Left Together (37 page)

“I’m
sorry,” Jenna says. “He wanted to say goodnight.”

“It’s
no problem,” Kacie tells her, standing up. “Really, Jenna. I told you this
afternoon to make yourself at home. I meant it. Goodnight, Ethan.” She winks at
me and heads upstairs. Damn. I can’t wait to get in bed. It’s not until she’s
out of sight that I turn back to my nephew.

“Will
you come tuck me in?” he asks.

“Ethan,
Uncle Evan has things to do. Just say goodnight and we’ll go to bed.”

“But,
Mom…,” he whines.

“No,”
I say, grabbing the remote and turning off the game. “I don’t mind.” It takes
no effort to carry him up the stairs. They’re staying at the opposite end of
the hallway from us. Jenna follows, standing outside of the door when I take
him into the room. I cover his little body with the blankets and hold out the
brown dog I see on the nightstand. “Is this yours?” He nods, reaching for him.
“He’s cool.” I sit next to him.

“He
sleeps with me every night.”

“Does
he have a name?”

“Max.”

“I
like it,” I say, grinning. “What should we do tomorrow?”

“Go in
the pool.” His eyes get heavier every time he blinks.

“We’ll
definitely go back in the pool. Do you like fishing? Kacie doesn’t like to fish
so there’s never anyone to go with me.”

“I
don’t know how.”

“Do
you want to try? You might like it.”

“Okay.”
He yawns.

“Cool.
We’ll leave after Kacie goes to work. Get some sleep.”

“Uncle
Evan?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m
glad Mommy brought me here.”

“Me,
too, buddy.” I rub his head. “Goodnight. See you in the morning.”

Not
wanting to keep him awake, I stand up and walk out of the room. Jenna’s in the
hallway. “Thank you for being so sweet to him. He’s never really taken to any
other guy before. I was afraid he might not even talk to you.” I nod, say
goodnight, and head for my room. “Hey, Evan?”

I stop
and face her. “Yeah?”

“I’m
sorry for dropping this on you.” She exhales slowly. “And I’m sorry for not
telling you about him before. It was wrong. I realize that now.”

I take
a step back. “I never really gave you the chance. Let’s just move on from here,
okay? For him?”

“Okay. 
So…fishing?”

“Shit.
I should’ve asked you first. I’m sorry.”

She
smiles. “I’ll let you slide.” She steps inside the guest room. “Are you sure
you don’t mind?”

“Not
at all.”

“He’ll
love it. Thank you.”

Not
saying anything else, I go to my favorite place in the whole world. My bed with
my girl. After everything she did for Ethan today, I’ll have to show her how
much I appreciate her. All. Night. Long.

Evan

I
can’t think of a better way to start a day after a long night of pleasing my
girl than cooking breakfast for her. It sucks she has to go to work, but we
wouldn’t be able to pick up where we left off until tonight anyway. Having
someone in the house under the age of eighteen definitely has its
disadvantages. Soon, he’ll be back home and Kacie will be finished with school
for the year. Man, I love summer more now than when I was a kid. I realize I’m
completely delusional in telling myself tonight isn’t so far away when Kacie
comes strolling into the kitchen. Did she really have to put on a fucking dress
today? She knows what goes through my head when she wears that shit.

“Babe?!”
I’m speechless, holding my hands up in a distinct “what the fuck” way.

“What?”
she asks, kissing my cheek.
Damn. It
. She has to stretch up on her toes
to reach me, which is hot in and of itself, but her chest rubs against my arm.

“Are
you trying to kill me?”

“I
don’t know what you’re talking about.” She peers into the pan. “You’re going to
burn that if you don’t pay attention.” Then she wanders over to the
refrigerator. My eyes follow her, lower to her ankles, then travel up the back
of her bare legs until they get to the bottom of the virtually see-through
material. Holy fuck! When she turns around, she’s grinning.

“You’re
pure evil.” I flip over the slices of bread sizzling in the pan, then put the
spatula down on the counter. She tries to slip by, but I latch onto her hip and
direct her to me. Is she laughing? “Keep up your shit and you won’t be going to
work today.”

“I
have to go, and you have plans with a very handsome little boy. You can’t
cancel on him. He’d be disappointed.”

“What’s
with the damn dress?” I growl.

Her
hands find their way into my hair. “You think I wore this dress for the sole
purpose of torturing you?”

“I
know
you did.” Somehow, my lips land on her neck. “You do fucked up shit like that,”
I say in between landing kisses where I want them.

She
giggles. “Even though I should have after all the begging you made me do last
night, I had this outfit planned out since Sunday. I’m going out to lunch with
some of the other teachers, remember? I mentioned it last week.” I grumble as I
run my fingers over her ass. “You should be exhausted anyway.”

