The Other Guy: A Textdoor Neighbor Romance

by Van Wyk, Jennifer

  “Want me to watch Paisley some weekend? That way you two can have a little time together to focus on more than only trying to have a baby. Bring some fun back into it.”

  Her eyes bug out of her head. “Are you serious?”

  I shrug. “Why not?”

  “Paisley does love you. And I think she has a little crush on Jack, if a toddler knows what a crush is.”

  I giggle. “She absolutely does. But it’s adorable. And we both love her. Toby’s great with her. I can stay at your house if you want to get a hotel room so she can sleep in her own bed. Or whatever. Just think about it, talk to Austin. The offer stands for whenever.”

  “You’re incredible, you know that?”

  “Right? You’re so lucky to have me.”

  “That I am,” she says, giving me a hug. “And, honestly, quit worrying about tonight. They’re having a barbecue at their house. It’s casual. It will be fun. Just enjoy!”

  “Okay. I will.”

  * * *

  “I might throw up.”

  “You’re not going to throw up.”

  “I might.”

  Kyle leans his head between us from where he’s sitting in the back seat. “She might.”

  “Thanks, Kyle. Appreciate the support.”

  “Anytime,” he says, chuckling and sitting back.

  “Why aren’t you more nervous?”

  “I’m not the one they’re going to be judging. This is all you.”

  “Remind me why Rebecca isn’t coming along?”

  “Had that meeting for the Summer Splash thing the church is putting on next month.”

  I face forward in my seat. “Sure wish I had a meeting to go to.”

  Jack chuckles and grabs my hand, kissing the back of it. “Careful, sweetheart, you’re gonna give me a complex about meeting my family.”

  “I’ve just never met this many people at once before.”

  “They’ll fawn over you for a few minutes then leave you alone.”

  I give him an incredulous look. “Okay, so that was a lie. They’ll bug you all night. But at least they’ll be bugging Harper, too.”

  That does make me feel a little better, actually. The rest of the ride is a little more relaxing. As we drive through Liberty, I’m reminded how much I love this little town. It’s quaint and… lovely. That’s the best way to describe it.

  By the time we pull into the driveway of a beautiful older home, I’ve forgotten to be nervous because I was so caught up in looking around. But then I see all the cars parked around the house and the reminder is right there in front of me, causing an explosion of nerves to riot in my stomach.

  “Holy crap,” I whimper.

  “Ready?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve been there. I know what you mean, but I need you to understand that it’s not nearly as frightening as what you’re thinking it’s going to be. Yeah, every single one of them will be in your face but not in an aggressive or pushy way. I promise.”

  I blow out a breath and look back at Kyle. “You’re with me?”

  “I’m with you. Unless you want me to call your folks and see if they wanna come. Maybe bring some of those special brownies Samantha’s so famous for.”

  “Oh, hell no.” I laugh and Kyle smiles, reaching up to grip my shoulder.

  “Let’s do this.”

  “You mean let’s get this over with,” I mumble and climb out of the Jeep. I don’t know why I’m so nervous, but it’s been my parents and Kyle my whole life. I don’t know what a big family is like. I can’t even fathom it. But in about six seconds I’m going to get myself a lesson in family and I need to embrace it.

  Jack grips my hand in his, and I hold on like he’s a lifeline.

  We walk into the house without knocking and the second we come through the door everyone stops talking. I look around, feeling awkward as ever. This just won’t do. I know I was nervous but if this continues, we’re in for an entire evening of torture.

  I grab my phone from my back pocket and lift it up, take a picture of a few people then turn to Kyle. “For Mom and Dad. Since they couldn’t be here, you know?”

  The tension is broken and everyone laughs.

  A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair points to me and says, “Oh, yeah. You’ll do just fine.”

  “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

  Jack pulls me to him and kisses the top of my head. “Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Sierra Harthorn. Be gentle.”

  “You telling her or us to be gentle, son? ‘Cause it looks to me like she’s able to hold her own,” James jokes.

  The woman from earlier walks over and shoves Jack aside, rolling her eyes. “Oh, stop, Jack. We’re not that bad, Sierra, I promise. I’m Aunt Tess, James’s way cooler sister.” She doesn’t hug me but does offer me a hand to shake.

  She goes on to introduce me to the entire family. Her husband Barrett, a good looking man with salt and pepper hair, her daughter Maggie, son Cole and his wife Mia, son Grady and his wife Bri, who all appear to be about my age. “All the grandkids are outside playing. They’re excited to meet you but I’ll give you a warning, Hazel, the tail ender of the group who’s thirteen, is in a bit of a snit today because she’s been under the assumption that she was going to marry Jack since she was old enough to talk.”

  Jack shrugs. “What can I say? I’m irresistible.”

  “Oh, geesh.” I roll my eyes.

  “Hey, I got your attention, didn’t I?”

