CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The meeting with Dean couldn’t come quickly enough for Jenny. After the night before, when Derek had refused to sleep over, she just wanted things to be straightened out.
She had it all lined up. She worked at the community center garden, and arranged for Elle to pick Kate up from school, take her home and feed her. Jenny didn’t anticipate it would take long to crush Dean like the insect he was—not that she would crush an actual insect, she preferred to gently but firmly relocate them. With any luck, she’d be done by Kate’s bedtime.
Halfway through the day, Jenny tweaked the plan and called Elle to ask if she’d be an amazing sister, and keep Kate overnight. Once this was done, Jenny knew that she’d be in a celebrating mood.
She intended to share that celebration with Derek.
She’d make Dean back down, and then she’d ask Derek to sleep over. She would come clean to him about Dean, and tomorrow she’d come clean to Kate about Derek.
Jenny was excited about the Derek coming over part. The rest, she just had to get through.
Her first hint that things weren’t going to run as smoothly as she’d hoped was the appearance of Lila at her back door when Jenny had gotten out of the shower after long hours of laboring in the sun.
“I have something to tell you,” Lila announced as she marched into the kitchen, “and you can’t freak out.”
“The only reason you’d tell me I can’t freak out is because you know that whatever you’re about to tell me is totally going to make me freak out.”
“Brace yourself.”
Jenny stared at Lila.
Lila stared back.
“I’m braced!” Jenny almost yelled. “What is it?”
“Derek is in monster debt.”
Jenny groped for a chair and sat with a heavy thump.
“It’s not that bad.” Lila positioned her own chair in front of Jenny’s, sat, and leaned forward to pick up Jenny’s hands, clasping them with a strong grip. “He’s lost his garage.”
“Is that it?” Jenny sucked in a deep breath, held it, and released it in a slow and relieved exhale. “I thought you were going to tell me he’d had an accident or was in hospital or…” She shuddered. “You’re the worst, Lila. He’s lost his garage? I don’t care, it doesn’t matter, so long as he’s all right.”
“I’m not sure we can call him all right. He’s going to be in a hell of a mood. As far as I know he hasn’t had an accident, and his health is fine. Although, you’d know better than me. What with you having been up close and personal enough to assess the muscle tone, aerobic capacity, stamina and recovery time of Derek I’m-so-fine Tate.”
Right. She hadn’t told Lila. Jenny scratched her head. “His middle name is Michael.”
“Not to me. To me, it’s I’m-so-fine.”
“Lila.”
“Yes?”
“I’m kind of seeing Derek.”
Lila clapped her hands to her cheeks and made an exaggerated surprised face. “I know you are, dork. Everyone knows you are.”
“I didn’t say anything because it’s new.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“What?”
“You two have been circling each other since you divorced Dean. It isn’t new. It is long past due.” She eyed Jenny. “Make it up to me by giving me details. I want a play-by-play.”
“Ha ha. No.”
“My luck to be stuck with a BFF with privacy issues. Never mind. I have an amazing imagination.”
“Don’t imagine Derek naked.”
Lila closed her eyes. “Mmm.”
Jenny leaned over the distance between them and poked her. “Stop it.”
“Can’t make me.”
“How did he lose the garage? Is his business in trouble?”
Lila sighed and opened her eyes. “Goodbye for now, naked Derek. Until later. Okay. The business is thriving. Derek’s the best mechanic for miles around. That boy can print his own money as far as it goes. Sadly, he cannot print enough to buy the building. He owns the business, but his old boss’ son owned the building, and this guy has up and decided he wants to retire to Texas. He sold it.”
“Why didn’t he sell it to Derek?”
“Derek couldn’t get a loan. It was too much.”
With a decisive nod, Jenny got to her feet.
“Where are you going?” Lila demanded.
“Going to call Derek. I have some savings. I was putting it aside for when I set up my business, but since Ronnie got involved, the money’s sitting there accruing interest.”
Lila stared at her.
“I’m going to co-sign Derek’s loan,” Jenny explained, pulling her phone out of her backpack.
Lila lunged and slapped the phone out of her hand before she could place the call.
They both stared down at where it lay on the kitchen floor.
“Lila!”
“Overreaction. I’m sorry.” Lila crouched gracefully, snatched up the phone. “Not cracked,” she said, turning it to face Jenny. “Phew.”
Jenny held out an imperious hand.
“No.” Lila put it behind her back. “You can’t give him your savings.”
“I can. I will.”
It probably looked like madness to Lila. Get shot of a debt-ridden husband, only to throw her savings after a soon-to-be-debt-ridden boyfriend? Probably that looked like madness to anyone, unless they happened to know Derek like Jenny did. Trusted him like she did.
Derek was nothing like Dean.
While Jenny wasn’t thrilled to hear he was about to lose the garage, she could handle it. They could handle it.
