Just One Touch: A Black Alcove Novel (The Black Alcove Series Book 3) (15 page)

“Yeah, bud, it’s a
boys weekend for sure,” I say, but he’s already focused on
pulling some toys out of his backpack.

“I’ll be back on
Thursday,” Heather says, still standing in the doorway. I get off
the couch to join her.

“I need to talk to
you about something,” I say as she turns to leave.

“Can it wait? I
really have to go.”

“No, it can’t
wait.” I follow her out into the hallway, leaving the door cracked
so Jake can’t hear us but just in case he needs me.

“You’ll have to
call me,” she says.

“Heather, no, we need
to talk.”

“Call me.” She
exits through the building door. I follow her.

“Heather!” She
doesn’t stop and I’m not going to chase her down.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?” I turn.
Jake is standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall, bouncing
from his butt to his back as he talks. “You said this was a boy’s
weekend.”

“Sure is,” I say
with a smile.

“What about Alex? She
isn’t a boy.”

I swallow then, my
heart tugging at the way his bummed out voice recognizes that we
won’t be hanging out with Alex.

“No, bud, we won’t.
Maybe next time,” I tell him, praying inside that Alex tells Logan
soon. I want to hang out with her, too.

Jake watches me for a
moment, his little brown eyes looking at me like he knows I’m
keeping something from him. He’s quickly distracted, and the moment
he sits back on the couch, that’s when it hits me.

My chest aches at the
mess things are in right now and my fist is curled and digging into
the couch cushions. Five minutes. That’s all I needed. I wanted to
be respectful and talk to Heather in person, but if she won’t let
that happen, then over the phone it is. The fact I haven’t told her
and the fact I can’t confront anyone is making things worse.

That’s going to
change.

Conner

I texted Heather early
this morning, asking her to call me when she had a free moment today,
seeing as how again she wouldn’t answer my calls again last night.
At 3:00 p.m. on the dot, like she said, my phone vibrates in my hand.
I press the green button, accepting the call and praying for the
best.

“Hello?” I sound
like an idiot because I know who it is.

“Conner, you wanted
me to call you?” There’s a hopeful tone to her voice that stabs
me.

“Yes, I just wanted
to talk to you about us and the suggestion you made a few weeks ago.”

“Okay, I’m free
now. Where do you want to start?”

I take a nice, deep
breath and release it as calmly as I possibly can.
Please
let this go well.

“A while ago, the
apartment across from me was rented out and the woman who moved in,”
I stop right there. This is not the best way to start this. I have to
tell her, yeah, but just in case she uses Jake against me, I still
need to be nice about it.

“Alright, so, I don’t
think our becoming a couple is the best idea for us or for Jake.”
Yeah, okay, that sounds better.

For a second, she
doesn’t respond.

“You don’t?” Her
voice is soft and then I hear her sniffle.

“I love Jake with all
my heart. Don’t ever doubt that. But, Heather, I don’t have those
same feelings for you, and you deserve someone who is going to love
you that way. We both do.”

“But we can get
there. We have a son together. Doesn’t it mean something to give
this a try?”

“It does, yes, as
long as both parties want it.”

“And you don’t want
me. You don’t want a family with me and Jake. He deserves it. You
won’t even do it for him?”

“Even if I did this
for him, it wouldn’t be fair to him. He needs parents who are happy
and who get along. That’s where we are now and I don’t want to
ruin it by forcing something that isn’t there.”

“But it’s there
with this new person, who moved in across from you. Was that where
you were going with that? That you fell in love with someone else?”

Am I in love?

I run my hand over my
face. Going into detail about Alex wasn’t part of my plan, but I
guess I messed that up the moment I opened my mouth.

“It’s Logan’s
sister.” I say each word slowly. It’s the first time I’ve said
it out loud.

“I wasn’t aware he
had a sister.”

“Yeah, she’s
younger than him.” I scratch the back of my neck as I push off the
couch and lean against the counter.

Silence takes over the
phone call.

“Is she attractive?”

The question catches me
off guard, causing me to hesitate on my answer, which apparently
isn’t the right answer right now.

