Chapter 10
STEADY PATIENCE
“Hi,” Farrah said, opening the door late morning on Saturday. “Sorry for the last minute call.”
“No worries,” he said. “It’s not as if I’ve got much going on. Where’s Archer? It’s too quiet here.”
She laughed. “Tell me about it. Sometimes when he’s wound up, which is often, I wish to have the house to myself. But then when he’s gone, I wish he were home.”
“He’s not here?”
“He spent last night with my parents. They are leaving in a few hours for their trip, which is why they can’t watch him next week. They are bringing him here on the way to the airport.”
“So it’s just the two of us?” he asked.
The grin he sent her said more than she was willing to admit to herself.
That he might be seeing her the way she was looking at him.
And she wasn’t sure how to handle it.
It wasn’t the reason she called him to stop over. This had more to do with going over a few things without her son around in regard to his care.
“It is,” she said. “Come in. Can I get you anything to eat or drink? Coffee, cookies?”
“Homemade cookies?”
The charming grin on his face had her returning it. “Yes. I made chocolate chip cookies last night so that Archer had them when he got home.”
She could have used that time to get other chores done in the house and she had. But the quietness wasn’t lost on her when her son was gone, so she busied herself with other things since nothing good was on TV.
“I’ll take one,” he said.
She opened the container and pushed it over.
He reached in and snagged one, taking a bite, closing his eyes and letting out a soft moan.
Oh God. She might dream of that sound next.
Last night had been torture. She’d woken drenched in heat, her heart racing, and Jayce’s touch from years ago haunting her like it had only just happened.
They were seventeen and tangled together in his childhood bedroom. The very room he slept in now. Their mouths desperate, hands exploring with the kind of hunger that was innocent yet overwhelming, leaving her both embarrassed and electrified.
But Jayce…he had made it feel safe. Natural. He wanted her, not just her body, and that had breathed life into places inside her she hadn’t even known existed at that age.
He’d never pushed for more than she was ready to give, and he wasn’t pushing now. That steady patience was who he was, and she cherished it more than she could ever say.
This wasn’t about them, not yet. This was about Archer. At least that was what she told herself, even as her heart ached with the truth. She was already slipping, already wanting more, craving his time and attention for her and not her son.
That could be dangerous because Archer always had to come first.
“Good?” she asked, clearing her throat. She had to get her mind out of the gutter, out of being selfish, and back on track of her son’s care for the next week.
After that, maybe she could allow herself a little freedom.
“Awesome.”
“I’m glad. They are Archer’s favorite. Me, I love peanut butter cookies. But you know. Can’t have it in the house. Just wanted to remind you of that. I carry an EPI spray with me, but there is an extra one right here.”
She opened the drawer in the kitchen where it was kept. Where everyone knew it belonged, including her son.
“Got it,” he said. “Just spray it in his nose if he needs it, but I’m hoping to hell he doesn’t. You said there are no peanuts in the house.”
“There aren’t. He’s not severely allergic. If he comes in contact, he’s fine as long as he doesn’t ingest it. The few times he has, he breaks out in hives pretty quickly. Benadryl has managed it, but it was years ago. At some point I’ll have him tested again, as kids can outgrow it.”
“Best to just keep it away from him. I’m not risking it, thank you very much. I like not having any white hair.”
She glanced at his dark hair, stylishly arranged but not over the top. Not like Tucker spent thirty minutes doing daily. More time than she did.
His brown eyes were washing over her, examining her reaction to her watching him.
The heat was building in her body again as if he knew what she was thinking rather than focusing on what was important.
“I know you plan on taking him out and doing things. Just watch his food when you go out to eat, but he knows to say he has the allergy.”
“I’ll do it. I promise. Can I carry that with me if I need to?”
She smiled. “I was going to suggest it. Also to have Benadryl with you. Either way, if you suspect anything, call me right away. I’ll have my cell phone on me.”