From the moment Derek first kissed her, she’d known that was it. She was in for the long haul. Good and bad. “I’m doing it,” she told Lila through gritted teeth.
“Very romantic, but you’re too late to save the garage. He’s lost it. He’ll have to find another site. Don’t worry, you can still ride to the rescue. With the economy like it is, and having to finance the relocation, he’ll still have a monster debt. When I say monster, we are beyond velociraptors. We’re talking King Kong here. Or Godzilla. Which one’s bigger?”
“I don’t know. I can handle either of them. Both of them.”
“You’d take on King Kong and Godzilla for Derek?”
“I’d take anything on for Derek. I love him.”
Lila burst into tears.
Holy shit. What is happening? Jenny ran for her backpack again, rummaging around and hauling out a packet of tissues. She held one out to Lila.
“I’m so happy,” Lila said, gulping sobs. “That’s so beautiful.”
Jenny scowled. “Girl, get a hold of yourself.”
Lila dragged Jenny into a rib-cracking hug. “I’m so happy for you. I was scared you’d to freak out and go all ice queen on him and live in your little house all alone forever more with nothing but the occasional visit from your grown-up daughter, and woodland creatures for friends.”
Ice queen?
“But you love him.”
“I do.”
Lila pulled back. “Does Derek know?”
“I think so.”
“You haven’t told him yet?” Lila shoved her. “Better believe if I ever find a guy I can stand for more than a week, if such a guy exists, I won’t sit around not telling him things. I’ll be all up in his face from the get-go. He will be in no doubt as to my feelings.”
Was anyone? Ever?
“I’ve got some stuff I have to straighten out first,” Jenny said. “I was planning to tell him tonight.”
Lila, being Lila, picked up on the first point. “What stuff?” Her brows lowered at Jenny’s shifty look. Then, making the cognitive leap as Jenny both knew and dreaded she would, Lila demanded, “Dean stuff?”
Jenny hadn’t mentioned Dean to Lila for the same reasons she hadn’t mentioned it to anyone other than Gabe. Lila’s expression said, very clearly, that she wasn’t going to let this one go.
Jenny sighed, and explained.
“You and Derek are as bad as each other,” Lila said when she’d finished. “He is going to lose his mind.”
“No he won’t. He might not throw a ticker tape parade with joy, but this is my problem to solve. I’m doing it my way. He has got no reason to lose his mind.”
“With that attitude, I am already fearing for Jerek’s future as a couple. Jerek. You sound like a science fiction romance hero. Who abducts virgins and keeps them in his space harem. Wait. I think I’ve read that book.”
“I don’t have to justify how I deal with my daughter and my ex-husband to anyone.”
“Lots of fear.”
Jenny waved this away. “It’ll be different when we’re married,” she began, and flinched when Lila shrieked.
“Married?”
“Of course, married. What? You think I’m playing around?”
“Is Derek aware that he’s getting married?”
“I haven’t told him I love him yet, no he doesn’t know I’m marrying him.”
“Maybe you should keep that particular ace up your sleeve. Propose after you tell him that you went to Gabe for help rather than him. It might deflect the jealous rage.”
Jenny considered Lila. “Why would Derek be jealous?”
“Because you’re running to your pet billionaire for help rather than confiding in the man you intend to spend your life with?”
“I’m not running to Gabe, I’m borrowing the name of his lawyer as a bluff.”
Lila looked at her.
“Shit,” Jenny said. “He’s going to think I went running to Gabe.”
Lila nodded.
“I can’t tell him about any of this now. You can’t tell him about this, either.”
“As it turns out, I’m not that good at keeping secrets.”
“You will swear on the sisterhood.”
“I could do that. I have to warn you, there’s a chance it might not stick.” Lila held up a finger and thumb. “Slight chance.”
“I never thought Derek would see it like that. But you’re right, he totally will.” Jenny rested her face in her hands and mumbled, “At the time, it seemed like the smart thing to do.”
“While a lot of our very best stories begin with ‘it seemed like the smart thing to do’, I kinda don’t think this is going to be one of those stories, Jenny.”
“It’s okay. There’s no need for Derek to know about Dean or Gabe. There’s no need for anyone to know. I don’t like keeping secrets—”
“Hah!”
“—and maybe one day will be the right day. But maybe not today. Today, I’m going to squash Dean, and move on. Happily ever after. It’s going to work out. It is. What can go wrong?”
* * * *
By the end of the day, Derek was wiped. He closed up the garage and stood there staring at the Rawlings’ Auto Repairs sign. He became aware of a large, solid presence beside him.
“Everything okay?” Burke asked.
Derek rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “No.”
He hadn’t told the guys about the sale yet. The time was coming he’d have to. God knew when the new owner was going to want them out. He could get notice to pack up the workshop tomorrow. He might not get notice at all.
As Marshall had started to say, maybe the new owner was looking for a rental property.
