Chapter 12
12
Devon
HE WAS NOT expecting to see Janie’s car sitting outside his house when he got home. Not that he thought she’d go back on their deal. He just assumed she’d get the job done and get out of Dodge as fast as possible to avoid crossing his path since she’d spent the past week ducking under the counter at The Baking Rack every time he passed.
Taking her out riding had been a mistake. Almost as big of a mistake as kissing her.
But damned if he still wasn’t disappointed in the way she left.
He thought Janie was the kind of person who stayed in your face until shit was handled, not someone who ran the second things went sideways. It had been a big part of what drew him in.
So maybe it was better she ran, because he didn’t have time to be drawn anywhere but to his daughters.
Last Sunday had left him a little more prepared for what he was about to see as he opene d the front door and made his way into the kitchen. Last time she was there, Janie had made a pretty big dent in the room, but today she'd taken no prisoners, and it was spotless.
The table they hadn't eaten on in months was completely cleared and scrubbed clean. The tile floor was gleaming and the grout was a color he hadn't seen in years. But not only did it look good, the place smelled good. Walking into a clean home hit different. It felt a little like someone pressed the reset button on his life.
He’d told Janie things went downhill after his wife died, but honestly it happened long before that. The two years Maggie was sick were hellish. Both because he had to watch her suffer, and because he was suffering himself. Struggling to come to terms with not just one, but two new realities, each bringing their own unique hell.
Going to the fridge, he pulled a bottle of beer from the newly organized shelves and headed toward the sound of laughing. Once again, Janie and his daughters were in the living room, but this time the furniture was where he'd left it. Instead of pushing it aside and practicing gymnastics indoors, Janie and Riley were situated on the couch with Olivia and Gwen on the floor in front of them.
"Now you fluff everything out." Janie worked on Gwen's hair, pulling at some sort of a multilayered ponytail spanning the back of her head. Riley watched closely, repeating the actions on Olivia's blonde hair.
"You guys know Janie's not here to be your personal hair instructor, right?"
Riley didn't look up from what she was doing, all her attention staying on the task in front of her. "She offered, so calm your tits."
He rubbed a hand across his chest, smoothing over the thickness of his vest. "I don't have tits." Sure, he was getting older, but he wasn't letting himself go. He managed to hit the gym for an hour every other day, both for his sanity and to maintain the level of fitness his job required. Did he have the time to work out the way he'd like? Of course not. He didn't have time to do half the shit he wanted to do.
"Give your dad a break. He just spent the day dealing with Moss Creek's most annoying residents." She gave him a little smile. "Except for me. I behaved myself today."
Her teasing caught him by surprise. He was fully prepared for awkwardness after she literally ran from him, but Janie seemed relaxed and at ease.
It was weird.
"I'm going to change." He waited for someone to acknowledge his words, but the four of them were back at work, oblivious to his presence.
Shaking his head, Devon made his way up the stairs, drinking down some of his beer as he stripped off his uniform, deciding to take a quick shower before changing into jeans and a long sleeved shirt. By the time he got back downstairs, Janie and Riley were finished doing Gwen and Olivia's hair, and they were milling around the kitchen as a bag of popcorn rattled around the microwave.
"I'm going to go take care of the horses." He watched Janie, hoping she might be as eager to help as she had been last week—having someone to keep him company was nice—but Janie wasn't the one who responded.
"We already took care of them." Riley leaned down to peer in at the cooking snack. "Janie wanted to see the horses and said we might as well take care of them while we were out there."
“Did she?” He turned to where Janie was collecting her cleaning supplies. “Interesting.”
Gwen came in from the garage juggling an armful of the sodas he stocked in the spare fridge. Her eyes landed on where Janie was slinging her purse over one shoulder. “Where are you going?”
Janie’s eyes widened and moved from side to side as if the question caught her off-guard. “Home, so you guys can watch your movie?”
“We wanted you to watch it with us.” Gwen’s tone was pleading as she batted her eyes. “Please?”
Janie appeared unmoved by his youngest daughter’s antics. “I’m sure your dad is ready to spend some time with you guys.” She lifted her brows, expression stern. “That’s why we took care of the horses, remember? So he could hang out with you?”
“He doesn’t mind.” Olivia had her arms full of pillows and blankets as she entered the kitchen to join the attack. Her eyes swung his way. “Do you?”
