He undressed and got into bed as gently as possible, but the horrendous squeaking woke Sydney.
“Hey, you’re back,” she whispered sleepily. “I was worried.”
He lay facing her. “I needed some time alone to think. I’m sorry I stomped off like that. I acted like a complete ass.”
“Yeah, you did.”
Her candid response made him smile. He liked that she didn’t let him get away with anything.
He touched her cheek, smoothed a stray curl behind her ear. “I’m going to talk to them and make this right. If they ever speak to me again, that is.”
“All Angie wants is for you to be happy for her.”
“I am. Or at least, I’m trying to be.”
“The fact that she loves Jason doesn’t mean she loves you any less.”
God, was he that transparent? “I know.”
“Have you ever heard why Jason and his wife got divorced?”
“Angie never mentioned it.” Probably because she knew he wouldn’t listen. And didn’t care.
“She left him for someone else. He said he was blind-sided. He didn’t even have a clue she was having an affair, but it had been going on for over a year. He was devastated.”
“Well, he won’t have to worry about that with Angie. He’ll never find a woman more devoted.”
“Why do you think he loves her so much? He told me that she taught him to trust again.”
Jason was always so confident and put-together, it never occurred to Daniel that he might be just as vulnerable as Angie. That he had a lot to lose, too. And maybe Jason wasn’t the only one with trust issues. When Angie married Richard, Daniel had welcomed him into the family without question. He had been like the brother Daniel never had. Daniel had trusted him to take care of Angie, and Richard had betrayed that trust in the worst way. He hoped he could learn to trust Jason.
He was about to tell Sydney that, but when he looked over, he realized she’d gone back to sleep.
DANIEL MANAGED to get a few hours of restless sleep, but he woke at five, guilt gnawing his insides. He rolled out of bed and dressed as quietly as he could and headed downstairs, surprised to smell coffee. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep.
There was no one in the kitchen, but the front door was open. He poured himself a cup of coffee and stepped out on the porch. Jason sat in one of the chairs, in his robe. He looked up as the storm door creaked open.
“You’re awake early,” Jason said. “I hope it’s because you feel like a piece of crap for what you did to your sister.”
Ouch. That was the first time Jason had been anything but perfectly polite to Daniel, even though Daniel had at times been less that warm and friendly. Apparently there was a limit to what Jason would take, and Daniel had found it.
“I do.”
“You know,” Jason said, looking out over the water, “I don’t really give a damn what you think about me, Daniel. You can be a jerk to me if that’s what you want. I don’t care. But you hurt the woman I love and that is not acceptable. And if you do it again…” He met Daniel’s eye. “Badge or no badge, I will take you down.”
Daniel didn’t doubt that for a second. And it confirmed to him that Jason would never hurt Angie. It was time for Daniel to let her go.
“If it’ll make you feel better, take a swing at me now. God knows I’ve earned it.”
“Don’t think I’m not tempted. You really hurt her. But Angie would have my head, because no matter how much of an ass you’ve been, she still loves you.”
“It won’t happen again.”
Jason looked up at Daniel. Really studied him, then said, “I believe you.”
He was cutting Daniel a hell of a lot more slack than Daniel had ever cut him.
“I also want to say congratulations. About the baby.”
Jason smiled. “Thanks.”
“I guess it must have really come as a shock.”
“More for Angie than me. I always wanted more kids. And who knows, with twins running in both our families, we might even get two.”
The thought of Angie juggling a career and newborn twins made Daniel smile.
“Hey,” Jason said suddenly. “Do you fish?”
“Not since I was a kid.”
“We should go.”
“Now?”
“Why not?”
Fishing with Jason? Weirder things had happened. “Sure, I’ll go fishing.”
“Great. Why don’t you go wake Jordan up. Meet me down at the boat in fifteen minutes.”
“Sure.” Daniel went upstairs to Jordan’s room. He had just lifted his hand to knock, when across the hall Lacey’s door creaked open and he caught a shirtless Jordan red-handed.
Jordan went beet-red when he saw Daniel standing there.
So much for them not liking each other.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Jordan said.
Through the open door Daniel could see Lacey, still sleeping under the covers. What the hell was he supposed to say at a time like this?
“You want to go fishing?” he asked.
For a second Jordan looked confused, as if maybe it was a trick question. “Uh, sure.”
“Jason said to meet him at the boat in fifteen minutes.”
Now he looked downright baffled. “You’re going fishing with Jason?”
“Yep.”
“Did I miss something?”
Daniel just smiled. “Get ready.”
Daniel peeked in on Sydney and April, who were both sound asleep, and grabbed his shoes and socks. Jordan was waiting for him by the door when he got downstairs.
“You ready?” Daniel asked.
“Uh, yeah,” Jordan said, but hesitated. “Uncle Danny, you’re not gonna tell my mom about me being in Lacey’s room, are you?”
“Should I?”
“No! We were just talking.”
“That’s funny, the last time I just talked to a woman, I remember leaving my shirt on.”
Jordan grinned sheepishly. “Okay, maybe that’s not all we did.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
“I don’t know if you talk to your dad about stuff like this.”