His luck, the new owner wanted to open a Starbucks.
He glanced at Burke. “Want to go get a drink?”
Burke shrugged. “Sure.”
Derek did a double take. It had been a joke. Burke never went to Kurt’s, even though the men were close. Burke rarely went anywhere. He was the most self-contained soul Derek had ever met. “Yeah?” he said.
Burke shrugged again. “Look like you could use the company,” he said in his gruff voice.
“All right. Let’s go.”
It was quiet when they walked into Kurt’s. As quiet as Kurt’s got, anyway. People were eating in the restaurant area and the bar was beginning to fill with the after-work crowd. Derek strolled up and ordered a couple of beers. He and Burke sat on stools at the far end of the bar, closest to the television, and Derek zoned out. Burke was quiet beside him.
Derek’s mind was running through options and he was trying to stay positive and find a way to solve this nightmare rather than fall into despondence, when he heard Jenny.
He turned on his stool, a smile breaking over his face as she and Lila came in, heading for the booths. He was about to slide off and intercept her but she walked past without seeing him, all the way to a booth where two men sat.
One of them was Dean Hansen.
Her ex-husband.
Dean was smiling at Jenny. And Jenny?
She was smiling back.
Derek stalked after her, reaching her as she was about to take a seat. “Jenny.”
She spun around and when her eyes collided with his, she paled. “Derek,” she said breathlessly. “What are you doing here?”
His gaze flickered from her to Dean. He gritted his teeth. “That’s my line.”
“Um.” Jenny tucked her hair behind her ear. Her hand trembled, making Derek even angrier.
Dean stood. “Hey, Tate.”
Derek whirled on him with a snarl. “Sit down.”
Startled, Dean thudded back to his seat, along with the other guy who’d stood when Jenny had approached.
Derek assessed the stranger and discarded him as unimportant. His attention went back to Jenny. “You want to tell me what’s going on, Jen?”
Dean spoke up before Jenny could answer. “What’s going on is family business between me and Jenny, and we’re on a clock, so if you don’t mind?”
Derek didn’t even look at him, kept his gaze on Jenny. Her face was tense and she glanced over at Lila as if desperate. Derek touched her chin, bringing her attention back to him. He tilted his head. “Honey,” he said.
Jenny clasped his wrist. “It looks bad, I know it looks bad, but Derek, I’ve got it under control. I promise.” Her fingers tightened and she shifted toward him.
“Jenny,” Dean said. “We haven’t got all night.”
They both ignored him.
Jenny’s fingers tightened again, a gentle squeeze. “This won’t take long, and then I’ll explain. Okay?”
“Mind if I sit in?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She bit her lip. “You seem kind of mad already.”
Already? As in, he’d get more mad if he sat in? “Been a hell of a day. Got a feeling it’s going to get worse.”
“It isn’t. It isn’t. This is just bad timing. I’ll get it done, and we’ll talk. Okay?”
“Come on, Derek.” A fist wrapped in the back of his T-shirt and tugged, hard. “Buy me a drink,” Lila said. “Come on.”
Derek scowled over his shoulder. Lila was leaning back, still with his T-shirt in her grip. “You’re going to rip my shirt clean off,” he said.
She gave an extra-hard tug. “Oh, the horror, please no. Lord save me, anything but a shirtless man. Come on.”
“Stop pulling me.”
Lila stepped to one side and held out her arm like an usher.
Derek glanced down into Jenny’s worried face. “Make it quick?” he said.
Chewing her lip, Jenny gave him an abrupt nod.
Fuck it. Derek bent his head and kissed her, fierce and claiming and he didn’t give a damn who saw. He feathered his fingertips around her throat and didn’t stop kissing her until he’d felt her relax and sink into him.
Then, although it went against the grain, he left her as she’d asked, and strode to the bar. He placed a hand at the small of Lila’s back, scooting her none-too-gently ahead of him.
“Well?” he demanded when they reached the bar.
“Margarita, please.”
Not what he’d meant. Derek lifted a hand to Kurt and pointed at Lila. Kurt nodded. Derek tried again. “Well?”
Lila hopped up onto Burke’s empty bar stool—he must have slunk off at the first sign of drama, and Derek couldn’t blame him—and rested her elbows on the bar. “Nope. You can wait and get it direct from Jenny.”
Derek swept up his bottle and drained the beer. He grunted his thanks when Kurt put Lila’s margarita and a fresh beer in front of them.
“Sooo,” Lila began. “About the garage.”
Derek cut her off with a sharp shake of his head. “One problem at a time, Lila.”
“It’s all going to be fine,” she reassured him, patting his arm.
Was it?
He hadn’t spoken out loud, but Lila repeated, “It’ll be fine.” Then five minutes later, she looked in the long mirror behind the bar, and said, “Uh-oh.”
Derek followed her gaze, and stiffened.
Uh-oh indeed.