13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
LOGAN
Slow days at the house were the worst. A bunch of guys sitting around with way too much energy could be a recipe for disaster. Boredom and lack of an outlet had resulted in more than one argument through the years. None of those today, but the truck and all of our gear were now spotless.
A call toward the end of the shift ran over and made me late getting home. It was my first night back with Nikki and Alice since Saturday night, and I hated that I missed seeing them before bedtime. But I had three days off starting tomorrow, so that helped mitigate my frustration a bit.
I set my bag down in the foyer and climbed the stairs. After peeking in on them and verifying they were asleep, I gave them each a kiss before heading back downstairs.
I shouldn’t feel excited to see Izzy, but I did. I had to admit it wasn’t only my daughters I missed.
With a groan, I froze as I turned into the kitchen. She stood in front of the sink, washing dishes as she swayed to a beat. Her ass shook from side to side, the tiny shorts playing peekaboo. I closed my eyes, but all that did was conjure an image of me lifting her up onto the edge of the counter and devouring her mouth with mine.
I opened my eyes and cleared my throat, causing her to look over her shoulder at me.
“Just finishing these dishes from dinner.” She smiled. “Then I'll be out of your way for the night.”
I should be thankful. Her no longer in my space was what I wanted. What I needed. Right?
So why was I disappointed that she was leaving?
“There's a plate of chicken and green beans in the microwave.” She turned back to her task. “If you want it. Wasn't sure if you ate at the house. I can put it away if not.”
In my rush to get home in case the girls were still up, I’d left without eating dinner at the firehouse. “Thank you.”
She nodded. “You're welcome.”
I stepped up behind her, hitting a button on the microwave over her left shoulder. “Did you eat?”
“Yeah.”
Grabbing the plate from the microwave and a fork from the drawer beside her left hip, I turned and leaned back against the counter. Izzy dried her hands and glanced up at me from under her lashes as I took a bite of the chicken.
“This is good.” I swallowed as I stared at her. “Thank you, Izzy.”
Her cheeks held a tinge of pink. She wore no makeup except whatever made her lips so shiny. Strands of blonde curls cascaded down over each of her breasts and I swallowed hard, pulling my gaze away from her chest and back to her face.
Regardless of my physical attraction to her and my increasingly failed attempts to control it, I couldn't deny she had been a huge asset to my family. I needed to make sure she knew that. “For everything.”
She looked up at me, and I did my best to convey my sincerity and appreciation. The urge to talk to her, ask her about herself, struck me by surprise. But maybe that wouldn't be the worst idea. If I got to know her, if we became friends, I wouldn't have to fight so hard to resist being attracted to her.
A smile edged her lips, and her shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “Just doing my job.”
I cocked a brow at her. “Cooking for me is not your job. “
“Maybe not. But cooking for the girls is. You just got lucky that we had leftovers.”
I chuckled and forked the last bit of green beans into my mouth. “Well, I appreciate it.” I brushed past her and rinsed my plate before putting it in the dishwasher.
“So you have off until Monday?”
I turned to face her, leaning back against the sink. “Yeah. I'm assuming Maggie's PA sent you our schedules?”
“She did. It's very organized. I was impressed.” She folded her arms across her chest, making it hard to not glance down at her tits rising up into the scoop of her tank. “You have the girls until Saturday night. I won't be needed until Monday morning at Maggie's house.”
I nodded. “Yeah, and not sure if Maggie mentioned it, but switching houses is fairly new. We started trying it in January.”
She shook her head. “I don't understand. What did you guys do before?”
“It's called nesting.” I crossed one ankle over the other. “We wanted to make sure both Nikki and Alice were comfortable when we first separated, and we both work weird hours, so it kind of made sense.”
Taking in her furrowed brows, I gathered she still didn't get it.
“Basically, the parents move, not the kids. I built a studio apartment over the garage for myself. Maggie got herself a condo. We took turns being here in the house with the girls.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “I guess that makes sense. So why did you guys decide not to continue it?”
I shifted uncomfortably, not wanting Izzy to think badly of Maggie. We were in a good place and co-parented well as a team. And while it might've been her idea to stop nesting, her reasoning made sense.
“Maggie started seeing someone, and once she thought it was getting serious, she decided it was best to move forward with our daughters going back and forth between our homes. I agreed. Nesting was great to help them transition, but it's not a forever thing.”
She nodded. “The girls seem to be doing okay with it.”
“Yeah, they’ve adjusted well.”
“Why did you guys get divorced?”
I flinched. Jesus. I wasn’t expecting that. She didn’t have a filter, that was for sure.
“What?” she asked with a shrug as she studied me. “I’m just curious.”
“Ever heard of what curiosity did to the cat?”
“But I’m not a cat.” Her lips lifted into a wide smile.
I fought the urge to laugh at her ridiculousness. But I didn’t have anything to hide, and I wouldn’t lie to her either.
“We were young when we got married, both of us focused mainly on our careers. Looking back, we should have tried harder to make each other a priority. And I don’t think either of us realized how much having kids would test our marriage. Neither of us wanted our kids to experience what we did as kids—parents who fought all the time.”
“I can’t imagine you two fighting. I mean, you’re both so patient with the girls.”
I shrugged. “We’re better apart than together.”
Silence engulfed us as she thought about what I said.
“Were they good for you tonight?” I’d yet to get any bad reports, and they were usually well behaved, but her statement about us being patient with them made me wonder if they weren’t good with her.
“They’re always good, and they were adorable tonight.” She chuckled. “Got so excited when I mentioned my dad was a firefighter too.”
“Yeah?” I could picture them thinking that was a cool thing to have in common. “I always worry they'll look back and only remember all the nights I wasn’t home in time to say goodnight.” Why did I even admit that to her? Maybe because I thought she’d understand?
“I don’t think they will.” Her head cocked to the side. “I remember my dad being the one who came to most of my school stuff because he would have random days off during the week.”
“What does, or did, your mom do?” I wanted to know more about her, and it surprised me that this was something I didn’t know. Jay’s dad being a firefighter was memorable, but if he ever mentioned what his mom did, I couldn’t recall.
“Mom works as a receptionist in a vet’s office.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “She’s been there for like fifteen years. No plans to retire anytime soon. Says she’ll go crazy stuck home with my father all the time.” A smile tugged at her lips.
She glanced around the kitchen, almost like she was trying to find something else to talk about. And as much as I wanted that too, it was getting late. The girls would likely have me up before seven. She must have read my mind, because before I could say anything, she said, “I'd better get going.”
I glanced at my watch. “Yeah. It's getting late.”
She smirked. “Maybe for you, old man. I'm grabbing drinks with friends.” She grabbed her phone and small wallet off the island. “I'll see you Tuesday morning.”
I locked my jaw tight as she turned to leave. Why did I hate the idea of her going to a bar, where guys would be competing for her attention? Like the two guys a few nights ago. Would she go home with one of them? The thought had me seeing red.
But that didn't matter. There was nothing I could do about it. Izzy wasn't mine, and never could be.