Left Together (36 page)

“Jenna…,”
I growl in warning.

Kacie
steps in to save the day. I have to be careful. She shouldn’t feel like she has
to worry about me losing my shit on Jenna. “It’s no problem, really.” She runs
her fingers along the top of my pants. “
Our
house is always ready for
company.” I’m not sure if her emphasis on “our” was for Jenna or for me.
Probably both. “Besides, I doubt Ethan wants to wait around here when he could
go swimming or run around outside.”

“Let’s
go with Kacie, Mom,” he begs, tugging on her hand.

“O…okay,”
she stutters.

Holding
Kacie’s hand, I walk the three of them to the front door. After another comment
from Ethan about how gross watching me kiss my girl is, they head for their
cars. Kacie winks at me, letting me know everything will be fine. I wish I
could believe her, but she doesn’t know Jenna Sheridan.

On my
way back to the office, I have to field a few questions. There’s no way they can
ignore how much Ethan looks like me. They are curious to know who he is. A
couple of my employees may not actually believe he’s just my nephew. Regardless
of anyone’s opinion, there’s absolutely no chance of him being any closer
related to me than he is.

The
first phone call I make is to Keith. He never has a problem jumping out from
behind the bar to cover for me. Thankfully, this time is no different. The
second phone call is to my aunt. I have no idea how she’s going to take this
news, but she’s the one I feel the need to tell first.

“How
did you know I was just thinking about you?” Aunt Grace answers before I can
say anything.

“Oh
shit. What did I do now?”

She
laughs. “Nothing that I know of. I just miss your handsome face.”

“Is it
me you miss, or the beautiful girl who always accompanies me?”

“Both?”

I
chuckle this time. “It’s okay. I’d pick Kacie, too.”

“How
are you guys? Do you have any free time soon to come see us?”

“We’re
great. Listen,” I say, leaning on the desk in front of me. “I had an unexpected
visitor today.”

“By
the tone of your voice, it doesn’t sound good.”

“Jenna
Sheridan.”

“Ethan’s
Jenna?”

“The
one and only.”

“What’s
she doing in Florida?”

“Well,
she decided it was time for me to meet my nephew.” If I didn’t know better, I’d
assume she hung up on me. “Aunt Grace?”

“Um…”

“Yeah,
I get it.”

“Are
you sure?”

“All
you have to do is see this kid with your own eyes to believe Ethan’s his dad.”

“Wow.”

“That’s
an understatement.”

“I’m
really nervous for you right now.”

“Why?”

“I
don’t know her personally, but from some of the things I’ve heard, she seems
like a selfish bitch. She’d never come all the way to Tampa simply for you to meet
her son. Not after all this time. She must need something. Please, please
promise me you’ll be careful, Evan. You have such a huge heart and the thought
of someone breaking it scares me.”

“I
promise.” I have a feeling that when Ethan leaves, part of my heart is going
with him. “Speaking of big hearts, Kacie was with me when they walked in. She
offered for them to stay with us.”

“So
Jenna came here not having a place to stay?”

“Ironic,
right?” I respond sarcastically. “Regardless of Jenna’s plans, he is who’s
important. He’s our family.”

“I
agree. When can we meet him?”

“Tomorrow,
if that works. I figured they should get settled tonight. I don’t want to
overwhelm the poor kid with too many new people all at once.”

“That’s
perfect. Call me in the morning with the details and we’ll be wherever you want
us.”

“Thank
you, Aunt Grace.”

“You
know better than to thank me for anything, but you’re welcome. Your uncle is
home and Meg’s just walking in. I’ll pass on the news.”

“Could
you also let Uncle Tim know Keith is going to cover the club for a few days?
I’d like to spend as much time as I can with Ethan.”

“No
problem. Send Kacie my love.”

“Will
do.”

