CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I stared at my home for the time being and couldn’t help feeling sorry for myself. The place was tidy and clean, but it was also sterile. I couldn’t expect anything more, though. It wasn’t a home, it was a B interesting even.
People thought Pop was just an old grump, but he was one of the best people I knew. I missed him like crazy, and it was comforting to see he was healthy, and apparently, taken care of.
As much as it brought me relief to know he wasn’t alone in that town, it struck a nerve to see how he and Mia got along so well. I just didn’t know if my annoyance was because she was someone he deeply loved like he would a granddaughter, or because she talked and laughed freely with him, way more than she’d done with me.
I reached a new low for being jealous of the attention she was dispensing an old, lonely grump. My old and lonely grump.
He took a break from chatting her up to sneer at my arms. “Why so much ink? You’re looking like a comic book. And where is the drawing for your grandmother? You painted all this stuff and left my Daisy out, young man?”
I smiled at him and pointed at my right arm. “Recognize this?” It was a large pattern of intricate daisies that circled my biceps.
“Her painting,” he whispered in wonder. “She painted this pattern, and we had it framed. I called it ‘Daisy’s Garden.’”
“The one in the living room,” Mia recognized softly.
He nodded, still looking at my tattoo. “Then I had it engraved in a china set for our fiftieth anniversary, it was her favorite.”
“Well done, Phoenix.”
I looked at her and couldn’t help smiling back .
Pop cleared his throat to disguise his emotions. “I always knew you and your brother were the less stupid ones. And what about my tattoo? What did you ink for me?”
I grinned. “You know the rules, Pop. I must wait for you to die first.”
“But what if you choose something I don’t like? I want a say in it.”
“I can come up with a few suggestions,” Mia offered, eager to help .
“That’s a wonderful idea, Ms. Mia. Ethan, take her with you when you go to your…beauty salon or wherever you go for your cartoon session. She knows what I like.”
Maybe I should choose a pancake with raisins.
I wasn’t ready to admit it, but even with Mia’s sassiness—or maybe because of it—I had fun. Being able to forget the problems surrounding us, even if just for a couple of hours, felt like a victory.
I’d been feeling suffocated in danger and trouble for so long, that it was refreshing, not to mention surprising, that I could feel at peace by spending time with an old grump and a woman I couldn’t quite understand and who drove me crazy most of the time.
As Pop made us some tea, I walked to his back yard to try and organize my thoughts and confused feelings. Which became a challenge when the reason for them joined me .
“I’m sorry for crashing your night with him.”
“Don’t worry about it. He seems to like you very much.”
She leaned against the railing. “And I like him just the same. Maybe I should’ve said ‘no’ to his invitation. I guess…I just needed…not to be at home.”
“Don’t like being alone?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. Very much so. But I haven’t been very good company for myself.” She smiled shyly. “So, I decided to be bad company for you and ruin your evening with your grandfather. Although, in my defense, I didn’t know you were the grandkid he kept talking about.”
I chuckled. “You didn’t ruin it.” At her suspicious stare, I laughed. “I mean it. It was a shock, I won’t deny it. But spending time with my grandpa is always a favorite activity. Seeing him happy and with friends makes me feel more at ease. And less guilty. At least I know he’s fine.”
She snorted, but her eyes were soft. “You’re the nicest guy I’ve ever hated.”
I leaned on the railing closer to her. “I guess we’re even, because you’re the most selfless spitfire I’d ever met. And the craziest one. Why do we still act as enemies?”
Mia looked up at me, and the vulnerability in her eyes caught me by surprise. “Because it’s easier.”
We leaned toward each other, our faces getting closer, the tip of our noses almost touching, when we heard a loud crash coming from the dark yard. We were startled by the disturbance—I was also annoyed at the interruption—and became alert.
I cursed myself for leaving my gun in my car. With the investigation we were conducting, I should’ve known better. Mia and I looked at each other, and without saying a word, we each took charge of one side of the house. We went in separate ways, walking slowly and making as little noise as possible. I was rounding the property when I heard a new crash, followed by a booming male voice cursing. A male voice I knew all too well.
I ran back to the porch to find Mia immobilizing a man my size—so pretty much her double—with her leg on his back and twisting his arm, while Pop looked at them in surprise and annoyance.
I stopped in my tracks. “Shane? What are you doing here?”
“Having my ass kicked. What the fuck is going on?”
Mia pulled his arm tighter and gazed at me. “Do you know him?”
“Yes, he’s my brother.”
She smiled and looked down at him. “Oh, so you’re the other less stupid one. Your grandfather’s words, not mine. John told me about you and Phoenix over there.”
“That’s lovely, but do you think we could all talk standing up?”
“Is that okay with you, John?”
Pop frowned at him. “I don’t know. Why were you gallivanting around my house late at night?”
Shane groaned under Mia. “I came to visit; I left a voicemail. Seriously, I’m kind of uncomfortable here.”
I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose in distress. “For God’s sake, Spitfire, just let him go.”
She eyed my brother for a few seconds, while he tried to give her his best seductive grin, making me frown at him.
Mia let go of Shane, and he jumped up, rubbing the arm she twisted. “Damn, you’re too small to be that strong. I can’t remember the last time someone bested me.”
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t be embarrassed. I bested Phoenix twice already, and still counting.”
“‘Phoenix?’ Wait a second. You’re the spitfire woman working with Ethan.” It was so easy at times to hate my brother. But I should’ve known better than to vent to him about her. “The one driving him crazy and filling his geeky head with impure thoughts.” He stretched his hand to her. “You must be Mia.”
She took his hand. “And you must be high.”
He barked out a laugh and threw his head back. “I like her already. ”
Pop called us inside again, and I was forced to watch as my two best friends laughed and bonded with the woman driving me crazy. Even more maddening was when Pop offered leftovers for her to bring to Hugo . That fucking name again.
I had no right to be jealous, just like I had no dibs on her. But why would she sleep with me a few days back if she had a Hugo waiting for her at home? And what was that almost kiss mere minutes earlier?
As we said our goodbyes, I couldn’t keep the frown on my face as Mia and Shane talked so easily at the entrance.
Pop walked to me and looked at them. “I wonder who will be the smartest. My money is on you.” He pointed a finger at my face. “Don’t be a moron. Go after your Daisy.”