Page 50 of Hard To Leave

“You’ve just seemed a little off since your visit with your mom. If you want to talk about it, we can go out back while Tanner plays on the swing set.”

He stared forward; his eyes were practically glued to the windshield. He was sitting right next to me, but it felt like he was a million miles away. “My visit with my mom didn’t go very…” His voice became strained as he looked down to his lap. “I’ve just got a lot of shit I’m trying to work out in my head.” He winced and snuck a glance in the backseat. Tanner was still engrossed in his game.

My heart broke for him, and the fixer in me wanted to fix whatever it was that had him so upset. I was curious to know more about his relationship with his mom, but I didn’t want him to talk about it if it was going to add to his pain.

“You don’t have to talk about it. Just know that I’m here if you change your mind.”

His eyes found mine. They still looked sad and heavy, but they also filled with relief. “Thank you.”

He reached for my hand across the car, his thumb slowly grazed across my palm. “I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to seeing you at the end of the week.”

“It should give you enough time to kick your girlfriend out before I get there.”

His lips lifted into a small smile, but it quickly dropped from his face when he saw the figure approaching his jeep..

My window was already rolled down as my neighbor Phil inched closer. “Hey, Chloe,” he greeted and bounced his eyes from the front to the back of the car.

Phil was a tall, dark, and handsome tattooed bad boy that women ate up whenever he came into the restaurant. As attractive as he was, his physical appearance never sparked anything inside of me. Still, I could understand how our friendship could make Jack uncomfortable. If the situation were reversed, I would feel the same way.

“Phil, you remember Jack, right?”

Phil gave Jack a friendly wave, but his smile seemed forced, which I found odd. “Of course.”

Jack leaned down across my lap, squinting his eyes against the sunlight. “Hey, man. How’s it going?” His chin lifted in greeting. “I was hoping we would run into you because we need to ask you a favor?”

My head swerved against the back of my seat.

“Oh yeah?” Phil narrowed his eyes slightly. “What’s that?”

“Chloe needs someone to watch the dog this coming weekend. I was wondering if you were available?”

“You going to go visit your folks again?” he asked hopefully.

Tanner took that moment to jump out of the back seat. The kid was so excited he could barely contain his enthusiasm. He ran as fast as he could, practically beaming up at the tall giant who was standing in our driveway. “Nope, we’re going to New York City to visit Jack.”

Phil crossed his tattooed arms, across his massive chest. The man looked like he could lift a car without breaking a sweat. I could see his tight muscles bulging under his gray Harley Davidson T-shirt. “New York, huh?” The sarcasm dripped heavily from his voice, which I found odd. I was too excited about my upcoming trip to care.

I unbuckled my seat belt and stepped out of the car. Jack followed me around to the passenger side. In a perfectly practiced caveman-style move, he folded his arm around my shoulders. “I’d really appreciate it if you could help us out.”

Phil ran his calloused thumb across his bottom lip. “Yeah, sure. No problem.” His gaze moved from Jack’s hand resting on my shoulder up to my face. “Chloe. I told you before, I’m always here for whatever you need.”

I hoped I was reading the situation wrong, but I detected that he was more jealous than concerned. Phil has been very good to Tanner and me, but I’ve always been careful not to give him the wrong idea. In fact, it hasn’t been until Jack appeared in the picture that I started to notice him acting differently.

Jack took that moment to lean in and brush my hair off the back of my neck. The obvious display of possession should have irritated me, yet for some reason, it was taking everything in me not to melt against his touch. “See, babe, I told you we were all set.”

I looked at my neighbor who seemed uncomfortable. “Thank you, Phil.”

He cleared his throat and forced his tight lips into a smile. “No problem. Also, I bought a new light fixture for your back deck. I remember the other one went out, so I picked up a brand new one when I was at the store.” My gaze dropped to the Home Depot bag he was clutching in his hands.

Jack’s fingers tensed along my shoulder before asking, “I appreciate that, man. How much do I owe you?” He reached in his back pocket to take out his wallet.

Phil held out his hands to stop him. “Chloe and I have an arrangement. I fix things for her; she cooks for me. No money is allowed,” he said with a cheeky-ass grin.

Damn, it was getting hot outside.

The muscle in Jack’s jaw ticked—hard. It looked ready to pop out of his skin. “I appreciate you looking after my girlfriend while I’m not around. But, I’m here, so I can install the light. Thanks for the offer, but it’s not necessary,” he said flatly and shoved a couple folded-up twenty-dollar bills in my neighbor’s palm.

Phil clearly wasn’t happy, but thankfully he handed the bag to Jack and stuffed the money in his jeans pocket and walked away.

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