Page 31 of Just Like That

I gently slapped my napkin onto the table. “While I’m sure she appreciates your concern, it’s unnecessary. Hazel and Teddy are moving into my house.”

I don’t know why I fucking said it.

Maybe it was the way MJ’s questions were borderline judgy or the subtly resigned tone of Hazel’s answers. Maybe it was the genuine concern in Abel’s voice. Maybe it was the fact that Lee thought horny firefighters camping outside her bus was a good idea.

Whatever it was, I made a decision.

It was done.

“Oh ... well, that makes sense,” MJ said with a slow, widening grin.

My eyes flicked up to see Hazel pinning me with a death stare from across the table.

Clearly we hadn’t discussed her moving inat all.

Beside me, Teddy perked up. “Move in? Do I get my own room? Can I pick it out? Will there be a bookshelf in it? Can I have a desk to do science projects on?”

My eyes stayed trained on the pie crumbs in front of me. “Yeah, um ...” I circled my fork as I searched for a plausible answer. “We’ll figure it out.”

Like a shot, Teddy was up from the table and racing across the yard toward Penny and her cousins. “Penny! I’m getting a bigger room!”

I finally grew the balls to glance up at Hazel, who was staring at me with one eyebrow perched higher on her forehead.

She was not pleased.

With a low chuckle, MJ eased herself away from the table, giving us space as the conversation continued without us.

A sheepish smile was all I could muster. “So,” I chuckled. “Want to move in?”

ELEVEN

JP

I had really steppedin it.

After the family barbecue at the Sullivan place, Teddy begged to ride with me while Hazel drove the skoolie back to my house. I glanced up at him in the mirror, satisfied that he was safely strapped into the new booster seat I’d gotten for him. He rambled the entire drive home, asking about me, the town, why the farmers planted wildflowers near the blueberry bushes, and about a thousand other questions I didn’t have the answers to.

Why couldn’t he be curious about mergers and acquisitions again?

When we pulled into my drive, he was passed out cold, slumped against the door. Soft snores floated out of his open mouth.

I was grateful for the moment of absolute silence.

While I waited for Hazel to park the skoolie, I looked at him in the mirror. His bolo tie was askew, and his dark hair was poking up in all directions.

It sucked that the kid hadn’t gotten a fair shake—his mom was dead, he thoughtIwas his dad, of all people, and he was clearly years ahead of his peers in terms of style.

At least he had a badass aunt who was more than likely a witch with a heart of gold.

Better shake than most of us got.

I climbed out of the car and closed the door as quietly as I could. I may be a heartless prick, but I didn’t want to be another adult in his life who made thingsmorecomplicated.

Hazel locked up the skoolie and walked up to me with a huge yawn. In her hand was a small duffel bag of what I assumed were overnight essentials.

I gestured toward the back seat. “He fell asleep.”

Hazel hiked the bag onto her shoulder and pulled open the car door. “Can you grab him? He’s getting really heavy.”