9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
LOGAN
Images of her in that crop top took up space front and center in my mind most of the morning. So much so, I don’t even remember getting to the station. And the way she moved around the kitchen, humming and talking with Nikki and Alice, I had to remind myself it had only been four days. She already acted completely at home in my house, and her energy was almost contagious.
I hated it. It would be so much easier if I found her annoying or unlikable in some way.
She had to have something that would turn me off. Maybe she chewed with her mouth open.
So far, everything had been quiet at the station. I wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Busy meant someone’s day was going to suck. Quiet meant my mind had nothing else to focus on.
Worry bubbled up when my phone vibrated and I saw Izzy's name across the screen. It was almost nine a.m. She should have already dropped the girls off at school.
I hit the answer button and brought it to my ear. “Everything okay?”
“Well,” she giggled. “Not really.”
My spine stiffened.
“The back doors won't close.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It's the weirdest thing. Alice got out and shut her door, but it wouldn't shut.”
What did she mean it wouldn't shut? Before I could ask, she took a breath and continued.
“I sent the girls inside, and a mom came over to help me. She couldn't figure it out either.” She giggled again, and I didn't think I was going to like what she was going to say next. “So I thought maybe if I looked at the way the other door shut, I could figure it out.”
What was there to figure out? You just shut the damn door. I huffed out a breath, but before I could say anything, she continued again.
“But then I got that one stuck, too.”
Was she kidding right now? “Stuck?”
“Yeah. The latchy thingy is stuck and it won’t let the door close.”
I gritted my teeth, at a complete loss as to what to say.
“I’ll bring the guys and we’ll head over.” Because there was no way I was continuing this ludicrous conversation on the phone.
“Wait, like…you don’t mean in the truck?”
What the fuck did she think we were coming in? A helicopter?
“Yes, Izzy. We’ll come in the truck.”
“But then the school will think I’m trouble.”
“You are trouble,” I blurted out.
A huff of indignation came through the line. “It’s not my fault your SUV is weird.”
I wasn’t about to correct her and admit the hidden meaning behind my words.
“We’ll be there in a few.”
“K.”
There was no way I could run some personal errand without the guys asking a million questions, and the last thing I needed was Jay there in case he picked up on my hidden attraction to his sister. So I gathered Adam and Zach under the guise of going to fill the truck.
“So, where are we going?” Adam asked once we were pulling out of the bay. “Cause the truck doesn’t need gas.”
Shit. I looked at the dash. A little less than three-quarters. Didn’t matter. Wouldn’t be able to hide where we were going, and why, forever.
“The elementary school.”
“Why?” Adam looked over at me.
“Izzy’s having a problem with the car.”
Adam chuckled. “Ah, right. Izzy. The new smoking hot, totally off-limits nanny.”
“Shut up, fucker.” I attempted to force my body to relax. The last thing I needed was to give him any more ammo. “Can’t leave her sitting at the school, now, can I? Jay would kick my ass.”
“Think he’s going to anyway,” Adam muttered, and I sent him a glare.
Jesus. First, Owen and now Adam. Was I that obvious?
“How’s it going with your student?” I fired back, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
“Fine,” he gritted out.
That’s what I thought. At least I shut him up.
“Where are we going?” Zack asked from the back, raising his voice to be heard over the roar of the engine.
“Need to swing by the elementary school,” I hollered back. “Izzy had trouble with the car at drop-off.”
I didn't miss Adam's smirk in my peripheral vision. Fucker.
Pulling into the lot, I cursed Izzy's existence once again. Maybe it was May and already in the seventies, but did that mean she couldn't wear actual clothes? After barely holding it together this morning, I had almost forgotten about the crop top she was wearing. Now I had Adam already suspecting something was up, so I had to school my reaction and force myself not to stare at the smooth tan skin of her stomach.
The SUV was parked in a spot near the entrance, and Izzy leaned against the back right side, engrossed in her phone. She looked up as I pulled the truck to a stop not far from her. We all climbed out and made our way the short distance to her.
“Ah, Izzy.” Zack smiled, wrapping his arm over her shoulders. “How's my favorite Mitchell?”
