“Me too.” Riley smiled, a dark grin that gave Ann shivers. “Time to welcome my new neighbor the proper way.”
Poor Anson. And poor Dexter. When the Terrible Trio revved up, heads rolled. Determined not to be less than her friends, Ann knew she had to do the wrong thing for all the right reasons. Teaching Jack a lesson would not only help her get the closure she needed, it would help Jack’s future relationships. Wouldn’t he be a much nicer guy to be around if he understood that hurtful actions had consequences?
Rationalizing her decisions well into the night, she fell asleep and dreamed about Jack and his kiss, and the heartache from over a decade past. She woke feeling groggy.
Better if she’d only broken a bone back then. Because hurt feelings took forever to heal.
Chapter Four
Jack’s conversations had never been so odd, or entertaining. While driving his nephew to his parents for the night, he learned all about some kid who’d become a second grade hero.
“He mooned her and everything.” Josh crumpled in laughter, going on and on about butts.
Jack didn’t remember his fascination with all things ass, but then, according to his parents, he’d been a handful while his older brother had been an absolute prince. His parents liked revisionist history, because Jack totally remembered Dan being a royal pain growing up. Nice to see Josh acting like a normal kid.
“Then Joy got mad and kicked him, so Josie and Matthew had to tackle her.”
“Matthew’s the boy you don’t like, right?”
“No, that’s Matthew R. This was Matthew W.”
“Right.” His head hurt trying to keep the kids in order.
“Then Matthew W. did this.” A glance at Josh showed him making an ugly face. “And Josie slapped his back, and we all waited, but Matthew’s face didn’t stay that way.”
“Bummer.”
Josh sighed. “Yeah.”
They pulled into Jack’s parents’ driveway. Before he even turned off the engine, Josh jetted to his grandfather on the porch. Jack joined them.
His dad wore a wide grin. “So, big plans tonight, eh?”
Jack tried to play things casual, but he’d been hard pressed to think about anything but that kiss. Ann Weaver had some kind of mystical hold over him. God knew he couldn’t tell her, because she seemed to have a few hard feelings about the way things ended back in high school. On that he couldn’t exactly blame her—though in all fairness she’d started it.
Yeah, that doesn’t sound immature or anything.He glanced at Josh, blaming his regression on his nephew. “Hey, Dad, make sure Josh tells you the Garrett story.”
Josh turned around, bent over and grabbed his butt. “Meet the Grand Canyon, Grandpa.”
His father guffawed. Okay, it was pretty funny.
His mother didn’t think so. “Joshua Bloom, what are youdoing?” she asked as she came out the front door.
Josh straightened up pretty fast. “Oh, um, hi, Grandma.”
The woman had the nerve to glare at Jack.
“What did I do? The kid got that from somebody named Garrett.”
“Hill?” She said the name as if it were synonymous with trouble.
Josh nodded. “Yep. Garrett Hill.” He darted inside and yelled, “Can I have a cookie, Grandma?”
“Boy has a nose like a hound dog.” His father snorted. “Just like his daddy and uncle.”
Jack caught the scent of something sweet when the wind blew. “They do smell good. Thanks for watching him. Wish me luck with Ann.”
His mother smiled. “Be nice to the girl. Remember, she’s a teacher in good standing in the community. Don’t get too pushy on the first date.”
