…
Aiden stared out the living room window, worried as hell because Janie still hadn’t come home yet and it was almost one in the morning. He had never felt like a bigger ass in his life. He kept replaying their conversation, her words, the look of defeat on her beautiful face. This was all wrong.
“Can’t sleep?”
His muscles tensed at the sound of Maxi’s voice in the quiet, dark living room. “I’m waiting up for Janie.”
“I think she can take care of herself,” she said, walking over to him. When her arm brushed against his, he took a step away.
“What are you doing, Max?” he said with a rough sigh, keeping his eyes on the empty street outside. If he could take back all the dumb decisions he’d made from eighteen to twenty-two, he’d do it in a heartbeat. A stab of guilt hit him when he realized that meant Will wouldn’t be here. What a mess this all was.
“I’m trying to start over,” she said. “We were good together, Aiden. I haven’t forgotten. We can pick up where we left off.”
His gut churned at her words. “I believe we left off when I had a knife to my face because you forgot to tell me you were engaged.”
She scoffed. “Before that.”
“Not interested. What I am interested in is why Janie isn’t home yet.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and finally gave in to texting her. Ironic, considering it wasn’t that long ago when he’d told her not to worry so much about Will and not to text him to ease her own panic.
“Wow,” Maxi said. “I guess fatherhood really has changed you.”
Fatherhood. Being in love. Love. Why hadn’t he told Janie he was in love with her earlier? He stared at his phone, relieved when he spotted the three dots.
Hope is driving me home. Don’t wait up.
He let out another sigh. Hope was driving her home. Because she’d probably had too much to drink, and that was his fault. “Janie’s friend is driving her home.”
“Oh, that’s nice she’s made friends. She was always such a loner.”
He turned to Maxi and then shut his eyes when he caught sight of what she was wearing. If Janie walked in here right now and saw her dressed in the tiny slip, she’d never get over it. And he would never be able to explain his way out of it. “Can you please go put some clothes on and act like an adult who gives a shit about someone other than herself?”
She inhaled sharply, her hand flying to her chest. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know how you could turn on your sister like this. It’s disgusting. You never bothered to text her. You never showed her an ounce of gratitude for raising our kid. And what about Will? What will he think if he walks in here and sees you like this?”
“When did you get so judgmental? I just thought we could have a little fun together. Will would see his parents reconnecting.”
He bristled, fisting his hands. That wasn’t how it would go at all. Will would be devastated, and Aiden would never get his trust back. Not after that night Will had seen Aiden and Janie kissing. He thought he was a player, and this would just prove it, even if nothing actually happened between them. He’d get the wrong idea.
Aiden turned to her, trying to keep his temper in check. “We haven’t talked in almost sixteen years. Now, after you hear that Janie is still here with me—that she didn’t just stop by and go on her way again—you suddenly decide to show up and give a shit? Do you know how that makes you look?”
She twisted her mouth. “Think what you want, but I remember everything. There was a time you couldn’t keep your hands off me. That kind of chemistry doesn’t just go away.”
He took a step back from her. Maxi hadn’t changed. She would destroy everyone in her path to get what she wanted. Or to get what her sister had just so Janie wouldn’t have it.
“It’s gone,” he told her firmly. “Believe me. I was a kid then. I’m a man now, and I know what I want and who I want. And I want you to leave me alone. Go to bed before Will wakes up to find you in here like this. Because if anything bad happens to him, I swear you will regret ever setting foot in my house.”
Her eyes widened, just briefly, before she blinked away her shock. “I don’t need you telling me how to dress or behave—”
A loud meow echoed through the room, and Morris sauntered in and sat his oversize feline body between them. “Hey, Morris.”
He flicked his tail back and forth, and it brushed against Maxi’s bare legs.
“Ugh.” Maxi’s face twisted in disgust. “Janie and her stupid animals. I’m going to bed. And don’t worry, I’ll be in Will’s room. Cats give me hives,” she said, marching out of the room.
Thank God. He breathed out a long sigh of relief.
Aiden reached down and picked Morris up. The cat rested his giant head on Aiden’s shoulder, and Aiden stroked his back, surprised to hear him purring. “I miss her too, Morris,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road. “I miss her, too.”
Chapter Twenty
“I don’t have a lot of time. I need to finish packing for tomorrow,” Janie said to Maxi as they sat down at a table at River’s. She didn’t want to be here or anywhere with Maxi right now, but Maxi had asked her to come here in front of Will, and Janie wanted to make it look as though everything was fine. She also didn’t want Will to overhear anything that might slip out about how she really felt about his mother.
Maxi flung her hair over her shoulder and sat up a little straighter. “I told you. We need to talk. It would have been nice for you to call us last night to let us know you were coming home so late. Aiden and I were really worried as we waited up together for you.”
Heat washed over Janie, and she sat back in her seat, dragging her wineglass with her. She hadn’t known Maxi had been waiting with him. Last night, when she’d come in, it had been just Aiden and Morris sitting on the couch, and Janie had gone straight to bed.
