Pulling up outside the familiar yellow house, I turn the ignition off and let my eyes soak it all in for a moment.
I didn’t even think; I just grabbed the envelope, put Archie in the car, and drove.
Now that I’m here, though, I’m not so sure it was a good idea. Good intentions or not.
That house is like a treasury, one that holds so many moments in time that lay trapped in my head and heart. It feels like I’m stuck in some warped sense of déjà vu as I see it again while sitting in the same car I drove while living here. Except this time, I’m not parked in the driveway.
The house has been repainted, the roof replaced. Two motorcycles are parked in the half-open garage, a Volkswagen in front of the garage, and a familiar white truck behind the Volkswagen.
Chewing on my thumbnail for a second, I decide that maybe I should just go. Then the door flies open and out comes a man I haven’t seen in almost two years.
Jared stops on the porch when he notices my car. I start to freak out, thinking that he’s going to be mad at me or something, when a huge grin takes over his face. I can practically see his eyes twinkle even with the distance between us.
He jumps over the railing of the porch and jogs across the lawn. Before I know what’s happening, he’s opening the back door of my car and looking at Archie.
“Car!” Archie says to him.
“Holy motherfucking shit.” It all comes out in one whispered word as Jared stares at his nephew. He doesn’t look at me, doesn’t say a word to me, just unclips Archie from his car seat and removes him from the car.
Crap. Well, cover blown, I grab the envelope and get out, locking the car behind me and slowly moving over to where Jared is standing on the lawn.
“He’s so awesome, Mags.” He smiles at Archie, letting him pat his cheeks with his chubby hands.
“He is.” I fidget with the envelope, feeling kind of awkward.
He finally looks at me then, and I don’t know what it is, but something about his smile seems different. Lighter. As though nothing weighs it down anymore.
“Don’t get all nervous and shit. I’m not mad. Did I wish I knew where you were so I could help you, and you could put me and Felix out of our misery?” He shrugs, hoisting Archie higher on his chest. “Yes. But it’s none of my business. I’m just glad you’re both okay.”
Smiling at him, I say, “Thank you. I’m sorry … I never knew you asked my sister where I was, not until Felix told me. I wasn’t trying to hide from you, I just—”
“Jared, can you grab some of those chocolate drops while you’re …” A stunning woman with jet black hair walks out onto the porch. “Well, shit. Leave you alone for two minutes and you go and find yourself a baby.”
Jared’s eyes narrow on me for a split second before he clears his curious expression and spins around. “You said you wouldn’t give me one. This lovely lady here has agreed to let me keep hers.” The beautiful woman scowls at him, her hands going to her hips. He chuckles, walking over to the porch. “Vera, meet Maggie, Maggie, Vera. And this is Archie.”
Vera’s brows rise when those words seem to penetrate her ears. She looks from Archie to me, and I make my way over to the porch.
“Hi.” I wave, still feeling awkward as hell.
She grins, and I don’t know whether to think she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life or the scariest. Possibly both. “Maggie. Heard a lot about you.”
That’s all she says before turning back to Jared. “Does it stink?”
Jared guffaws, moving a hand up to cover Archie’s ear. “Don’t let him hear your child hate. Excuse us, we’ve got important business to attend to.”
He walks inside with Archie, leaving me here with Vera. Okay, I’m totally willing to admit I’m a little scared. But then her features soften as she watches Jared babble back to Archie while they walk down the hall. She wipes that softness away when her gaze returns to me.
“Where’ve you been?”
“Uh.” I twist the envelope in my hands. “Bonnets Bay?”
She shakes her head. “No. I mean, why.”
Swallowing, I look away, unable to explain. And if I can’t tell the truth to Felix, I most definitely can’t tell her.
A car backfires down the street, and that, combined with the mounting tension in my bones makes me jump a little. I look back at Vera, finding her ice blue eyes assessing.
“What happened to you?”
I blink and try to stop my eyes from giving anything away. What the hell?
She points a finger at me, grinning. “Gotcha.”
Panic sets my heart thumping faster, and I start backing up toward the stairs. Where I’m going, I have no idea. “Hey, shit. Stop.”
“Sorry,” I mumble, waving the envelope around. “I’m fine. I just wanted to return this to Felix.”
Vera doesn’t even look at it. “I won’t say anything. But just so you know, these guys spent a lot of time worrying about you.”
