“Are you okay, little man?” he addresses Jonas right away. With a hand on Jonas’s helmet, Noah swivels Jonas’s head so my son will look up at him.
“I stopped,” Jonas repeats.
“Excellent observation skills,” Noah states. “You should be aware of your environment at all times.” He pauses, keeping his eyes on my boy. “You mentioned at the café that you like ships. Is that true?”
“I do.” Jonas focuses on Noah as well.
“Then if it’s okay with your mom, I have something I’d like to show you.” Noah glances up at me. Those silvery eyes sparkle, and I can’t decide if it’s a result of his anger at the driver or concern for my son.
Either way, my foolish heart tells me to kiss him. But I don’t trust that irrational organ. It’s gotten me into trouble before, and Noah Weller oozes trouble.
7
[Noah]
“Are you sure we should be here?” Tessa questions as we turn onto the long drive leading to my brother’s house.
I sent Zack a text and learned he and the family aren’t home today, but I have his permission to show Jonas the backyard.
“I swear, this is my brother’s place. He’s cool that we’re here.” And once we enter the backyard, Jonas is thrilled.
“Mom, look at that tree house.” Excitement fills his little voice, and something rattles inside my chest.
“My nephews like to pretend they’re pirates, so while that looks like a tree house, they call it their pirate ship. River… er, their mom even put a captain’s wheel up there. There’s also a telescope to search the lake for other pirates.”
“Can I go up there?” Jonas asks his mother, but his eyes shift to me, wide and eager. I remember that look on Zack’s face when he was a kid, wanting to hang out on our platform and disappear into our imagination for a bit. That time feels like forever ago.
“You’re sure this is okay?” Tessa prompts once more.
“I swear.” Then I turn to Jonas. “Go ahead.”
Tessa and I watch as he races for the new ladder, built sturdy and strong compared to the wiggling rungs once nailed into the tree trunk. There’s also a swing dangling off an extension on one side. The entire structure is larger, wider, and more solid than what Zack and I had as kids.
Instantly, Jonas’s head pops through one of the windows. “Mom!” He waves at his mother but disappears almost as quickly. She hardly has time to wave in response before he’s gone from sight.
“I lived here as a kid.” Keeping my eyes on the tree fort.
Tessa turns and examines the backside of the house. It’s just an average two-story house compared to many of the mansions along this road. The property alone is worth millions due to its location on the bluff above Lake Michigan. The house is undergoing extensive renovations now that Zack lives here, but my brother isn’t trying to restore the place to what we had as children. Rather, he’s giving this house a new life, a new purpose, with a new family. One that won’t fall apart from lies and deceit.
“My future sister-in-law is River. The boys want to call her mom as their own is shit. I’m still getting used to the idea.” I shrug. I adore River, and she’s done wonders for both Zack and the twins. It’s strange that the boys will call a new woman Mom when they have a mother, but then again, theirs hasn’t been much of one. Zack calls our father Robert because he doesn’t consider him a dad. It’s all kinds of fucked up in my head but only proves blood doesn’t make a family strong. Love does.
“My mother’s best friend lived next door, although that was their second home. Their first was in Chicago.” I nod at the McCaryns’ place. “My father believed he needed to keep up with their wealth. My mother disagreed. She loved her friend and their family and didn’t need more. My dad formulated this self-induced pressure to be like them.” I don’t know why I’m spilling more of my family history to Tessa, but something about her makes me want to talk.
And I’m still struggling from when she asked me if I was hurt in the riots. Her concern really sounded genuine. My throat tightened up when she told me she was glad I was here. I didn’t know what was happening to me.
Reaching up, I scratch the back of my neck. “I seem to have word vomit around you. Just spilling all my secrets.” I laugh to dismiss my current admission. In twenty-four hours, I’ve told her more than I’ve ever said to anyone about my family. I’ve never been with a woman long enough to mention my parents or my past. Sipping whiskey, attending basketball games, or going to the theater doesn’t lead to a personal history lesson. Entertaining was more about someone else than sharing about myself, and until this woman, I’ve learned to keep things neatly packed away.
“Well, it’s better than vomiting,” she teases, nudging me.
“I really want to kiss you again,” I blurt because my tongue cannot be controlled.
“I’m not stressing about anything right now.” Her voice lowers. She glances up at the tree fort and narrows her eyes as the top of Jonas’s head comes into view while he looks through the telescope.
“I was thinking more like I could kiss you for me.”
Tessa shifts, facing me. Her blue eyes settle on mine, and a strange calm comes over me. I’m calmer than I was finding her having coffee with Mason. Calmer than that asshole almost hitting her kid. Calmer than when I tossed my coffee on his windshield, pushing for an altercation. Talking about the riots, I was coming out of my skin, but standing here now, spending time with her and watching her son enjoy the new tree house, I want to kiss her…for me.
Tessa gnaws at her lower lip, fighting a grin while struggling with something in her head.
“With Jonas around—”
“I understand,” I interject before she can reject me completely. Her son is the perfect excuse for why kissing her is a bad idea. I don’t want to confuse her or put crazy thoughts in her head. I won’t be sticking around.
Then again, those crazy thoughts—like family and future—are creeping into mine.
And her rejection is the reminder I need that Lakeside is not the place for me.
+ +
“Thank you so much for letting Jonas play in the tree house. That was really sweet of you and made his day.” Tessa smiles up at me once we return to the inn. We both have the day off, which shouldn’t be the case. One or the other of us should be working, but the weekends might be difficult for her. Spending time with her son is important.
“What are you guys doing for the rest of the day?” What am I asking? Why? Why can’t I walk away from her? We had our morning together. However, the thought of returning to the condo in town alone and spending the day searching for a place to live feels daunting and sad. Spring is in the air, so I want to be outside.
“We’re going treasure hunting,” Jonas declares. He’s a little character like his mother, telling us all the things he saw on the lake which couldn’t possibly exist. Like a giant purple octopus and a white whale, and a ghost ship in the middle of the day.