Did he mind if Janie spent the evening here? In his home. With him? “I don’t mind. ” He met Janie’s surprised gaze. “As long as she doesn’t mind you girls asking five hundred questions while she’s trying to enjoy a movie.”
Riley opened the microwave as it started to beep, shaking the bag of popcorn as she gave him an unamused scowl. “Don’t act like you don’t do the same thing.”
He snagged the bag away. “You got it from somewhere.”
Riley reclaimed the steaming stack. “Make your own.” She turned to her sisters. “Come on. Let’s go pick a movie.”
Janie lingered as his daughters left. Once they were out of sight she cleared her throat, avoiding his gaze. “About Monday…”
He pulled a second bag of popcorn from the pantry, finding it easily thanks to the woman wiping both palms down her jeans, and popped it into the microwave. “You mean when you kissed me and then ran like hell?”
Her jaw dropped open. “I didn’t kiss you.” Her cheeks flushed a little when he cocked an eyebrow. Blowing out a sharp breath, she amended, “I didn’t kiss you the way you kissed me.”
And thank god for that, otherwise he might have ended up doing some pretty questionable things in the middle of the woods.
“Anyway.” She took another breath. “I shouldn’t have run off like that. I don’t know why I did it.” She crossed both arms over her chest. “I should have stayed and told you to keep your fucking lips to you rself because I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“That would have been a great plan, except you were the one not keeping your lips to yourself.” He smiled. “I was just following your lead.” Ignoring his relief at her confession, he continued. “And I understand. I’m in no position to start any kind of a relationship either.”
Janie seemed to relax, giving him a sharp nod. “Good.”
He nodded back. “Good.”
She wiped both palms down her jeans again. “I guess we should go watch the movie then.”
He pulled his popcorn from the microwave, tearing the top open. “Guess so.” He held the bag her way. “I’ll still share my popcorn with you.”
She gave him a smile that was almost sheepish as she picked a few kernels free. “So generous of you.”
“What can I say? I’m a generous guy.” That was exactly why he would have ended up making some very bad decisions if Janie hadn’t taken off the way she did. The temptation to show her just how generous he could be would have been hard to resist.
Finding out Maggie wasn’t happy with what they had was a huge blow to his confidence. Left him feeling unwanted and undesired. When Janie kissed him, it stoked a fire he hadn’t tended in years. If things had continued the way they were going, he would have likely kept her there until she couldn’t walk straight just to feed his own ego. To prove he was worth wanting. And whether she wanted to admit it or no t, Janie wanted him. Just as much as he wanted her.
Not that it did either of them any good. He didn’t have time and she didn’t have the inclination to see where this might go. So they would just have to keep things friendly. Casual.
But as they entered the living room, it became clear that was going to be easier said than done, because they were about to be sharing much more than popcorn.
“We saved you seats.” Gwen motioned to the empty loveseat. All three of his daughters had monopolized the couch, leaving him and Janie no choice but to sit together.
Which was fine. They’d talked things out and come to an understanding that suited both of them. They were adults. They could spend an evening in close proximity. No problem.
It would be fine.
“Great.” Devon plopped down, making sure he was firmly planted within his half. “What are we watching?”
“Blended.” Riley gave him a bright smile. “It’s an Adam Sandler movie, so you’ll love it.”
Janie’s eyes slid his way as she settled into the spot next to him. “Big Adam Sandler fan, are you?”
“Don’t act like you weren’t around the same time I was.” He relaxed a little, stretching his legs out as he shifted lower in the seat. “You know damn well he was everywhere when we were young.”
“When we were young?” She scoffed. “Are you trying to get me arrested for assaulting a police officer? ”
He grinned and popped another handful of the salty snack into his mouth. “I’d have to handcuff you this time.”
Gwen leaned forward, her brows pinched together as she watched their interaction. “Are you flirting with her?”
“What?” He straightened in his seat, posture going stiff. “No. We’re just friends.” It didn’t sound right coming out of his mouth, but that was what it had to be.
Even though the few seconds he’d had her close Monday were some of the most heated he’d ever experienced.
“Good.” Olivia shoved in a handful of popcorn, her eyes glued to the screen as Drew Barrymore chugged a bowl of French onion soup. “You need some friends. Your social life is mournful.”
“Mournful?” Of all the words she could have picked in the English language, she chose that one? “I have a social life.”
