by Laura Drewry
“I don’t know.” Jayne frowned, tried to think back. “He was here the other night, but we just ended up fighting.”
“You and Nick?” Katie’s mouth fell open. “What did you fight about?”
“About your brother being an ass.” She kissed an apology to the baby’s cheek. “He seems to think he can decide what I should and shouldn’t do with my own life, and he got all pissy because I told Brett I’d go out with him.”
“You what?” Why was Katie smirking? There was nothing funny about any of this. “Did he even mention Lisa?”
Had he? She replayed their conversation over in her head but couldn’t recall Lisa’s name coming up even once.
“No. He wanted to talk about something, but I’d had enough of his crap so I kicked him out.”
“Well, that explains it.” Her smirk had blown up into a full-on grin. “Almost makes me feel sorry for him.”
“Why would you feel sorry for him? He’s got no right to march in here and tell me what I can and cannot do. I mean, who the hell does he think he is?”
When Sophia started fussing, Jayne pulled her up to her shoulder and moved around the room, bouncing slowly and patting the baby’s back.
“Seriously, Jayne, if you’d answer your phone—or your door—you’d know all this by now.”
“Know what?”
“Nick and Lisa broke up.”
Jayne froze in midbounce, her hand a couple inches from Sophia’s back, her inhale stuck halfway down her throat. When she finally managed to force the question from her mouth, it was nothing more than a squeak.
“When?”
Katie was on her feet, escorting Jayne to the nearest couch cushion. “Better you sit than fall, especially when you’re holding my baby!”
Jayne sat, swallowed, and repeated. “When?”
“Can I take her from you?”
“Katie!”
“The night of your birthday,” she said, her voice more than a little anxious as she reached over and eased Sophia from Jayne’s arms. “He said it had been coming for a long time, he just didn’t know how to tell her.”
“So when he came over the other night … and Brett called … and then I …” Jayne covered her face with her hands and groaned. “Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because between finding out you’d made a date with his best friend, Maya’s crisis, and you kicking his sorry ass out of here, I guess he didn’t get a chance.”
“I did that. I kicked him out.”
“Yeah,” Katie laughed. “You did. He must’ve been some pissed.”
None of this was making sense. “But at the locker yesterday … why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because it’s hard to talk when he’s got his tongue down your throat.”
“Katie!” Jayne shook her head, hoping maybe the pieces would all fall into place and she’d be able to grasp everything, but there was one piece hanging out there, needing to be sorted. “If they broke up, why did they go away together?”
“They didn’t. Well, Lisa went, but Nick didn’t.”
“Yes he did. I was there.” The words came out in spurts, just as fast as she could form them. “Yesterday. At the locker. They were going; he said he’d pick her up.”
“To take her to the airport, sure.” Katie laughed quietly. “I’m telling you, if you’d call off your guard dog for two seconds …”
“Katie.”
“He drove her to the airport so she wouldn’t have to leave her car.” The grin on Katie’s face spread. “Said it was the least he could do for her.”
Jayne leaned over so her head hung between her knees. “Oh, Katie. I’m such an idiot.”
“I know. That’s why you make such a good pair.”
Even as she snorted out a choked laugh, Jayne remained where she was, hanging half upside down.
Every day, every night, for as long as she could remember, she’d held out a gossamer thread of hope that one day Nick Scott would believe all the bullshit he fed her; that she was beautiful, smart, and his very best friend in the whole world. Oh yes, she’d clung to that fragile hope right up to the minute he walked out of that church with Abby on his arm, both of them smiling, laughing, so obviously in love.
In that heart-shattering moment, Jayne knew it could never happen because Abby was the beautiful one, Abby was the smart one, and Abby was the one sharing his life. Was it possible for Jayne to be all of that for him now? In twenty-five years, the answer to that question had always been no. And it was too much to hope that that answer would ever change. But that was the thing about hope; it didn’t always make sense.
