Page 37 of I'll Carry You

She peeled the tape off from the glass, lingering there to think. “I’m sorry.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “I have two brothers. Both are older than me. They’ve been overprotective pains in the ass all of my life, but I’ve always appreciated them, too.”

“Are you close with them?” Jason crossed his arms. Those strong biceps. She had to stop imagining him with his shirt off. Nothing was going to happen tonight. Another night of sexual frustration.

“I am. Especially my brother Dan—he’s closest in age to me.” She didn’t want to think about the way she’d treated Dan earlier today, though. She’d text him an apology later. “My other brother Warren has kids, so I probably see him more often these days. Colby is a huge fan of his cousins.”

Almost as though he’d heard his name, Colby wandered out of the back room. He came up to Jen, his hair sticking up in twenty different directions. “Mommy, my tummy is hungry.”

“We have pizza coming.” She ruffled his hair, then squatted beside him. “In fact, Mr. Jason is going to stay here and have pizza with us. Isn’t that fun?” She pointed at Jason.There. Done.That wasn’t so hard, was it?

Why did she feel the need to hold her breath?

Colby gave him a wary glance.

Jason leaned forward in his chair. “Were you building trains in there?”

Colby nodded shyly.

“I ride a train to work every morning where I live. It’s my favorite part of the day. You ever been on a train before?”

Scratching his nose, Colby looked at Jen, then looked back at Jason. “We went on a big train for July.”

“That’s right.” Jen gave Colby an encouraging smile, raising the pitch of her voice. It amazed her that he remembered. He’d also spent the holiday adorably calling it “July” rather than the Fourth. “We went on that steam engine on the Fourth of July.”

“Can you show me the trains you were building?” Jason peeked back toward the bedroom.

The bell to the front door rang, and Jen stood as a guest wrangled with the glass door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Colby lead Jason to the room, talking animatedly about his trains.

She focused her attention on the man who came into the guest lodge, then started the check-in process with him. Jason and Colby chatted together, Colby noticeably excited, and her heart squeezed.

The truth was, she’d never introduced any of the guys she’d been on dates with to Colby. Brad had only ever seen one picture she’d pulled up for him on her phone.

Maybe it was the circumstances of him staying where she was, but she was excited about seeing Jason playing with Colby.

She pulled her thoughts back toward the guest in front of her and slid the key toward him. “Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Vickers?”

The man shook his head. “No, thank you. Have a good night.” As he turned to go, the door to the guest lodge opened. A driver with her pizza. Good timing.

She took the pizza from the driver, then carried it back to the room. She and Colby usually ate on the bed while watching TV together. Then Colby would take a shower and go to sleep.

Pausing at the doorway, she leaned her hip into the door frame. The heat from the pizza box warmed her sleeve, the scent of it making her stomach growl. But Jason and Colby were sitting on the floor together, and Colby was playacting with his trains. Jason watched him with rapt attention.

A pang pierced her heart, making it hard for her to breathe quite right.

This was why she hated Kevin. He’d left Colby without a father, something every boy needed. She was lucky that Colby had her brothers and her dad, but that right there was what Kevin walked away from.Complete focus from a dad.

ChapterThirteen

“For a smart guy,you’re really stupid sometimes.” TJ breezed past as Jason held the door for him. Outside, dawn was hinting on the horizon line. TJ walked straight to the kitchen, helping himself to a coffee cup. “It’s because you think with your dick whenever you see a pretty face.”

“Good morning to you, too.” Jason rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He’d slept later than he normally did—he was almost always up by five at home. What was it? Like seven?

Shit.He’d told Jen he’d meet her at the coffee shop by eight. His hand traveled to his chin, the stubble itchy. He still hadn’t shaved and wouldn’t have time to this morning. Almost five days without shaving and he was looking like he was intentionally growing a beard.

But given TJ’s words, he knew where this was heading.

“Ned Vickers checked into one of these cabins last night. Did you know that?” TJ rummaged around the kitchen, making himself at home as he had previously. “I mean, of course you don’t know that. I know that. But anyway, I figure you have approximately”—TJ checked his bare wrist, as though he was checking a watch—“an hour before he knows exactly where you are. And that means you have maybe ten minutes afterthatbefore he knows about your brother’s ex and the kid. Because you can’t seem to stop hanging out with the one person in this damn town who could completely screw you.”

Jason stared at him. Trust TJ to know. He didn’t want to have to explain himself, though. “It’s slightly more complicated than that. And how did you find out?”

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