Page 24 of The Ex Next Door (Charming, Texas #8)

A my quietly closed the front door, hoping not to wake Mom and Lou, who’d pulled out the sofa bed in the living room. Lou was on his side, snoring away.

Amy tiptoed halfway to her bedroom when she heard Mom.

“Have a good night?”

She jumped what felt like three feet in the air and held a hand to her throat. “You scared me!”

“Why? I’m just standing here,” she said from the dark kitchen.

“In the darkness, like an ax murderer!” Amy hissed, switching on a light.

“You watch too many crime shows. The truck pulling up next door woke me. About an hour ago. ” The last sentence was said with emphasis.

“Yes, we… It’s hard to go right to sleep after working. We were both kind of wound up, so we were just hanging out together…you know, talking about work and stuff.”

“It’s the stuff which I’m worried about.”

Mom reached inside the cupboard for the cocoa mix and took the milk out of the refrigerator.

Okay, wow, what was with the constant memory dump these days?

She remembered this drill, but now she was twice the age she’d been the first time it happened.

Her mother wanted to talk and thought a cup of hot cocoa would loosen Amy’s lips.

It didn’t matter whether it was the peak of a summer heat wave or winter, cocoa hit the spot when it came to talks with her mother. Always had.

“Thanks for your concern but I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you? You’ve just been divorced from the father of your children. It’s hardly time to reconnect with old boyfriends.” Mom grabbed a saucepan and spooned cocoa into the milk.

Amy took a seat at the kitchen table. “Listen. It’s time you realize this divorce happened.

You act like one day we’re all going to wake up and the whole thing will have been a nightmare.

Positive thinking is one thing, but I have to recognize and deal with reality.

Rob is seeing someone and he’s introducing her to the kids this weekend.

The truth is, even if Rob wanted me back now, I wouldn’t want to. ”

She glanced up from stirring. “What are you saying? You always have to give him a second chance. He’s the father of your children.”

“And he’s always going to be. We will always be in each other’s lives. But I don’t love him anymore. I… I want to be with Declan.”

It was the truth and saying it out loud now only confirmed what she already knew. A part of her was falling back in love with him. The rushed and heady sensations every time she saw him…the ways she thought of him every day…the way she kissed him… It was all adding up to love.

“Really? So soon?”

“I want to see where it goes. We were young the first time we were together, but maybe now… Mom, there was always something there with him. Something real. And nothing has changed.”

“Maybe not, but everything else about the rest of your world has changed. Is Declan really going to settle down and be a stepfather to the children? Is he going to be there, day in and day out, supporting you emotionally?”

“I have a lot of faith in him.”

“That’s not an answer. Is that faith well placed?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt again. The end of a relationship is so emotional and especially for you.

You’ve endured so much loss. First, you lose Declan when you’d pictured a future with him, right or wrong.

Then, your father dies unexpectedly. And lastly, Rob decides he doesn’t want to be married anymore.

That’s a lot of loss in the past decade. ”

“It is, but if there’s one thing my dad taught me, it was to believe in people. And he loved Declan even after we split.” Amy sighed. “It seems I’m going to have to take a chance with my heart no matter who I date or fall for. Don’t worry. If it helps, I’m scared, too.”

“No, you’re not.” Moonbeam set a mug in front of Amy and squeezed her hand. “You’re like your father. Always so brave and willing to trust in the goodness of people. I’m the child of hippies but even I can’t bring myself to trust people they way you two did.”

“That’s because your hippie parents trusted everyone a little too much,” Amy said. “Did you know Declan quit working at the high school because of a gun incident?”

“Yes. A couple of years ago.”

“No one told me.”

“Declan wasn’t even mentioned when it came on the evening news. Only the perpetrator’s name. I just happened to hear how Declan was involved later from Lorna when I ran into her at the grocery.”

Amy didn’t have to ask why Mom never brought it up to her. There would have been no reason to. Declan was fine, and he wasn’t even on her radar then.

“It happened because he did the right thing. He refused to give a passing grade to a kid just so he could win the school some football games.”

