Jake was resting his hips against the counter, his hand wrapped around a fresh mug of coffee.
And Josie was at the sink, doing Conner and Amber’s breakfast dishes.
Until a moment ago, all had been well at Lavender House.
Last night, Josie had rallied. The kids saw it and relaxed. And not a one of them said anything or gave a bad vibe after a night where they slept under the same roof that their dad slept under, doing it in a bed with Josie.
He’d gone to open the gym while Josie stayed to make breakfast and control the mayhem that was the Spear kids getting ready for school.
Jake had returned ten minutes ago.
However, Conner had just dropped the bomb that Ellie had visited last night, something Jake had not shared with his woman.
It wasn’t the only thing he hadn’t shared, the rest of it she still didn’t know.
And it was clear from her look she didn’t like that he’d delayed in doing this. So he was not looking forward to giving it all to her.
Still aiming her glare at Jake, she asked his son, “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“Sure. Her loss,” Conner muttered.
“Con,” Josie called, finally moving her eyes to his son and Jake watched Conner look to her. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly, and so fucking sweet, he tasted that sweetness in his mouth.
“I’m good, Josie,” Conner replied, also quietly.
She studied him closely then, obviously approving of what she saw, she nodded her head.
When she did, Conner tipped his head back and yelled at the ceiling, “Amber! Get a move on!”
This got Jake another cut of Josie’s eyes and he knew why. She didn’t like shouting and obviously held Jake accountable for Conner doing it.
He was already fighting a grin but it became harder when her brows lifted when Amber was heard shouting back, “It’s not like I don’t have my own car! Go without me!”
She tipped her head to the side and crossed her arms on her chest when Conner continued the shouted conversation with, “You’re gonna be late!”
“Conner,” Josie called, again with her eyes to Jake.
“Yeah?” Conner asked and she looked to his boy.
“It’s sweet you’re looking after your sister’s attendance record and don’t wish for her to be tardy. But if you would do that not shouting the house down, I won’t attempt to get you to eat green beans tonight.”
Conner grinned big and said, “Deal.”
At this, Jake swallowed down laughter.
Unfortunately, he made a noise doing it and regained Josie’s glare.
“Later, Eath,” Conner said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed out.
“Later, Con,” Ethan said with mouth full.
“’Bye, guys,” he said to Jake and Josie.
“Have a good day, Conner,” Josie called to his departing back.
“Later, son.” Jake did the same.
Amber rushed in the second he was gone, crying, “I can’t find my geometry book!”
“You’ve been in five rooms in this house since you got here, honey. Have you checked them all?” Jake asked.
But before his daughter could answer—or from the look on her face lose it—Josie moved, stating, “I’ll help you look, Amber.”
She disappeared on the heels of his daughter.
Ethan jumped off his chair to take his empty plate to the sink, declaring, “Josie’s eggs are the freakin’ bomb.”
Jake took a sip of coffee and didn’t reply because he didn’t need to. His son spoke truth.
Ethan put his plate in the sink and turned to his old man. “So, instead of Josie bein’ around our place more, we should come here more. She doesn’t have as big a TV but her couch is all squishy.”
“You’d give up our TV for a squishy couch?” Jake asked.
“It’s like it hugs you,” Ethan answered and Jake grinned at his son.
“Got it!” Amber cried, waving around her geometry book as she ran back into the kitchen, Josie following her when she did.
Amber shoved it into her bag, dashed to her dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then dashed to Josie and did the same.
As she did this, Jake again gave Josie credit for his daughter’s return to sweet.
But it was all Amber when she said to Ethan, “Later, runt.’
“Ugh!” Ethan grunted. “You suck!”
Amber halted in her dash out the door, gave her little brother a cute smile and teased, “But you still love me.”
“Hardly,” Ethan shot back.
“You totally do,” she returned.
“I can’t love someone who sucks,” he told her.
She grinned at him, unperturbed by this, and took off.
“Eath,” Jake called and his son turned annoyed eyes to his dad. “Teeth brushed. Get your shit together, bag by the door. Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he grunted and stalked out.
“Babe?” he called to Josie who was wetting a cloth at the sink.
She turned eyes to him, looked to the door Ethan just used, looked back to Jake and said one word.
“Ellie?”
He grinned and replied, “Babe.”
She tossed the cloth into the sink and put her hands to her hips. Hips she’d put jeans on that morning and it sucked he didn’t have her in a nightie but it was the right way for her to walk downstairs to his kids.
“Is Con all right?” she asked.
“He said he was,” he answered.
“Is Con all right?” she repeated.
He lowered his voice and replied, “Babe, if he says he’s fine, he’s fine.”
This was clearly not enough for her and he knew it when she asked, “What did Ellie say?”
“She wants him back.”
“And he said no and that’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
“He was gutted two weeks ago,” she reminded him.
“Two weeks in high school is two years in real life,” he returned and watched his woman snap her mouth shut because it had been a long time for both of them but they both knew that to be true.
“Gettin’ it all out there, more happened last night while your shit started to go down here,” he shared even though he didn’t want to.
But he had to.
Donna lived in that town and Donna had a mouth. Josie could see her or it could get to her.
So his woman had to know.
“What?” she asked
“Donna came around.”
Her eyes got wide.
Quick, before Ethan got back, he gave it to her, ending with, “She’s whacked but I’m pretty sure this time she got my point.”
“She isn’t whacked, Jake,” she replied. “When you’re young you can have everything you want and not realize you have it.”
He shook his head. “I was thirty when Con was born, Donna twenty-nine. She wasn’t young. She’s just whacked.”
She also shook her head. “At any age, you can still not realize you have your heart’s desire, lose it, and spend years in denial, searching for its replacement at the same time hoping it comes back.”
Jake froze.
Your heart’s desire.
Those words pounded in his brain so hard he didn’t have it in him to reply, to move, to do dick. All he could do was stare at his woman.
Your heart’s desire, she’d said and she was fucking talking about him.
Fuck, she was gone for him too.
Deep.
He had her heart, he knew it in that instant and he also knew one other thing.
He sure as fuck was never giving it back.
“Jake?” she called when he said nothing.
“Right here,” he pushed out.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
Fuck yeah, he was.
“Yep,” he answered.
Her head tipped to the side and she opened her mouth but Ethan took that moment to walk in.
“So, who’s takin’ me to school?” he asked but didn’t wait for an answer, he kept jabbering. “I cannot freakin’ wait to tell everyone I met Lavon freaking Burkett! They’re gonna spaz!”