“Considering the circumstances, I don’t talk to him about much of anything. But my mom has been drilling me on the virtues of safe sex since I was thirteen.”
That sounded like Angie.
“Besides,” he added, “Lacey wants to wait until she’s married.”
Daniel was genuinely surprised. He didn’t think kids these days held out in the face of peer pressure. Of course, Lacey did seem to march to the beat of her own drummer. “And how do you feel about that?” he asked Jordan.
“I think it’s kinda cool. And it’s not about sex, anyway. I mean, I really like her that way, but I also like just being with her. Talking and stuff. She gets me. You know what I mean?”
He nodded. He knew exactly what Jordan meant. And he was proud of him. In a way, he wished he had a son he could talk to. Give advice to. Daniel used to be a pretty integral part of his nephew’s life, but with Jason in the picture now, Jordan might not need him as much.
And that was okay, because it was obvious that Jordan liked and respected Jason.
He heard Jason start the boat. “We should probably go, before he leaves without us.”
Jordan followed him down to the dock and onto the boat. Jason, wearing a John Deere cap and a pair of dark sunglasses, sat waiting in the captain’s chair, a cigar clenched between his teeth. “Welcome aboard. Grab a chair.”
They sat down and Jordan looked from Daniel to Jason. “So, are you guys, like, bonding?”
“I don’t know.” Daniel turned to Jason. “Are we?”
Jason shrugged as he started the motor. “Sure. Why not?”
“I think you have to hug,” Jordan said.
Daniel’s brow furrowed and he looked at Jason. “We don’t have to hug, do we?”
Jason laughed. “Hell, no. We jus
t have to catch fish.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SYDNEY PACED in front of the kitchen window, watching the cove for any sign of Jason’s boat. “Do you think they’re okay? They’ve been gone a long time.”
Angie fed April the last few bites from a jar of mixed fruit. “If you’re worried about Daniel, I’m sure Jason won’t hurt him too badly. Of course, if you need to dispose of a body, the ocean is a pretty good place.”
“That’s not funny,” Sydney said. Jason had been furious last night. Not that she thought he would actually hurt Daniel. At least, she hoped he wouldn’t.
Angie blew out an exasperated breath. “Oh, hell, I can’t stay mad at him. He’s a doofus, but I love him to death. He has a good heart.”
“’Morning,” Lacey said shuffling into the kitchen. “Is there any coffee left?”
Sydney turned in her direction to reply and stopped dead, her mouth nearly falling open.
Gone were the colorful streaks in her hair, and the obnoxious makeup. Sydney had almost forgotten that Lacey’s eyes were large and round like her own, not dark slashes in her face. She’d taken the ring out of her brow and had only two small stud earrings in each ear.
Sydney wanted to tell Lacey how great she looked, but she was afraid she might jinx it.
“There a little left in the pot,” Angie said, her eyes also fixed on Lacey.
“What are you two staring at?” Lacey asked, obviously enjoying the shock value.
“Did you do something different with your hair?” Angie asked casually, pouring Lacey the last of the coffee.
Lacey took the cup and spooned sugar into it. “You guys are weird. Has anyone seen Jordan?”
“In his room asleep.” Angie pointed her spoon at Sydney. “Hey, you think maybe they got lost in the Bermuda Triangle?”
Lacey rolled her eyes—her big, beautiful eyes. “The triangle is in the Atlantic Ocean between Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. And Jordan isn’t in his room.”
Angie frowned. “He’s not?”
As if on cue, Sydney heard the sound of a boat engine.
Angie looked out the window. “They’re back. And Jordan is with them.”
Sydney moved next to Angie and peered out. Jordan was tying the boat to the dock. Jason hopped out next, then Daniel—in one piece, thank God. As a matter of fact, they all looked…happy?
“Is it my imagination or are they smiling?” Sydney asked.
The three men walked up the beach to the porch. Jason was first through the door.
“Good morning, ladies.” He tipped his baseball cap at Sydney and Lacey, and kissed Angie.
She wrinkled her nose and frowned. “Have you been smoking?”
Daniel and Jordan followed him inside.
“Where have you been?” Sydney asked.
“We went fishing,” Daniel said.
Hearing his voice, April squealed and banged the high chair tray until he came over and dropped a kiss on the top of her rumpled head. “G’morning, munchkin.”
“If you went fishing, where are the fish?” Angie asked.
“We didn’t catch any,” Jordan said. “We mostly just talked about sports. It was a male bonding thing.”
Male bonding? Last night Jason and Daniel had wanted to hurt each other.
Angie looked from her brother to her fiancé. “So, you two are good now?”
Daniel looked at Jason. They both shrugged and Jason said. “Yeah, we’re good.”
“Oh, and by the way,” Daniel said, walking over to Angie. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her hard. “I’m sorry.”
She kissed his cheek. “You know I can’t stay mad at you.”
Sydney glanced over at Lacey and realized she was gazing up at Jordan with the biggest doe eyes Sydney had even seen, and Jordan was smiling back at her.
Huh?
When had they stopped wanting to zap each other off of the planet?
Jordan gestured toward the door and Lacey, without taking her eyes off of him, said, “Mom, we’re going for a walk.”
