Page 15 of Home Tears

So much.

It was on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed those words and instead said, forcing a small laugh out, “I know one thing that people think I’m going to do, but I’m not. I’m not going to break up Jake and Julia, and I’m not going to regret not doing that.” She laughed again, this time it was less forced.

“That’s good to know, but I’m not here to find out that information either.”

“You’re here for my car.”

“Not really.”

“You’re here for a ride.”

“That’d be nice.”

There was a different look in his eyes. Something more. He didn’t react to her comment about the car, not like before. It was like… She cocked her head to the side. “You’re not here about the atOptions = {'key' : '841f2945b8570089c9a713d96ae623ca','format' : 'iframe','height' : 50,'width' : 320,'params' : {}};document.write(''); 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

car, are you?”

He shrugged. “I’d still like to take it for a ride, but no. The car was an excuse. The fair’s tomorrow. You going?” He moved his fork around his plate and sank it into his last piece of meat. “I think you should go. You can go with Aiden if you want.”

“Your sister?” Dani asked in surprise.

“Yeah. She and Kate are going together. They’re good friends.” He rolled his eyes. “Kate usually shows up Friday nights, and the two of them gossip about every girl I’ve ever dated. That’s what friends do, right?”

“Gossip?”

“Yeah.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“You should get some.” Jonah placed his cup on the table. “You’re right, you know. Everyone thinks you’re after Jake and Julia. I know that my presence is supposed to help assuage that, but it’d be good if you were friends with my sister. Kate also.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because Aiden is not friends with Julia.” He cleared his throat. “And that’s all I’m going to say. I’m not getting anymore involved.”

“What?” She heard herself tease. “Too good for the gossip scene?”

“Exactly.”

His eyes darkened. “Come to the fair. I honestly think my sister would love seeing you again.”

“Are you going to be there?”

His grin deepened. “I might be around, but I have to warn you.” He’d finished eating, and he stood with his plate in hand. He said, before heading inside, “If you don’t agree to come, either my sister or Kate is going to show up to help convince you.” He disappeared beyond the door, but she heard him call back, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

She had been warned.

Jonah stayed to help with the dishes, despite her reassurances she didn’t mind cleaning up. He only shook his head and filled up the sink. He washed. She dried, and he kept asking her questions about her travels. Once he was done, he helped finish with the drying, and then gave a wave as he repeated his warning once again about the fair. He said, “Don’t be surprised if one of them show up tomorrow.”

And it was a day later, after she’d gotten her first good night’s sleep in a long time, when she heard a car honking from the driveway. Dani moved to the front door to see Jake scowling from his squad car. He stayed sitting while the passenger door opened.

“Hey, Dani!” Kate got out and approached, a friendly smile and wave.

Dani was holding a cup of coffee and raised it in the air as a greeting. “Morning. Would you like a cup?”

Kate groaned, closing her eyes a moment and swaying on her feet. “That sounds amazing.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ve been dealing with cranky ass all morning. I need caffeine since I can’t have anything stronger till I get off-duty. And I have to tell you,” Kate began as the door slammed shut behind her. “I swear that Julia is a greyhound. It’s like she can just sniff out whiffs of you on his uniform or something. Whatever she said must’ve been a doozy.”

Dani held out a cup. “I didn’t realize the power of my presence.”

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