“An attractive woman
is going to distract you from your son, Conner.”

“Nothing will
distract me from my son.”

“You don’t know
that, I know it.”

“Heather, I swear to
you, Jake is and will always be my first priority.”

“Conner—”

“Trust me.” My
voice raises and immediately I regret it. This is not how I wanted
this conversation to go. “Please,” I say, my voice much more calm
and pleading.

“Fine, but I don’t
like it. I don’t like knowing my son is around another woman when
he isn’t with me.”

“Alex is great with
him; you have nothing to worry about.”

“Can I meet her?”
This questions throw me completely off. “Please, for peace of mind.
When I bring Jake over next weekend.”

“Okay,” I answer.
Alex will understand. “As long as she isn’t working at the gym,
she should be here.”

We hang up and I sigh
with relief. Our conversation didn’t go anything close to what I
had imagined it would, and I also covered a second dreaded topic.
Now, I just need to patch things up with Alex so she can meet
Heather. I should probably not start by mentioning this conversation.

Alexis

Conner doesn’t answer
my phone call, again. I consider texting him but there is no emotion
in a text and I want him to know and hear that I’m serious. I’m
going to tell Logan soon, and I’d really like it if Conner would
help me out with what I’m going to say, because everything he said
was right. I need to tell Logan and I have to stop pretending like
I’m the only person whose life this is going to affect. Conner
never actually said those words, but they were definitely implied
about the choices I’ve made up to this point.

As usual, I clock in
when I get to work and head to the back to take the pool
temperatures. I put out fresh towels and pick up random hand weights,
jump ropes, and any other workout tools left unattended before
heading back to the front. If tonight could stay busy until I got
off, that would be fantastic. I plan to go to Conner when I get off
and I don’t need to spend my entire night stressing over how he
might react.

“Boyfriend troubles?”
Pete asks when I pass the CrossFit area and the indoor track where a
younger couple is running laps.

“I’m sorry?” I
ask. Pete hasn’t ever shown the interest Abby said he had for me
the day I met him, so I’m not upset he’s asking about Conner. It
does, however, bother me that he assumes something is wrong.

“You just look lost
in thought, and I since I have a sister, I’ve seen the look
before,” he says.

“Oh, well, no,
everything is great.”

“I’ve also heard
that fake ‘I’m not going to tell you about it’ answer before,
too.”

Shoot.

“Look, you don’t
have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to, but I am a good
listener if you change your mind.”

I’m about to
apologize when a woman turns the corner near the yoga studio. She has
short, dark hair and porcelain skin that reminds me of a girl named
Heather I grew up with in my last foster home. She smiles, gaining my
full attention. Pete walks around us without another word.

“Alexis?” the woman
asks when I’m close enough to touch her. I pause to get a better
look—she is the same girl from my foster home. Her face lights up,
probably a mimicked reaction to my own, and we hug.

“Oh my gosh! This is
crazy. What are you doing here?” she asks excitedly. Her smile is
bright and familiar. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen
someone from my past life, and it feels both nice and weird. Heather
was one of the kindest people to me growing up. Foster kids can be
hard to live with because we all have such different backgrounds and
stories to tell, but Heather was so accepting of everyone.

“I live here now,”
I say.

“Are you serious?
That’s unbelievable. We have to get lunch or coffee or something to
catch up.”

“Yeah, that would be
really nice.”

“This is just too
crazy.” She keeps smiling. “How did you end up here?”

I laugh. “I should be
asking you the same question, but I actually just moved here a month
or so ago. My real brother lives here and I came here to reconnect
with him.”

Her smile slowly fades.
“Interesting.”

“Yeah.” What
started as an exciting conversation immediately gets awkward.

“Well, I better get
to class,” she says. “Good luck with your brother. I’ll stop by
the front on my way out to plan coffee.”

“Okay,” I say to
her backside because she’s already halfway down the hall.

Of all the kids I met
growing up, I shared more secrets with Heather than anyone else about
the life I wished for
.
I can’t wait to talk to her and see
what life has brought her since we parted ways.

