“HEY, JAX,” DECLAN greeted while rubbing his eyes and stretching on the couch.
“You know my name,” the little boy responded as a statement, not a question.
Declan grinned at the sound of his little raspy voice, shocked at how big he had gotten. “I’ve known you a very long time, kid. I’m your mommy’s friend.”
“Mommy doesn’t have any boy friends,” the boy replied in confusion.
Raising his eyebrows, Declan filed that little bit of info away and winked at the tot. “Good to know.”
Jax tilted his little head sideways in confusion. “Are you a giant? Is our couch brokened? Why are you so big?”
Before Declan could answer, the little guy looked Dec over, trying to see under and around. “Your feets don’t fit.”
The kid was cute. Declan couldn’t help but smile at him. “I’m just sorta tall, I guess?”
“Your shoes are on the couch – we aren’t s’pose to have our shoes on da couch.”
“Technically, my feet hang over, so my feet aren’t really on the couch.”
Jax’s eyes went big, shaking his head no, and his voice went to a whisper, “Don’t say dat to my mom.”
“Why?” Declan sat up, taking his own voice to a whisper, “Is she bossy?”
“No, ’cause she’ll tell you no sassin’, and you can’t wear shoes in da house either,” he said, pointing to Declan’s shoes, which were no longer hanging over the couch but were firmly on the floor.
Declan was amused. The kid was cute, so he obliged, following the rules, and kicked his shoes off. “Oh, well you could’ve started with that, bud.”
Jax slapped his hand to his forehead in obvious frustration. “Dat’s not where da shoes go.”
He picked up Dec’s shoes and quickly ran to the closet, watching for his mom as he went, and put the shoes away, grunting the whole time, “These are heavy!”
Lydia leaned against the wall at the walkway between the hallway and living room, amused herself, by Jax. She knew he didn’t remember Declan, but he was certainly taken by him already. He wasn’t a shy child, but to be so bold and confront him as he did was impressive. There was a giant, strange man on her couch, and Jax was as comfortable with him as anyone.
“Hey mama, there’s a man on da couch. I put his shoes away; they weren’t on da couch. They didn’t fit, but they were on in da house, so I told him da rule because he didn’t know,” Jax said with pride.
Well, what was this. Jax was already defending Declan and helping him out of trouble? Interesting.
“Jax, that man is…someone mommy used to know,” she said, sending a cold stare Declan’s way. “His name is Mr. O’Reilly. He’s Auntie Cari’s big brother.”
Declan took the shot like a pro. Someone she used to know? If that didn’t send a message, he didn’t know what did. At the mention of his sister, it dawned on him that Carigan was probably closer to Lydia and Jax than he was – that truth stung.
“Oh! I want a brover,” Jax said in excitement as he looked to Dec, impressed with his connection to Carigan. “What’s for breakfast, mama?”
Lydia wanted to be upfront with her son and not confuse him. It wasn’t a typical thing to wake up to a giant on your couch. “We’ll have breakfast soon. Mr. O’Reilly stayed here because Aunt Cari was…busy.”
“Kissing a lot?” he asked, referencing what kept Carigan so busy.
Lydia bobbed her head, considering his response but more so her answer. Kids repeat everything. How did she want this one spun? “Yeah, pretty much.”
A knock at the door startled them from their awkward conversation. They weren’t expecting anyone that early, which put Declan on high alert. Shielding Lydia and Jax, he opened the door abruptly, startling those on the other side. Expressionless, and apparently speechless, stood Colton, holding a pastry box, and Megan, holding their baby, Olivia.
“Oh, well…hey, Dec,” Colton finally got out, looking between Dec and Lydia, who were in a stare down. “This…is a surprise.”
Declan was smug, and Lydia, pissed. They hardly heard Meg speak, “I’m headed into town. These two were joining me today. I wanted to see if you wanted to ride in with us.”
Megan owned the town flower shop that also hosted a coffee bar and bistro-like eatery inside, Blooming Grounds. At night, she hosted wine tastings for local growers and even stepped outside the tasting box to include local brew and distilleries. Blooming Grounds sat on prime real estate in the middle of Main Street, the only way in and out of town.
Next door, Lydia had opened Outside In, an indoor playground where parents could wear out their kids during the months snow and rain prevented outdoor energy burning play. For the parents, there was a window connected to Blooming Grounds where they could order lunch, a snack, or a glass of chardonnay when coffee wouldn’t do the trick.
