Her sister looked at her, giving a thumbs-up.
C’mon, Job Gods. Work your magic.
“I’m just calling to inform you that we have picked someone else for the position.”
That tiny thread, her last real shot at getting a solid work opportunity, snapped.
“Oh, okay.” The hot sting of rejection burned at the back of her eyes. Erin may have been an optimist, but she was also a realist. Things weren’t looking good for her in terms of having a classroom in the fall. The hope and happiness that had filled her chest deflated like a week-old balloon.
“Thank you for letting me know,” she added, her throat thick.
She gave a polite goodbye and hung up the phone.
Andie pushed her food to the side, only one bite taken out of the bread. “What did they say?” Her apparent loathing of Erin had lifted for the moment.
Erin pushed the ceramic chicken pepper shaker around on the table with her finger. She missed her table decorations. Missed the feeling of having something that was just hers. “They hired someone else.”
Andie scoffed. “Their loss.”
“Maybe.” She wasn’t so sure anymore.
Erin didn’t quite believe in signs, but everything was pointing to California not happening. Would being stuck in Portland really be such a bad thing? She had her best friends here. Jake. Her family. Okay, the last one was a stretch, but she was starting to see the appeal of seeing them on a more permanent basis.
“I’m serious, Erin. Any school would be lucky to have you.”
She wanted to agree with that statement, but she was having a hard time believing it now with this constant stream of rejection.
“Thanks,” she said.
Enough of the complaining. Erin wasn’t a wallower. She was a doer.
It was now time to implement stage three of her job-hunting expedition: throw shit at the wall until something stuck. Desperate times called for grasping at anything.
She opened her laptop and pulled up the e-mail that had been sitting in her drafts folder for the past week. It was a Portland private school job application she’d found on the list her mom had given her. She’d included her résumé, her three references, and her teaching credentials. Everything was there, ready for her to send off. An added bonus, the school even seemed to be right up her alley in terms of their curriculum. The only thing holding her back at this point was if it was the right time to be looking in her hometown. And if she was really ready to live this close to family, giving up the buffer of six hundred miles.
She glanced over at her sister, still pushing her sandwich around on her plate. Erin so desperately wanted to work past the barriers Andie had put up.
“I’ll be back,” Erin said, scooting her chair back.
She stood and stretched out her aching limbs. She made her way out the sliding door into the backyard and sat on the old tire swing hanging from the oak tree. Mount Hood loomed in the background. It was such a clear day that she could see the snow on the top of the mountain. She’d miss this view when she left. She’d miss a lot of things, she realized.
“Would it really be so bad if you lived here?” she said aloud. She leaned her head against the tire, rocking back and forth, back and forth. A warm wind ruffled her hair, and she took a deep breath. That last rejection hadn’t hurt as bad as she thought it would, which left her wondering, What the hell am I supposed to do now?
She didn’t have an answer to that. So, instead, she went back inside to sit with her sister. She needed to try to mend that relationship before she slipped away.
Her sister was still sitting in the same spot she left her, this time, a few more bites had been taken out of the sandwich. Andie wouldn’t make eye contact, instead choosing to stare at her plate.
Obviously, Erin had a lot more work ahead of her. She glanced at her computer screen, and her stomach lurched. The e-mail that had been pulled up was no longer in her draft box. She clicked on a few other tabs, looking to find where it had gone. In fact, it looked like a couple of things had been messed with—tabs out of order, pages scrolled down farther than she remembered.
“What happened to my computer?” she asked.
Andie took another bite of her sandwich. “I don’t know what you mean.”
She shot her sister a look, but Andie still wouldn’t look her in the eye. “There was an e-mail up.”
“Oh, you mean the one that was an application to a school here.”
“Yeah, that one.” Crap. Please say you deleted it. Or that it somehow fell into the Internet abyss. There was a dark side of the Internet, right? One that housed pop-up ads and those stupid chain letters that promised imminent death if you didn’t forward to at least fifty friends. Please say that was where her application went.
Andie shrugged. “I sent it.”
“You did what?” Oh no. And of course it was too late to hit the “Undo” button.
“You needed that extra push. Were you actually going to hit ‘Send’?”
Erin crossed her arms. “Maybe.” Erring on the side of maybe not today . . . or the next, but a maybe nonetheless.
“Liar. The worst they can say is no.”
What was with her friends and family? Maybe she gravitated toward these types of people.
She snapped her laptop shut. “This is the last time I’m leaving you alone with my computer.”
“Would it really be so bad to be back?”
For the first time since she’d stepped foot out of her car, her answer was no. It wouldn’t be completely awful to be back here.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jake paced the airport main entrance, the hum of people bustling around him, and the overhead announcements putting him on edge. His baby had been gone three whole weeks. If this was a taste of what it was going to be like when she went off to college, he was in no way ready.
His breath caught in his chest when he spotted Bailey wheeling a carry-on past the TSA area. As soon as she saw him, she broke out into a sprint and jumped into his arms. He wrapped her in a hug, squeezing her tight. There was a good chance he might never let go.
“I missed you so much!” she squealed.
