pizza tonight.”
“Ding! Nice change of subject. And, no, I don’t wanna tag along.”
“I don’t remember inviting you.”
“Just you, your high school sweetheart, and a pack of kids. Cozy.”
It would be good. Since he wouldn’t put the moves on her in front of the kids, even in his current state of sexual starvation, maybe he could regain his footing. Being forced to keep his hands to himself might give him a chance to remind himself she was just using their past to further her career.
So far that had yet to trump Hot. Alone. Cabin.
“You’ve got that glazed look you get when you fall in a plot hole,” Kevin said.
He’d fallen in some kind of hole, all right. And it was time to climb out before his libido dug it any deeper.
He slapped his brother on the shoulder. “I’m going to round up the kids. Catch you later.”
Not surprisingly, Joe found Steph slumped in a chair under their camper’s awning, earbuds in place and eyes closed.
He pulled her right earbud out by the wire. “Hey, kiddo.”
“Hey, Uncle Joe.”
“Keri and I are taking all the kids into town for pizza. You in?”
“Nah. I’ll just hang out here.”
Even taking into account pre-teen attitude and maybe even the onset of feminine crankiness, which he did not want to consider, Steph seemed out of sorts. “It’s not like you to pass up pizza. There might even be ice cream.”
Steph shrugged. “Not hungry.”
Now he knew something was wrong. Steph’s last name might be Porter, but she was a Kowalski and Kowalskis never missed a meal. “What’s buggin’ you?”
A one-shoulder shrug this time, for variety. “Nothin’.”
“Pants on fire?”
“Whatever.”
If she were one of his nephews, Joe would roughhouse her into submission, but she’d turned the corner into that awkward phase where he couldn’t drag her onto his lap and tickle her until she begged for mercy.
Of course, if she were one of the boys, they wouldn’t be in this situation to start with. They were pretty vocal about everything, including anything weighing on their minds.
“I heard Mom crying today.”
Shit.
“She thought we were all at the store, but I forgot my money so I came back. She was in her bedroom with the door closed and she was crying.”
“It’s a hard time for your mom, honey. For all of you.”
“It makes me mad at my dad,” she said in a little voice that reminded him of the little girl who had crawled onto her uncle’s lap, looking for comfort after a scrape with her cousins.
Joe satisfied himself with crouching in front of her, his hands on her knees. “You’re going to have a lot of mixed-up feelings, Steph, and they’re all normal.”
She shrugged again, but it was as though the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, making the gesture slow motion. “I love them both.”
“And they both love you. You don’t ever have to choose sides.” He longed for the bygone days when a magic kiss could heal any boo-boo. “No matter how things turn out, it will get better. The emotional upheaval will settle and you’ll find a new normal.”
When she sighed and managed a small smile, Joe stood again. He was getting too old to crouch down like that for long. “You sure pizza and ice cream won’t make you feel better?”
“I just wanna hang out and enjoy time alone. Maybe I’ll get to go in the pool without any brats trying to drown me.”
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then gave her hair a tousle. When she squealed and slapped at his hand, Joe laughed and went off in search of the brats.
Twenty minutes later, he was driving north with four rambunctious boys and Keri.
Keri, who smelled like soap and shampoo and the tropical flowers of her skin—and mosquito—friendly herbal insect repellent. No doubt she’d go for the DEET-heavy stuff within five minutes of getting back, but for now it was hard not to be distracted by the fresh, feminine scent wafting his way.
Okay, time to get a grip,
“Ding! Nice change of subject. And, no, I don’t wanna tag along.”
“I don’t remember inviting you.”
“Just you, your high school sweetheart, and a pack of kids. Cozy.”
It would be good. Since he wouldn’t put the moves on her in front of the kids, even in his current state of sexual starvation, maybe he could regain his footing. Being forced to keep his hands to himself might give him a chance to remind himself she was just using their past to further her career.
So far that had yet to trump Hot. Alone. Cabin.
“You’ve got that glazed look you get when you fall in a plot hole,” Kevin said.
He’d fallen in some kind of hole, all right. And it was time to climb out before his libido dug it any deeper.
He slapped his brother on the shoulder. “I’m going to round up the kids. Catch you later.”
Not surprisingly, Joe found Steph slumped in a chair under their camper’s awning, earbuds in place and eyes closed.
He pulled her right earbud out by the wire. “Hey, kiddo.”
“Hey, Uncle Joe.”
“Keri and I are taking all the kids into town for pizza. You in?”
“Nah. I’ll just hang out here.”
Even taking into account pre-teen attitude and maybe even the onset of feminine crankiness, which he did not want to consider, Steph seemed out of sorts. “It’s not like you to pass up pizza. There might even be ice cream.”
Steph shrugged. “Not hungry.”
Now he knew something was wrong. Steph’s last name might be Porter, but she was a Kowalski and Kowalskis never missed a meal. “What’s buggin’ you?”
A one-shoulder shrug this time, for variety. “Nothin’.”
“Pants on fire?”
“Whatever.”
If she were one of his nephews, Joe would roughhouse her into submission, but she’d turned the corner into that awkward phase where he couldn’t drag her onto his lap and tickle her until she begged for mercy.
Of course, if she were one of the boys, they wouldn’t be in this situation to start with. They were pretty vocal about everything, including anything weighing on their minds.
“I heard Mom crying today.”
Shit.
“She thought we were all at the store, but I forgot my money so I came back. She was in her bedroom with the door closed and she was crying.”
“It’s a hard time for your mom, honey. For all of you.”
“It makes me mad at my dad,” she said in a little voice that reminded him of the little girl who had crawled onto her uncle’s lap, looking for comfort after a scrape with her cousins.
Joe satisfied himself with crouching in front of her, his hands on her knees. “You’re going to have a lot of mixed-up feelings, Steph, and they’re all normal.”
She shrugged again, but it was as though the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, making the gesture slow motion. “I love them both.”
“And they both love you. You don’t ever have to choose sides.” He longed for the bygone days when a magic kiss could heal any boo-boo. “No matter how things turn out, it will get better. The emotional upheaval will settle and you’ll find a new normal.”
When she sighed and managed a small smile, Joe stood again. He was getting too old to crouch down like that for long. “You sure pizza and ice cream won’t make you feel better?”
“I just wanna hang out and enjoy time alone. Maybe I’ll get to go in the pool without any brats trying to drown me.”
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then gave her hair a tousle. When she squealed and slapped at his hand, Joe laughed and went off in search of the brats.
Twenty minutes later, he was driving north with four rambunctious boys and Keri.
Keri, who smelled like soap and shampoo and the tropical flowers of her skin—and mosquito—friendly herbal insect repellent. No doubt she’d go for the DEET-heavy stuff within five minutes of getting back, but for now it was hard not to be distracted by the fresh, feminine scent wafting his way.
Okay, time to get a grip,
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