Page 22 of Just Like That

My attitude must have struck a chord because JP’s jaw flexed as he turned toward me. “You’ve barely seen your nephew in seven years and I’m the asshole?”

An indignant noise shot out of my nose. “Less than two weeks in and suddenly you think you’re the father of the year?”

His icy eyes pinned me in place. “You weren’t even here for two days before you lost track of him. I don’t think it’ll be difficult to raise that bar.”

“Dick,” I spat as I stomped away.

“Hex,” he called to my back.

“Hex?” I turned and scoffed.

His eyes raked over me. “A hex. A witch.”

I strode away from him, a wicked grin spreading as a laugh shot out of me.

Buddy, you have no idea.

EIGHT

JP

I couldn’t sleep.

Living in seclusion was supposed to be peaceful, but I’d always been a light sleeper. With the weather cooling, I’d opened the house, hoping the distant crashing of waves would lull me to sleep.

No such luck.

Instead, my brain became acutely aware of every single noise insideandoutside the house. My brain looped on a thousand questions:Did Hazel remember to lock the bus? How secure was that thing? Does Teddy wear a seat belt inside of it when she’s driving? Why did she have to smell so good?

When I heard the metal groan of the school bus door, I immediately thought Teddy was sneaking out again. Already wide awake, I padded to my window and looked out of the second-floor window. The yard was cast in eerie, shifting shadows.

Below me, Hazel was walking away from her skoolie in a thin yellow nightgown that barely covered her ass. She moved silently across the lawn until she disappeared around the corner. Curious, I threw on a pair of sweatpants and made my way downstairs. I peeked behind the curtain at the kitchen window and saw her standing across the lawn on the edge of the sand dune cliff. Beside her was the wooden staircase that led to the private beach.

Hazel looked like a ghost with her short pajamas billowing in the breeze and her rose gold hair floating away from her shoulders. She spread her arms wide. For a moment fear kicked in and I thought she might jump, but instead she crouched and curled into a tiny ball on the ground. I stared until I realized her shoulders had begun to shake, and soft sobs floated through the window.

I dragged a hand across my face. “Fuck.”

There were a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t have gone out there. Hazel had upended my life. She was a pain in my ass. A stranger. She was a distraction that I absolutely did not need to entertain.

Despite my logical reasons, I sighed and made my way to the front door. As quietly as I could, I unlocked and opened the door to walk out onto the front porch. Two steps down the stairs and the wood creaked under my weight.

Hazel startled and immediately began wiping away her tears. She stood, clearing her throat and making a beeline back across the grass toward the bus. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

I held up a hand to stop her. “You didn’t.”

I lowered myself to the stairs and gestured beside me. “Want a seat?”

She eyed the space next to me before her eyes roamed over my bare chest. A tiny breath escaped between the small gap in her velvety lips. Tension crackled in the night air as she didn’t make a move to sit.

After an eternity, she folded herself onto the step beside me. Her bare knee brushed mine, and I was all too aware of the heat that traveled up my thigh and settled between my legs.

Hazel was quiet beside me as we looked out onto the lawn and toward the beach in the distance. I tried not to stare at her long, bare legs as the wind rustled the leaves in the trees.

“Heavy day,” I finally said.

“Yeah.” Her humorless laugh made me smile. It was better than more tears.

“Look, I know today didn’t go how you had planned. Believe me—me neither—but in a few months it’ll all get worked out.”

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