* * *
His dad’s car was in the driveway when Nick got back from the airport. After spending most of the night parked outside Jayne’s apartment, the rest of it moping at Katie’s, and then wasting more than three hours fighting his way through city traffic, the only thing Nick wanted was a nap and a beer. Or six.
Pop was in the backyard with the hood up on the riding mower when Nick walked through the house. One look at his old man’s face and Nick knew he hadn’t come over to fix a perfectly good tractor.
“Hey, Pop. What’s going on?” He squeezed his shoulder as he walked by but Pop didn’t give him the usual greeting back. He didn’t even smile, and Pop always smiled. Said it was good for business.
“Why don’t you grab us a couple beers?”
Oh boy. This week just kept getting better.
Nick sighed, grabbed the beers out of the fridge, and took them back outside. He passed one to Pop, then climbed into the seat of the tractor and waited. Each second dragged, each swig of beer less enjoyable than the last.
Finally, Pop wiped his hands on a dirty rag. “So what are you planning to do?”
Nick shrugged and tried to force a grin. “Well, it’s been a helluva week, so I was kinda thinking about ordering a pizza and hanging out on the couch.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass.” He took a long swallow from his bottle, then stuffed the rag in his back pocket. “What are you going to do about Jaynie?”
“Come on, Pop,” he sighed. “I’m tired.”
“You’ll have lots of time to sleep when you’re dead. You only get so much time to be in love with Jaynie.”
Nick sputtered beer down his chin and had to mop it up with his sleeve. “You know?”
“ ’Course I know,” Pop grunted. “I’ve always known. It’s in the way you look at her, the way you do everything for her, and God knows you can’t keep your hands off her.”
Nick didn’t even try to deny it. Every time he thought of Jayne in that locker, her lips so soft, her skin so hot beneath his touch …
Damn it!
“Just go talk to her.”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried?”
“Then try again!” Pop shook his head, slowly at first, and then with a tiny grin. “She’s not perfect, son, and despite what your mother thinks, neither are you. There’s no question you can make that girl smile—and cry—but you need to either shit or get off the pot. It’s not fair to leave her hanging anymore.”
“You’re wrong there, Pop. She and Brett—” God, he couldn’t even say it out loud.
“Are nothing,” Pop finished. “He doesn’t mean anything to her.”
“Gimme a break,” Nick grumbled. “I was standing right there when Brett said he’d take her out tonight and she didn’t say no.”
Yup, he’d been there all right; front and center, going crazy for wanting her back in his arms, back in the corner of that stupid locker or anywhere else he could get her, and she couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
“What the hell did you expect her to do?” Pop raised his brow and sighed. “You should’ve stepped up and told Brett what was what instead of leaving her standing there the way you did.”
“Oh my God.” Nick slumped over the steering wheel, his head resting on his folded hands. “I’d have been happy to lay it out there, believe me! But the night before, your precious little Jayni
e kicked me out of her store and told me I didn’t get to make decisions for her or tell her who she could or couldn’t date, so what was I supposed to do?”
“Jaynie did that?” The old man’s mouth twitched. “Good for her.”
“Glad that amuses you, Pop.”
“It’s about time she stood up for herself.” Pop’s grin vanished. “Tell me something. Did you ever tell her you loved her while you were busy groping her in that locker?”
“Pop!”
“Don’t ‘Pop’ me,” he said, flashing Nick an all–too-familiar warning glare. “You didn’t, did you? Did you at least tell her you and Lisa were over?”
“We were a little busy.” Bad idea to try and make light of it, but they were, in fact, a little busy at the time.
“All that girl knows is she’s never been good enough; not for Tilly and not for you, and now you’ve got her so twisted, she doesn’t know which end’s up.” He downed the rest of his beer and handed the bottle back to Nick. “You and Jaynie belong together. You always have.”
“Wha—?” Nick sat up, but Pop talked over him.
