Logan shook his head and chuckled. “You’re welcome, Bo.”
“Please don’t be angry with me,” Patsy asked her daughter. “I haven’t bought anything at all for Seth yet, and this isn’t even one of the most expensive systems.”
Jan looked unhappily at the video game system her mother held. She had been thinking of putting one similar to it on layaway as a Christmas present. Now her mother had just shown up with not only the system, but what the salesman told her were the two most popular non-violent games. Jan supposed she should be thankful the woman at least didn’t espouse violence for the sake of so-called entertainment.
“I can tell by your expression I’ve done something wrong.” Patsy started to put the box back into the bag. “I’ll just put it in my car before Seth comes home from Melba’s.” Her mother was already on a first name basis with Jan’s neighbor.
“No.” Jan put her hand on her mother’s. “He’ll really enjoy it, and I can’t afford to get him one. I was just…surprised, I guess.”
Her mother hesitated. “Are you sure, Janet? Because I don’t want to step on your toes. That was never my intent.”
“I’m sure, Mother.” Jan heard Seth open the back door. “He’s here. You’d better get ready for a very excited teenager.”
It was a good half-hour later when Jan finally sat down to an empty kitchen. She could hear her mother and Seth playing one of the games. It hadn’t taken Seth longer than five minutes to hook it up to the television. That had at least given Jan another idea for a Christmas present. Seth would love having a TV in his room. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to afford having it hooked up to the satellite receiver, but at least he would have it for his new gaming system.
She had just stuck the tuna casserole into the oven when somebody knocked on the back door. Nobody except she and Seth ever used their back door, so a feather could have knocked her over when she opened it to find Bo standing there.
“Please don’t slam the door in my face.”
She sighed and stood back to let him come in. “Do you want a glass of iced tea?”
“Not right now. I think we need to talk.”
“Did I hear somebody…?” Patsy stood just inside the room, looking expectantly at Bo. “So, I finally get to meet the man who has stolen my daughter’s heart and is helping her raise my grandson.”
“Huh?”
Jan didn’t know what else to do. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around Bo’s neck. When he looked down at her with surprise on his face, she pulled his head down and kissed him. At least it started out with her kissing him. His arms quickly wrapped themselves around her waist and raised her so he could reach her better before he deepened the kiss. Everything else disappeared. It was just this man kissing her, his lips firm, his tongue searching. It wasn’t until she heard her mother chuckle that reality firmly tapped her on the shoulder.
As Bo released her, a puzzled expression on his face, she begged him with her eyes to go along with this. He subtly nodded and kept his arm around her as they turned to face her mother.
“Mother, this is Bo Daniels. Bo, this is my mother, Patsy Sel…Edwards.” Jan couldn’t keep the quiver from her voice.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Bo greeted her, smiling. Jan noticed his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. She hoped her mother wouldn’t know the difference between one of his real smiles and the one she was receiving.
“I’ve sure heard a lot about you.” Patsy seemed ecstatic to meet him. “Seth carries on about you incessantly, and Janet told me what a wonderful father figure you’ve been for him. It’s very fortunate my daughter has fallen in love with a man who loves both her and Seth like you do.”
Jan felt light-headed. She had never in all her life passed out, but there was a first time for everything. Bo, seeming to sense her unsteadiness, tightened his hold around her waist.
“It’s easy to care about these two,” he told Patsy.
“It certainly is,” she agreed.
“It’s your turn, Grandma!” Seth hollered from the living room.
“I’m being paged.” Jan’s mother looked quite pleased. “Will you be staying for dinner, Bo?”
Bo looked at Jan, a question in his eyes.
“Of course he will.” Jan felt like she was on a never-ending downward spiral.
“I’ll talk to you more then,” Patsy promised before she turned and walked back into the living room.
“What’s going on?” Bo asked incredulously, keeping his voice down. “You cancelled family Sundays—Jan, you were barely speaking to me, and now we’re in love?”
“Let’s go sit out back, and I’ll explain.” Jan didn’t want to risk either her mother or Seth walking in on them.
“Lead the way…sweetheart.” He held the back door open as she walked out into the yard and over to the picnic table.
“Will you sit down so I can quit looking up at you?” she asked. “I’m getting a crick in my neck.”
He sat on the bench beside her. “Please explain. When exactly did we fall in love?”
She met his gaze, perfectly aware her fear had to be showing. “My mother just assumed from the way Seth talked about you…about us…we were a couple. She…” Darn it! She was not going to cry about this mess. “She told me were you not in my life, she would consider me too young to raise Seth on my own. I was afraid of what she might try to do, so I…I let her believe you and I are…together.”
Bo surprised her when he turned to face her. “There’s something you need to know—part of the reason I’m here.”
The expression on Bo’s face frightened Jan. Was he there to tell her he and Liz were getting married? “Yes, Mother, my boyfriend is marrying another woman, but that’s okay. We’re still in love.” Wouldn’t that go over well? She may as well go pack Seth’s suitcases now.
“Abby—you remember her, right?” Bo asked.