“Missed you, too, princess.” Again, that nagging thought of having only six more years with her until college hit. He pushed it aside. He had his daughter here now. That was all that mattered.
“Okay, too much. You’re crushing me,” his daughter wheezed.
“Sorry, kiddo.” He set her down and looked at her. So vibrant. It was like her skin had captured the sun, completely radiant.
This time he didn’t even get a scoff from her.
“What do you say we get your bag and then go get some frozen yogurt?”
“Duh. Like there’s any other option but yes. I have so much to tell you. The director asked me to come back next year and said I could even help out with the younger students. Said I’d make a good teacher.”
That one word brought images of Erin to mind. She’d texted earlier and said Highland had passed on her. Dumb move on their part, but Jake felt the tiniest bit relieved that she hadn’t gotten it. Yeah, he was an asshole.
“That’s amazing. There’s something I’d like to ask you.” This was a risk. Jake didn’t like bringing new people into her life. But if things were to somehow work out between him and Erin, he’d need the green light from Bailey. A no from her was a no from all, no matter his feelings toward that person.
Bailey patted Jake on the back. “Yes, I will take a Lexus as a sixteenth-birthday present. Glad you’re thinking ahead.”
Christ. That was four years away. He still needed to mentally prepare. “But I already got you a Barbie Jeep. That should have enough battery to get you to school and back.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re the literal worst.”
“It’s my job to make you as miserable as possible.” He put his arm around Bailey and pulled her close.
“You’re doing a great job.” She looked up at him. “What was it you wanted to ask me?�
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“I’d like to bring Erin over for dinner.”
“Your wedding date? The one with the really pretty hair?”
He smirked. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
Bailey shrugged. “Cool.”
“You’re okay with that?” Bailey used to beg Jake to go on dates when she was younger. When she was six, she’d tried to play matchmaker with her teacher and had written a note asking her out on a date on Jake’s behalf. It had made for a very interesting parent conference. Since then, she’d brought it up only a few times, sometimes saying she wished she had a mom to take her shopping, to get her nails done. Those times especially made Jake’s throat feel like he’d swallowed a bucket of nails.
Bailey shrugged. “Yeah.” Then her expression changed, and Jake dreaded whatever was going to come out of her mouth. “Okay, it is a little weird, but only because I’ve never seen you date anyone. I don’t have to call her ‘Mom’ or anything, do I?”
“What? No. Of course not. Things aren’t that serious.” Were they? He’d never thought about a single woman more than Erin. The way she smiled. The way her fingers tangled in her hair when she was deep in thought. How she made him laugh. Everything about her called to him.
“Earth to Dad. Oh my God, you’re thinking about her now, aren’t you?” Bailey wrinkled her nose.
His shifted his eyes to his daughter. His number one girl was back today, and he needed to put her first. “Of course not. I’m still thinking about you and your nonexistent Lexus.”
She smiled up at him, batting those blue eyes. “So, since you’re having Erin over, does this mean I can go out on a date with Zack?”
“Absolutely not.”
She scoffed. “Completely unfair.”
He ruffled her hair. “Glad to have you home, kiddo.”
Jake drove to Bailey’s favorite frozen-yogurt place, where she loaded her cup up with vanilla froyo, gummy bears, sprinkles, and raspberries, then took her home where they watched movies the rest of the night. He sat with his arm curled around her shoulder as she snuggled up to him on the couch. He looked over to the other side of him, an empty spot on the large leather sectional. There’s room for one more, he thought.
Why did the thought of Erin hanging out with Bailey scare the shit out of Jake so much? Yesterday, it had seemed like such a great idea to invite her to dinner. Now, maybe things were going a little too fast. He glanced at the clock. She’d be here in less than an hour, and Jake still hadn’t finished cooking. He’d never been one for place settings, but now the forks looked like they were in the wrong place. And why did the napkins not look right?
Bailey walked to the fridge and pulled out a soda. “You really like her, huh?” she said, nudging the door shut with her foot.
“Why do you say that?” Damn it, Jake was freaking the fuck out, and he needed to get a grip. It was dinner. People ate. End of story.
“Because you’ve been folding and refolding the same napkin for the past five minutes.”
“It’s nothing. Just a little nervous.” He’d always protected Bailey. Done everything in his power to make sure her heart stayed intact. And now what he was doing . . . Well, it was a risk to them both. For Erin, it was worth it.
“If it makes you feel better, I promise not to bring up too many embarrassing things you do.”
“Thanks, kiddo.” Although he did wonder what info she had in that arsenal of hers.
“Got your back, Dad.” She gave him an impish smile.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” He gave the napkin one last fold and then set it down, making his way to the pot on the stove. Gumbo, fried chicken, and—shit. He’d forgotten the biscuits. He glanced at the clock again. A little under an hour. He had time to run to the store and get back before she got here.
“I’ll be right back, princess.” He kissed the top of her head and then grabbed his car keys.
Erin took a steadying breath and glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes early, because hello first-dinner-with-the-daughter jitters. Nothing to worry about. It’s just a meal. She squared her shoulders and knocked on the door. She’d ignore the flutter in her stomach, which she only seemed to get when an admin was going to be sitting in her classroom, critiquing her teaching.
