Page 111 of The Keeper and I

Laci:Jordan, are you alive?

Laci:Does this mean Dane is out of our hair?

Laci:Please answer. I know matchday is mad, but please let me know.

He bit back a smile at her level of concern and tapped on her contact to call her. She picked up before the first ring finished.

“Jordan, oh my God,” she said, and she sounded out of breath. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, angel,” he replied. “Thanks for checking in.”

“I can’t believe it’s all over. He’s actually in custody.”

“Yeah…”

“I need to confess something to you.”

“What’s that?”

“Dane warned me he was coming for you. He sent me flowers the day we were celebrating Valentine’s Day. In the note, he implied he knew where to find you. I didn’t think it meant anything at the time. I thought he had to be bluffing.”

“Laci, what?” he said. “You never told me about that.”

“I know,” she said, and he could picture her chewing her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I thought it was an empty threat and I didn’t want to ruin our night.”

He swallowed his complaint and shook his head. “It’s fine. Nothing happened.”

“It could have been horrible. Did he really have a knife?”

“Aye, but if he’d stabbed me, you’d already know.”

A shaky laugh left her. “I am really sorry, Jordan.”

He took a deep breath, unsure what else to say. He must have messed up indeed if she hadn’t confided something like that in him. But Valentine’s Day…that was before she said I love you, and he’d let her down. Had she been pulling away all this time? Now that Dane was in custody, was it over between them? He couldn’t bring himself to ask. Not when he was so fucking raw.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Look, I’ve got us some dinner plans tomorrow night. When d’you think you'll be home?”

Chapter 29

HoldingLaci’shand,Jordanrang the bell at Ethan and Billie’s front door. He was surprised by Laci’s nonchalance since they hadn’t had a chance to talk when she returned from the estate. All they’d gotten out were some hellos and a kiss before they had to change and get ready to go to dinner. Jordan’s insides were twisting. He wanted to talk to her about everything and put his cards on the table, but he didn’t want to rush that kind of conversation either. So, once again, he was forced to put it off. He stole a glance at her while they waited, but she looked resolutely at the door.

Billie answered with a smile on her face as she tucked a brown curl behind her ear.

“Hey, you two!” she said brightly. “Come in, please.”

She stepped aside, and Jordan let Laci go through first before following her over the threshold. The house was simple yet elegant with a soft vintage charm about it. In the entryway, there were what appeared to be framed handwritten letters. Jordan spied the date on one as he hung up his coat. It was from June of 1944. When he took Laci’s jacket, he caught her looking at them too.

Billie led the way to the kitchen where Ethan was opening a bottle of wine. There were only three glasses on the table because Ethan didn’t drink. Jordan admired that though he understood it better now that he knew Ethan’s mother struggled with addiction. He looked up and a smile crossed over his lips.

“Hey, y’all!” he said sunnily. “Come on in.”

The kitchen maintained that feeling of days gone by. Helped along by the turntable in the corner playing a soft oldies tune Jordan didn’t recognize, but the warbly sound of the singer made him think of old black-and-white movies.

Laci took the glass of wine Ethan offered and sipped it. Jordan was reminded brutally of the days when they were faking and how he envied her drinkware for its proximity to her lips. Soon she’d be in America, and he wouldn’t even have the luxury of looking on and feeling that jealousy. He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. God, he was a wreck. He needed to pull himself together, at least long enough to get through this dinner.

To Jordan’s immense frustration, they started with small talk. Laci asked how the wedding planning was going, and Billie replied with a litany of things that were still up in the air. She had her dress though, which she showed Laci a picture of.

“That’s gorgeous!” Laci praised.

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