Jan was very familiar with her one-woman battles with Brody Gaines fans. “She’s the mental health therapist engaged to Brody Gaines.”
Bo nodded. “She’s also good friends with Vanessa Tate.” It took a moment for that to sink in. Jan’s head swirled; she might end up out cold yet. “Jan, Abby told me if your mother proves she can provide a stable home for Seth, and the protective services has already approved her, she could have the grounds to take Seth away from you…from us.”
Jan began shaking her head. “No, Bo. We can’t let that happen. I can’t lose Seth. She can’t have him. Please, tell me. What did she say I have to do? I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him. Please tell me.”
He gently reached around and pulled her against his side. “I think we just did it. If we keep her happy—let her think we’re together and Seth has two…parents—then she won’t even think about trying to take him.”
She raised her eyes to look into his. “I can’t ask you to do that. What about your girlfriend? I just need to think of something…or somebody…else.” She had just remembered Lance’s offer. Lance was single.
He put his hand under her chin and lifted it until she was looking into his eyes. “Nobody, Jan…nobody…is more important to me than Seth. I’d do anything for him. We’re in this together, like we have been from the beginning. Consider yourself half of a couple.”
“Are you sure?” She couldn’t believe he would offer. “You’ll be giving up so much…”
“I’m not giving up anything I can’t live without, believe me.” He nodded toward the house. “But what I can’t live without is that boy in there. We can’t let your mother take him away from us. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Jan couldn’t help herself. She leaned into his embrace and accepted the comfort and security he offered. A deep sigh of relief escaped her. She wasn’t in this alone. Bo was right there with her. He wouldn’t let her lose Seth.
She suddenly pulled back far enough to see his face.
“What is Seth going to think?”
Bo shrugged. “We won’t act any differently wit
h each other in front of him. Your mother will understand if we want to keep our love life separate from parenting him.”
“That’s right,” Jan agreed. “She can’t disapprove of us behaving like good friends in front of Seth.”
“We might have to repeat our…kissing…if we find ourselves alone with your mother again.” Bo’s eyes were focused on her mouth. “We don’t want to give her any reason to doubt us.”
“Thank you, Bo.”
“So, I’m just practicing,” he murmured before he lowered his mouth to hers for a soft, simple kiss. She would have never thought this giant of a man capable of being so gentle.
It was a much more confident and relaxed woman who led Bo back into the house for dinner a few minutes later.
“I knew you’d change your mind,” Liz simpered as she sidled closer to Bo.
He had decided to meet Liz in a crowded restaurant to do this. Hopefully, the presence of other people would curtail her dramatics.
He waited until she sat in a booth before he took a seat across from her, but then she promptly moved over and sat next to him.
“Liz, you need to back off,” he told her in as gentle of a voice as he could. They had dated for nearly two years. He felt like he owed her this much.
“Oh, you mean because we’re in public.” A giggle he couldn’t believe he ever found attractive grated on his nerves before she scooted a whoppin’ two centimeters away from him.
“No. I mean because we need to talk.” Bo had never been one to mince words and wasn’t about to start now. “Please move back to the other side of the table. We’ll both be more comfortable that way.”
She giggled. “I’m already getting you hot, aren’t I?” She leaned over and brushed her breast against his arm before she slowly stood and moved back to the other side of the booth.
Bo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The waitress came and Liz ordered a diet cola. Bo just asked for a glass of water. He didn’t plan on being there long enough to worry about anything more.
He listened to her carry on until their drinks were delivered, and they had told the server they weren’t ready to order yet. Then he began talking.
“Liz, you deserve somebody who appreciates the kind of person you are.”
“And I’m so glad you’ve realized you do.” Was there no end to her conceit?
“That’s just it.” He was still trying to use a kind voice. “I’m not the man for you. We’re just too different. You like fancy parties and dressing up. I like backyard barbecues and blue jeans.”
Her face was starting to turn red. “I’m sorry, Bo. I don’t understand what you’re getting at. We’ve always been different. That’s what attracted us to each other.”
“Maybe at first,” he admitted. “But now…I just can’t do this anymore. Things…my feelings have changed. I don’t—.”
“You’re…you’re breaking up with me?” she sputtered.
He nodded. “I guess I am.” He waited until she seemed to be in control of herself again. “I think we’ve been apart for a while now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’ll never find another woman like me. You’ll be alone, Bo.”
“This may shock you, but I don’t want a woman like you. And, I’m not worried about being alone.”
A look of comprehension appeared on Liz’s face. “It’s her, isn’t it?” she hissed. “You’re going to be with that boy’s aunt!”
What could he say? For the sake of them keeping Seth, it would seem like he was. “I want to be with Jan,” he admitted. He didn’t have to tell Liz why.
“You’d choose that piece of common white trash over me?” She reminded him of a balloon losing air fast as she kept hissing at him.
“First of all, Jan is not common, nor is she white trash.” He had just run out of manners. “Second, I’ve seen the real you, and if you stick that nose any higher, an airplane’s liable to fly into it. You’re a conceited, stuck-up, snob.”