With
my head only partially able to focus on work, I delegate the rest of the shit
that needs to be done, give instructions for the next few days, and head home. My
employees got this. I don’t need to worry about anything, except for Jenna’s
ulterior motive. What the hell could it be? Money? If that was it, she probably
would’ve already asked for it. Why now? And how the hell did she find me? Maybe
my parents told her. Not that I’ve ever informed them where I was, but Aunt
Grace probably has. If it was my parents, how long have they known about Ethan?
All these damn questions are going to make my brain explode.

The
house is empty when I get home, but I knew it would be. There’s no way that
little kid wasn’t going in the pool as soon as he saw it, nor would Kacie be
able to ignore someone alone in the water. I walk out onto the patio, carrying
the pizzas. Jenna’s on her phone at the table, while the other two splash away.
As I set the boxes down, she hangs up her phone.

“Three
pizzas? A little much, don’t you think?”

“You
never know who will show up,” I respond, watching my girl and my nephew.
Kacie’s trying to convince him he won’t sink if she lets him go.

“What
do you mean by that?”

“Friends
are always stopping by.”

“People
just pop in and you thought this would be a good place for a kid to stay?”

Her
bitchiness yanks my attention back to her. “I said
friends,
Jenna, not
psychotic killers. If you have a problem being here, I’m sure I could find a
hotel more suitable for you.” She starts to say something else, but I don’t let
her. “While we’re at it, back the fuck off of Kacie or I won’t hesitate to kick
you out.”

“The
second I saw the house, I figured out what your deal was with her.”

“And
what’s that?”

“Don’t
play stupid with me, Evan. You always were a sucker for women with money.”

“You
don’t know shit. You never did. This is the last time I’m telling you. Kacie’s
off limits. If it wasn’t for her, you’d be sitting in my old condo with no
food.”

“How
long have you been together?”

“Almost
a year.” My eyes land on the girl who changed my life. I think about all that
we’ve been through in the last eleven months and realize it’s amazing we found
our way. “Shit didn’t go as smoothly for us as it should have. I’ll do anything
to make sure nothing ever happens to us again.” I’d elaborate on it, but it’s
not for Jenna to know. Not yet, at least.

“Uncle
Evan!” Ethan shouts, noticing me watching them.

“Hey,
buddy! Hungry?” Kacie and he have a short discussion, then they swim to the
steps. I grab towels and walk over to them.

“Did
you see me?! I’m already getting better,” he says excitedly.

“Told
you Kacie’s a good teacher.” I scoop up the bundled kid and throw him over my
shoulder. He has the second cutest laugh I’ve ever heard.

“Don’t
drop my kid!” Jenna calls out. She’s actually smiling.

“What
did she say? Drop the kid?”

“NO!”
Ethan squirms. “She said
don’t
drop me!”

“I
can’t hear very well,” I say, holding him over the deep end of the pool. He’s
giggling so hard, he can’t even talk. I pull him back to my chest and hug him
tightly. “I’d never drop you, buddy. I got you.” Someday, he’ll believe how
much I mean that.

“Let’s
eat before the pizza gets cold,” Kacie says, grinning. She walks ahead of us
and I can’t help but check her out. Even fresh out of the pool with a towel
wrapped around her, she turns me on.

As I
plop Ethan into a chair, I notice Kacie’s already prepared with plates. She
hands out the slices and directs me to get drinks from the cooler behind the
table. Apparently, the little guy put in a request for chocolate milk because
there’s a pitcher of it. I didn’t know we even had stuff to make it.

Holding
it up, I ask him, “Is this yours?”

“Yup.
Kacie made it for me.”

“She
never makes me chocolate milk,” I mumble, making him laugh again.

“Maybe
she likes me better,” he responds, shrugging. Kacie winks at him. “Can you sit
next to me, Uncle Evan?”

“Sure.”
How fucking cute is this kid?

“What’s
with all the damn noise over here?” We turn to see Jake, Jade, and Kyle
strolling through the yard as if they owned the place. “Is there a party and
you forgot to invite…?” Jade’s question trails off when she sees Ethan. Worry
immediately fills her face.