“Being
near you wakes me up,” I whisper at her jaw.

“I can
tell.” Her lips lightly touch mine. “Will you be thinking about this dress all
day?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Good,”
she says, pulling away. “It’ll make for another fun night.” That wink of hers
makes me want to bend her ass over the dining room table. It would be so easy to
do with the dress.
The motherfucking dress
. Thumping on the stairs draws
my focus back to the stove. Why the hell do little kids wake up so early? Kacie
must read my mind because she’s laughing.

“Not
funny.”

“Sure
it is.”

“Uncle
Evan!!”

“Hey,
buddy. Want some French toast?”

“Good
morning, Ethan!” Kacie greets him. “Hi, Jenna.” Ugh. I didn’t see her. Can’t
she just stay the fuck in bed until it’s time for her to leave for good?

“Morning,
Kacie,” Ethan says politely. This kid is so sweet. Kacie might start loving him
more than me if he keeps it up.

“How
did you sleep? Was the bed comfy?”

“He
could sleep anywhere,” Jenna answers.

“Coffee
pot is over there,” I inform Jenna before Kacie gets it for her. She’s too nice
to this bitch. “Help yourself.”

“Thank
you.”

Out of
the corner of my eye, I see Kacie helping Ethan onto one of the stools at the
counter. They’re whispering and snickering to each other. “What’s going on?”

Kacie
peeks over her shoulder. “Are you paranoid or something?”

“Only
when you’re up to something.” She rolls her eyes. The first round of French
toast is ready, so I drop it onto plates and place them in front of her and
Ethan.

“Thank
you, Uncle Evan,” they say at the same time. I shake my head, but the two of
them laughing is too cute not to smile.

Jenna
pours Ethan a cup of chocolate milk after getting her coffee and sits next to
her son. “Do you make breakfast every morning?” Either she didn’t sleep well or
she’s just being a grumpy bitch for the hell of it.

“We
have breakfast together every day if that’s what you’re wondering.” It’s
exactly what she wants to know.

“Cute,”
she mumbles. I don’t acknowledge it.

“Most
days, it’s the only hour we see each other,” Kacie adds. “We’ve learned to make
the best of whatever time we have. You don’t get moments like this back.” I
hate that she feels the need to explain anything we do to Jenna, although she
may have been telling her to emphasize that what we have isn’t a fluke. “I
heard a rumor that someone is finally going fishing with Evan. Is that true?”

“It’s
me! I’m going!” Ethan blurts out.

“Thank
you so much.” Kacie pretends to lower her voice. “I hate fishing, but he really
likes it. You’re going to make your uncle very happy.”

“I’m
sure it will be a lot of fun. Right, Ethan?” Jenna perks up. Was she rubbing
that in Kacie’s face?

“Yup,”
he answers with a mouthful of food. “When will you be home, Kacie?”

“Close
to dinnertime.” Kacie stands up and takes her dishes to the sink.

“How
about we meet at Aunt Grace’s? They want to meet Ethan anyway, and she was just
saying how much she misses you.”

“That
works for me if everyone else is okay with it. I’ll pick up dessert from that
bakery you like near the school.”

“Shame
we don’t have time to make one of your homemade chocolate cakes. We haven’t had
one of those in a while.” The look in her eyes is clearly one of warning to be
on my best behavior. She should know better by now.

 I
steal Kacie’s seat to eat my breakfast. She has a few things to do upstairs
before she goes to work anyway. Ethan is done, but doesn’t get up. Even though
she declined my offer of making her something, Jenna finishes off what he left
on his plate. She makes a comment about it tasting better than she thought it
would, but I ignore her. I’m not trying to impress her. What she thinks of me
doesn’t matter. It never has. It never will.

“There’s
this lake I’ve been meaning to go to, but we’ll have to make a stop first. The
place doesn’t open for an hour or so. I need someone to help me get my stuff
from the garage before we can go anywhere.”

“I’ll
help you,” Ethan says.

“Cool.
Hope you’re strong. Some of it is pretty heavy.”

“I’m
six. I’m not a baby.”

He has
the Pierce stubborn gene that completely skipped his dad. “When is your
birthday?” I don’t know what hurts more. The fact that I didn’t see him as a
baby or that I don’t know when his birthday is.

“December
second.” He was born eight months to the day after his dad died. I should’ve been
there this whole damn time.

“He
was a few weeks early,” Jenna states, smiling down at him. “It all worked out
because it was the day my life started again.”

The
shuffling of bags makes me search for Kacie. “Have a good day, guys,” she
calls, heading to the front door.

“I’ll
be back,” I tell Ethan. He hollers out a goodbye to Kacie. I catch up to her
and help with her stuff. “Why do you carry so much shit back and forth?”

