Page 22 of I Found You
“I wish Jackson would be more serious sometimes. He doesn’t seem to see rules as guidelines so much as chains holding him back. He flees in the other direction at the slightest sign of them.”
Wyatt took Jane to the sofa, laying her in his lap so he could play with her. He was so good with her, like he was made for this. I bet he would make a great dad.
I sat on the other side of the sofa. “Does she need a diaper change?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think so. Where do you keep the clean diapers?”
“I’ve got it.” I jumped up to collect a diaper and the wipes I stored in a little basket in the living room. Scooping Jane from Wyatt’s arms, I laid her on the floor and knelt in front of her, making funny faces at her just to see her smile.
Wyatt knelt right beside me, the scent of him intoxicating. “I did this once and failed miserably. Then again, I was pretty drunk.” He turned to me with a smile. His hat was blocking his eyes, and I wished I could take it off so I could see him fully. Like he could hear my thoughts, Wyatt turned his hat backward and pushed up imaginary sleeves. “Show me how it’s done, doll.”
I wanted to shake out my arms, get the jitteriness out of my system, but I held it back. Jane was looking up at us, her hand in her mouth and her chubby little legs kicking about.I walked Wyatt through the diaper change process. He was paying such close attention, like he really wanted to learn how to do it.
“You make it look so easy. Watch, I’ll give it a try, and the damn thing will probably fall right off her,” he laughed.
“No way. You’re a natural with her. You make a great dad.”
The shine in his eyes made my heart beat faster. I tracked his gaze as it dipped to my mouth. Instinctively, I swept my tongue across my lips.What was I supposed to do if he kissed me? Was he thinking about kissing me?No. That wouldn’t make any sense.
Jane started fussing, breaking whatever was happening between Wyatt and me.
Wyatt scooped her from the floor and stood, extending his free hand to me to pull me up. Even the touch of his hand was making me feel things. I really needed to get my head on straight if Wyatt was going to be coming by to see Jane.
He dropped my hand, his fist clenching and unclenching a few times.
“Will you tell Reid I said thank you for his help today? That was really good of him to give up his Sunday to work with you,” I said, cutting through the tension in the air.
“Yeah. Reid’s a good kid. He runs his own construction company, so this type of work is exactly what he does. New porches or fences, installing windows, that kind of thing. He’s absurdly talented. He can do so much more than general residential stuff, but it’s hard for him to get those big contracts. He’s going to do big things though. He’s got so much potential.”
My chest tightened when I thought about all the love in that family. I could feel it pouring out of Wyatt every time hespoke about them.
My phone rang, Jackson’s name displayed on the screen.
I wanted to be as proud of Jackson as Wyatt was of his family. Jackson was more than just a little brother to me. Ten years separated us, and for the last twelve years, I’d had to be a mother for him too.
“I have to get this, sorry.”
“No need to apologize.” Wyatt took Jane for a walk through the kitchen while I answered Jackson’s call.
“Hey, is everything alright?” Jackson didn’t usually call. He was more of a texter, so it made me nervous when he took the time to actually call me.
“Hey, hold on…” Jackson was talking to someone else in the background for a moment. It sounded like they were finalizing a deal. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll make sure it’s off the street. I’ve got a driveway I can use…” He returned to me. “Hey, Mae. I bought a truck, but it doesn’t run. I need to leave it in your driveway, okay?”
“What! No, not okay. My driveway only fits one car. If you have a truck there, I’ll have to park on the street. Why can’t you just bring it to the apartment?”
“It’s not registered. The apartment manager won’t let me. Come on, Mae, please? It’s a badass truck. It will make your house look way cooler.”
“Hey, my house is cool.” I glanced at Wyatt and found him watching me. I lowered my voice and turned away from him. “How did you even afford a new truck?”
“It was a steal.”
“Jackson!” I hissed.
“Not literally, Jesus. I don’t think so anyway. I just mean it was dirt fucking cheap because it doesn’t run. But I’m goingto fix it up in no time.”
I let out a sigh. “Fine. You can bring it here.”
“Yeah, it’s all set. I’ll get someone to come by to collect it…” I heard him say to whoever he was with before he disconnected the call. Great, now I was going to have a beat-up, old pickup truck in the driveway.
