With Every Breath (20 page)

“I know what the court order says,” she snapped.

“Great, so why are we even discussing this? Again.” He pressed his fingers into the bridge of his nose. He’d need coffee for this conversation—or whiskey, one of the two.

“Kyle bought tickets for the water park and we’ve got a camping spot.” Her sigh whistled through the phone.

He stopped pacing to glare at the wall. “Why the hell are you planning stuff with Micky on my weekends? I don’t give a shit if you reserved a camping spot.”

“I was being nice letting you see him outside of your visitation. I didn’t have to, you know.” The strain to her voice told him she was on the edge of losing it. And he didn’t give a damn.

“Don’t give me that shit,” he growled. She’d been dangling visits in his face for months, as if she were providing him a privilege by allowing him visitation. This time, she’d gone too far, and he was past being agreeable and accommodating—all for Micky, only for Micky. He raked a hand through his hair, leaving it disheveled and on end. “A couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon isn’t going to replace my regular weekend.”

If they lived in the same town, he’d have joint custody. Because she lived forty minutes away, he got every other weekend, every other holiday, every Father’s Day, and Micky’s every other birthday. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

“You’ll be busy anyway.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’ll be busy with your girlfriend.”

“Is that what this is about? Jaden?”

“I should have known you’d hook up with her the moment I left you. She’s the one you wanted in the first place, right?”

His anger surged. “Jaden hasn’t been in the picture since the day I chose you—us. I’m the one who stuck around, Kensie. You left. You chose this. It’s not your business who I’m with now, just like it’s not my business who you’re with.”

She snorted indignation. “I don’t care who you’re with. But with her there, I don’t want you ignoring Micky.”

He clenched his jaw and prayed for patience. “Do you even hear how ridiculous you sound?”

“It’s not ridiculous. It’s me being logical.”

“Your logic is skewed.” It always had been, but he kept that to himself. Saying so would only cause her to hang up, with nothing resolved. He crossed to the coffee machine.

“Oh, how’s that?”

This conversation was going nowhere, and he was exhausted going rounds with her. He shoved a filter into the machine. “So, you’re saying that when you’re with your boyfriend, you don’t pay attention to Micky?”

“Of course not,” she huffed. “I would never do that.”

He uncapped the coffee can and dumped the grounds inside, not bothering to measure. “No shit. And neither would I.”

She changed the subject: “I don’t know why you’re being so difficult. Micky doesn’t care about that dumb festival.”

“He’s been talking about it for weeks.”

“Micky loves whatever we tell him to love. He’s five.”

“I don’t tell him what to love and what not to love, and neither should you. He wants to go. He told me so. And it’s my weekend, so end of discussion. Understood?”

“You’re impossible—”

“I’m not arguing with you about this, Kensie. Do you understand?”

“I can’t talk to you when you get like this. I was just trying to give you some time with your new girlfriend.”

No, she wasn’t, and they both knew it. “Just follow the court order. This doesn’t have to be difficult.” He poured water into the machine and pressed the start button. “If you’re not here this afternoon, we’ll take it up with the judge.”

He hung up before she could argue. The closer they got to the final hearing, the harder she’d been to get along with. He didn’t understand it. It was what she wanted, so there was no reason for her to fight him every damn step of the way.

The scent of coffee flooded the kitchen and he took in a deep breath. Shit, he wished he understood women. His dad once told him never to try, he’d just get a headache. When he said it, though, it had been with an affectionate smile aimed at Cole’s mom.

“Hey, you.”

Jaden leaned against the doorframe. She was naked under his flannel, the top buttons undone, leaving the valley between her breasts exposed. Her tousled hair was draped over one shoulder, and her cheeks were flushed as if she’d just washed her face. He stumbled with his thoughts, his mind blanking.

“You’re beautiful,” he said on a breath. Every part of him was awake with an urge to be inside her again. Right now.

He crossed the room and swept her into his arms. She tilted her head, offering her mouth. He took it, crushing his lips against hers, and was inside her before they made it back upstairs.

“Rough night?”

Jaden stopped halfway up the stairs and shifted to grab the rail. David stood in the kitchen doorway, his gaze sweeping over her rumpled clothes with a smirk.

She glared down at him. “The roughest.”

He made a show of reading his watch. “We ate breakfast hours ago.”

She ignored his comment. “Nice to see you home.”

Finally.

He leaned into the doorframe with a grin. “Why, you miss me?”

“Hardly.” Her answer only deepened his smile. “But your wife did.”

“She worries too much.” He crossed his arms and flashed a grin. “Thanks for keeping her company. She hates when I leave town on business.”

“You two get things worked out?” She wanted to rip his ass; really lay into him. They hadn’t always despised each other. David had been a different person back when he’d been living his dream. After his knee injury, he turned bitter. Mia stuck by him through his recovery, put up with his depression and mood swings; her devotion never wavered. All these years later, he still hadn’t found a way to cope without being the football star he’d once been. Maybe he never would? She wished he’d grow up.

“Nothing to work out. She’s at a meeting with a client or something.” He took a sip from the coffee cup in his hand, then said, “So, how long you sticking around?”

“I leave on Tuesday.” A week ago, she’d worried her time here would drag by. Now, she wished it would slow down, just a little.

“I’ll be working all weekend, but I’m sure Mia will have some sort of party planned before you leave,” he said with a dismissive nod. “You know Mia; she loves her parties.”

