“That was Jade’s teacher, wasn’t it?”
“Yep.” I stared out at the trees as the wind blew them hard against one another.
“She was also her nanny last summer, wasn’t she?”
“Yep.”
She took a big breath. “But she’s not just a nanny…is she?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I started the ignition.
“I see.” She pursed her lips. We didn’t utter another word the rest of the drive home.
42
Fight
Derrick
“Allen.”
I looked up from the list I was supposed to be checking off. There were more Air Force-required errands to run after a deployment, it seemed, than before. Not that I was in a hurry to go home. Amy was still there, waiting on my decision. And though I knew what I wanted to do, for some reason, I hesitated. Maybe it was because I really just didn’t want to do this. Or maybe it was because I was terrified of being left alone after successfully chasing every love interest out of my life for the last twelve months. Either way, I had little desire to run home anytime soon.
Sergeant Barnes was standing at the door of his office. “When you’re done, I’d like to see you for a minute.”
“Sir?” I came to stand in his doorway, and he waved me in.
“Sit.”
I obeyed and did my best not to look as nervous as I suddenly felt. Had he found out about my deal with Jessie? While I’d not technically broken any rules, it would look less than honest if he found out I’d made the deal with her because of him. And though the old man was the last person I wanted playing Cupid in my life, I liked him as a boss, and the last thing I wanted was a reason for him to mistrust me.
He sat on the edge of his desk and folded his arms and stared at me for a moment. “How are you doing?” he finally asked.
“Well enough, sir.”
He studied me, his dark eyes sharp. “I didn’t notice Miss Nickleby at your return last week.”
I looked down at my hands. “You were there?”
“I was meeting another friend of mine who was coming back, too. And you didn’t seem like you were expecting her either.”
I swallowed. If he was trying to set me up with his daughter again…Well, what if he was? Maybe I should go out with her. Maybe I’d find someone who wasn’t married to their life already, too much so to buy into mine.
“Jessie and I are done.” I tried to force my voice to stay calm.
“What happened?”
And so, throwing caution to the wind, I told him. He was a surprisingly good listener for one who liked to talk so much. And the more I spoke, the more at ease I felt, though I couldn’t say why. Seeing it from a thousand-foot view, rather than having the events right under my nose made them look…well, not different. It still hurt like a dang knife. But better, all the same. Though I couldn’t say why. Maybe just because I was telling someone. For the first time, I wasn’t the only one hashing this out on my own, trying to figure out where we went wrong.
“I just…I don’t understand.” I looked up at him. “She seemed like she was okay with everything, coming out of her cocoon. And then she put the brakes on and took off running in the other direction as fast as she could.”
“And you’re sure she’s with this Newman guy?” he asked.
I nodded. “Hernandez said he saw them out at a restaurant back after I left. And when I went to the school, he said they were an item, and she didn’t give me any reason to think otherwise.”
“But you didn’t ask her?”
I opened my mouth then paused. “No. I guess I didn’t.”