  I don’t argue. I could sass him but he knows the truth. He did get me. But I got him, too. And I don’t take his love for granted.

  “Hey, I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Harper. I’m so, so sorry for taking your picture that day. I wasn’t thinking. I was just so stinking excited and you’re so pretty… but that’s not an excuse. I’m real sorry for doing that.”

  “It’s fine. I think he was more upset than I was about it.”

  “Really? I felt awful after I heard he yelled at Grady and Drew.”

  I turn to Jack. “You yelled at them?”

  “I didn’t yell,” he explains, “I just raised my voice a bit and told them to back off.”

  Drew laughs. “Oh, you yelled. But it’s okay. We all needed a little come to Jesus meeting about how pushy we can be.”

  “Well, thanks for being cool about it.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “This is Grayson, my fiancé,” Harper says and beams, lifting her hand to show her ring. Grayson is incredibly attractive with perfectly messy, wavy dirty blond hair, several inches taller than Harper, and very much in love with his girl if the way he’s looking at her is anything to go by.

  He steps forward. “Hi there. Nice to meet you.”

  “You, too, and congratulations.”

  “Thank you,” Harper and Grayson say at the same time.

  “These are my parents, Willow and Mick. My uncle Walker and his wife Ellie. Their kids are out there running around somewhere.”

  I blanch and take a step back. “Oh my gosh, Dr. McKinstry?” I turn to Jack. “This is Toby’s vet!” Then twist back to Ellie and Walker. “What are you doing here?”

  “Think Grayson just introduced him as his uncle, sweetheart.”

  Right. I can’t help it, though. I’m flustered, not realizing that I’d know anyone else here. “Wow. I’m just surprised.”

  “Nice to see you again, Sierra. How’s Toby?”

  “Good, of course.”

  “Of course,” Walker murmurs and I blush because he’s crazy good looking, too. There must be something in the water around here because looking around, everyone is way too pretty to be in one room.

  After more introductions are made (Christine, the woman who does all the desserts and owns a coffee shop next to Balance and her husband Andy, the parents of Hazel who’s now shooting daggers at me to which everyone admonishes her for), we move outside to the backyard. Chairs and games are set up on the lawn, about ten kids are playing with
water balloons and in a sprinkler, there’s a table filled with food and coolers with drinks.

  To my surprise, not a single kid is on an electronic device of any kind. It’s more than refreshing to see. Then I see it. A large bowl in the center of a table set off to the side. A sign that reads: All devices here.

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah, they kind of love to entertain.”

  “No. The devices thing.”

  “Oh, right! Crap. Give me your phone.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Family rule. When we’re all here, we are expected to be present. All phones and distractions go in the bowl. No exceptions.”

  “What if there’s an emergency?”

  “What kind? All of us are here. And most of us check our phones just in case, we just don’t stay on them.”

  “Okay, that’s it. I totally love your family.”

  “I told you.”

  Jack continues to introduce me to more people, friends of the family that he explains are more family than friends. An extended family that loves and supports each other.

  Kyle and I are welcomed into the fold without hesitation. Not once does it feel awkward even though I had to ask everyone to wear name tags because there were simply too many names to remember. Faces I’m great with. Names attached to those faces? Not so much. Kids run around us and have us both playing along with every game, including water balloons where Kyle showed no mercy to the older kids.

  My stomach hurts from laughing so much.

  My plate and cup has been full every minute I’ve been here.

  I see Jack pull Kyle off to the side a few hours into the party, after the sun has started to set and Barrett and James have set up a screen to watch a movie outside. Complete with a large popcorn maker that Tess wheeled out from the basement. They’ve thought of everything.

  When Jack returns to me, he hands me a hoodie that smells like him. I slip it on and he wraps me up in his arm.

  “What was that about?” I ask about his private conversation with Kyle.

  “I asked him if he was looking for a partner at The Landing. I know you’re inheriting it and I don’t want to take that away from you, and I would only be buying in for the kitchen side. Before I talked to you about it, I wanted to see if it was even something he’d be interested in. If you’re not for it, I told him it would be a no go. But if you’re good with it, I have someone interested in buying into the gym with me and I trust him and think it’d be good. I miss being in a kitchen more than I used to, and I’d still help with self-defense classes and be a part of the gym.”

  “Jack…”

  “But if you feel like that’s stepping on your toes or taking away from something that should be completely yours, I won’t do it. I’m happy with the gym, too. And if I want to start a restaurant down the line, I can. It’s your call.”

  “Jack… stop talking for a second.” I kiss him on the lips, cupping his cheek with my hand. “I love this idea. Yes. You should absolutely do this.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh, for sure. You have way too much talent in the kitchen to only give it to me. And I know you love it. I also know that the part of the gym you love most is the classes. Keep doing them. We can handle all three businesses.”

  “We, huh?”

  “We.”