“Right.” His middle daughter snorted. “And I’m passing Algebra.”
“You aren’t passing algebra?” His voice was louder than he intended, but the immediate reaction only sent his daughter into a fit of laughter.
“Didn’t expect you to admit the truth so easily.” She blew out a long breath. “But I should actually go upstairs to study so I continue passing algebra.” Turning toward the stairs, she waved one hand over her head. “Enjoy the movie.”
“Now she’s making me feel bad about not studying.” Riley groaned. “I’ve got a test tomorrow and I’m not even close to being ready for it.” She stood, passing the bag of popcorn off to Gwen. “You guys have fun. Hopefully I can watch it with you next time.” She offered Janie a smile. “I’ll see you next week. Maybe you can show me how to do a messy bun that doesn’t make me look like the principal on Matilda.”
Janie grinned. “You got it.”
Riley was barely gone five minutes before Gwen jumped up from her spot on the couch. "This movie is stupid." She wrapped the blanket she’d brought down around her shoulders. "I'm gonna go read my book."
Janie watched his daughter go, her brows pinched together in confusion. Once Gwen was out of sight, she turned to him. "They ditched us."
"Welcome to the world of living with teenagers." He stretched one arm across the back of the sofa. "This is a pretty regular occurrence around here." He and his daughters had made plans to spend time together more times than he could count. And—also more times than he could count—those plans never ended up fully fleshing out. One of them always had to back out because of school or cheerleading or work or any other number of things, and he ended up doing whatever they'd planned on his own.
But not tonight. Tonight he had company.
Janie tipped her head to one side, eyes going back to the television. "At least they want to spend time with you enough to make plans." She snorted, shaking her head. "I'm pretty sure I stoppe d wanting to hang out with my mom well before my teenage years."
"I guess your mom's just not as cool as I am."
"That might be the understatement of the century." Janie’s mouth flattened.
Devon studied her face, looking over the suddenly hard lines of her expression. "That bad, huh?"
"She's a bitch." Her eyes jumped to his face. "And I know I shouldn't say that about my mother, but it's true." She swiped at that little, rogue piece of hair always falling into her face. "Nothing I've done has ever been, or will ever be, good enough for her, and she never misses the opportunity to remind me of it."
The information was a kick in the pants. One he deserved. He'd figured out Janie didn't appreciate his assistance, but still wasn't one hundred percent sure why. Now he knew, and it explained why she got so pissed off every time he tried to offer advice. To her it was just more of the same shit she’d been dealing with her whole life. Yet another person pointing out flaws and shortcomings. That wasn't what he was doing, but he could see how she might see it that way.
“So you see her much?” He wasn’t paying any attention to the movie now. Not when the woman beside him was opening up. It was the kind of closeness he and Maggie never had, and he was only just beginning to see how much he craved it.
How unfulfilled he might have also been in their marriage .
"I haven't talked to her much since I moved out here, so that's been kinda nice." She gave him a weak smile. "She's got a new husband whose daughter is married to a doctor, so I'm sure what I'm up to is less than interesting to her. My life isn’t the kind she can go bragging to her friends about."
He knew not everyone had great parents, but had been lucky not to experience it firsthand. It was hard to imagine what a life without someone backing you up would be like. It was unlikely he would have made it through Maggie’s death as well as he did without his parents supporting him. "Were you and your mother ever close?"
Janie’s lips curved in a sad smile. "No. Never." Her head dropped back, resting against his arm instead of the cushion. "When my dad died five years ago, the gap between us only widened. And honestly, that was the best thing that could've happened to me." She pinched her lower lip between her teeth, eyes far away as she continued. "For the first time in my life I wasn't chasing her approval anymore, and it was pretty fucking fantastic."
He twisted to face her, reaching for that wayward bit of hair that always taunted him. "You'll have to forgive me for saying this, but it sounds like she's not just a bitch, but a stupid bitch." He squinted, thinking his words over. "I don't think I've ever called a woman a bitch before."
Janie's smile lifted a little, the weight of her head settling heavier against his arm as she seemed to relax. "Well, I appreciate that you used you r bitch cherry to defend me."
She was so close. Smelled so fucking good. Now that he knew she tasted even better, the temptation to pull her against him was almost overwhelming.
But it couldn't happen.
Pulling his hand from her hair, Devon straightened away, giving her a wink. "That's what friends are for. "