“I
thought I’d have time to work on some of this last night,” she clarifies. “But someone
kept me busy.” The trunk of her car flips up and she throws in the biggest bag.
“Sorry I’m rushing, but I didn’t realize how late it was. Will you be okay
today?”

“Don’t
you mean will I be able to control myself around Jenna?”

She
smiles. “Yeah.”

“She’ll
be safe. I would never act like a dick in front of Ethan.”

“That’s
comforting. Good luck. Don’t forget what I told you. He’s going to remember
this weekend with you for a very long time. Make it a good memory for him and
take some pictures.”

“He’s not
the only one who will be thinking of this for a while. Have a good day.” I kiss
her a little harder than I should.

“Thanks,”
she responds. “You and me.”

“You
and me.”

I
don’t go back inside until her car is pulling out of the driveway. When I walk
back inside, Jenna is being an ass-kisser and washing some of the dishes, while
Ethan is standing by the back door and looking at the pool. It’s easy to
pretend like she’s not here, but I have to get over disliking her. There isn’t
anything that will keep me away from the only link to my brother. Not even the
one he was chasing when he was taken from me. At some point, I’m going to have
to stop thinking that way. Part of me knows she didn’t actually kill him, but
another part can’t let go of the fact that he’d still be here if it wasn’t for
her. It’s hypocritical, I suppose. It’s probably the same way my parents feel
about me. My head is fucked up about this whole damn thing. I’ll sort it out
later.

“Do
you mind keeping an eye on him for five minutes while I take a quick shower?”

“Go
ahead. He’ll be fine.”

“Famous
last words,” she says. I turn to her. “I’m only teasing you, Evan. There aren’t
many people I trust to watch him. I only started letting him stay with my
neighbors two years ago, and that’s only because I didn’t have any other
choice. They get sick of me calling to check on him. I know he’s safer with you
than anyone.”

“Why
didn’t you ever ask my parents to help you out?” Her parents never supported
her.

“They
don’t know about him. I went to their house two months after the funeral, but
they slammed the door in my face. I figured there was no reason to go back. My
cousin helped me out, but she got married and moved out of state. That’s when
my neighbors started pitching in.” I sigh. “You have every right to hate me. I
don’t blame you. I’d hate me, too, if I was in your shoes. Just, please, don’t
take it out on Ethan. He’s innocent in all of this.”

“That
will never happen. I’m sorry about my parents. They don’t speak to me, either.”

“What?
Why not? Since when?”

“Since
the day Ethan died. Well, that’s not entirely true. They blame me just as much
as they blame you, so that’s all I hear.”

“How
the hell is it your fault? I’m the reason he was where he was.” She starts to
cry and the guilt creeps in. Fuck me.

“They
believe I should’ve stopped him from going out in the first place. I tried. I
tried so fucking hard to just take it and let them get out their frustration.”
I glance over at Ethan. “Do you want the TV on, buddy?”

“Okay,”
he says. Jenna remains standing by the counter while I get him set up and find
the channel he wants. Why can’t she go take her damn shower?

“I’m
sorry they did that to you,” she tells me. “I understand they were grieving,
but you all lost him. They should’ve been there for you. It’s their job to look
out for you, too.”

“Not
how they saw it, but it doesn’t matter. I ended up in Tampa. Best decision I
ever made was getting on that airplane. Anyway, go get ready. He’ll be fine.”

Thankfully,
she listens without saying another word. I take Ethan into the garage to pull
all of my gear out. I haven’t used it in a long time. Most of the stuff I own
is for salt water fishing, but we’ll make do. He notices the Scirocco right
away. I fall more in love with this kid every time he opens his mouth. He wants
me to unlock the door so he can climb in. Of course I do. How can I resist? He
thinks the car is the coolest thing in the world, and doesn’t get out until I
promise to take him for a ride sometime before he goes home. What was I saying
about him being stubborn?

There
wasn’t much stored in the garage. Once I brought the car over here, I took over
one whole side. Kacie still doesn’t come in here, so she doesn’t mind. She’s
gotten rid of her grandmother’s clothes, but she’s not quite ready to part with
the car. I’m just glad she’s heading in the right direction. It would worry me
if she was holding onto everything. Helping the women in need was therapeutic
for her. I tried to get her to park in the garage, but she says she’s used to
her car being out front. Sometimes while she’s at work, I’ll drive her
grandmother’s car to keep it running. It’s not a secret, but Kacie never wants
to talk about it.

We
finally get to the fishing stuff when Jenna comes out into the garage. “Nice
car,” she says, pointing to the black Mercedes.

“Don’t
even touch it.”

“Is it
yours?”

“No.
I’m serious. Leave it alone.” I refuse to tell her whose it is or why it’s here.

“Fine.
What about this one?”

“That’s
Uncle Evan’s. He said he’s going to take me for a ride.”