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“That is so beyond dangerous. For both of you!” Summer explodes.
“I know! Okay? Save the lecture. Can we get back to the more important thing?” Jared shoots a furtive glance at the old men who are now conspicuously turned with an ear towards us.
“What, that he tried to get me arrested for kidnapping?” I scoff.
“I wouldn’t say that. I bet he was just trying to make you break the custody agreement. He probably just wanted you two to have to jump through more hoops for me. His twisted way of helping me get some revenge,” Jared says.
“I don’t think it was that innocent,” Summer retorts leaningforward, “He didn’t know the sign-out procedure for Emma’s gymnastics, and even if he did, he couldn’t have known that Ryan was on the approved list because not even you knew. I only put him on there because I wanted to make sure Emma would always have someone who was able to pick her up. My car has been acting up so much and you’ve been out of range pretty often with the new job site, so I wanted to make sure she had someone with a reliable car on there. I wasn’t going to actually ask him to pick her up unless it was an emergency.”
Jared’s mouth pinches and he visibly deflates. “I really don’t think he meant to hurt Emma,” he reiterates weakly, scrubbing his hands over his hair.
“No, I don’t think he did. As screwed up as he is, I don’t think he would ever try to hurt her. But, I could see him trying to hurt Ryan if he thought it would help you, and if he felt that Ryan belittled him,” Summer says gently. “I know you care about him, but this is more than a step too far. I’m not going to tell you what to do about your friendship with him, but you also have to think about the fact that he impersonated you, called me to see if I would answer, and then messed with our kid. That’s not right, and it shows a level of premeditation that tells me this wasn’t random. I really think you need to confront him and see if you can convince him to get some help. There’s something seriously wrong with him, and I don’t want him anywhere near Emma.”
“Okay, that’s fair. Let me talk to him, please,” Jared says, looking hollowed out.
Summer nods, then tilts her head to the side in consideration. “Maybe we both should, since it’s about Emma and my boyfriend,” she says. He nods his agreement and sighs, looking like he just aged a few years in a matter of minutes.
After a beat of silence, I ask “What I’m not getting is how did he know you were going to be late to pick up Emma?”
“I was with him before then. I spent some time watching Emma at class, but since it was a couple of hours long, I went tocheck in on him for a bit. I’ve been worried lately and I hoped that if he had someone popping in on him, he would shape up. He’s not close with any of his family, so I’m kind of all he’s got,” Jared closes his eyes briefly and then continues, “I was with him when they called me into work. I told him about it because he saw me take the call. He even asked if I thought I would be back in time to get Emma. I thought he was just being a concerned friend.” He huffs an unamused laugh. I incline my head in acknowledgment because I don’t know what to say. How do you respond to that kind of betrayal?
“I’m really sorry, Jared,” Summer mumbles.
“Yeah,” he replies, “Me too. I had no idea he would ever do something like this.” He rubs a hand over his mouth. “Okay, well I should probably get Emma from my parents so I can get her in bed. I’ll give you a call tomorrow Summer, okay? We’ll get with Duncan soon. Whenever my parents are good to watch her again, I guess.” With that, he stands from the table and slouches toward the door. I’ve never seen a man look so much like a kicked dog before in my life.
CHAPTER 39
Summer
Ryan spends the night with me, so I finally get a solid eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. While I’m so beyond angry at Duncan, I also feel a huge sense of relief that it’s not some unknown psychopath plotting Emma’s kidnapping. When I wake to a slow Saturday morning, I feel peaceful for the first time in weeks. I leave a still-sleeping Ryan in bed and pull on a thin, waffle-knit robe.
I start my ancient coffee maker and sit in the breakfast nook bathing in the warm, buttery sunlight that pours through the window. My various plants stretch towards the sun in supplication, and I close my eyes to let myself soak in the peace. After a few moments, the coffee maker dings, letting me know it’s time to pour a cup. I open my eyes and go about fixing my coffee the way I like it. I decide to make some pancakes for the two of us, even though Emma isn’t here. Saturday pancakes are a tradition I carried over from my mom and began doing with Emma when she was just a toddler. Even when she’s not here, I find myself reaching for the ingredients.
After I flip the first couple of pancakes, Ryan walks into the kitchen shirtless and mouthwatering. Of their own accord, myeyes trace down the lines of his chest and stomach, then back up to his smirking, cocky mouth. “Hungry?” he asks, voice raspy with sleep.
“Starved,” I reply, swatting his pec with my spatula. “I made coffee,” I say, gesturing to the half-full pot. This moment brings me back to the first time I had him in my kitchen.‘Thirsty?’he had asked. I had been too shy to tell him then that it was like I was the Sahara, and he was the rush of clouds promising rain.
“I know, the smell woke me up. Thank you for making breakfast.” He grabs a mug dotted with Christmas trees and candy canes from the cabinet above the coffee maker and fills his cup. It’s his favorite one. I finish the pancakes and we sit down at the table to have breakfast together.
After we spend most of our meal chatting, Ryan nudges me with his elbow and asks, “When do you think you and Jared will talk to him?”
“Maybe today? Jared’s mom is always happy for a chance to watch Emma since she’s the only grandbaby, so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind another few hours of babysitting duty.”
He cups the back of my neck and gently pulls me in, teasing featherlight kisses over my whole face before pressing his lips to mine. “Mmm… better make good use of the last of our alone time this weekend then,” he says in a low rumble. He slides his lips along mine before angling me so our mouths can slant together. He kisses me deeply before pulling away with a chuckle when I whimper in protest. “What do you say?”
He kissed me into confusion, so I blurt out, “Please?” assuming he wants me to be polite about asking for more. He groans and pulls me to stand.
He leans in close, breath tickling my neck and sending goosebumps down my arms, “I meant, devious woman, does spending some time with me inside you sound good?” He pulls me close, hand on the small of my back so we’re pressed fully against each other.
I feel my face split into a teasing smile because I know how much of a hold my next words have over him, “Yes, please.”
A few hours later, Jared and I sit in his truck in front of Duncan’s apartment. Luckily, Jared’s mom was more than happy to take Emma for the afternoon.
“So, what’s our plan of attack?” I ask when I can’t take the silence anymore. I rub the worry stone that Ryan got me in rhythmic circles with my thumb. The smooth texture is soothing. It’s something I’ve been relying on to help calm me the last few weeks.
He scrubs a hand over his hair, making it stick up. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll go in together. Just let me do the talking, okay? I think he’ll listen better if it’s coming from me.”
“Does he even know I’m going with you?”
