Chapter 2
Jaxon
“Inaquarterof a mile, turn left onto Sherman Way,” the GPS says through the speakers of my vehicle.
I sigh heavily and grip the steering wheel tightly as I follow the instructions and maneuver my way through the neighborhood. To say this move cross-country has been stressful as fuck would be the understatement of the year.
First, the house we were supposed to move into fell through a week and a half before moving, so it left me last-minute house shopping. Thankfully, this rental had just become available, and I took it sight unseen. Well, at least I had seen a photo that the Realtor had emailed. When Andy and I pulled up yesterday, I let out a breath of relief that the house looked just like the photo, and we hadn’t been catfished. In fact, the house was beautiful. The type of house Courtney and I had always talked about owning one day.
From the little we’ve seen, I can already tell that it’s a great neighborhood that we moved into. Which brings the next thing taking over my mind.
My new neighbor.
Squabbling with her first thing in the morning wasn’t exactly how I pictured my morning going.
Did I overreact? Yes.
I shouldn’t have bitten her head off, especially when her intentions were nothing but pure. But as a single parent, I’m doing the best I can. Andy has done nothing like that before.
Was she right? Absolutely.
I had been in the kitchen making breakfast after being on the phone with the moving company to complain about some of our shit being damaged on arrival, and I hadn’t even noticed that Andy had walked right out the front door.
While Andy got dressed, we had a long talk that he can’t just walk outside—out front, especially without me or at least letting me know.
My biggest issue with her wasn’t that she cared enough to walk over to a complete stranger. Nope, that’s not what plagued me since we departed. It was my reaction to her.
I haven’t reacted like that since I met Courtney. The way her hips swayed side to side as she walked away. It was like they were hypnotizing me. I should have been nicer. Told her thank you for looking out. Instead, I panicked. How could I have these feelings for another woman? Courtney was the love of my life. The guilt is overwhelming. It’s been almost five years since Courtney passed. I shouldn’t still feel like I’m cheating, yet somehow, that lingering guilt is eating me up inside.
God, I miss her.
I’ve found other women attractive and have attempted a date here and there over the years, but dating and the single dad don’t exactly go together like peanut butter and jelly. This time, though, shit, it felt different. It felt like wanting more.
While outwardly, I reacted like an asshole, scaring the poor woman away, inwardly, my body was burning. A hunger I thought was long since buried reared up, making its presence known. It was the thought of what she might hide under that oversized hoodie that attracted my hand to my cock like a goddamn magnet while I took my shower.
I should have walked over after I calmed down and apologized, but thankfully, Andy and I had a cook-out to get to at my best friend Finn’s house. At least, that will hopefully give me a moment to breathe and not think of my new neighbor and all the ways I thought of punishing her for her sassy mouth.
“You have reached your destination,” the GPS announces.
I park my truck behind a half dozen cars I don’t recognize in front of a two-story colonial house.
This neighborhood has similar vibes to the one we just moved into—which once again makes me think of that spitfire. Fuck me!
For a moment, I think about putting my truck back in drive, speeding off, and never looking back, but then I remember the look on my best friend’s face when he flew back out to Seattle to ask me to pick up my life and move my son and me cross-country to help him.
Finn and I had met when he moved to Seattle ten years ago after taking a job with Nathanial and Michelson, one of the top architecture firms in Seattle. Earlier this year, he returned to Pennsylvania after his father passed away suddenly to take over his father’s company, Reynolds Contracting.
While it may have been tragic circumstances that led him to coming home, there was a plus side. He reunited with his high school sweetheart, Lauren. They ended up getting back together and tied the knot this summer. Sadly, with the timing of our move, I wasn’t able to make it out to stand beside him as his best man as he had me. Finn had been there through it all with me. He stood by me as my best man when Courtney and I got married, was at the hospital when Andy was born, watched as they lowered her casket into the ground, and all the moments in between until his abrupt move back east.
I didn’t really need much to think about when he asked me to move to come be the vice president and his right-hand man at the company. They were expanding, and he needed someone he trusted to help run things. I was ready for the new opportunity. It’s not like there was much keeping us on the West Coast anyway. The only family I have left is Courtney’s parents, who had retired to Florida; they encouraged us to make this change, and it got us closer to them.
I look out the windshield and chuckle at the roses lining the front porch. All that’s missing is the white picket fence lining the yard. This style of house better suits him than the apartment life in Seattle, but maybe it’s also that I know he is much happier here.
“Daddy! Daddy! Are we here? Are we here?” Andy chants from the back seat. He is so excited to live near his godfather. He and Finn have a special bond—sometimes, it makes me a little envious. Finn gets to be the cool guy, always spoiling the shit out of him, while I have to not only be the fun parent but the one who scolds him and puts him in time-out.
“Yeah, buddy. Just give me a second and we’ll go, okay?”
In the rearview mirror, I watch Andy squirm in his seat impatiently. I grab my phone from the cup holder and reread the last conversation with Finn just before we left the house.
Finn: Hope you guys are hungry. Lo has gone all out.
Me: I told you guys not to make a big deal out of this.
Finn: I promise we didn’t do this for you. That’s just a perk. We always get together like this. You’ll get used to it.
Me: If you say so. Leaving soon.
Finn: Can’t wait to see you guys. We’ll be out back, so just come around through the side gate.
I take a deep breath and give myself a pep talk. You got this.
“Dad,” Andy whines. “Come on, Uncle Finn’s waiting for me.” I chuckle to myself as I unbuckle my seat belt.
“All right, all right.” I give my best Matthew McConaughey impression that goes over Andy’s head. “Let’s go.”