Her heart started beating faster and she walked towards her front door. Mac had always been sweet to her, always caring, and wanted the best. It made her heart beat faster for him but it also made her nervous.
She had a child and baggage. Mac didn't need that. He shouldn't have to deal with that which meant she needed to keep her distance from him.
Janie opened the door and walked in, not looking back at Mac.
"I'm home," Janie said.
"Mama!" Eleanor yelled as she ran to her.
"Hi, baby." Janie wrapped her arms around Eleanor.
CHAPTER TWO
MAC
Worry turned in Mac's stomach as he thought about what went down yesterday. He had known Janie for years now and it wasn't like her to pull someone else's hair. Janie was always level-headed and well composed. He knew that wasn't always her, but in front of people it was. At the club she was always well composed, even when she was Little.
Part of him felt like there was something else going on there. That something was bothering her or had been. It didn't go unnoticed that she had bags under her eyes. She wasn't getting as much sleep as she should be and maybe something was bothering her. He had no doubt being a single mom was hard and it took a toll on her and continues to do so.
Mac wanted to help her in any way that he could. But he didn't want to overstep. She had gotten divorced over a year ago and he didn't want to push himself on her. She had a daughter and no doubt was putting her first.
Since Janie had her daughter, he had only seen little glimpses of her but never got to talk to her. Mac wanted to meet her daughter and get to know both of them better.
Mac wanted Janie and he had been dropping little hits here and there. But he didn't know if she had noticed or not. Maybe she had and she was just ignoring him and maybe she hadn't picked up on it yet.
Either way, he wasn't giving up. Until she told him straight up that she didn't want anything to do with him, he was going to continue. He had to.
She meant everything to him.
And he was going to prove it to her. He wanted to prove that her daughter could also mean everything to him. He didn't care that she had her daughter with someone else. He wanted to be the father figure in her life.
Sure, it may be too early to say that but Mac was sure about his feelings. He had interacted with Janie for years and seen glimpses of her daughter in the yard.
He was ready for that step in life. For both of them.
Mac knew it would take time, a lot of time, to get through to her but he was willing to do that. He had waited a year. What was one or two more years?
He walked over towards the window and looked out. Janie was walking out of the door with her daughter.
Perfect moment to go say hi.
Opening the door, he stepped out and turned towards her. If she asked, he was going to get his mail. He hadn't gotten it yesterday and no doubt had a bill in there that needed to be paid.
"Hi, Janie," Mac said as he walked down his sidewalk.
Her daughter turned her head and waved at him, giving him a big smile. He couldn't help but smile and wave back.
So precious. Mac could see Janie through her daughter. So cute.
Janie stilled as she stared at him with wide eyes. She probably didn't think he was going to come out just now. Theynormally missed each other by several minutes but Mac had decided to take the day off.
He wanted to make sure that Janie was okay and didn't need anything after what happened last night. Call him protective and a mother hen, but he didn't care. It was different from how she normally acted, and he wanted to keep an eye out to make sure everything was okay.
Would she know that? No, but that was okay. She didn't need to know everything he did for her.
"Mama!" the little girl yelled and pointed at Mac. Even her little voice was so cute. The little girl tugged on Janie's hand and she finally looked down at her.
Mac walked over towards his mail box, not wanting to encroach in Janie's space anymore than he had to. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by walking out at the same time.