A growl bubbled up my throat and tumbled out through my lips before I could stop it. Zack's eyes widened. Guess I had no choice but to address it. Besides, I was seeing red.
“Stop flirting, Stoer.” I narrowed my eyes. “Or Jay will kick your ass.”
He smirked, and I fought the urge to punch him.
“Nah, he knows I'm harmless.” He tipped his chin at me. “You, on the other hand?—”
“Don't,” I warned. “Let's take care of the car situation so we can get back to the damn station. Not like we don’t have jobs or anything.”
I ignored Adam’s snicker, but I didn’t miss Izzy’s eye roll. Zack still had his arm around her, and he continued to smirk at me like he knew he was riling me up.
Thankfully, Izzy moved away from Zack with a placating sigh and waved toward the open back door. “Like I said on the phone. It's stuck.”
“Stuck?” Zack asked.
“Yup.” She took two steps and swung the door shut. But it bounced back. “See.”
“That's weird.” Zack mimicked what she did, but slowly, as we all watched it not latch.
“Are the child locks on?” I asked, stepping forward and waving Zack out of the way. I didn't have them on because I trusted my girls not to open the doors until we were parked. Maybe Izzy didn't have the faith in them that I did?
But taking in Izzy's bewildered expression, I didn't think she had a clue what I was talking about. “Child locks?”
“Yeah.” I pointed to the switch on the door. “This turns it on and off.”
“Oh, that.” She giggled. “Yeah, I tried flipping that on the other door, but then that one got stuck too.”
I yanked the handle on the outside of the door hard until I saw the latch disengage, and then shut the door.
Izzy's mouth fell open in surprise. “Wait, how'd you do that?” She slammed her fists onto her hips. “I swear I tried the exact same thing.”
“Brute force,” I joked. “But I think it had something to do with the child locks.”
“Not supposed to do that, I'm assuming?” Adam asked, stepping up next to me.
“No. Probably not. I'll need to take it to Randy at some point. Get it checked out.”
“See?” Izzy smiled. “Totally wasn't my fault.”
I raised an eyebrow and pointed to the door I just shut. “That one wasn't.” I walked around the back of the car and pointed to the other open door. “This one was, though.”
She shrugged. “How was I to know the switch thingy would get it stuck too?”
She shifted her weight, popping her hip out to the side. I tried not to track the movement. Tried not to let my gaze wander down to her bare belly. But I failed. And I was sure everyone saw it. Was wearing clothes that barely covered her stomach going to be a thing? Because it would be my downfall.
Adam cleared his throat, and I turned toward the open door. After closing that one, I headed back around the car and gave Izzy a nod. “See you tonight.”
“If it's past ten, I'm going to take you up on the offer to stay in the guest room.”
I swallowed and quickly nodded. “Okay.” Somehow, the idea of her sleeping a room away made it feel even more real than sleeping downstairs in my living room.
Once she was back in the car, we climbed back in the truck and I pulled the rig out of the parking lot. The silence in the cab was deafening.
“Jay's so going to kick your ass, man,” Zack spoke loudly from the back.
“He won't.” I glanced in the rearview mirror. “Because nothing's going on.” It was the truth. I was doing everything I could to not be attracted to her, and I sure as shit wasn't making any moves.
“Yeah, but how long do you think you can keep resisting that?” Adam side-eyed me. “Because the way you were looking at her, I’d say you don’t have any chance of holding out much longer.”
“Truth,” Zack added. “I thought you were going to rip my arm off.”
“Stop it.” My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Nothing's going on, nor will be going on. Don't go starting shit.”
“Dude, we won't need to.” Adam smirked. “What we're telling you is if you look at her like you did just now in front of Jay, he's gonna think something's happening.”
Fuck. Was I that obvious?
“Just openly flirt with her like I do. He'll think you're harmless, too.”
Adam chuckled. “Or he'll kick your ass.”
“Assholes,” I mumbled.
I needed a better plan. Avoiding her was no longer an option, and I was obviously doing a shit job of covering up my attraction to her. How long could I possibly go without needing to be around both of them? Maybe if I admitted I was attracted to her and let him kick my ass it would remind me she was only twenty-one. His baby sister. My nanny.
Off—fucking—limits.