Arthur glanced at Gretchen. “Kurt doesn’t know Jordan overheard what he said. We could use that to our advantage.”
“I am not letting him anywhere near Jordan.”
Arthur held up a hand to placate her. “Kurt’s going to be suspicious if Jordan suddenly hates him, and I’m his bodyguard.”
“It’s too much to ask of Jordan.”
“Do you mean I’d be like a spy?” Jordan asked, his face shining with excitement.
Not good. “No. It means you’re not giving the enemy valuable information. You need to act like you did today when you saw him, but you shouldn’t seek him out.”
“This is a bad idea,” Gretchen said.
Kurt might not give them a choice. “We need an excuse for why I’m walking Jordan home from school.”
“You need gentle exercise with your prosthesis,” she said.
He nodded. “And you’re helping me.” He glanced at Jordan. “What about me staying the night?”
Her cheeks reddened. “Kurt wanted… that to happen.”
Yeah, seduce the cripple.
Gretchen cleared her throat. “Jordan, if you talk to your dad and he asks about Arthur staying here, say he’s my new boyfriend.”
Jordan looked between the two of them. “Is he?”
“No, but your dad will believe it.”
He nodded slowly, a little confusion on his face. “All right.”
“Good, now time for you to go to bed,” Gretchen said. “Go brush your teeth.”
He pouted but said, “Fine.”
Arthur smiled as Jordan left the room. “He’s a great kid.”
“Yeah, he is. Let me grab the mattress out of his room.”
Arthur followed her so he could help, but he was distracted when she got on to her hands and knees to pull the mattress out from under the bed. He got a very nice view of her round backside. As she shifted, he blinked and hurried forward to help her, pain stabbing his leg as he did so. “Ah!” He fell onto the mattress she’d pulled out and clutched his thigh. Damn thing.
“Are you all right?”
He nodded, gritting his teeth as he rode it out. Finally he exhaled. “Just some nerve pain. It can hit out of the blue sometimes.”
“Have you been doing those exercises?”
“Yeah.” He needed to be ready for anything Kurt might throw at them. He took the hand Gretchen offered and let her help him to his feet. They carried the mattress into the living area.
Jordan came out to say goodnight, and he hugged Arthur. “Thank you for protecting us.”
“You’re welcome.” He was half in love with this kid.
Gretchen went to tuck Jordan in, and Arthur arranged the mattress where he would have a good view of both the front and back doors. Kurt would have to be pretty bold to try something, but Arthur wouldn’t discount it. He filled the kettle more to give himself something to do than from any real desire for tea.
Not long after, Gretchen returned and sighed, running her hand through her hair. “What a day.”
“Do you want a cup of tea?”