“Nice seeing you again,” Jaden lied, and turned to walk up the stairs. She sat down on the edge of the bed and plugged in her cellphone to charge. It had died sometime last night, forgotten on the floor until much later.

Her phone dinged on while she changed into shorts and a tank top; it buzzed on the nightstand with missed message reminders. She needed a shower, but was exhausted. Nap first.

The bed was soft, inviting, and instantly put her in sluggish-mode. She flopped back onto mattress and pulled the comforter around her. Out of habit, she grabbed her phone to scroll through the notifications—social media tags, a voicemail this morning from the producer’s assistant. A voicemail from Ellie. Her finger hovered over the message; this was the first time in a while she’d hesitated over what to do with it. Cole’s offer to take Jaden to see her hung in the back of her mind. After a moment’s hesitation, she scrolled past and didn’t delete it.

Jaden set the phone down and burrowed under the blankets to stare at the ceiling. Her body was still warm from the afterglow of rolling around Cole’s bed, her lips still swollen from his kisses. She already wanted more—her body shivered with the idea of it.

She rolled over and smashed her face into the pillow. This cannot be good.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Thank God, I’m starving.”

Jaden glanced up from her laptop to eye Tatem, who plucked a piece of toast from the small plate beside her breakfast. She’d woken up famished, and before Mia attempted to burn pancakes, she slipped from the house with her computer and the excuse of catching up on blog posts. Plus, with David home, the air in the house was strained, and because she mostly wanted to tell him off, it was easier to keep her distance. Mia would be buzzing about the parade in an hour anyway.

And Cole will be there. One day, and she was already aching for a glimpse of him.

“Hi to you, too. I ordered you some food. Alison said you’d want the country-style breakfast.” Jaden nudged the plate of toast to the girl, who plopped into the booth across from her. “Jelly?”

She nodded, but didn’t wait for Jaden to pass the jelly rack. Stretching to make a selection, she said, “I swear, Alison makes the best hash browns in the world. Like, she should win awards and stuff.”

Smiling, Jaden picked up her fork and speared a piece of breakfast sausage. “I will not argue. They’re gold. How’s that post coming along?”

Tatem’s eyes brightened and she patted the messenger bag on the table. With a mouth full of fries, she said, “Like, super awesome. I brought my laptop so we can write together or whatever.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. And you’re really helping me out with the post for the fireman’s fundraiser.” Cutting up a bite of over-easy egg, she said. “Guess where that post’s going? The county’s Visitor’s Bureau website. Mia gave me the executive director’s number and I vetted your post.”

“Seriously? That’s super cool!” She blinked rapidly, her eyes moist. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Jaden pretended that she didn’t notice the strain in Tatem’s voice. “Of course, I didn’t. But I read what you wrote and the photos you chose. It’s a great piece. They’ll be lucky to have it.”

Watching the girl open up in the last week, and being a part of it, filled Jaden with a glow. There had been a time in Jaden’s life when the hurt and darkness almost consumed her. Between nights of locking herself in her room while her mom partied with friends or men in the other room, or listening to her mom blame Jaden for ruining her life, it hadn’t been easy to imagine anything more would exist for her. She’d been lucky though—she found Mia, who had been too persistent to let Jaden finish bricking up walls around her. There was so much spunk inside Tatem; Jaden hoped she found her person, her constant, before that fire could be snuffed out.

Tatem cleared her throat. “Super cool. Thanks, Jaden.”

Alison swept up to the table with a steaming plate of biscuits and gravy and country fried hash browns. She set the plate in front of Tatem. “This girl has an appetite like a teenage boy.” She clicked her tongue and perched a hand on her hip. “And not an ounce of fat on this one. I don’t know how she does it.”

Jaden laughed and waved the fork. “She hasn’t met her late twenties yet. Thanks, Alison. This is all great.”

“Is it true?” She grabbed a handful of apron to wipe her hands. “You’re featuring Pike’s Ridge Escape on your TV show?”

Jaden snuffed out a groan and masked it with a smile. “I’m hoping. I’ll finish my article and pitch it to my producer. It’s too late to have it featured this season, but I’d love to work it into next season.”

“I’ll have to tell Candi. You remember Candi?” Alison asked, but didn’t wait for Jaden to answer. “She’s a couple of years younger than you. Anyway, her cousin’s friend knows Samantha Sesnick—that’s the owner, you know? And she introduced her to this guy who is, like, some kind of landscape god.” She stepped closer and dropped her voice. “I mean, this guy is hot.”

Jaden exchanged an amused glance with Tatem, who was busy shoving potatoes into her mouth.

“He’s going to do all of her landscaping. Candi has the hots for him, so she plans to schedule all these women’s teas there when he’s outside.” She shrugged and picked up Jaden’s glass of ice water. “I’m married so it won’t be as much fun for me. But I’ll still go.” She sent Jaden a wink and tapped the glass. “I’ll get you a refill and be right back.”

Tatem grimaced and reached for another piece of toast. “I think there’s a shortage of men in this town or something.”

Jaden shook her head with a laugh. “Or something.”

Tatem’s eyes widened and her shoulders drooped. “Ugh. Great.”

Jaden glanced in the direction of her gaze, to the front door. A small group of teenagers had squeezed through the door, talking animatedly, oblivious to their surroundings. Three girls held the center of attention for the group, one the clear leader in the way she flipped her hair and looked down her cute button nose, and the others fell in line. There were three boys with them—a chubby boy in glasses, a lanky kid who laughed a little too loud, and a good-looking, broody dark haired boy who hung back just enough without distancing himself.