Page 18 of That One Heartbreak

“No, you won’t,” she said quickly. “Send me the address, please.” And yeah, she was totally going to check the house out on Google Maps. Just for her own peace of mind.

“All right, Mom!” He sighed. “The bell just rang. I gotta go.”

“Okay honey. Have a good evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

Before she could say anything else, he’d hung up. She slid her phone into the pocket of her skirt. Damn, she loved skirts with pockets.

Why did nobody tell her that children got harder when they got older instead of easier? She thought of the little boy who couldn’t stop hugging her this morning. He reminded her of James when he was little and how every time she saw him he’d throw his arms around her neck and never let her go.

She missed that. She missed him. Why did teenagers not come with a manual? Maybe she should complain to the library about that.

“I hear you spent last night pretending to be Santa, delivering gifts all over town,” Pres said, passing a burger to his brother. They’d worked late tonight, even though it was a Friday. Then they’d stopped for dinner in the diner on their way home, because Cassie and the kids had already eaten with their mom, and neither Pres nor Marley had had time for lunch.

Marley lifted a brow. Word spread fast around here. “I delivered one thing. And I was just doing a friend a favor.”

“Don’t you want to know how I know?” Pres asked him.

Marley planned to eat dinner and head home to crash for the night. Not that he ever managed to sleep until the morning.

“Nope. I’m pretty sure it’s some convoluted story involving mom, Cassie, and the grapevine.”

Pres smirked. “Something like that. Is Kate doing okay?”

Marley nodded. “She’s fine. Her kids were just a bit overwhelming last night.”

“I didn’t realize the two of you were so close.”

Marley took a bite of his burger. Damn, that was good. His stomach gurgled in appreciation. “We’re not,” he said simply once he’d swallowed the mouthful down. He could explain the whole situation — about James and the junior firefighters. But he was tired and cranky and needed to eat. “I just happened to be around when she needed help.”

“So you got Aunt Becca to whip up a batch of cupcakes?” Pres grinned. “Man, I wish you’d brought some of those to the site.”

“Get your own cupcakes,” Marley told him, wondering how he could change the subject.

The truth was, he didn’t really care if people were in his business, but Kate would. He knew that. And last night was the first time she’d actually let him help her.

It was like he’d found the tiniest chink in her carefully constructed armor. He didn’t want that to change.

“Are you okay?” Pres asked, bringing Marley out of his thoughts.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Pres shrugged. “You just went quiet. Is there more to this thing with you and Kate than you’re letting on?”

A flash of annoyance rushed through him. “No, there isn’t. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t start blowing your mouth off about that. She doesn’t deserve people gossiping about her.”

Pres lifted a brow at Marley’s sudden outburst. “Okay, man. I was just wondering.”

“Yeah well now you can stop. Can we change the subject, please?”

“Sure.” Pres gave him a grin that was a little too knowing for Marley’s liking. “Let’s talk about next week. We still doing that fundraising thing next Friday?”

Marley was trying to raise money for the Junior Firefighter program. They always needed money for equipment, clothes,and training. This year, Pres had suggested the band they played in held a concert with all the money going to the cause.

“Yeah, as long as you and Cassie are okay with it.”

He shrugged. “We’re good.”

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