“Don’t get me wrong. Abby was a nice girl and if she was still with us, I’d take my opinion to the grave.” His eyes held steady on Nick, not blinking. “But you and Jaynie are different. You’ve always been different, and I’ve said right from the start that you and her fit.”
Yeah, Nick mused. They fit all right. Perfectly. And not just the way Pop meant. Nick could still feel her soft curves pressed against him, could still hear her throaty sighs when he touched his mouth to her, and could still see the heat in her eyes when he slipped his hand under her shirt.
“How do I fix it if she won’t talk to me?”
“Keep trying. She’s probably just scared.”
“And I’m not?” He shoved off the tractor and slammed his fist against the steering wheel.
“I’m sure you are.” Pop smiled, a slow grin that inched its way across his face. “Hell, your mother still scares the crap out of me. But she’s worth it, son. You do whatever it takes to make her believe she’s the only one for you.”
“She is.” She always had been, he’d just been too stupid to see it. But now … now he was going to do whatever it took to get her, and first thing he needed to do was straighten a few things out with Brett.
* * *
A four-car pileup on the highway kept Brett away for most of the night, but Nick made damn good and sure he was waiting at the detachment at the end of Brett’s shift. It probably wasn’t the best idea to confront him inside the cop shop, but Nick wasn’t about to wait another minute.
Brett was on the phone but waved him over anyway and ended his call.
“Hey, Nick, what’s up?”
“Got a second?”
“Sure.” Brett stood up and bobbed his head toward an empty glass-walled office.
Nick followed him inside, but neither one of them sat. Brett stood with the heels of his hands resting on his holster and baton, and Nick stood with his arms crossed over his chest, hoping he wasn’t about to say or do something that would end in Brett using that Taser on him.
“What’s the deal with you and Jayne?”
Nick didn’t like the glint in Brett’s eye, or the way he seemed to be trying really hard not to smile. In all the time Nick had known Brett, he’d only seen him smile a handful of times; the last being in the storage locker two nights ago when he smiled at Jayne.
“The deal?” he repeated slowly. “I’m not exactly sure what it is you’re asking, Nick, but I had to postpone drinks last night if that means anything.”
“So then you and she aren’t—?” He couldn’t even say it. Just thinking it created a thick red haze in his brain.
“We aren’t what? Sleeping together?”
“Jeezus.” Nick took a step, his hands fisted, but Brett just laughed at him. Laughed!
“There’s three cops on the other side of that glass ready to draw on you, so you might want to take a step back.”
Sure enough, three cops stood staring back at him, one with a phone in his hand, the other two just watching, waiting. Nick raised his hands and took two steps back, but Brett hadn’t so much as flinched; just kept on grinning.
“I only asked Jayne out to piss you off,” he said.
“You what?” Nick’s anger crackled deep in his belly.
“Oh, come on. Lisa was never right for you; I knew that the first time I met her, but once Jayne showed up … jeez, buddy, it ain’t rocket science.” Brett pointed toward a chair behind Nick, then waited until he sat before pulling up a chair of his own. “Shit, Nick, you broke up with Lisa, and I didn’t know what you were waiting for or why you just didn’t tell Jayne. Figured if I asked her out, you’d wig out—which you did, by the way—and maybe it would get you off your ass, make you do something about it. About her.”
His mouth twitched again. “When we found you guys at the locker last night, I thought it worked, but you never stepped up.”
“So you—” Nick slumped over his knees and shook his head. “Jeezus.”
“Come on, man. I interrogate people for a living, and Jayne’s an easy read. When I asked her out the first time, I was in uniform in a public place. What was she going to say? And then at the locker, we were all waiting for you to kick my ass, but you just left her hanging, so there was no way she’d turn me down in front of Ellie and Maya.”
He was right on that; Jayne would never leave someone hanging the way Nick had.
“Why didn’t you just tell her you’d split up with Lisa?”