She took a deep breath, determined to make the best of this. “Why don’t we talk about how Will is doing? I think it means a lot to him that you came to visit. But we are going back to Chicago tomorrow. He has school. I have work. This trip was never meant to be a permanent move.” Her voice caught, and she faked a cough, hoping her sister didn’t notice.
Maxi twirled her beer around slowly. “Well, it had been a while. It was time. He’s really grown into such a great kid. And he totally looks like Aiden. Good genes.”
Janie struggled to keep her irritation in check. Nothing Maxi could ever say would justify what she’d done to her own child and to that child’s father. Janie had always made excuses for her, just like their mother had. Maxi cared about Maxi. She cared about looks and getting what she wanted and very little else.
“Yes, good genes,” Janie said. “He’s doing really well in school, too. He had the option to skip a grade last year.”
Maxi raised her eyebrows. “I guess that’s from you. Why didn’t you tell me that? He didn’t mention it, either.”
Janie bristled at her tone. “You’re never interested in that stuff. And since he decided not to skip a grade, we probably forgot to mention it.”
Maxi tossed her hair over her shoulder. “That sounds like a missed opportunity. And I don’t really think he’s old enough to decide any of that. I wonder what Aiden thinks about it.”
Janie slowly picked up her glass of wine, trying to quell the trembling of her hand, and drained the entire contents. She placed it down and took a deep breath. Why was this bothering her so much now? This was the way Maxi had always been, and Janie had always been able to deal with it in order to make things easier for Will.
And because she was afraid if she upset Maxi in any way, Maxi would take Will back. It’s not that Janie didn’t want Will to be with his mom, but she wanted it to be genuine. She wanted Maxi to really want to be a mother to him and not do it out of some petty power play.
“Well�
��” she started slowly, “since I’ve been raising Will without any input from you all this time, I think it was pretty fair of me to make that call. And I’d like Will to have a say in skipping a grade, and I think he made an excellent decision. Going to high school early is a big deal socially, and he wasn’t ready for it.”
“I loved high school,” Maxi said, placing a hand over her heart. “I hate to think that Will doesn’t have the self-confidence to make a move like that.”
Janie gripped the wooden armrest tightly. She’d hated high school. She had seen it as a stepping stone to a real life, a real career, and a way out of poverty. Until she’d taken in her nephew. She had given him everything—and she knew him. She knew he was confident. She wasn’t going to let her sister who had been here barely more than a day tell her otherwise.
“He has loads of self-confidence. But he’s not ready for the actual high school scene, that’s all. And as for Aiden, he hasn’t questioned any of my decisions.”
Maxi pursed her lips. “He’s hardly qualified to give parental advice.”
“Unlike yourself?” Janie said without thinking, her cutting tone sharp as a knife between them.
Maxi’s mouth dropped open. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Janie turned around, and her heart skipped a beat when Aiden automatically made eye contact with her. And for a second, that look in his blue eyes made her believe he knew exactly what she was feeling.
She let out a sigh and turned her attention back to Maxi. “It means exactly what it sounds like. You have been MIA for nearly fifteen years. I raised Will, and I called the shots. You’ve been fine with all of it up until now,” she said, crossing her arms. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Aiden approaching, and she closed her mouth.
He placed another glass of wine on the table and took her empty one. “Can I get you anything to eat?”
Janie shook her head. The last thing she felt like doing was eating.
“Are you still making those delish burgers?” Maxi said, reaching out to touch Aiden’s waist with a familiarity that made everything inside of Janie turn icy. Images of the two of them, of what they must have been, bombarded her, and she turned her gaze away, concentrating on the wineglass in front of her. Classic Maxi.
Aiden took a step back. “No. I’m too busy. I’ve got a cook who does all that now,” he said tightly.
When Janie looked up, Maxi gave him the pout that she had perfected for their mother, but it didn’t seem to do anything for Aiden. Or at least not now. Maybe he had fallen for it once, though. Janie took a sip of her wine and wished this night could be over. She wished Maxi would just leave Wishing River, and then she immediately felt bad for that thought. Will was happy his mother was here.
“Oh well, then I’ll just have another beer,” she said, flashing him a thousand-watt smile.
Janie’s fingers tightened around the stem of her glass. “Thanks, Aiden,” she managed without looking at him.
“Don’t you mean not thank you?”
She could hear the subtle tease in his tone, and the corners of her mouth lifted a little. “Yeah.”
“You’re not welcome,” he said with that same lightness and left their table.
“Do I sense a little something between you and Aiden?” Maxi said once he’d walked a good distance away.
“What?” Janie stiffened. “Not at all.”
Maxi scoffed. “I don’t buy that. I see the way you look at him, Janie. The same way you used to look at Mike whenever he came home with me.”
Janie choked on her wine. “Are you serious? You think I had a thing for Mike?”
Maxi gave her a sympathetic smile with a hint of pity. “It’s okay to admit it now. He was almost as hot as Aiden…almost. Not quite. I know guys like that don’t come around that often, especially for girls like you.”
