Page 40 of Mind Pucked

“Can I count the grapes? I can count all the way to five.” She climbs out of Jackson’s arms and begins skipping around the room, picking up stray blocks.

“Absolutely. I’m sure your daddy won’t mind. I think he may want me to leave so he can have you all to himself for the rest of the day.”

“No, please don’t,” he says in mock terror. “Don’t leave me alone with two little girls. I wouldn’t know what to do with them.”

“Just think of them as small women. Smile and give them a lot of attention. Tell them how pretty they are and never let them know you’re nervous,” I jokingly advise.

“Haha, that’s not as funny as you seem to think it is. I’m fine with Hayden, but other little kids confuse me. I can’t read their emotions the way I do hers. That’s your territory. Besides, Daisy and her family are new to the neighborhood. I imagine her mother would prefer a woman hanging around. What mother in her right mind would leave her daughter with a hockey player?”

“You have a point,” I concede. His charming smile and real nervousness are almost too much for me. I won’t leave him stranded, nor will I disappoint the two little girls I promised to teach how to play hopscotch.

I decide it’s time to stop torturing myself with guilt. Jackson doesn’t appear to feel guilty about anything, so why should I? Instead of worrying about what is now water under the bridge, I’m going to use it to discover the truth about what happened to Preston. Attraction can be a weapon, and I’ll use it that way.

Once the toys are put away, Hayden has a snack, and she puts on her tennis shoes, and then we all go out to greet Daisy and her mother. Jackson’s charm goes to work immediately, and he doesn’t seem to have any nerve issues when he flirts with the new woman in town.

I roll my eyes as I watch the woman practically fall all over him before I remind her she has an appointment with her dentist, which is why we’re having the playdate to begin with.

We lead the kids out the back door. As we do, Jackson asks, “Is there a problem? You weren’t acting very friendly, and I assumed you got along great with the new neighbor. Am I wrong? Is there some reason Hayden shouldn’t be playing with Daisy?”

I sigh and answer, “There’s absolutely no reason the girls shouldn’t be best friends. They get along great. I suppose her mother melting at your charms just like every other woman just strikes me wrong. She’s married—and happily so, according to her—so why does she need to fall all over you?”

He laughs and replies, “She was just being a fan. Some women like hockey. I thought you did too. Isn’t that why you come to the games?”

“It wasn’t hockey she was flirting with. That was all for you. And before you say it, no it wasn’t because you’re a great player. It was simple sexual tension.”

This time his laugh echoes across the back yard, startling birds out of the trees. “You sound jealous.”

“As if,” I say, sounding like a fifteen-year-old who’s crushing on the quarterback.

His chuckle follows me into the yard. The entire time I’m drawing the hopscotch game on the concrete I feel his eyes on me. Out of spite for the way he’s making me squirm, I do my best to make him uneasy as well.

It’s a simple matter to make sure I swing my hips as I walk, bend over in a way that shows off my bottom, and sometimes put a little shake into moving my arms so that I draw attention to my breasts. After all, I have to strategize for this war I’m fighting.

Eventually, I forget he’s there. It’s far too much fun to teach the girls how to play and hear their joy when they manage to jump on one foot without falling.

I’m concentrating so hard on the girls it startles me to hear Jackson call my name. Neither little girl pays any attention to the disruption, but it’s automatic for me to turn at the sound of my name.

“I got us some of the tea you made from the refrigerator. Sit and enjoy it. I think the kids have the hang of things now,” Jackson offers.

I glance from the giggling girls to the icy glass of cold tea, trying to decide between duty and refreshment. The tea wins.

I tell myself my decision has nothing at all to do with the handsome man I’ll have for company or the thought of talking through some things we need to deal with as soon as possible.

“I’ll be on the porch if you need me,” I tell the girls. I shouldn’t have bothered. They’re both racing over the grass toward a ball that’s suddenly more interesting than the hopscotch drawing.

“Hayden’s happy. Daisy seems to be her ideal playmate,” Jackson informs me as I take the tea he holds out to me.

“So far everything is going well. It’s when they get bored or tired I worry about. Children, even when they really like each other, tend to squabble under those circumstances,” I reply.

“I’m sure you already have a remedy planned for that. You’re great at thinking ahead,” he answers.

“Not always,” I murmur.

I can see that he knows exactly what I’m talking about. His own discomfort shows on his expressive face, just as Hayden’s face tends to show all her emotions.

“That was all on me,” he says without explaining what he means. He doesn’t need to, since we’re both on the same page of that script. “I can’t really put any of the blame on you. I made the choice, and now we’re stuck with the consequences.”

“Just what are the consequences, according to you?” I ask.

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