And she’d be checking her watch for texts and calls to make sure there wasn’t a problem, even if she was with a patient. It was only for the week and Jayce wouldn’t call her unless it was an emergency.
“Can I text you if I have a question?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “I might not get back right away, but if you need a fast answer, just call.”
“I’m not bugging you at work unless I have to. I can handle this. I even fed Hunter and changed his diaper this week. Archer should be a piece of cake after that.”
“Did it scare you holding a baby that tiny?”
He held his fingers up in a pinch after he popped the rest of the cookie in his mouth. He finished chewing. “I’ve gotten my fill of things between a baby, a toddler, and now Archer. I’m going to be a pro soon.”
“I’m not too worried.”
“I think you are,” he said. “But you’ll have to trust me to not damage your child too much. I promise to watch what I say. You know, curb the swear words when he kicks my butt at everything.”
She laughed. “Don’t let him win.”
“I won’t. He really beat me at games the other day. What I’m good at he’s too young to play. I’ve got to work my way up. I bought the NFL game to practice.”
“That was sweet. But again, screen time is limited.”
“I don’t want to stay in the house if I can avoid it. I really do plan on being out and about and entertaining both of us. Maybe I want to feel like a kid again. It’s been so long since I could do those things. Then after this week, I guess it’s time to get to work.”
“Work?”
His head went side to side. “My parents were giving me three weeks to decide, even though I’ve been stopping in and checking things out. I’m pretty sure I know what I’m going to do, but I love they are giving me the time to not say. They won’t even take an answer from me until then.”
“Why?”
“They don’t want me to feel pressured. They don’t want me to make a hurried decision and then be afraid to tell them if I change my mind. They are great that way.”
“My parents too. They’ve been an endless stream of support with me doing this on my own.”
“Can I ask what happened to you and your ex or is that off the table?”
“The short version is, he cheated. The long version—he’s a narcissistic prick, but you’d never hear me say that in front of Archer.”
“How did you end up with him then? I just don’t see you falling for that. And you can tell me to mind my own business.”
“It’s fine. He wasn’t like that at first. Or I didn’t see it. I was younger than him. Almost seven years. New to the department. He’d been there about a year. I’m friendly with everyone. I thought, geez is this a game to him, he has to win me to prove he could to the other doctors?”
“Shit. Now I really can’t believe you gave him the time of day.”
She cringed, then sighed. “I got in his face over it. He swore it wasn’t the case. I believed him. That falls on me. Next thing I know we are engaged. I mean why propose if it was just a game?”
“True.”
“I loved him. I know he loved me.” She refused to believe otherwise. “But he loved himself more. We got married pretty quickly. I got pregnant within a month of the wedding, if not even on the honeymoon. Who knows? He was older and wanted kids.”
“Got it.”
“He’s not a great father, which is funny since he pushed for a baby so soon. That was the start of it. He’s too selfish. I understood his job was stressful and important and that he wasn’t around much. I accepted all of that too.”
“But then he was staying out longer for another reason?”
“At the end, yes. But there was more. Things fell apart long before that.”
“And we are getting into that long story now?”
“We are. Not the time for it. But there you go. Once the divorce was final, he decided he wanted to be near the water and moved. He rarely sees Archer other than a few times a year and even then cancels half the time.”
“Asshole. I can say it because Archer isn’t around.”
“Yep, he’s an asshole. I will say it.”
Jayce laughed. “Sounds like you’re better off without him.”
“I am now. It was hard at first alone with my job, but I’ve got a handle on it now. He’s a good kid. But it’s exhausting being the mom and the dad.”
“I think you’re doing a damn fine job at it and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.”
“Thanks, Jayce. I don’t know why I needed to hear that, but I did.”
He held his arms out. “I think you need a hug too.”
She hesitated and moved into his arms. What would it hurt?
Too much when they closed around her, held her tight and let her feel the security she hadn’t felt from a man in years.