Jordan took her hand and they stepped onto the porch. Eyes wide, Angie asked, “What the hell was that? I thought they hated each other.”
“Who called it?” Daniel said, sounding proud of himself.
“Called what?” Jason asked.
“He thought that they were pretending they didn’t like each other, because they actually did like each other,” Angie said.
“Hell, I knew that,” Jason said, and Angie gave him a playful shove.
“Who wants breakfast?” she said.
Sydney and Angie made everyone a pancake breakfast. Afterward the kids went down to the beach for a swim, while the adults lounged on the porch, drank iced coffee and chatted. It was a perfect day. Sunny and warm with a gentle breeze blowing off the ocean. Sydney wished they could stay another night, but everyone had to work Monday, so around four they packed up the van and piled in. This time Lacey and Jordan sat cuddled together in the corner, and every now and then out of the corner of her eye, Sydney saw them sneak a kiss.
“Is that not the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen?” Angie leaned forward to whisper.
“They do make a cute couple,” Sydney whispered back.
Daniel, looking puzzled, asked, “When did her hair stop being green?”
When they got home Angie gave Sydney a big hug and said, “Thanks for coming with us. I loved having you there.”
“I had a great time.”
“We’re going to do a girls’ night out soon. Me and you and my sisters. Dinner and a movie.”
Sydney tried to recall the last time she’d been out with the girls, but found she couldn’t remember. “Sounds like fun.”
Lacey and Jordan said a long, lingering goodbye, as if they wouldn’t be seeing each other for a month, when in reality they would be reunited the next morning at work. And not five minutes after she finished unpacking, Lacey was calling him on her cell phone.
Sydney unpacked, and was on her way out the door to Daniel’s when the home phone started to ring. When she saw Jeff’s number she almost didn’t answer it, but she saw on the caller ID that he’d called several times while they were gone, so this must be important.
The first words out of his mouth when she picked up were, “Where the hell have you been?”
Normally that would have annoyed the hell out of her, but Sydney had had such a fun weekend, nothing could spoil her good mood.
“We went away for the weekend,” she told him.
“Without telling me? With my daughter,” he snapped. “Yes.”
Her calm disposition seemed to infuriate him. “Where did you go?”
“Away with friends,” she said.
“Friends? You mean your boyfriend.”
“He was there.”
“And you think that’s an appropriate atmosphere for our daughter?”
“Yes, I do.”
Her answer must have stunned him, because it took him a full ten seconds to respond. “I’m disappointed in you, Sydney. And you leave me no choice. I’m calling my lawyer in the morning and I’m going to file for sole custody.”
As if she hadn’t heard that tired old threat a dozen times before. “You go ahead and do that.”
“You don’t think I will?”
“Frankly, I don’t care either way.”
“Oh, I see. Now that you have a boyfriend, you don’t want your daughter around?”
“Lacey is almost sixteen, Jeff. Do you honestly think a judge is going to change the custody order without talking to her first? And what do you suppose she’ll say? That she’d love to go live with her dad and his girlfriend, the one he was screwing while he was still married to her mother? I’m sure she won’t tell the judge what a horrible, humiliating experience it was to have the whole town know her family’s business. So you go ahead and file for full custody.”
“You’re turning her against me,” he said.
“No, you’ve done that all by yourself. Now, I have to
go. I’ve got a date with my boyfriend.” A boyfriend who cared about her feelings and treated her a damn sight better than Jeff ever had. And because of that, because of his decency, in the short time she had known Daniel, she’d come to care more about him, come to love him more, than she’d ever loved Jeff.
She was tempted to tell Jeff that, but he wasn’t even worth the breath she’d have to expend. She hung up instead.
THE NEXT SIX WEEKS were more wonderful, more perfect, than Sydney could have ever hoped for. So wonderful and perfect, in fact, that she couldn’t help wondering when the other shoe was going to drop. And when it finally did, it wasn’t just one shoe. It felt like an entire closetful.
Her period was late.
She was sure it was fluke. She hadn’t had a late period in four years, since she started taking birth control pills. And the fact that she was on the pill should have made getting pregnant impossible. Right?
But her period should have started on Tuesday, and now it was Friday and she hadn’t so much as had a cramp. She didn’t honestly think she could be pregnant, but she decided that taking a test, and seeing the negative result, would give her the reassurance she needed.
And if it wasn’t negative? There was no point in even considering that, because it wasn’t a possibility.
Daniel was working the afternoon shift, so after he left for work she packed April in the van and they took a trip to the store. She needed groceries anyway, so why not kill two birds, right? There were a dozen different brands of test, so she chose the most expensive, thinking it would be the most reliable, and grabbed a second, just in case the first was defective.
Back at her house, Sydney set April in her ExerSaucer, then carried in the groceries and put them away. She felt weird taking the test at Daniel’s house. With her luck he would stop by and catch her in the act. Which would undoubtedly freak him out, even if it did turn out negative.
So she dragged the ExerSaucer into the hallway outside the bathroom, so she could keep an eye on April, then she sat on the edge of the toilet and read the directions thoroughly. Twice. Then, following them to the letter, she took the test.
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