Jesus. This woman doesn’t miss a beat. I nod slowly. “Yeah, I know.”
“I’m getting married in almost a month’s time. We’ll both be expecting you there.”
Wait, huh? “You’re … what?”
“Getting married,” she says slowly. “To the guy with tattoos who likes to test me ten times a day.” She rolls her eyes. “I know, crazy, right?”
She heads inside, and I follow, trying to shake off the whiplash from all that just happened.
I close the door behind me as she says, “Oh, and if the kid poops while he’s here, I’m not going near that.”
Then she disappears down the hall while I struggle to wrap my brain around Jared marrying anybody, let alone someone who appears to be an ice queen.
Crazy is right.
I follow the noise of Archie and Jared down the hall until I find them in Felix’s room, looking at a picture on the dresser. “That’s Daddy, but you’ll take after me, don’t worry, kiddo.”
I lean against the doorframe, my chest caving as all the feelings, memories, and snapshots from years gone by stare back at me from this room.
“Maggie?” Turning around at the sound of his voice, I find Felix behind me, running a towel over his short, wet hair.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth when my eyes fall to his bare chest.
He’s only wearing a towel. A towel that hangs so deliciously low on those even more defined hips that I almost think I’m going to start salivating.
What do they do in prison? Train for body building contests?
His body is all bulky, sinewy muscle. His abs so defined now, you could run water through the dips and ridges between them. The urge to drag my finger over them, to feel the bumps for myself, is extreme. I snap out of it when he clears his throat, my eyes widening and my cheeks flushing.
Awesome. I’ve been caught blatantly ogling him.
His lips twitch, like he wants to smile at me but is stopping himself.
“Hey.” I swallow hard, trying not to look at his arms when they bulge like giant boulders as he lifts the towel to wipe it over the side of his neck. Wow. Shit. I’m doing it again.
Shaking my head a bit, I lift the envelope. “You left before I could catch you.” I lean into his room, putting it on the nightstand. “I’m not taking your money, Felix.”
Jared clears his throat. “Yeah, ah. We’re just going to go …”
He and Archie leave, and Felix looks at Archie when he squeals over Jared’s shoulder, “Ba, ba!”
“So you came here to … drop it off?”
It does seem kind of stupid when he says it like that. My cheeks start to flame again, and I feel like that naïve eighteen-year-old girl under his curious gaze once more. So I duck my head. “I guess. Sorry, I should go.”
“Wait, give me a second.” He walks into his room and without pause, drops both towels to the floor and opens a drawer, pulling out a pair of gray sweatpants and tugging them on.
Holy smokes. Is he serious right now? I bite my lip, my face on fire, and look away as soon as I see those perfect ass cheeks staring back at me. Of course, he’s serious. He doesn’t give a damn.
He never did.
Turning around, he runs a hand over his short hair and sighs. “Should’ve known this might happen. Look.” He steps closer to me, picking up the envelope and holding it out. “It’s yours. If you don’t take it, it’s just going to sit here until you need it.” He shrugs. “May as well take it, yeah? I didn’t get to be there; I made a stupid decision that changed everything. But you can at least let me do this.”
I look away from his brown eyes and take a shaky breath through my nose. It escapes my lips on a gasp when I see the dent in the wall, and what probably caused it.
Without thinking, I move past Felix and walk over to it, bending down to brush the glass away from our smiling nineteen-year-old faces. He probably threw it at the wall, but the picture seems to be in okay shape.
He’s silent, but I feel him watching me the whole time I stare at the picture. Tears sting the backs of my eyes. These faces, these two people … they had no idea that life wouldn’t allow them to follow any of their heart’s plans. But they clung to each other regardless.
Until it all became too much and they fell apart. No matter how much they tried to hold on.
Something brushes up against my butt, and I know who it is the moment I hear that telltale meow. Straightening, I don’t look at Toulouse and move back out the door, ignoring Felix and his money, too.
I need to get out of here.
“Maggie.” He follows me, grabbing my hand in the hall. The touch sends a painful spark right to my heart, and I tug my hand away at the sting.
“I really should go. I’ll see you on Saturday.”
He looks like he wants to say something, but what else is there to say?
Nothing.
So I grab my baby and let Jared help me put him in the car while Felix watches from the porch, then make the half hour drive home as the tears slowly slide down my face.