* * *

When I get home, I park
my car and notice the living room light in Conner’s apartment is
on. The television is on and I can see his silhouette lying on the
couch.

I can do this. Whatever
Conner and I have goes way past a silly fight. He’ll understand. I
need to start trusting this gut feeling I have.

I knock on his door
with a shaky hand. He mutes the TV. Then his door is open and he’s
standing before me looking hot as hell in just a pair of sweats. I
take a deep breath and force my eyes to remain glued to his instead
of them allowing them to roam the smooth sight of his naked and hard
chest.

“Hey,” I say the
way I say it every time I see him. I even give him a half smile,
hoping he doesn’t shut me out. “Can we talk?”

He nods, stepping to
the side and gesturing for me to come in. He closes the door and then
strides past me, taking his spot back on the couch. I get it. He’s
waiting for me to start. Which, technically, I’m the only one who
has any apologizing to do, so that only makes sense.

I sit next to him,
resting my purse on my lap and looking down at it.

“I’m going to tell
Logan.”

This grabs his
attention.

“I’m going to tell
him this week. I don’t know when or how, but I am going to do it.
It’s what I came here for, and you were right, he deserves to know.
I’m just …” I take a deep breath as more tears prick at my eyes
and I pull Logan’s letter from my purse. “I’m scared that the
brother who wrote me this letter isn’t the same brother anymore.
What if the fact he’s married and about to start a family has
focused him on the future and he doesn’t want his past to come
back?”

Conner inches over
until his arms are wrapped around me. My body leans into his and I
cry into his chest.

“He isn’t going to
reject you.” He kisses the top of my head. “It’s not possible.
You are his sister and you’re an amazing person. He’s watched the
way you’ve changed my life. He’s going to love you.”

I dry my eyes enough to
look up at him.

“How could I have
changed your life? We’ve only know each other for a few weeks.”

“Probably for the
same reason you came to me tonight. Because you’re the person I
want to know my secrets. You’re the person who, yes, in just weeks,
has managed to take over more of my heart than anyone I know,
excluding Jake, of course.”

A small laugh bubbles
up from my throat. I then let out a sigh of relief. Tilting my chin
until I’m looking at him, Conner kisses me. It’s a soft and
gentle kiss that gives me all the reassurance I need. Conner is going
to be there for me and I don’t need to worry anymore.

“I have an idea,”
he says breaking the kiss and wiping away my last few tears with his
thumb. “Tell me something you would tell Logan.”

“I don’t know.
Won’t that be awkward?”

“Is that what you’re
worried about? Things being awkward between you and Logan?”

“I’m not worried
about it; I expect it.”

“Alright, good point,
but I’ll probably have a different reaction than what you’re
expecting Logan to have.”

“Sooo, you want to
have like a practice talk? With you playing my brother?” I cock my
eyebrow.

“Um, no. Definitely
not as your brother. Just as Conner, but yeah, sure, shoot. Practice
on me.”

“Okay,” I reply,
hesitating over what my first question should be. When I take too
long to answer, Conner beats me to it.

“How many foster
homes did you stay in?”

“Four. It took a
while before someone decided I was good enough to keep,” I say, my
head down.

“Why didn’t you
move out of the last one when you were eighteen?” he asks another
question instead of answering mine. I scoot back on his couch, taking
my jacket off and crossing my legs Indian style. The fact he knows
this information confirms my curiosity on whether or not Logan talked
to anyone about me. Also, it warms my heart to know Logan put an
effort into searching for me.

“I was their last
foster child. They wanted to retire, but I think a part of them was
going to miss the whole child-caring thing. So they told me I could
stay if I wanted to.”

“They were good
people?” he asks. These questions seem too easy for him. I get the
sense that maybe these are topics he’s been wanting to ask since I
told him.

“Better than some of
the foster homes. We didn’t have nice things, but we did have
everything we needed. When they gave me the option to stay, I took it
because it was the smart thing to do and I planned to move one day,
but money wasn’t something that came easy. I stayed with them and
got a job, eventually moved out. Now, here I am.”