Page 9 of Unbreakable Love

“Please.” She smiled, and I stuttered to a stop at the flash of white teeth and pink lips. “Outside of school, you can call me Penny or Penelope.”

No way in Hades was I going to be on a first-name basis with her. I flashed what was supposed to be a grin but felt more like a flinch. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn’t feel like I was as welcoming as I should have been.”

I’d been downright rude, and it’d had nothing to do with Josie blurting out she didn’t have a mom. She’d been doing that for years.

“Oh. Okay, but really, it’s not necessary.”

“It is. I was raised by a mom who drilled manners into us like my dad drilled the ranching life, and outside of that, I’m also raising a daughter not to tolerate disrespect from men and to know her worth. I’m also raising her to know right from wrong, to do the right thing and that means apologizing if necessary.”

As I said it, that electrified feeling returned tenfold and I rubbed my hands together. The cold air could be blamed for it, but I was anything but cold.

I was energized. Excited.

Penny smiled and tipped her head. “Well, then I appreciate it. And I’m sorry… about Josie’s mom.”

“Don’t be.” My tone flattened, turned downright glacial. “She had the opportunity to stay and didn’t. She left when Josie was six months old and we haven’t seen or heard from her since.”

“That’s horrible. That she’d do that, and for you and Josie.”

It was. Since I didn’t have anything nice to say about Monica, I kept my mouth shut.

“Anyway. I was on my porch, saw you come out of the garage, and wanted to say I’m sorry. I should have been more polite.”

“Well, thank you.”

Right. Apology over. I should leave. Walk away. Go back to my porch and my front door and turn on a game. Only I couldn’t. My shoes were glued to the cement and Penny was watching me like she either had something else to say, or hell, I didn’t know.

“Welcome to the neighborhood,” I told her. “It’s a good town.”

“I’m already loving it.”

“Good.”

Crap. I was miserable at this. Small talk and niceties and the like.

“I should get inside,” she said and nodded toward her door.

“Right. Good night then.”

She flashed me another sparkling smile. “Good night, neighbor.”

I stood still as Penny started walking up the driveway before I turned away and headed back home. Much slower this time. Much more reluctant than I should have felt.

“Mr. Kelley?” she called once I reached the neighbor’s driveway.

“Yeah?”

One of her shoulders shrugged. The move bounced her curls, and I tore my gaze off all that hair. “If you ever need help with Josie, remember I’m close.”

Would never happen. “Thanks for the offer.”

It was polite, but it said all I needed to.

I would never ask Penny for help, not even if my life depended on it.

Her smile flattened and she walked into the garage and disappeared from my sight. A second later, her door started closing.

And I, like the idiot I was learning I could be, stayed there until the door closed and an inside light was flipped on.

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