Chapter Eighteen

Weston

I put my squad car in park and get out, stepping into the quiet night that surrounds my house. It’s been a long week, and I’m looking forward to having the weekend off. The living room light is on, and I can see the fuzzy outline of Scarlet sitting on the couch through the sheer curtains.

Several pumpkins and a few pots of mums are on the porch steps, and it looks like she and Jackson finished putting up the little graveyard scene in the lawn today, finally decorating for Halloween. She’s been here for two weeks now, and we’ve fallen into a good routine.

A good routine that involves awkwardly avoiding the very obvious fact that we’re both extremely attracted to each other.

We eat meals together whenever I’m home, and on the nights the sky is clear, Scarlet goes outside to look at the stars. I’ve joined her a few times, but it’s harder and harder to keep my hands to myself and my heart in my chest whenever I’m around her.

Jackson loves her, and having the stability has already made a difference in his behavior and mood. He’s always a happy kid, but not having to get up at the crack of dawn makes a huge difference on the kid. He’s not a morning person.

My life has been simplified in some aspects as well, and not having to try to fit in cleaning and making dinner has been a huge relief. I shouldn’t be as tired as I am, but I’ve had a hard time falling asleep knowing Scarlet is just down the hall. I wake up almost every night after dreaming of her, cock hard and heart racing.

She’s beautiful, but it’s more than that. She’s good with my son. Takes care of him and makes him happy. The rare times I’d let my mind wander and would think of dating again, I always came back to the same issue: Jackson.

Dating isn’t easy. Dating with kids is even harder. Not only do I need to find someone who is fine with me having a kid, they’d have to bond with Jackson before I considered moving into anything serious. It’s almost like things have been done in reverse with Scarlet. She came here for Jackson, and I know he’d approve if we—

“Stop,” I say out loud to myself. It’s not going to happen.

A gust of wind blows through, rattling the trees. Misty rain begins to fall, and I hurry into the house. I take off my shoes and coat, and head upstairs to lock up my gun for the night.

“Hey,” Scarlet says, looking up from her phone. “How was work?”

“Work was fine. The meetings…” I shake my head. “They went all right too. But you know how I don’t like them.”

“I do.” She sets her phone down on the coffee table. “Jackson polished off the leftovers, but I can make something for you if you want.”

“Thanks, but I’m good. I picked up fast food on the way home.” I pat my stomach. “I undid my workout from this morning, I know. But those fries were worth it.”

Scarlet laughs. “I admire your dedication.” She stretches her legs out in front of her. “I was just about to start the new season of American Horror Story. Want to watch it with me?”

We haven’t sat on the couch like this since the incident. I think we’re both afraid of what might happen if we stay up late and sit in the dark together again. And good Lord, I want it to happen again. I’ve been able to use work as an excuse before. I can’t stay up late because I have to get up early, and obviously working the night shifts prevented any such offerings.

But tonight…tonight I have no reason to say no, and I do want to watch the show. I’m off all weekend, and so is Scarlet. She’s going to Chicago to see her dad again tomorrow. I haven’t asked, and she hasn’t said anything, but I get the feeling her dad is sick or something. I’ve heard her a few times on the phone, talking about treatments, and once she seemed close to tears while arguing with insurance about getting a medication covered.

“Yeah,” I tell her. “I’ll watch it.”

“Great. So you said no to food, but what about popcorn?”

“I never say no to popcorn.”

Scarlet smiles and gets up to make some while I change. She’s still in the kitchen when I come back down. Her phone is set to silent and is still on the coffee table. It vibrates, getting my attention. A text comes through from someone named Corbin. Two black hearts follow his name, and I divert my eyes, not wanting to so much as read a word he’s saying.

I never really thought about Scarlet dating, and I assumed she was single from 1) taking a job where she moved two hours away from home and in with another family and 2) that kiss was pretty intense the other night.

Scarlet comes back, smile on her face, and sits on the couch next to me. There are three cushions on the couch, and there’s an unwritten rule of leaving the middle one free when two people who aren’t romantically involved sit together. But Scarlet ignores the rule and puts the popcorn in her lap.

Her phone vibrates again, and as soon as she reads the texts, her smile disappears and a line of worry forms between her eyes. She hands me the popcorn and texts back, making sure her phone is angled away so I can’t see it.

With a sigh, she sets her phone down next to her and picks up the remote. Her face is tight as she turns on the TV.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she says back without missing a beat. She puts on her front again, pushing her shoulders back and lifting her eyebrows just enough to cover the worry. She holds that stance for a while, and I wonder if it’s subconscious or if she’s really good at understanding body language and is doing it on purpose.

Either way, something is upsetting her, and it upsets me. I don’t want to pry, because I know Scarlet isn’t throwing out the “it’s fine” line just to see if I’ll keep digging. She wants me to believe things are fine so I don’t pressure her.

“Okay. If you need anything…just let me know,” I say quietly.

Her smile trembles for a quick second. “Thanks. And I will. Actually, I’ll probably leave early tomorrow to beat the traffic.”

“You can take my Jeep,” I offer, knowing she’s been Ubering to Chicago and back. It’s not cheap.

“Don’t you need it?”

“I don’t plan on going anywhere tomorrow, to be honest, and I have my squad car if I absolutely need to leave the house.”

“You’re sure?” she asks again.

“Yeah. This might be a stupid question, but do you drive a lot in the city?”

“Where I lived, yeah, I did. Well, when I had a car. I sold it for drug money.”

I raise an eyebrow, waiting for her to laugh so I know she’s joking. She doesn’t.

“Drugs for my dad,” she goes on, seeing the blank expression on my face. “And not illegal drugs. Prescription. My dad is…” She lets out a breath and, at the same time, lets go of the air she’s putting on. Her shoulders sag forward, and her smile is nowhere to be seen. “My dad is sick.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry.”

She pulls her arms in around herself. “He’s been sick for a while, and the medical bills won’t pay themselves.”

“It’s bullshit how much healthcare costs.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” She pushes her hair back and lets out a deep sigh. “We missed the beginning.” Turning her attention back to the TV, she rewinds the minute or so we missed. Halfway through the episode, Scarlet’s rests her head on my shoulder. Only a minute or two later, she’s asleep.

Guess I’m not the only one having a hard time sleeping at night.