Page 15 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
“You didn’t tell me you were leaving the courtyard,” JD said, his voice gentler than his friend’s. “I wasn’t sure where you were.”
“I’m sorry.” Thad shook his head and glanced over his shoulder to Erin. “I wanted to come see Erin.”
She couldn’t resist that look and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right, Thad. I don’t mind you visiting me.”
“I mind,” Carter barked, but his gaze was focused on Erin, not on Thad. When he shifted his attention back to his son, the anger eased. “I know this isn’t like our apartment in New York, but you still have to tell me where you’re going, okay?”
“Okay. Iamsorry, Dad.”
Carter’s smile was soft, although Erin could still see an edge to the set of his mouth. “It’s all right.” His gaze glanced off Erin’s. “Let’s go and let Erin get back to work.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Carter shot her a warning look. She glanced at JD, and from the wrinkle between his brows as he stared at his friend, he was equally puzzled by Carter’s attitude toward her. And it was directed at her specifically, of that she had no doubt.
Thad paused at the door. “Thanks for letting me help, Erin. That was great.”
“Anytime, Thad.”
His smile wasn’t nearly as open and cheerful as it had been when he arrived, and that made her mad. He slipped through the door without a response.
Carter cleared his throat. Erin jerked her attention to him.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you again,” he said.
“He wasn’t bothering me.”
“Well, it bothers me,” Carter said, the words once again sharp.
Erin startled. “I’m sure you don’t have to worry about being bothered much, not with that attitude. Want to clue me in on the problem, Mr. Deveraux?”
The words were out of her mouth before she realized she was going to speak them, but she let them stand, unwilling to back down. If this was about the incident on the road Sunday, well, she wasn’t going to apologize again. And she wasn’t about to lie down and let this man walk all over her.
But apparently, whatever the problem was,Mr. Deverauxdidn’t want to talk about it. Without responding, he turned and walked out, leaving her to stare openmouthed in frustration at the empty space where he’d been standing.
ChapterSeven
“I’m really sorry, Dad.”
Thad’s words made Carter feel like an absolute asshole. Because hewasan absolute asshole, but try as he might, he couldn’t stop seeing Erin Jenkins as the enemy. She’d had nothing to do with Thad sneaking out. That didn’t mean he didn’t blame her.
Hell if he knew why, but he did.
His son, however, needed some reassurance. “It’s all right.” He gripped Thad’s thin shoulder, giving him a squeeze but refusing to let go afterward. “You didn’t mean to do anything wrong. And I want you to enjoy being here. I just need to know where you’re going to be so I don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay.” With the resilience only a child could show, he began to skip through the fallen leaves, kicking at piles here and there. His childlike wonder at the simplest things never ceased to amaze Carter. For a few moments he let himself absorb that wonder, delight in the joy his son took in the autumn woods.
Until JD cleared his throat beside him.
Here it comes…
“What was all that about?”
“All what?”
JD grunted in irritation. “Don’t play stupid with me.”
“Not playing stupid,” Carter told him. “Just clarifying which part of ‘all that’ you were wanting to discuss.”
“How about the fact that I wasn’t sure if you wanted to jump Erin because you thought she’d done something wrong or because you had a hard-on for a totally different reason.”