“Hey,
guys. Sorry. We should have called. Want pizza?”

“Why
the hell do you think we walked all the way over here?” Kyle asks.

“This
is Ethan and Jenna,” Kacie introduces as casually as if they were any other
guests. I wish I had thought to tell her to text them or something to avoid the
initial shock. They were probably assuming he was my kid like everyone at the
club had.

“Nice
to meet you, Ethan. I’m Jake. That’s my sister, Jade, and the ugly dude over
there is Kyle. Is it okay if I sit here?” He motions at the chair on the other
side of him. Ethan only nods. Jake rubs the kid’s head like they’re old
friends. “Cool. Thanks.” He sits down and glances at Jenna. “How’s it going?”
Without waiting for a response, he turns to Kacie. “You got beer in that cooler,
or do I need to get some?”

“She
always has beer,” Kyle says, opening the lid. He starts passing out the bottles
I was supposed to get. He holds one out for Jenna. She takes it and thanks him.
At least she has some manners. Jade walks over to Kacie and kisses her cheek
before sitting down in between Jenna and Kyle.

“Kacie
didn’t mention you guys were coming,” Jade says. This could go pleasantly or
get really bad, really fast.

“We
just got into town today. Kacie was kind enough to have us stay with her at the
last minute.” Jenna still doesn’t want to acknowledge I live here, too.

“Of
course she did.” Jade smiles and picks up her slice. “Where are you from?” She
knows damn well where she’s from.

“New
York.”

“Did
you drive or fly?”

“I
drove. Ethan thought we’d never get here and he slept most of the ride.”

“What
do you want to do while you’re in Florida, Ethan?”

“Play
with Uncle Evan.”

Jade
smiles at him. “Well, he’s a good guy, so you’ll have a lot of fun.”

“What
do you do back in New York?” Jake joins the interrogation, reaching for the
pizza box. She’s polite enough to help hold the lid back for him.

“During
the day, I’m a hair stylist. When I can get a sitter, I waitress at night.”

“That’s
a lot for a single mom.”

“I do
what I have to. We’re lucky enough to have neighbors in our building who have
kids close to Ethan’s age. We take turns babysitting. It works for all of us.”

While
we eat, our friends continue to question Jenna and Ethan about their life in
New York. They aren’t as rude to her as I thought they may be once they
understood who she was and how she had kept my nephew from me. They seem
genuinely interested in what she has to say. It doesn’t take long after eating for
Kyle and Jake to pull out a football. We toss it around with Ethan for a little
bit before Jenna tells him it’s time to get ready for bed. If I hadn’t seen him
yawn a few times, I’d protest on his behalf.

Once
we say goodnight to our friends, Kacie and I do what we do any other school
night that I’m home. We lounge on the sofa watching whatever is on TV. Tonight,
it happens to be a baseball game. I’m sitting on one end, while Kacie curls up
next to me. Her head rests on my chest and she holds onto my arm that’s wrapped
around her. It was awfully easy to get used to doing this on a regular basis.
Sometimes, I don’t remember what my life was like before meeting her. Honestly,
there’s nothing that would make me want to go back, either.

Unable
to resist, I reach over to tilt her chin toward me. Our eyes lock and my lips
close in on hers. The moment we connect, I feel complete. She does this crazy
shit to me. My greatest hope is that this is still happening in fifty years.
That she will still want me here. That she will still take my breath away. That
she will still love me the way she does.

The
sound of feet coming up behind us has Kacie pulling back. Somehow, I managed to
forget we weren’t alone tonight.

“Uncle
Evan,” Ethan’s drowsy voice calls out.

“Hey.
I thought you’d be sleeping by now.” I smile as he comes around the chair to
climb up onto my lap. He was pretty shy around the guys and Jade earlier. With me
and Kacie, though, he seems perfectly at ease.