Janie set her glass of wine down, knowing nothing would help at this point. “First off, Mike was gross. I don’t care what he looked like; he was a jerk, and he treated you like crap. The two of you were a train wreck, and I have never, ever wanted any of the guys you’ve been with.”
She smirked. “Including Aiden?”
Janie swallowed hard. She wasn’t about to enter into a discussion about Aiden with Maxi. She had no idea what her sister’s angle was, but she knew not to trust her. She needed to keep this focused on Will. “Aiden is Will’s dad, and he’s stepped up. I’m so happy for Will. He needed Aiden.”
“Because I’m such a bad mom?”
Janie let out a frustrated breath. “What are we doing here, Maxi? What do you want? Are you in town for Will, for Aiden, or for yourself? Because it’s obviously not for me.”
Maxi glanced over at Aiden and then back at Janie. “I’ve been thinking a lot about motherhood, Aiden, and where my life should be going. I think I want to start this new chapter of my life with both my men.”
Janie’s chest hurt, so strong, so fast, she couldn’t take a breath. Nothing had changed with Maxi. It was like they were back home and she just stated what she wanted and assumed she’d get it…just because she was Maxi. Janie needed to say something. The right thing, though, because if not, Maxi would just assume she was jealous. Janie had never been jealous of her; she had never wanted Maxi’s life.
“Will has been through so much. He’s handled everything with grace and maturity. Did you even ask any of us what our plans are? Aiden and I have been struggling for weeks, trying to figure out the right thing to do. For Will’s sake. Yes, he’s growing attached to Aiden, but that doesn’t mean he wants to live here without me. Will comes first. Whatever he wants is more important than what either of us wants.”
Maxi folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. “I really hate it when you take that high-and-mighty tone with me, Janie. Wouldn’t it be convenient for you if I made Will my number-one priority and then just left Aiden for you?”
She gripped the edge of the table as she leaned forward. “I gave up everything for that boy. I love him like my own son—the way you should love him. As for Aiden, I’m not going to enter into some tug-of-war with you for him. If you want Aiden, then go for it. He’s a grown man capable of his own decisions. My concern is Will. I don’t want him hurt. Period.”
Maxi rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to hurt Will. But Will is responsible for Will’s feelings. I can’t control how he processes his relationship with me. He’s fifteen and more than capable of dealing with life.”
“That is such bullshit. So convenient because it absolves you of any responsibility. I’m not going to sit here and listen to this. I’ve put up with you my entire life. I’ve been stuck cleaning up your messes. Mom may have thought you were the golden child, but I know better.”
Maxi smirked. “There’s that jealousy again. You will never like me because you’re jealous of me, and now you’re worried because I’m back and Aiden is interested.”
Janie stood, her cheeks flaming. Her sister was lying about Aiden wanting her, she knew, but she couldn’t argue with Maxi anymore. What did it even matter who he was interested in, anyway, if he didn’t want Janie to stay? “You can have him,” she snapped. “He’s all yours. And for the record? Yes, I think you’re a bad mom. You suck, really.”
She didn’t stop to listen to more than her sister’s cry of outrage before turning around and weaving through the tables, desperate to leave, desperate not to run into Aiden or even make eye contact with him.
Just as she was reaching for the door, Logan walked in. “Wow, am I glad to see you,” she said.
Concern filled his eyes, and he grasped her shoulder gently. “Hey, you okay?”
She nodded, then shook her head. “No. Not at all. I need to get out of here, and I don’t think I should drive.”
A corner of his mouth turned up, and his eyes softened. “We’ve all been there. Why don’t I give you a ride home?�
��
She ran a hand through her hair. “Yes, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’ll just let Aiden know,” he said, glancing over in the direction of the bar.
Janie had no intention of joining him. The walls felt like they were closing in, and she needed to get out of here. “Uh, sure. I’m boiling up, though. I’ll wait outside for you.”
He gave her a knowing glance. “Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Thanks, Logan,” Janie said before pulling open the door and walking into the brisk April air. She took a deep breath and thought back to her first night here. Her entire life had changed since then, and up until Maxi arrived, she thought it had changed for the better.
But tomorrow she was leaving Wishing River with Will, and she was leaving Maxi alone with Aiden. Whatever happened here after that was going to happen, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Aiden tried to quell the jealousy storming through his body as his best friend in the world walked out of his bar with Janie. Instead of serving the next customer, he poured himself a drink first. He had two more hours until close—until he could deal with Maxi and end this once and for all.
He knew when he’d spotted Maxi and Janie sitting together it was going to be trouble. Just from behind the bar, he could feel Janie’s tension. There couldn’t be two more opposite people than they were, and he felt protective over Janie.
“Let’s see if you can remember my favorite drink.”
Aiden stilled at the sound of Maxi’s sultry voice at the side of the bar. He didn’t want to remember her favorite drink or anything else about her. He let out a rough sigh and turned to her. Maxi’s hands were splayed on either side of the counter, her hair perfectly arranged around her shoulders, her cleavage louder than the red lipstick.
Wishing for a Cowboy Page 22