The black truck drove slowly past the house. Rob could see inside and it looked like a real family scene in there. His gut twisted. It wasn’t Eric, of that much he was sure. He realized he never had asked Jordan if she was involved with anyone, but wouldn’t the boys have mentioned that fact to him? They’d told him everything else about their lives; a boyfriend would be a hard detail to skip. Slamming his fists on the steering wheel, he quickly drove off before anyone noticed him.
After breakfast, Jordan excused the boys and relieved them of cleanup detail so they could spend some more time with Mark. She didn’t mind doing the task and was sure her sons felt even more gratitude toward their uncle for getting them out of the chore.
Jordan had just finished loading the dishes into the dishwasher when Mark came into the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee.
“Boys are making their beds. So,” he said as he casually leaned on the counter. “Who’s this Rob I’ve been hearing about all morning?”
He was watching her with raised eyebrows and pure amusement.
Jordan closed the door to the dishwasher and started the cycle as she motioned for him to sit down at the kitchen table. Mark had been dating Laura while Jordan was still in school, and Jordan knew it wouldn’t be hard for him to remember that time in her life. Honestly, Jordan couldn’t remember a time when Mark and Laura weren’t together and he wasn’t part of their family. “I dated Rob before I started going with Eric.”
Recognition dawned in Mark’s eyes.
“I had no idea he lived here. We ran into him in town our second day here and he’s come around a couple of times to hang out with the boys, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh,” he said with a smirk.
“You sound just like your wife,” Jordan said dryly. “Anyway, think what you want, Mark, but that’s all there is to it.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Besides, I’m not looking for a relationship and Rob already has a girlfriend. End of story.” If only it didn’t hurt so much to say it.
“If you say so.”
“Well, I do,” she said a little too quickly, and Mark put his coffee down and stared at Jordan. “What?” she asked.
“Okay, I may be completely out of line here so I’ll apologize in advance.”
“It’s okay,” she said hesitantly.
“You’ve had a rough time of it, Jordan, and believe me, I wish that there was more Laura and I could’ve done to help.”
“Oh, Mark, you guys have been…”
He held up a hand and stopped what she was going to say. “I don’t want you to think it’s a bad thing to go back out there into the dating world. You deserve to be happy. Laura and I? We both want you to be happy. If this Rob guy can make you happy, then maybe you shouldn’t shrug the whole thing off so quickly.”
Jordan sighed. “I’m not shrugging anything off, Mark, I’m telling you, he has a girlfriend.”
“Are you sure?”
“He was away with her this weekend.”
Mark studied her for a moment and then leaned on the table, his expression serious. “Unless he said those words to you, that this girl is his girlfriend, I wouldn’t be so sure. No man hangs around with a woman and her kids unless he’s interested.”
Jordan loved it when Mark went all “big brother” on her. “You’re hanging out with a woman and her kids right now and I know for darn sure you’re not interested,” she teased.
He laughed out loud and reached for his coffee, shaking his head the whole time. “You always were a brat, Jordan. You know that, right?”
“It’s why I’m the favorite.” She rose to finish cleaning the kitchen and heard Mark leave the table and head down the hall toward the boys’ room.
He hung around until after lunch, playing with the boys down on the beach while Jordan showered and cleaned up around the house. She appreciated some time alone to get things done without the constant interruptions that came with being with her children 24-7.
When Mark pulled away, Jordan kept her sons close as they all waved good-bye, feeling good about having seen someone they loved so dearly from home.
Both boys were a little sad Mark hadn’t been able to stay longer, but were in good spirits as they headed back into the house. The phone was ringing as Jordan stepped inside and closed the door.
“Hello?” she said cheerily into the phone.
“Hi,” Rob said stiffly.
“Oh, hi,” she said breathlessly. “How was your weekend?” Jordan really didn’t want to know, but secretly hoped that it was miserable. She was obviously some kind of masochist. And her stomach was so not fluttering just from the sound of Rob’s voice. She would not allow it to.
“Fine,” he said. “I was wondering if I could take the boys fishing sometime this week.” Not her and the boys, she noticed, just the boys. He sounded tense and as uncomfortable as Jordan felt at the moment.
Trying to keep her tone light in opposition to his dark one, she said, “That would be nice. They’ve never really gone fishing but I’m sure they’d enjoy it. When did you have in mind?”
“Tomorrow,” he said flatly.
Okay, no more Mrs. Smiley Face. “Fine,” she responded with equal enthusiasm. After several strained and silent moments, arrangements were made and they hung up. If Rob had really wanted to ease out of this situation with her and the boys, why bother calling at all? Damned if she knew.
“Hey, guys! Guess what you’re doing tomorrow?”
* * *
Early the next morning, Jordan woke her sons up and got them ready to leave. She packed up a cooler with snacks, drinks, and sandwiches for them and waited for Rob to pull up. Her plan was to send them directly out to him and to avoid having to talk with him at all. After his attitude toward her yesterday on the phone, she seriously began to second-guess her decision to let the boys go out with him and the heck with the consequences.
