Page 21 of Mine to Keep

“I am. It’s not that hard. It’s a template. All I have to do is populate it with my product.”

“I’m an idiot when it comes to stuff like that.” He shut off the engine. “I do a side handyman gig and keep meaning to set up a place where people can find me online, but I don’t know shit about doing things like that.”

“It’s super easy. The only negative is that it’s time-consuming.”

He laughed. “I don’t have the patience. I just need to hire someone to do it for me. Interested?”

“Are you serious?”

“Very.”

Zadie stirred, making screeching noises, which meant she’d be at a full scream in about ten minutes. The nurses had all told her that she needed to let Zadie wake up and cry some before feeding her; otherwise, she’d simply go back to sleep. “I’d feel weird taking your money, considering all that you’ve done for me, especially when I bet I can do your website in an afternoon.”

“I’m happy to barter,” he said. “A piece of jewelry for the website.”

“You’ve done so much more.”

“Okay,” he said with a chuckle. “My niece will be having a birthday in about three weeks. She’s turning six. Maybe you could find me some appropriate earnings since she does have her ears pierced. That’s two pieces for a website.”

“Sounds fair, except what about all this other stuff?” She twisted and pointed to the car seat, which held her precious baby. “You wouldn’t let me give you anything for that. And you mentioned that you and Chip put together my crib. Which I appreciate, but I have to tell you that I feel weird about you being in my home and putting away my stuff.” Bryn had wanted to keep a picture of her sister, but Hatti had talked her out of it, reminding her that if she had a single picture or kept any items from her past, even something obscure, it could be a clue that brought her past into her present.

And that wouldn’t be good.

Bryn couldn’t afford to have her ex-in-laws anywhere near Zadie. They would do whatever it took to take her daughter away from her. So, Bryn wasn’t afraid that Jamison would have found something while he was in her home. That wasn’t the point.

She just didn’t want anyone in her space. Timothy didn’t allow her any privacy, and having someone poking around her stuff made her break out in hives.

“I didn’t mean to offend you. I was only trying to be neighborly and help. You didn’t have a few things, and they were absolutely necessary. If you need to pay me back for the car seat and stuff, you can. I’m okay with that.”

“Thank you.” Now, all she had to do was figure out how she would manage it. She’d blown through much of her savings, and rent was due soon.

“But don’t feel like you have to pay all at once,” he said as if he’d read her mind. “Also, I bought a few things I didn’t tell you about.” He held up his hand as he scooted from behind the steering wheel and slipped from the driver’s seat. “Some of it Chip needed to do for this place, and he’s going to pay me for it.”

She let out a long breath. Before her mother died, she always used to tell Bryn to never look a gift horse in the mouth. That there was nothing worse than insulting someone who went out of their way with a kind gesture. Her mom then asked Bryn to put herself in the other person’s shoes.

If it had been Bryn who’d done all this for a friend, and it had been genuine, she’d be upset if someone weren’t appreciative.

Jamison opened the passenger door and took her hand. “For the rest, I have all the receipts so you can exchange anything you don’t like. And I get that you want to pay for your own things. I do. But you didn’t even have a baby shower or anything. My two sisters-in-law had those, and they got a ton of stuff. Consider this that.”

“But you’re one person, and please don’t think this rude, but I don’t want to feel like I constantly owe you something.”

“Just the website. That’s all I want in return. And maybe a few pieces of jewelry.” He winked before pulling the car seat out of the vehicle.

“I could have gotten that.” She tilted her head and glared. “I gave birth. I didn’t break my arms.”

“You should be taking it easy for the next few weeks. And since you live alone, you can let me carry this inside for you. Besides, I was raised to be a gentleman.”

A year ago, she would have thought chivalry had died. She strolled toward the front door, biting her tongue. Jamison wasn’t Timothy. And just because he was being nice and a bit over-the-top didn’t mean he would turn into a controlling, manipulative asshole. Especially because she wasn’t going to let him worm his way into her life. She was a totally different person than she was ten years ago.

“Let me get that,” he said.

Her pulse raced as she stepped through the threshold. Holding her breath, she covered her mouth. Tears burned the corners of her eyes. Everything looked different.

It wasn’t just clean. There was a white cover over the sofa, and a new rocking chair in the corner with a blanket tossed over the back. He’d hung a picture over the couch and a television above the fireplace.

And the best part was, there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere.

“I didn’t unpack your suitcases. I thought that might be weird.” Jamison set the car seat on the coffee table.

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