“Why—”
Bo wasn’t finished. “And, after hearing the way you talked to Seth, I would rather go find a pot-bellied, snaggle-toothed hound dog to spend my time with than waste it with the likes of you. Is that clear, or do you need me to draw pictures?”
Liz stood up and glared at him. “Nobody talks to Liz Zimmers like that.”
Bo leaned back. “Looks like somebody did.”
He didn’t know how he ever thought the woman in front of him was attractive. Her entire face was a mask of anger and hatred.
“You are going to be sorrier than you can imagine, Bogard Daniels. I promise you that.”
He bit his tongue and watched silently as she strode out of the restaurant. At least he had contained himself a little bit. He hadn’t told her what he really wanted to—“you bite.”
“Mildred, you can’t hit Leonard with your cane. I’ll make sure he doesn’t walk behind you again.” Jan turned her attention to the old man, who had a gleam of mischief in his eyes. “Leonard, if you can’t keep your hands to yourself, I’m going to have to keep you here for lunch. You can’t keep pinching women.”
For some reason, this Friday morning had been filled with chasing the ornery man away from the three female residents, even Mildred with her lethal cane.
Lance was just walking back into the room when Mildred let out a low whistle, one she usually reserved for Dr. Phil.
“Who is that dreamboat?” She was eyeballing somebody behind Lance.
Jan glanced over Lance’s shoulder and saw Bo following him. What was he doing at Mercy House at this time of day? What was he doing there at all?
Lance walked up to her and spoke quietly.
“I see why you didn’t want to take me up on my offer.” He looked hurt. “Your boyfriend is here to take you to lunch. Go ahead and leave. I’ve got you covered.”
“Lance, I…”
“I understand.” Lance looked into her eyes. “You and Bo Daniels have been together for over a year now. You just didn’t realize it before.”
“I’m sorry,” she managed weakly.
He forced a smile. “Enjoy your lunch.” He looked past her, and then he really grinned. “You’d better get Bo out of here. Mildred is closing in on the fresh meat.”
She heard Lance flirting with Mildred to distract her long enough for Jan to walk to Bo.
“I hope this is okay.” Bo cast a worried glance over her shoulder.
“It is as long as we get you out of here before Mildred gets her hands on you.” She giggled. “Lance is holding her off for now, but we’d better hurry.”
He took her hand and laced their fingers together before leading her out into the hall.
“I know you probably brought your lunch, but I was hoping you’d eat at the Corner Café with me. Do you have enough time?”
She looked into his eyes. “I’ll have to explain to Seth why I didn’t eat the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he fixed, but I have an hour. That should give us time for the café.” She couldn’t help but see that his eyes were troubled. “Is something wrong, Bo? Have you changed your mind about our…act? I understand if you have.”
He raised their joined hands and gave her a pointed look. “I haven’t changed my mind. I just have an idea. Can we talk about it over lunch? I don’t want you to give up your gourmet sandwich and go hungry.”
She couldn’t help but laugh with him.
A few minutes later she found herself sitting across from him in a booth. They ordered their meals with their drinks, so they had some time to talk.
“So, what’s going on?” she asked him.
“I was thinking about how we want your mom to really believe we’re together.” His brown eyes looked even darker than usual. “I think we need to be more a part of each other’s lives without Seth always being there—or she’s liable to get suspicious.”
“I guess I don’t understand.”
“Like today—I’ve only seen your friend, and I don’t even know his name, a couple of times when I
picked Seth up from Mercy House. I need to know your friends.”
Jan had trouble making eye contact. “I really don’t have many…friends. Lance and I have worked together for a while, and I know Sammi and Teresa, two other nurses who work there, but I’ve never had time to make friends. Especially after Seth came to live with me.” She rushed on. “But that’s okay. I’d rather have Seth than even one friend. You know that.”
“Are you and Lance…more than friends?” His expression was unreadable.
At first Jan didn’t want to answer, but then she thought of Bo giving up his girlfriend in order to keep Seth. She owed him the truth.
“He wants us to be, but I’ve never…I couldn’t let it happen. He’s too good of a friend, and if it didn’t work out between us, I would have lost that. Am I making sense?”
Bo nodded, a look of relief on his face. “I want you to meet my friends, then.” He grinned at her. “You know who the Slammers are, but you don’t really know them—or the women. And they don’t know you. If you and I are going to be together, you need to be part of that group. Will you do that?”
Jan was embarrassed. “What will they think of me? Trapping you into this fake relationship and making you break up with your real girlfriend. They’ll all despise me.”
He chuckled. “Believe me, Jan. Nobody is gonna miss Liz. She didn’t like any of my friends, and none of them liked her. The few times she lowered herself to mingle with them, there wasn’t any love lost.”
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “That must have made it difficult for you.”
A wry laugh escaped his lips. “Sweetheart, I’ve only just realized how difficult Liz has been making my life for quite a while now.”
“Did you…are you going to be able to patch things up with her after…once things settle down and we don’t have to do this anymore?”
Just Practicing (Hearts for Ransom Book 2) Page 8