  Because that’s what we are. A we. Hopefully one day we’ll make it official but right now, I’m happy with being in love, spending time together, and continuing to learn more about this incredible man.

  We haven’t moved in together yet, but we’re talking about it and have decided that when we’re both ready (which is pretty much now) I’ll move into his place. Besides, he remodeled his bathroom with my suggestions — it’s perfect and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. It’s close to Kyle and the store. His gym isn’t far away, either. And Toby loves it there.

  Our road to get here wasn’t normal. After all, he was the other guy.

  “I love you,” he whispers, kissing my cheek.

  “I love you, too.”

  “I’m so lucky to be the other guy.”

  I gasp. “Holy crap, I was just thinking that!”

  “Yeah? Maybe we definitely are M.F.E.O.”

  “Oh, we are for sure.”

  “You gonna marry me someday, become Sierra Cole?”

  I sit back in my chair and look up at him. “Is that a proposal?”

  “No. I’ll do better than that. Just feeling you out.”

  “You don’t need to do better than that, Mr. Cole. I’m not about fireworks and big shows.”

  “What if I want to give you fireworks? I want to give you everything.”

  I snuggle deeper into his side and kiss his chest. “You do. Every day.”

  Epilogue

  JACK - FOUR YEARS LATER

  “Colin, leave your baby sister be.” I do my best to pull my three-year-old mini-me out of the baby’s room but fail. Ever since we brought her home a week ago, he’s stood by her side. Yesterday we found him sleeping on the floor next to her crib when he was supposed to be napping. I lifted him up and laid him down in his bed sound asleep only to discover him back in her room, fast asleep an hour later.

  “I think it’s safe to say we have a good protector on our hands,” Sierra says, placing a hand on my lower back, one wrapped around and placed on my stomach. I cover her hand with mine.

  “Think it’s probably a good idea just to bring his bed in here so we’re not having to deal with this constantly.”

  “You mean have them share a room? What if she’s up a lot in the night? I don’t want him waking constantly.”

  “He does anyway.”

  “What if he tries to get her out of the bed in the middle of the night?”

  I wince, realizing that’s a very real possibility. He has no fear and no boundaries when it comes to his little sister. Grace was definitely a surprise for us. As was Colin. We got married exactly one year after we met. Luckily, the weather was polar opposite of the year we met. The sun was shining and spring was knocking winter out of its way.

  We spent a month in Italy, touring museums and restaurants for our honeymoon and when we got home, the celebration of our wedding night didn’t end.

  Ten months later Colin made his appearance. He was the best kind of surprise but because we weren’t planning it, we decided to wait a little longer between babies. Grace had other plans, though.

  Again, we’re not the least bit upset about the change in plans.

  “They’re beautiful,” I murmur, looking down at Grace sleeping soundly in her crib as Colin stares at her through the railing.

  “We make good looking babies, Mr. Cole.”

  “That we do, Mrs. Cole.”

  “Kyle called. He and Rebecca got there safely and are already having a drink on the beach.”

  Kyle and Rebecca married shortly after Colin James, or CJ as we call him, was born and have been working their way to retirement, deciding to take vacations when they feel like it. They were here for Grace’s birth but with my parents close and hers trying to be more active, Kyle and Rebecca decided to spend a few days in the Bahamas.

  “Good. Glad they could get away.”

  She nods against my shoulder. “Go take a nap while she’s sleeping.”

  “She’s going to be hungry soon.”

  “You pump?”

  “Yeah. Got a few ounces.”

  My wife is fortunate in that she wanted to breast feed and she produces milk like it’s her job. She loves being able to nurse, but it also takes a lot out of her.

  “Then go. I’ve got the kids. I’ll make some pasta real quick so you have something to eat when you get up. And Aunt Christine brought over that bread.”

  She sighs. “That sounds like heaven.”

  “What? The food or sleep?”

  “Both,” she mutters, already half asleep.

  “Go. CJ and I have this, don’t we, little man?”

  “We got this, mama.”

&nb
sp; She giggles and kisses us both before shuffling toward the door. She turns and looks back at us. “Never in my life did I imagine I’d have it all. But you gave it to me.”

  I almost fall to my knees in gratitude. Instead, I pick up my son and do my best not to lose it in front of him. “Your mama’s trying to make Daddy cry.”

  “Daddy cwy?” he says, putting a hand on my cheek and turning my face so he can look at me.

  “About to, if she keeps that up.”

  “Not nice, Mama.”

  “Good tears, CJ, good tears.”

  He looks at me in confusion before scrambling to get down. I make my way over to my wife and kiss her on the lips. “You gave me everything, too. Love you.”

  “Love you.”

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  Acknowledgments

  First, can I just say how much fun this story was to write? I loved taking a quick visit back to the hilarious group of people who started it all. If you haven’t checked out my first five releases, you might find it fun to get a deeper glimpse at their stories.