Page 51 of Hard To Leave

Once we were in the house, Jack slammed the door; the loud bang caused me to jump. Smuckers came running over, wagging his tail for a greeting. “Tanner,” Jack called out, “can you let the dog out, please?”

Once he was out of view, I spun around. “What the hell was that?”

Jack set the Home Depot bag on the floor. “That was me letting him know you are no longer available.”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you noticed the way he looks at you? Or the fact that he is always stopping by to fucking fix things all the damn time? He probably breaks shit on purpose just to visit you.”

I stood in the middle of my living room and stared at him. He looked so frustrated.

My feet ate up the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You have nothing to be jealous about.”

He blew out a deep breath and pulled me into a hug. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.” He placed his strong hands on either side of my face. “Promise me that going forward, if something needs fixing, you’ll wait until I can deal with it.” I started to say something, but he silenced me with a kiss. “I know there will be times where you won’t be able to wait. In that case, I will understand, seeing he’s right next store.” His lips brushed the tip of my nose. “But I want to be the one you ask first. Okay?”

I closed my eyes, letting his scent linger over me. I hated Sundays because that meant that I had to say goodbye to him. And the goodbyes were getting harder and harder. “You really want to waste your visits fixing stuff around my house?” I kissed along his jaw, then trailed my tongue up to his earlobe. “When we could be spending it doing other things.”

Jack let out a frustrated groan. “Yes, I want to be the one you call. Even if it’s something that can’t wait. I still want to know. Okay?” He leaned forward and gripped the back of my neck. “And spending time with you, no matter how much time that is, is never a waste.”

Tiny little explosions rippled across my chest. I clung to his arms, partially for balance and because I was afraid to let go.

I reached up and brushed my fingers across his jaw. “I really don’t want you to leave,” I practically whined which only made him laugh. I smacked his chest. “You’re not supposed to laugh at me.”

His eyes flashed with humor as he smiled down at me. We both turned our heads when we heard Tanner’s footsteps getting closer.

“Hey, bud.” Jack bent down, resting his hands on his thighs. “Would you like to help me replace this light out back before I go?”

Usually, Tanner hated doing chores, but I guess helping Jack fix the light fixture was interesting enough. I think he secretly liked doing man things around the house. A part of me was grateful that my son was bonding with a man that I was slowly falling in love with. The other part was worried because I didn’t want to think about Brogan, and feeling like conflict was brewing.

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