Page 81 of The Deadbeat Next Door

The kids. Of course he was there to see the kids, not to confess his undying love for me. “Why? Jenny just stopped crying about how much she misses you two days ago. I don’t want you getting their hopes up about you being in their lives again.”

His mouth set in a firm line and he shook his head. “I just…I didn’t say goodbye to them. I want to explain some things.”

I was going to tell him no. It was on my lips to tell him to stop being so selfish and leave us all alone.

“Mr. Cody!” Jenny flew by me like a shot and jumped into his arms.

He caught her with a huge smile and pecked her cheek. “Hi, sweetheart. Are your sister and brother up?”

“I’ll go get them!”

She ran back into the house. A voice cleared behind us and I looked over Cody’s shoulder to see my parents. “Hi, Mom and Dad,” I said. “This is my friend, Cody. He just stopped by to talk to the kids. Cody, these are my parents, Franklin and Lily.”

Cody stepped aside and made room for my parents on the porch. “It’s very nice to meet you both. Carrie has told me a lot about you.”

My mother blushed the prettiest pink and my father stood up just a bit taller. Damn Cody and his unfailing charisma. “It’s very nice to meet you, too,” my mother said, shaking his hand. He and Dad shook hands and then jenny appeared with Kayla and Simon rubbing their eyes and still in pajamas.

“Hi, guys,” Cody said. “Would you mind having a quick chat with me? We can talk on the back patio.”

“You going to tell us why you just took off?” Simon asked.

“Yeah,” Cody said. “I’m also going to apologize.”

The kids followed him around to the back of the house. I ushered Mom and Dad inside, started the coffee and headed back to take a shower. Unlike me, my father was an excellent cook and he got started on making breakfast.

When I returned to the kitchen, showered and dressed in a lemon-yellow sun dress, I found Cody sitting at the table, laughing with my father, Jenny on his lap. My heart squeezed and my vision went blurry with unshed tears. He looked like he belonged here, like he’d always belonged here. Maybe Harrison was right, maybe I’d been holding on so tight to this ideal of what I wanted that I’d left no room for interpretation. No room for anyone different.

Cody looked up, like he’d sensed me and slid Jenny off his lap and onto her feet. He stood. “I should be going. I’ll see you all later.”

“Later?” I asked.

Cody’s smile was a bit too smug for my taste, and I got the distinct impression he was up to something. “You’re all coming over to my house later tonight for dinner. I think you’ll really like what I’ve done to the place.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to work up anger at him for inviting everyone without checking with me first, at my parents for agreeing to it before they’d consulted me, but I couldn’t find any anger. I just had sadness and the loss of a dream I hadn’t even realized I’d had until that moment. Cody walked out and I didn’t say anything to stop him.

I ate breakfast with my family, went furniture shopping with Frankie while my parents watched the kids, and tried not to think about that evening or the pain it would bring.

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