Page 22 of Long Road Home

She loaded another plate and turned to me. “I’m sorry I made it this way. I really am.”

I had no desire to forgive her and was tired of hearing her apologies. I ignored it and went to her fridge without thinking. Tillie always had my favorite beer in there for me, mostly because I brought it myself.

Inside, there wasn’t any. “You got any of that beer left?” I asked, not remembering drinking the last six-pack I’d brought.

“Um. No. I don’t usually keep alcohol in the house. Was that yours?”

Of course she didn’t. Not with her mom being an addict to everything dangerous and deadly. She’d always refused to even taste beer at the high school keg parties we went to.

I shut the fridge. “Yeah. Always brought it when I came over to see Tillie.”

She grabbed a bowl and started rinsing. “I’d wondered who kept the lawn looking so nice. How’d it happen that you started doing it?”

I leaned against the fridge, cursing Tillie and her vault of secrets and lies. “Ran into Tillie at the store after I came back to town. She invited me over. We got to talking. I started helping her out. Then we’d hang out and talk. I asked about you. So many damn times I asked about you.”

I stopped talking. I’d said it earlier. That woman kept up that ruse and took it with her to her deathbed and now I couldn’t even ask herwhy.Had she secretly hated me? Thought I wasn’t good enough?

What the fuck was she thinking?

That unfamiliar anger bubbled beneath the surface of my skin, deep beyond the layers, an itch fiercer than any I’d ever felt when Destiny said, “I talked to my boss about staying longer.”

My unasked questions screeched to a halt.

“What?”

“I talked to my boss. Well, she’s actually a friend, but I called her today and told her everything that’s happened. She thinks I should stay here longer. Let you two get to know each other better. He starts school right before Labor Day, but I thought we could stay until then. Gives you the rest of the month at least.”

Was she expecting me to be grateful? It was better than days, but it still wasn’t years.

“Then what?” I couldn’t hide the bite in my tone and flinched. I wasn’t the nicest guy on the planet, but I’d never treated Des to this shit. I’d protected her from it. “Then what happens?”

She lifted and dropped a shoulder. “I don’t know, Jordan. I didn’t even know you lived here. I expected to show up, say goodbye to Tillie, clean up her house and head home.”

Home.

Goddamn that hurt more than it should have. Then she ruined it and kept talking. “This is as big of a surprise to me—”

“The fuck it is,” I said, moving to her. Her eyes flicked to the front of the house where Toby was still outside playing, and I cursed. Quieter this time.

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

I stepped back, threw my hands to my hips. Deep breaths did nothing, nothing to calm the riotous emotions flooding my veins. “What will you do about work? If you stay longer?”

“I do graphic design. Allison’s changing schedules so I can take the projects that will allow me to work remotely.”

“Okay.” I had weeks with him. It was something. I’d just have to make the best of it and stop being an asshole so she might consider staying after. “I’m going to head outside. Spend some time with Toby. We’ll talk more later?”

“Sure, Jordan. Whatever you want.”

If she knew what I wanted, she’d hop in her car and take off before I could blink.

Because standing there in her kitchen, I wanted nothing more than to pack them up, move them into my house so I could spend as much time as possible with my son.

Toby was takinglarge strides up and down the driveway, basketball going between his legs with each step. His eyes were straight ahead, not watching what he was doing.

Yeah. He had talent.

Those eyes slid to me as I walked down the front walk. I clapped my hands together and held my palms out, gesturing for him to pass the ball. He did without hesitating.

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