overbalanced and began an inexorable fall into the thicket of brambles she was cutting down. She threw out her arms in the classic windmill position, and then Lila was there, grabbing her shirt. She hauled Jenny upright.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Jenny said, turning to Lila.
“Yow.” Lila took a long step back. “Who won the fight? You or the wildcat?”
“Huh?”
Lila gestured at her. “You look like you’ve gone a couple of rounds with a cougar.”
Jenny wiped her brow with her forearm. “It’s just a few of scratches.” She dropped the pruning shears and stripped off her work gloves. “What’s up?”
“I decided to come and see how it’s going. How long have you been at it?”
“Two days.” When Jenny had shown up at work on Monday morning, Ronnie had filled her trunk with tools, taken a quick look at Jenny’s sketches, grunted approval, and sent her off to the community center.
Expecting to meet with the committee and do a small presentation or a pitch, Jenny had taken her sketches with her, ready to blow them away with her designs and ideas.
She never got the chance.
The committee had turned out to be one woman, who’d introduced herself as Barbara, the chump who’d been home sick with food poisoning when they’d handed out responsibility for the project, and was still pissed about it.
Barbara’s brief had been simple. She’d taken Jenny to the back of the community center, stood at the edge of the creeping wilderness, and said, dramatically, “Help.”
The land was overgrown to the point of utter neglect. Brambles encroached upon the building from the
property line in a thorny, billowing tide. Some patches of grass were visible, although the small oases of green were in the process of being choked out by a rippling, luxurious crop of weeds. Jenny was going to need a scythe to get through that lot.
She hadn’t been able to hold back her fierce smile.
“I can help,” she’d said to Barbara, voice throbbing with determination. “Can I start now?”
“Knock yourself out. You got a cell phone with you?”
“Yep.”
“If you get lost back there, call the firehouse. I’m not coming to find you.” Barbara shuddered. “Gives me the creeps.”
It gave Jenny chills, too. The good kind.
She could do something great here. She knew it.
It was going to be amazing. Right now, though, she’d been hacking for two days, and she’d barely made a dent.
She was having the time of her life.
Lila had been digging around in her purse, and hummed with triumph as she pulled out an aerosol can, popped the top, and sprayed Jenny in the face.
Jenny sputtered, rearing back and scrubbing at her eyes. “What the hell—”
“Calm down. It’s a refreshing mineral water mist, not Mace. I promised I’d never do that to you again.”
They’d been twelve when they’d found a canister in Mrs. Baxter’s purse while searching for lipstick, and had decided to see how bad it could be. They drew straws. Jenny went first.
One emergency room trip and a furious Elle later, and Jenny had been left with an understandable wariness of getting sprayed in the face with anything.
Although she had to admit, the mineral mist was refreshing.
“You could have opened with that,” she said.
“I could have, but every second counts with heatstroke. You are seriously red. Another refreshing spritz?”
Jenny closed her eyes and lifted her chin. “Spritz me.”
Lila obliged, then recapped the spray. “I brought lattes. Is there anywhere good to sit? I don’t want to hang out down here. I watched Jurassic World the other night, and I’m still jumpy about velociraptors. There could be a whole pack hiding in that jungle.”