“I was going to, but I wanted to clear some things off my plate first so I could … I don’t know … take my time, figure out what I needed to do to convince her I’m not …”
“You’re not what?” Brett snorted. “The stupidest dipshit in town?”
“Yeah.” Nick blew out a long slow breath, looked up at his friend, and shrugged. “That’s why I needed time; I needed to come up with something to prove to her that I wasn’t. That I’m not.”
Brett’s grin finally faded to a guilty grimace. “Oops. My bad.”
He leaned back in his chair, locked his fingers behind his head, and sighed. “So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” Nick closed his eyes for a second and chuckled. “She won’t talk to me.”
Brett didn’t laugh; he didn’t even crack a smile. “Tell me you’re not stupid enough to let that stop you.”
“No.” He pushed to his feet and nodded. “I’m working on a plan.”
“Better make it quick before someone else gets to her first.”
They started out of the room, but Nick stopped, held his hand out to Brett.
“Thanks, man.” They shook, but when Brett tried to release his grip, Nick only tightened his. “Just so we’re clear—mess with Jayne again, and I’ll kick your ass into next week. Are we clear?”
“Yeah.” Brett stared back at him for a second, then nodded slowly, his grin back and bigger than before. “I think we’re clear.”
Nick sat in his truck for a long time before he finally worked up the courage to put it in gear. He’d wanted to be at Jayne’s apartment before she opened her store this morning, but having to wait on Brett put him behind, which meant he would have to do this in front of customers.
What was the worst that could happen? Oh, right, she could turn him around and march his ass out of the building in front of everyone like he’d done to her.
Shit.
* * *
Just as the ad in the paper promised, Dandelion Books opened for business on Saturday morning. Jayne pulled the paper out of the window, scrubbed both sides of the glass again, and propped the door open with a rubber door stop. Thanks to Gran, all Jayne had to do yesterday was lug the boxes back to the store, scan them all into inventory, and fill the shelves; no sorting necessary.
Since the day the lawyers told her she’d inherited the store, she’d dreamed of what this day would be like; to be back among t
he books she loved so much, and to be back in Nick’s life in any way she could manage.
The reality wasn’t anything close. Where a couple months ago she’d been prepared to do it all on her own, now she just felt empty. Empty and alone.
Whose fault was that? Her own, of course.
She hadn’t answered her phone when he’d called and since finding out the truth from Katie, she’d been too chicken to call and apologize for fear he’d refuse to listen, and she wouldn’t blame him one bit. She was a coward and she knew it, and God help her, she missed him.
She tucked the window cleaner away and tried not to think about him, but that was like trying not to breathe. Even after people started trickling in, Jayne did her best to focus on them, on what they liked to read or on suggesting new authors for them, but in the back of her mind was Nick.
Oh, who was she kidding? He wasn’t anywhere near the back of her mind; he was right up front, center stage, larger than life.
“Look who’s open!” The Scott family, almost in its entirety, came through the door single file; Doc up front and Mrs. Scott pulling up the rear. Everyone but Nick. Hell, even Carter was there.
“Hi!” She forced her best smile and gave them each a hug—even Mrs. Scott—without waiting for any of them to initiate it, then led them down each of the three aisles, pointing out the different sections and suggesting books they might like; mysteries for Doc, Oprah picks for Mrs. Scott, and romance for Katie.
“What about me, Jay?” Carter lifted a huge hardcover biography of Churchill, then slipped it back in place.
“Hmm. Well, I’ve got a good selection of Dr. Seuss if that interests you.”
“Wow.” He pressed his hand over his heart. “That’s cold, and after all the hard work I put in here.”
“Here.” She slapped The Lorax against his chest and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Payment for a job well done.”
“The place looks great.” Doc stood at the end of the paperback fiction, nodding as he turned in a slow circle. “Really great, Jaynie.”
“Thanks, Doc. I had a lot of help.” She swallowed hard, blinked harder, then leaned against the solid oak door Nick had installed just a few short weeks ago. “If N-Nick hadn’t … um …”