Kids were so much scarier than a principal, though. Specifically this one, because it mattered if Bailey liked Erin.
After a few moments, the door swung open. Bailey stood there in jean shorts, Chucks, and an I CODE FOR FOOD tank top.
“Hey there.” Erin smiled. Too big. You’re showing all your teeth like a lunatic. She took the smile down a notch.
“Hi. My dad should be back in a few minutes. He had to run out and get biscuits.” She did a once-over of Erin’s outfit and then said, “Come on in.”
Her gaze took a quick sweep of the family room. The only places she’d really been were the kitchen and Jake’s bedroom. Now she noticed all the photos lined along the mantel, Bailey’s school pictures, art framed around the room.
Unease settled into her gut.
How do I fit into this equation? Did she even fit in, or even have the right to want to know the answer to that? One day at a time. She didn’t even know where she’d be tomorrow, let alone years down the road, so such heavy things shouldn’t even be crossing her mind.
She swallowed hard and followed Bailey into the kitchen. “Did you have fun at camp?”
Bailey’s blue eyes brightened. “Yeah, I learned a lot about coding. Mostly HTML, which can get a little tricky. Have you ever done that?”
“No. I know how to work the apps on my phone, and that’s about it.”
“I learned how to make those at camp.”
“Holy crap.” Er—“I mean, sorry. That’s awesome. Was it hard?”
She shrugged. “A little. But once you understand the code, it’s not too bad.”
A beat of silence passed between them. What was wrong with her? She worked with kids for a living, and she couldn’t come up with a single thing to ask. “So . . .”
“Please tell me you’re not going to ask me what my favorite subject in school is. Every adult that doesn’t know what to say to a kid asks them that.”
Yep. That was the exact question that was seconds from popping out of her mouth. Bailey didn’t need to know that, though.
“I don’t want to know the answer unless it’s science.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And just an FYI—teachers hate to talk about anything school related on summer break.”
“I once saw my teacher at the movie theater. It was super creepy.”
“Crazy to think teachers have lives outside of school, huh?” They both stood at the stove. Bailey took the lid off a pot of what appeared to be gumbo and gave the soup a stir with a wooden spoon. A long silence spanned between them.
“So are you and my dad, like, dating now?”
How was she supposed to navigate this? She’d never dated anyone with a kid before. If she could even call it dating. She didn’t know what it was because everything about what she’d experienced with Jake was so foreign.
“I don’t know. I’m probably moving back to California at the end of the summer.” Saying those words out loud somehow felt wrong for the first time. She’d been repeating them so often, they’d just flowed off her tongue, even if they now weren’t entirely true.
“That sucks,” Bailey said, wiping her hands on a dish towel set next to the stove.
“Why?”
“My dad looks a lot happier. He’s smiling more.”
This kid was perceptive. More so than a lot of her students. “Does he usually not smile?”
“I don’t know. He’s usually pissed about something I’ve done.” She laughed, and when her lips pulled into a smile, Erin’s heart dropped. She looked so much like Jake. Had the same mannerisms. For a fleeting second, she thought Andie would really dig this kid.
“My mom is the same way,” Erin said.
“Annoying?”
She bumped her with her e
lbow. “I wouldn’t say your dad is annoying. But hey, at least he didn’t make you dress up as a jar of peanut butter and walk around downtown promoting a food truck in front of all your friends.” The memory still rang clear. The way her so-called friends had snapped a pic of her and posted it on social media.
“Okay, your family sounds way worse than mine. Although Grandma did buy me Barbie underwear for my birthday last year.”
“Smiling and nodding does wonders. It’s pretty much the best life skill I’ve acquired when dealing with family.”
Her family had always been a little over the top, but they worked hard and had earned every bit of success they had in the food industry. Even if she didn’t want to join in the family business, she was proud of them.
“So your mom really owns Butter Me Up?”
“Yeah.”
Her face brightened. And Erin was mentally heaving a sigh of relief that she’d finally found some common ground with the kid. “That’s so cool. My friends and I go there sometimes on the weekends.”
“I can teach you how to make the peanut butter if you want.”
Bailey’s eyes widened. “Really? That’d be cool.”
Erin had never wanted a kid to like her so much. It seemed like a minor miracle that this was going off relatively well.
Just then Jake walked through the door. His nostrils flared as he looked from Bailey to her.
Seeing Bailey and Erin together honestly freaked Jake the fuck out. Bailey had a lot of positive role models already with his sisters, but he’d never really thought about having anyone there as a mother figure in her life. As a soon-to-be teenage girl, it occurred to Jake that she probably needed one. And the way Bailey was smiling at Erin was a fist to Jake’s gut.
This was dangerous thinking because he knew in the back of his mind that Erin could leave at any minute. She’d never wanted to stay in Portland. But he had to admit that he would consider himself lucky to come home to these two women every day. Hell, he’d have to run this by Bailey if things got more serious.
“You two having fun?” He kept his voice neutral, even though his damn hands were shaking as he set down the bag of biscuits.
Burning Up (Flirting With Fire Book 1) Page 21