Why on earth would he have such an attitude with her? Was he mad she fell asleep while they watched a movie? If he was, it was a damn lame excuse and she’d be happy to tell him so if she wasn’t so hell-bent on not seeing him at the moment.
She knew by avoiding him she was being a coward, but she didn’t have the strength to care. For far too long, Jordan Manning had spent the bulk of her time caring about everyone else’s feelings. Well, no more! It had become painfully obvious that all her caring had only caused her more disappointment. She had given her heart to him at sixteen and he had stomped all over it. She had done the same thing with her ex-husband, and he had not only stomped on her heart, but gone for an all-out removal of it.
Let Rob think her a coward. She thought no more highly of him right now.
Rob showed up while she was dressing. He was early. Dammit! He was waiting for her in the living room, dressed in what Jordan could only assume to be clothes that Goodwill had refused: ripped jeans, an old sweatshirt with paint stains on it, and a ridiculous-looking fishing hat. A quick glance out the front windows showed her the boys were loading their cooler into the truck and getting settled.
She walked toward him but stopped several feet away and tried to act completely unaffected by his presence by folding her arms across her chest. “What time should I expect them back?” she asked coolly as she reached up to comb a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Rob’s expression was equally cool, but his eyes were dark and seemed to bore into hers. “We’ll be back sometime after two.”
“Fine.” Jordan strode passed him out to the truck to say good-bye to the boys and remind them how they were expected to behave. She leaned into the truck to kiss them, and when she backed out and stood, she very nearly collided with Rob.
“Oh!” she cried out as she turned around.
“Sorry,” he said through clenched teeth. Jordan stepped around him and watched as he leaned into the vehicle himself.
“Hey, b
oys, just give me one minute and then we’ll be on our way.” The boys both nodded and started conversing with each other about all the fish they were going to catch.
Rob closed the door and walked over to where Jordan stood. “So?”
“So, what?”
“Will this give you enough time today?” he asked snidely.
“Rob, what on earth are you talking about? Enough time for what?” She was clueless as to why he had an attitude with her and it was royally ticking her off. If anyone deserved to be bitter toward anyone in this scenario, it was her.
“I saw you had company yesterday. I thought you might like some time alone with your male friend without the kids around.” He crossed his arms solidly over his chest.
Oh, this was unbelievable. “So you thought you would take it upon yourself to protect my children, is that it?”
He made no reply.
“Do you think I am so depraved that I cannot go without male companionship for more than a week?” Her voice was beginning to rise and she caught herself before giving in to a full-blown scream. Rob cocked an eyebrow at her. “I see. Well, if memory serves me correct, and I believe it does, I was never the one to have that problem—you know, being unable to control myself with the opposite sex.” She crossed her arms over her chest smugly, mimicking his pose and seeing that at least he had the decency to look ashamed at what she was implying.
“And for your information, that was my brother-in-law you saw here yesterday morning. You might remember Laura’s husband, Mark? And just for the record, what were you doing? Spying on us?” Jordan noticed his jaw clench a little. “Mark was driving through town on his way to a conference and was bringing me some supplies from home that I had forgotten!”
Rob shifted his feet a little, holding a firm stance with his own arms still folded, his hands clenched tightly.
She was fuming but good now and steamrolled on. “And just so we’re on the same page here, these are my children and they’ve done just fine without you being around to protect and entertain them. We were fine before you came along and we’ll continue to be fine after we leave. Do you have a problem with that?” Her breathing was hard at this point and she was so angry she was shaking a little. He had a nerve!
Jordan stood there and waited for Rob to make some sort of reply, but he just turned and walked away. The only thing he said to her as he climbed into his truck was, “We’ll see you sometime after two.” And then they were gone.
* * *
“Hey, Rob? Check me out! I’m about to reel in my third fish,” Joseph bragged, his face a little red from the sun but completely full of pride.
“Great job, Joe. At this rate, we’ll have more fish than we’ll know what to do with! We’ll have to invite the neighbors over for dinner or something,” Rob teased.
“That would be fun!” Jake chimed in.
Rob sat out there on the boat and watched the two boys he was coming to love. If he hadn’t been such a fool at eighteen, these would be his own children he was out fishing with. His and Jordan’s.
She was never out of his thoughts for long lately. Learning that the man at her home yesterday was her brother-in-law was like winning the lottery. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt such relief. But how could he be sure there really wasn’t someone else waiting for her back in Raleigh?
“Hey, I hear you had a visit from your Uncle Mark yesterday.”
“Yeah, Uncle Mark is great. He used to coach my little league team when I used to play,” Jake said, and he shook his fishing pole in hopes of making a fish take note of his bait.
“You don’t say?” Rob commented. “So, I was just wondering, does your mom plan on having anyone else from home come to visit? You know, any friends or boyfriends or anything?” Smooth, Rob. Real smooth.
“A boyfriend? Yuck,” Joseph said. “Mom’s never had a boyfriend. I mean, I guess she’s pretty and all, but… She’s a mom! Moms don’t have boyfriends!” At that point, the boy shuddered as if the very thought of his mom having a boyfriend was repulsive.
