Ally’s eyes widened. “You mean I actually get to meet Brody?” She drew out his name, making him sound like some scandalous secret. “How very un-Jenny-like.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. It’s not like you don’t already know who he is. It’ll just be...official now.”
More wide eyes, this time with a gasp. “Official in what way? Like boyfriend official?”
Um... “Maybe?” She gave Ally the abbreviated version of her ‘let’s give this a try’ conversation with Brody, minus the hot ‘I’m going to own your pussy’ reinforcer. “We didn’t really discuss the details.”
“Well, no. You were too busy rubbing all over each other like wild meerkats.”
“As opposed to tame meerkats?”
“Shut up and go with it. I have preggo brain, for God’s sake.” Ally popped a chunk of pistachio muffin into her mouth, moaned like she wanted to leave her husband for it, then flipped Jenny off when she laughed.
“As much as I love the harassment, I’ve gotta run. I have to grab some paperwork from the salon before I meet Heather’s friend Elena for dinner. She seems super excited about the prospect of coming on board and, if we can work out a reasonable salary, I think I’m going to do it.” She’d be strapped for fluid cash, but she’d have more time for her mom, which trumped everything else.
“I actually met Elena last night. Heather brought her out and Luke kept tripping over his damn tongue. Elena didn’t seem to mind.” Ally made her goofy squicked-out sister face and Jenny perked up.
“Luke’s finally coming out of his shell?”
“Ugh, I don’t know. Maybe. Much as I’d love a sister-in-law someday, I don’t really want to watch it unfold, you know? It’s gross. And embarrassing.”
“At least you have a sibling to humiliate you.” Jenny waggled a finger at her friend and smiled ruefully. “I’d give anything to have someone here to help out with Mom.”
Ally wilted a little. “Ugh, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
Jenny winked when her phone chimed in her purse. “No worries,” she said, as she dug it out. “At least I’ve got you—oh, my God.”
Those panties we lost in the kitchen this morning? Sam just found them.
“What?” Ally demanded, leaning over the counter as far as her baby belly would allow. “Something happen with Helen?”
“No! It’s just...” Four hours away and he could still make her blush. “It’s just Brody.”
Ally grinned, her wedding ring sparkling from atop her baby bump. “Be careful, girlfriend, or you’ll end up like me.”
That’s what I’m hoping.
“Mmm-hmm, I see that look in your eye, Jenny Lynn, but the warning still stands—be careful. Take your time. If this guy—Brody—is the real deal, he won’t mind the wait.”
***
“You’re driving this week, by the way.” His back on the weight bench, Sam hefted a solid three-forty into the air with a grunt.
Brody frowned from the spotter’s position above his friend. “No way, dude. Pretty sure it’s your turn. I caught the trip to St. Louis.”
“Yeah, but you got laid this weekend. I didn’t.” Sam brought the bar back down, his arms shaking.
“Since when does that count for anything?” And when did his sex life become Sam’s business anyway?
His buddy laughed as he got to his feet and Brody took his place. Sam took off sixty pounds and Brody did six easy reps.
“So, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. The timing’s kinda shitty now that you’ve got thongs and shit laying around, but...” Clamping another forty back on, Sam winked.
“I’m glad you’re entertained. Now get to the fucking point.” Up, one, down. Up, two, down.
“I’m moving Dani into my place for a while. I can’t have her raising my nephew in that damn slum she’s in now. The guy in the apartment below her got busted for dealing heroin last week.”
Up-three-down. Up-four-down. “That’s brutal. But what’s it got to do with me?”
“My tolerance for anything under three feet tall is about as weak as you right now.”
Fucker. “Add the goddamn weight already.”
Sam chuckled and slid on another forty. “I’m just thinking I might need a place to escape every now and then. You’ve got a pretty decent couch.”
“You wanna crash here while Dani and the kid can have free reign at your place?” Imagine that. Sam thinking about someone other than himself.
“More or less. I’ll tough it out when the little mama comes to town though, so you two can fuck like bunnies on the kitchen counter or wherever else it is you like to bend her over.”
Boom. Brody dropped the bar and jack-knifed up. “You’re gonna ask for my help and disrespect my girl in the same sentence?”
Sam held up his hands, a cocky grin on his face despite the gesture. “Whoa, man. I’m just giving you shit. It’s been awhile, right?”
Not long enough apparently.
“She’s cool as hell,” Sam added. “I like her. You like her. Maybe she’s good for you, too, if you know what I mean.”
All too well. “You had to go there, huh?” Once again, bringing up his inability to control his shit.
“Avoiding it is exactly why you’re still dealing with it.” Sam pointed to the bench sternly and Brody glowered.
“I’m keeping my appointments.” Started doing that meditation shit Doc Sherman had recommended, too. Felt a little like a hippie while he did it, but it worked, so whatever.
“Only since Jenny, bro.”
Yeah, well... “Does it matter as long as I’m going?”
“You gotta work this out for you—not because you wanna keep her around.”
“It ain’t like that.” Brody reclaimed the seat and got in position once again.
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. I’m just saying it’s a narrow friggin’ line. Try and stay on the right side of it, yeah?”
He was. Every damn day, one night at a time. “Yeah, man, I got it. You ready?”
Sam nodded and Brody pounded off two shaky reps.
“Hit me again.”
“You sure?” The arrogant bastard smirked. “You haven’t pushed over three-sixty since the desert.”
“Only way to get back to that guy is to be that guy, right?”
Sam gave him a respectful nod, added twenty more, and grinned like a fool while Brody pumped it out, not once, not twice, but three times. “Holy fuck, buddy. Welcome back.”
***
“I can’t offer you full-time right now, but a solid twenty hours a week is doable.” Jenny smiled at the pretty blonde seated across from her near the front of The Lodge, River Bend’s requisite upper-crust restaurant. Truth be told, it wasn’t even that classy, but it’s warm, cabin-like decor and flickering fireplace, gave a cozy, semi-professional feel that the diner did not.
“Heather got me a few hours at McCauley’s, too, so I should be set for a while. Frankly, I’m just happy to get away from Hastings. I need a fresh start.” Eyes cast down, Elena stirred a straw through her lemonade. While she definitely looked the part of a cosmetologist, with her perfectly coiffed do and pristine make-up, she had an anxious edge about her that made Jenny nervous.
“Any chance you’re running from a man?” she asked gently, knowing that burned look all too well.
“More like sprinting.” Elena gave a genuine laugh, as the waiter quietly removed their empty plates from the table. “I hope that doesn’t freak you out. I mean, it wasn’t that bad a situation. He only hit me the once.”
Oh, God. “Elena...that’s....” Unforgivable.
“Yeah, I know. One time too many. It’s just...I was with him since high school. I’ve never known anything else. I’m not going to lie—making this move scares the hell out of me. I have Heather, though. If anyone understands what I’m going through, it’s her.”