“I’m taking them,” Declan replied, not breaking his side of the stare down.
A razor sharp glare threatened Declan when Lydia replied, “I can drive myself.”
With Jax and the baby present, they kept their tones sickeningly sweet, as if it were just a friendly conversation and not a battle of wills. “I’m driving you.”
Her smile too big, tone delightful, she giggled and said, “Why don’t you just beat your chest and get it over with? Ogre.”
“Ohhhh, I think you mean gorilla – they actually beat their chests,” he said, matching her smile and enthusiasm. “I’m going with you – I’ll be there as long as you are, in fact.”
Colton and Meg were still standing on the front porch watching the showdown of the century, looking back and forth with entertaining smirks. They were secretly making wagers on who was going to win this one.
“Ooooh, yeah, so actually, darn it. Sorry, you can’t come with me to work. We advertise our strict policy that guarantees nobody is allowed on staff, or around the kids, who hasn’t had a thorough, and I mean thorough, background check. It’s a tough vetting process,” she smirked, knowing this would hit below the waist, “but it’s for the kids. Safety, ya know? Those background checks can take days so…looks like a no-go. Sorry.”
“Are you serious?” He checked his tone, frustration and irritation getting the better of him, “I have the highest security clearance there is in this country. I know things the President doesn’t know! I think I’m okay.”
“Yeeeah, that may work for, oh, I don’t know…the Pentagon, but at Outside In, we have a realllly strict policy. Tell ya what, I’ll get my guy on the phone and see if we can speed this thing up.” She grabbed her cellphone from her back pocket, held up one finger, indicating she needed a minute, and dialed. “Hey, Liam, it’s Lyd.”
“You called my brother? Are you serious right now?” he asked in total disbelief.
She covered the phone and directed the conversation to Declan, “Yeah, speed dial – he does these for me. Want to be thorough.”
Removing her hand from the phone, she returned her attention to Liam. Declan was only privy to her side of the phone conversation. “Yep, still here, Liam. Do you have time for a quick background check? Yeah. Declan’s here – seems he wants to go hang out with kids all day, and you know our policy at Outdoors in. Sure! You know my number. Uh huh, you, too. Thanks!”
“Did you really just do that?” he asked.
“Sure did! We need to finish getting ready, so…” She waved a hand in front of him, sizing him up, indicating that he needed to do the same.
Declan looked down at his clothes and then at Colton, who shrugged, choosing to stay neutral. Smart man.
Lydia grabbed the box of pastries and planted a kiss on her niece’s head, earning a baby giggle in return. Walking to the kitchen, Jax on her heels, she said, “Oh! Fritters!”
“Well, it looks like you guys have everything…under control. I’ll see you there, Lydee,” Meg hollered at her sister before leaning in and whispering to Declan, “Good Luck!”
“I heard that!” Lydia yelled from the kitchen.
Colton chose a silent reassuring slap to the shoulder to avoid a scolding from Lydia, but it didn’t work.
“I heard that too!” she hollered again.
Declan closed the door as Colton and Meg left, giggling, just as Lydia came back in the room. “Jax, get your backpack ready bud.”
“I’ll just take a quick shower, and we’ll be on our way,” Declan informed her, to which she rolled her eyes.
Jax tugged at Declan’s jeans. “Will you help me with my pack-pack, Mr. O’Reilly?”
“My first name is Declan. You can call me Dec, Okay? Mr. O’Reilly sounds like an old man.”
The little boy giggled, and said, “Okay!”
“Let’s go get that bag ready real quick, kid. We don’t want to make your mom late…or mad,” he said, looking right at her.
Jax grabbed his hand and led him down the hallway to his room where they quickly got his bag ready to go. Then Declan hit the shower. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. He’d have to earn her trust again, but he didn’t think he’d have to win back her friendship, too.
She was more than mad. He broke her heart, and he hated himself for that, even if it was for the right reasons. He knew he did what he had to do, but he didn’t anticipate it taking as long as it had, and he certainly didn’t anticipate it destroying every bit of what they’d built.
When she said she understood why he had to leave, their last day together, he thought she really had understood. Clearly, she didn’t, and agreeing was simply her way of ripping off the band aide and self-preservation.
Taking the fastest shower of his life, in an effort to avoid further pissing her off, he quickly dressed and made his way to the living room where he’d left them. There was only one problem when he entered the space – he was the only one there. She left without him.
“Damn it!”