“Well, some moms do,” Rob suggested. “Would you hate it if your mom had a boyfriend?”
“Not me,” Jake said.
“It would depend on the guy,” Joseph said diplomatically, but not wanting to have that picture in his head. “Like, there’s this guy at the bank who always acts all goofy whenever Mom goes in there. I wouldn’t like it if he was her boyfriend.”
“Well, is there anyone you would like?” Easy there, Casanova. Your desperation is starting to show.
“You’d be a cool boyfriend for Mom,” Jake said with a smile.
“Oh, yeah. You’d definitely be cool,” Joseph agreed.
“Do you want to be her boyfriend?” Jake asked.
“Shut up, stupid,” Joseph said as he rolled his eyes. “You don’t ask somebody that!”
“I am not stupid! You are!”
“Am not.”
“Rob…” Jake whined, clearly hoping Rob would jump in and break up the fight.
Rob smiled at them both. In the short time he’d known them, he had learned it didn’t take much to make them argue. He also learned they didn’t hold grudges and they’d work out this particular fight soon enough. It was slightly amusing. Besides, he was too busy being fully satisfied with what he had learned.
Now the only problem he saw was convincing the lovely Ms. Manning that he wasn’t some creepy jerk who had been spying on them and hope that she’d be in a better mood when they got home.
Home.
Maybe if luck was on his side, it wouldn’t be long before he had a real home to go to at the end of the day where Jordan and the boys would be waiting for him. It wasn’t such a far-off fantasy. They had been on the path to this once, and Rob had no doubt in his mind they could get back on that path again. He was still in love with Jordan—had probably never stopped loving her—and he was crazy about her kids. He now knew they liked him too. Maybe it wouldn’t be too long at all.
He sighed with contentment and cast his line out to fish for more dinner.
Chapter 6
The day seemed to drag on endlessly. Jordan definitely enjoyed the peace and quiet, but had to admit she missed the boys. Not only did she miss her boys, she missed Rob. He was jealous. That thought caused her to smile, but at the same time made her heart ache. He was involved with someone—someone with whom he’d spent the weekend. She couldn’t get past that. She couldn’t reconcile his jealousy about her being with another man while he was with another woman.
Maybe they were just never meant to be. Surely if two people were right for each other, there wouldn’t be so many darn obstacles and misunderstandings. If Rob was going to continue coming around and spending time with her sons, they were going to need to clear the air. Parameters needed to be set, and it couldn’t be put off any longer.
She was fine with the thought of being just friends with Rob; what she couldn’t handle anymore was wondering if it was possible, and if he would be receptive to the idea. It was time to put into practice her commitment to letting go of the past and dealing with the present.
The sound of his truck pulling up in front of the house at two thirty interrupted her inner pep talk and had Jordan’s heart skipping a beat. Was she prepared for this? Unfortunately, she had no choice; she had to be. Hearing her sons’ laughter had her nearly ripping the front door off its hinges to get to them. She had missed them; for those few short hours, she had missed them all.
The boys were smelly, wet, and a little sunburned, but were bursting with excitement to tell their mother about their day.
“I promise I will listen to every detail about your day and hear all your fishing stories if you just go inside and wash up and put on clean clothes,” she said playfully. “You guys stink!”
“Aw, Mom,” they whined but did, indeed, go right into the house to do as they
were told.
Rob climbed out of the truck and fetched her cooler. He walked casually past Jordan and placed it inside the front door, then went back to the truck to retrieve a larger cooler.
“We had a lot of success today,” he said as he shut the tailgate to the truck. “The boys are natural fishermen.” He stopped in front of her and smiled. “I hope you are in the mood for fish for dinner.” At her blank expression, he walked past her again and went directly into the house.
She wasn’t prepared for him to come back and be in such a pleasant mood, nor was she prepared to have dinner with him. Jordan had just assumed he’d leave the boys with what they caught and be on his way. When she stepped inside and saw him setting up to clean the fish in her kitchen, she knew she had to express her feelings and clear the air.
“What’s going on here?” she asked, hands planted firmly on her hips. She stood on the side of the breakfast nook opposite from where Rob was setting up a butcher block cutting board and sharpening a filleting knife.
“Well, Jordan, we’ve got to clean the fish before we can cook them,” he said as he waved the large knife around. He looked adorable. He, too, had gotten some sun and his skin was bronzed and glowing. He was still wearing that goofy fishing hat and he smelled just as bad as the boys had, possibly worse.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said irritably. “What’s going on here with us?”
Pretending to stay focused on setting up his butchering station, he asked without looking at her, “Why?”
“What was that all about this morning? You come here making all kinds of crazy accusations…and… What difference does it make to you if a man came to visit us?” She hated to sound desperate, as if she were trying to force him into admitting that he had feelings for her, but her heart couldn’t help it.
Without a word, Rob placed the knife on top of the cutting board and went over to the sink to wash his hands. Jordan watched and became increasingly agitated. He turned slowly toward Jordan as he dried them with a paper towel. “Because I’m concerned about the boys, that’s why,” he said in a deep voice that sent chills throughout Jordan’s body.
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