Unless Julian is lying. My gaze slides sideways to where the man sits.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t have. I’m just trying to… be a friend, I guess.”
To me or to Jake? And to what end? Though I don’t know this man well, my past experience with him suggests that he only takes actions that he stands to benefit from.
So what is it that he hopes to gain? Is he here to try to drive a wedge into my relationship with Jake? Or to tell me that, like my own gut keeps saying, the man I love is struggling right now?
Julian leans forward, peering into the distance. “Is that one of those mini goats?”
Stephano must have just now realized we have a visitor, because he’s dancing across the paddock toward us.
“Yes. And I’m warning you, he already considers you his property.”
I watch as the tiny goat frolics directly over to Julian, puts his front hooves on the man’s knee with total disregard for what are probably very expensive trousers, sticks his tongue out, andbaasat him.
“Is this… does this mean he likes me?”
“Hey, what’s going on?”
I flinch, startled. Replay Jake’s voice in my mind as I look over my shoulder at him, forcing a smile. Had he sounded stressed? Upset? No. I’m fairly certain that tightness in his tone was suspicion.
“I saw your car parked out front,” he says to Julian.
He’d seen Julian’s car, didn’t know where either of us was, and yet he’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt, so he obviously took the time to change before finding out. That’s not like him.
“What’s the occasion?” he asks. “It isn’t like you to make house calls.”
He takes a seat close beside me, one arm stretched almost possessively across my back, hand braced on the blanket. Though I turn toward him for a kiss, he doesn’t seem to notice, his steely gaze still fixed on Julian.
“I was looking for you, man,” Julian says. “Didn’t know where you went after you took off earlier. I thought I’d find you here.”
“And when you didn’t, what?” There’s a challenge in Jake’s voice.
Julian shifts uncomfortably. He puts a hand on Stephano to keep the goat from climbing onto his lap. “I figured you’d show up eventually, so I thought I’d wait.”
“Well, I’m here now. What do you need?”
Julian’s eyes flit between me and Jake. He clears his throat. “I have that, uh, paperwork you were worried about earlier. In my car. I know you were in a rush to get it executed.”
Jake’s expression softens as he nods. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
Something at my core clenches. If Julian’s talking about the contract for Jake’s mother’s new lawyers, that means Julian was telling me the truth. And that he doesn’t want Jake to know he told me.
Suddenly, I’m exhausted. I lean back against Jake’s arm, resting my head against his shoulder. It’s only then, when I feel how rigid his muscles are beneath me, that I realize how tense he truly is. But why?
Because he’s upset that Julian and I were here alone, talking on a blanket? Because he’s worried that I’ll find out about the lawyers he’s hiring to defend his mom? Or is there something else—something worse—that he’s keeping from me?
CHAPTER 12
It’s funny. Fear makes you sharpen your senses. Anger makes you sharpen your claws. But apparently, worry dulls your everything and makes you clumsy.
The raccoon watches from inside her crate in the corner as I chase the onion across the kitchen. Luckily, I haven’t peeled it yet, so no harm’s been done. The same can’t be said about the glass I broke earlier. Or the half pot of cooked pasta that’s now in the trash because I spilled it onto the floor.
Though Jake has seemed to relax since Julian left and we came inside to make dinner, my own nerves have done nothing but grow worse. I’m not sure what it is that I’m missing, or even if there’s anything to really miss. My gut screams that there is but… maybe it’s wrong. Maybe I’m blowing things out of proportion, or just being paranoid.
After all, how many times have I told Jake that it’s okay to be upset about his mom? To want to help her? Or to give his dad a second chance?
