Chapter 36
“Have I missed anything?” Jayna dragged a chair from the front porch to the center of the lawn where Piper, Leighton, and Jamie sat.
“What kept you this time?” Jamie asked.
“I stopped by to see Talia,” she answered, squeezing in her chair beside Piper and Leighton. Nathaniel sat on Leighton’s knee, and Jayna reached out to touch his soft curls. Piper and Nick’s son was a beautiful baby.
“How is she doing?” Piper took a hard lemonade from the cooler beside her and handed it to Jayna.
“Thanks,” Jayna accepted it with a smile. “She is doing so well. Amazing, in fact.”
Talia was excelling at her barista job. The woman had put on weight and was regaining her self-confidence. Working and attending addiction counseling was doing wonders for her. Add in hope, and the sky was the limit.
“Talia’s mother has agreed to a visit with her son on her next day off. She is so excited.”
“That is such a wonderful thing you did for her,” Leighton squeezed her knee.
“I think I have benefited just as much, if not more, from helping Talia.” It had been one of the most rewarding things she’d ever done. The obscene amount of money sitting untouched in her bank account accruing interest had never been put to better use. Jayna had been paying for the two-bedroom apartment and the counseling sessions for Talia out of that account. It was a sight to behold, watching the woman transform from one who had given up to one now filled with purpose.
Her thoughts drifted to the week before. “Do you think he’ll like this color?” Talia had asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked around the room.
“He will love it,” Jayna answered, smoothing out the spiderman comforter on the bed. Talia had said her son loved spiderman and Jayna had purchased bedding and pictures for the wall along with toys for the large toy box she’d also bought.
“Jayna, I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for everything you’ve done for me. You have changed my life.” Talia’s big brown eyes had shone with happy tears and hope. There was actual confidence starting to emerge. Hope was such an amazing thing when it surfaced.
“Oh look, Shamus just came out.” Jamie pointed as the redhead stepped out on his front porch.
For the past few Sunday afternoons, Shamus had taken to playing his bagpipes while his hound dogs howled back up. And every Sunday afternoon, Ophelia complained equally as loud. Shamus’s concerts always ended with the police showing up. It had become a bit of a sideshow that the neighbors enjoyed watching.
“I just saw the curtain move at Ophelia’s.” Piper sat up straighter.
“When you’re done hogging the baby, hand him over.” Jayna grinned at Leighton, reaching beneath her to pat the puppy’s head. Albert, the lab mix Tommy had found in the ditch as a teenager had passed away, leaving a huge void. She’d gone with Leighton to pick out a puppy to surprise Tommy with.
Jayna was thrilled that she’d formed such a wonderful friendship with Leighton over the past year. She was even more thrilled to see Leighton and Tommy reunited. They were meant to be together.
“It’ll be a while. I had to wrestle him out of Tommy’s arms.” Leighton held the baby tighter.
“The boys are here?” She didn’t mean to crank her head around, but her neck had a mind of its own .
“Derek isn’t here, if that’s what you’re asking?” Jamie chuckled.
“It isn’t. It would totally ruin my entire day to see that jerk.”
“Yeah, okay!” Jamie rolled her eyes. “So, how are things with Lance?”
“Just dandy!” She grabbed the popcorn bowl off Jamie’s knee, shoveling a handful into her mouth.
“Oh, no!” Jamie let out a long sigh.
“What does, oh no, mean?” Jayna spoke around the mouthful of popcorn, turning a questioning stare in Jamie’s direction.
“What does ‘just dandy’ mean? I sense a big BUT to follow,” Jamie held her stare.
“Lance is great,” she answered and smiled brightly.
“But?” Jamie drew out the word.
“There’s no but,” Jayna raised her voice.
“I hear a but,” Jamie persisted.
“You’re the butt,” Jayna blew out her cheeks. “He is perfect, Jamie.”
“Just not perfect for you?” Jamie refused to give up.
“I never said that!”
“You never didn’t say that.”
“Jamie, that sentence doesn’t make sense.”
“Neither do you and Lance,” Jamie shot back.
“What about you and Derek? There seemed to be something going on between the two of you for a hot minute,” Piper questioned.
Jayna exhaled loudly. “We have nothing besides a really bad judgment call in high school and, well, a stupid hot minute last month.” She used Piper’s turn of phrase. “It was over before it even began.”
It was all pretend, just like Derek had told Norm and Earl.
The sound of loud bagpipe music drifted across the street, along with the bang of Ophelia’s front door.
“Can we make requests?” Jayna slapped her knee and then groaned. “Damn it, speak of the devil.”
Derek pulled his truck up at the curb, blocking their view. She really needed to stop saying his name out loud, or even thinking about him.
“Derek!” It was a chorus of annoyed voices.
