I tore my eyes away before responding. I knew I couldn’t look at him without breaking. I needed to put some distance between us. I pushed the door open because I needed some air.
“Good night, JoJo.”
“Good night, Harper.”
“I’ll have to coordinate with my mom about picking Cameron up if I get a job, but for now, I’ll let him come.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“OK, let me go in here and order this boy his pizza,” I said, finally getting out of Jordy’s car and walking up the driveway without looking back. I knew looking back would be dangerous.
The first thing I heard when I made it in the house was buzzing. I had no idea where that buzzing was coming from.
“Cam, go ahead get your stuff out for bedtime. I’m going to step out back for a second.”
“Do I have to go to bed already? It’s still daytime,” Cameron whined.
“No, I just need a little more help from you since Kenny isn’t here with us anymore. I want you to start getting used to getting your pajamas on your own. Also, go ahead and pick out what you want to wear to school tomorrow. I will come look at it and give you some tips if necessary.”
“Mom, I’m not a little kid. I can dress myself.”
“I’m going to hold you to that when you can’t find any socks in the morning. I’m trying to teach you the value of being prepared early so you’re not rushing when it’s time to go.”
“OK.”
As the buzzing sounded again, I left my son to his own devices and proceeded to the back door. I didn’t know what made me bold enough to step out to the sounds of Jason Voorhees’ chainsaw in my backyard, but I needed to know what was going on out there. As soon as I stepped out of the house, the buzzing stopped.
Two things hit me at once: the evening breeze, and the sight of a towering figure with broad shoulders and locs just a little longer than the ones I’d just seen on his brother. Jase St. John, of all people, was on a freaking ladder in my backyard, using a chainsaw to cut a dead limb out of a tree. He didn’t seem to notice me as the blade sawed through the limb, making sawdust float through the sky like confetti.
“Jase!” I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth to combat the sounds of the chainsaw. “Jase!”
The noise didn’t stop until the limb was crashing to the ground. That was when Jase finally seemed to notice me. I couldsee that stupid grin of his from a mile away as he moved down the ladder with the chainsaw in hand. I folded my arms across my chest as I waited for him to reach the ground. Once he was down, he removed the safety goggles and placed the chainsaw on the ground. I stood quietly as he walked over to the porch where I stood.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t just go around to people’s houses cutting down limbs.”
The corner of his mouth lifted into that lazy, crooked smile that I was apparently still not equipped to resist. “Afternoon to you too, Harp.”
“Answer my question, Jase. What the hell are you doing?”
“There was a dead limb. I’ve seen it a couple of times in passing, but I figured someone would take care of it. Now that you’re here, it’s my job to do that.”
“How the hell does me being here make that your job?” I quizzed, never lowering my arms. This was crazy. I was not about to let Jase and Jordy bombard their way back into my life.
“Looking out for you is my job.”
My head flew back. “The hell if it is.”
I couldn’t take this right now. I had just narrowly escaped the emotional storm that always swirled around Jordy, and now here was Jase with his own form of psychological warfare.
“That limb was just one strong wind away from crash landing into your living room, so thank you. No matter what you may choose to tell yourself, taking care of you is my job.”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“You know you don’t have to act tough with me, Harp.”
“I’m not acting, and I’m pretty sure a surgeon has no business playing around with heavy machinery.”
He laughed at that. “A chainsaw is not heavy machinery.”
