Page 104 of Just One Kiss

“Is your garage open?”

She frowned. “Yes, why?”

“I’ll be back in time for my shift, boss.”

He grinned at her—the kind of grin that took her straight back to high school.

It was getting more and more difficult to stay mad at him.

She liked him. She’d always liked him. He’d gone from sweet, wide-eyed kid to rebelliously attractive teenager to this kind, selfless man who’d become more successful than anyone would’ve ever guessed. Under Josh’s photo in the yearbook, it saidMost likely to end up in jail. It most certainly did not sayMost likely to become a tech mogul.

And of course, he was still disastrously good-looking—and she suspected he knew it.

Yeah, she liked him.

But not liking him had never been the problem.

If she didn’t stay angry with him, she risked falling for him all over again, and that she could not allow.

Why was he making it so hard?

He walked off the porch and around the side of the house.

She closed the door and went back inside.

“What’s Dad doing?” Jaden asked from his spot in the recliner.

“No idea,” she said. “Need anything?”

“A life?” he said dryly.

“Funny. Here’s a little light reading for you.” She set the stack of articles on Jaden’s lap and walked into the kitchen, where she spotted Josh out back with her old lawn mower. Jaden usually mowed the lawn, and he must’ve noticed it had been neglected. Josh gave the cord a tug , and the old mower sputtered. He went back into the garage and reemerged with an empty gas can, which he threw in the back of his truck. Seconds later, he’d started the engine and driven away.

And it wasn’t until that moment that she exhaled.

“Mom, for real?” Jaden was in the doorway with the articles. “You’re going to let me ski?”

She smiled. “We still need to go to the appointment with Dr. Carroll, but those are from him and not from the internet, so yes. It sounds promising.”

He threw his arms around her, the same way she’d thrown her arms around Josh, which, she had to admit, made her momentary lapse in judgment seem a little less troubling.

“It’s still going to be work,” she said when he let go of her.

“Work doesn’t scare me,” Jaden said with the same grin as his father. “Bring it on.”

Thank you, Jesus, she thought.For answering this prayer.

Dr. Roby might not have understood how important this was to Jaden—to all of them—but God sure did. She would never tire of the fact that he knew them all so personally that the things that mattered to them mattered to him.

Her heart nearly burst with gratitude.

* * *

Later, while Carly was cleaning up the kitchen from the pancake breakfast she’d made, Josh returned with what she assumed was a full gas can but turned out to be a brand-new lawn mower. She squinted as he pulled into the driveway, killed the engine, tugged the tailgate down and lifted the mower out and onto the ground.

She dried her hands and walked outside barefoot, crossed her arms and glared at him. “What is that?”

“It’s your new lawn mower.”

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