He stared over the hood. “What?”
“Move that truck!” Leighton yelled.
He glanced over his shoulder, noticing the Shamus and Ophelia show ramping up. Jumping back in his truck, he moved it further down the street.
In jean cutoffs and a chest-hugging T-shirt, he strolled up the sidewalk. His hair was still damp from a recent shower. Wow! Just wow. Jayna tossed more popcorn into her mouth.
“Ladies and Jayna,” he spoke in that low, rumbly voice. “See, I’m just in time for the show.”
He used that old line that he hadn’t used in a long time. Was he letting her know that they had reverted to their less-than-friendly, strictly platonic friendship?
“Now little Nathaniel will have company,” Jayna huffed out.
Derek turned in her direction, a confused eyebrow arched.
“You know, because you both have the same maturity level,” she explained her lame joke. She was losing her edge. A good burn never needed an explanation.
“Ouch,” he moved a hand over his heart. Reaching down, he scooped Nathaniel out of Leighton’s arms.
Watching Derek bring the baby up for a soft kiss and then cradle him so gently in his arms did twisty things to Jayna’s insides.
What the hell was that?
He laid down on the grass, holding the 3-month-old above his head, making cooing sounds, and she lost feeling in her legs. Who knew the ape could be so good with babies?
Not her.
Not that it made a difference.
She didn’t want kids. She didn’t want Derek. She had Lance Romance.
Stop calling him that , she reprimanded herself. Damn, Derek Brennan with that lopsided grin and those muscles and that chest. He had a way with babies that was causing her ovaries to jump to attention. Was that her biological clock she could hear ticking?
No, that was just very loud, very obnoxious bagpipe music mixed with equally loud and equally obnoxious yelling from Ophelia.
Derek brought the baby down and kissed his cheek and lifted him back up when the puppy ran over. “Hey doggie, with the really stupid name.”
Sitting up, he snuggled the baby into the crook of his arm and scratched behind the dog’s ears. He was good with puppies and babies. Was the universe out to get her? Her heart expanded along with her pulsing ovaries. This was just not fair.
“Norbert is not a stupid name.” Tommy appeared behind Leighton and leaned down, pressing a kiss on her forehead. It was such a sweet, intimate gesture that stole Jayna’s breath. The couple had overcome so much to be together. Maybe this entire forever love theory had some merit after all. For certain people, that was. But was it really not for her?
Could Lance be the person she shared this with? Watching Tommy and Leighton had her wishing. Seeing Piper and Nick with Nathaniel made it seem possible.
Her eyes drifted back to Derek on the grass with the baby and puppy. It made her want things she’d never wanted before. It made her want those things with him.
Derek lifted the baby in the air again, and her heart stuttered dangerously. He was so good with Nathaniel. He’d make a great dad one day.
The thought skidded through her brain, screeching to a halt. He didn’t want children any more than she did.
As he lowered the baby, Nathaniel vomited all over Derek’s chin, barely missing his open mouth.
Jayna let out a loud snort.
“Hey, not cool, little man.” Derek sat up again. He didn’t seem overly upset. “You are your father’s son. Can’t hold your liquid either.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Nick laughed heartily. “That’s my boy!”
“Oh, Derek. I’m so sorry,” Piper jumped out of her chair, taking the baby from him.
He shrugged and pulled up his T-shirt, wiping off his chin. Exposing those tight abs and tanned belly speckled with just the perfect amount of hair. Her eyes moved up as he wiped his chin. He had full lips that were normally pulled into a grumpy frown and usually directed straight at her.
But that frown was badass.
And when that frown lifted into a smile, holy hell. Melt. Sizzle.
Back up.
Stop checking him out , another silent reprimand. She needed to stop right now before the drool started to drip off her lips.
“Yeah, Lance is so the guy for you,” Jamie had moved over to Piper’s abandoned chair and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
“Shut up.” Jayna tossed more popcorn in her mouth, chewing vigorously.
A police cruiser pulled up and Burke Winston stepped out. He shook his head in annoyance, staring at Ophelia screaming on the sidewalk in front of Shamus’ house. The cop sent a wave in their direction before walking toward the disturbance.
It took less than five minutes to talk Ophelia off the ledge and Shamus into packing up his bagpipes. Burke strolled back across the street and Nick grabbed another lawn chair for his friend.
“I heard a body was found.” Nick held out a can of Pepsi to Burke.
Burke nodded, and his eyes fastened on Jayna. “It will be released to the media in the morning, so I may as well tell you all now. The body has been identified as Greta Cochrane.”
Jayna sucked in a breath.
Derek stood. “Do you have any suspects?” His eyes moved from the cop to Jayna.
“If you’re asking if Lance Roman is a suspect, I can only say that he is a person of interest.”