Mom nodded. “You’ll have no argument from me that Dan and Lorna raised those boys right.”

“Then I wish you’d give him a chance. It would mean a lot to me.”

“I will, but please be careful and take it slow.”

She planned to. No need to rush when they lived next door to each other, and Amy would have time to introduce the idea to her kids.

She’d go easy, let them first realize how much they liked Declan.

Naomi would be the easier one of the twins.

David should follow easily considering how much Declan had helped him.

Once both of them genuinely liked Declan, things should go smoother.

She’d explain that she and Declan used to be the best of friends when they were younger and then gradually fell in love.

There’s no way this could go badly, and as luck would have it, Rob was doing the trial-by-fire version this weekend.

She’d take notes and learn to do it better when it was her and Declan’s turn.

In the meantime, she’d read everything she could get her hands on about blended families. Michelle would have some resources.

After checking on Naomi and David, Amy headed to bed.

When she’d moved, she remembered packing her old yearbooks, wondering what a person was supposed to do with them.

Recycle? She didn’t want them in a landfill somewhere, so she packed and moved them with barely a glance.

The books would come in handy now. She reached into the shelf of her closet where she’d stored them and cracked open her senior yearbook.

Skimming the pages, she came to the varsity baseball team.

There was young Declan, clearly the star, on the pitcher’s mound, with the group, his golden looks almost eclipsing his stats.

On the “most likely to” page she found the two of them, holding hands, smiling into the camera, looking innocent enough to be approximately twelve years old.

She, for her part, had the faith of a child when it came to Declan.

“Most Likely to Get Married” the caption said.

Welp, that hadn’t happened. But, safe to say, most high school plans had not materialized either, such as their school’s beautiful theater geek, Raquel Martinez, captioned “Most Likely to Win an Academy Award.” Raquel had opened a hair salon in town, but she was about as far from Hollywood as she could get.

Declan was also captioned as “Most Likely to Win the World Series.” Also hadn’t happened.

And there was no way Harry Delinski was ever going to be president, though he managed an insurance office in San Antonio, last she’d heard.

This had simply been her first dream, and it hadn’t been as lofty as the others. Amy was a bit embarrassed that she hadn’t reached higher. Or maybe her dreams were simply smaller than other people’s. But even then, she’d clearly only seen herself as half of a couple. That was going to change.

Thank goodness for curtain calls and second chances.

* * *

The week went by swiftly between baseball practice for David and shifts at the bar.

Before long, the weekend arrived. Amy had already explained to the kids they had a choice to spend it with Rob since he’d had to cut their visit short last time.

She’d followed Rob’s lead, and simply explained they would be meeting “Daddy’s friend” this weekend.

“How old is she?” Naomi had asked as if gauging whether or not she should bring her Barbies.

“Um, twenty-five?” Amy said, zipping up Naomi’s backpack.

“That’s old.”

“Excuse me, young lady? I’m thirty-one.”

She was almost thirty-two, but never mind.

“Mommy, you’re not old! You’re a mommy .” Naomi gave her a hug. “I love you.”

“Nice save. I love you, too, my special girl.”

David was quiet, which worried Amy. He didn’t ask any questions about Daddy’s friend and simply packed all his baseball gear because he planned on practicing with Rob all weekend. His dedication lately to the sport had been inspiring. She’d heard him the other night on the phone with Rob.

“Dec says I’m good. I’m just as good as him at nine, which means I’m going to be really, really good if I stick with it. Did you know Dec went to college on a scholarship and got recruited to the major leagues?”

Gee, hopefully Rob wasn’t getting tired of hearing about Amy’s ex-boyfriend the jock. Snort.

Even if Declan hadn’t inspired such confidence in her son, Amy would still be grateful for him.

Not just for the lawn mowing, but he’d finally oiled those hinges on Naomi’s door.

He’d also unclogged her kitchen sink once—David had put an apple core in the disposal—and come over when the Wi-Fi went out to troubleshoot.

It was like having a husband that went home to his own place every night.

She did, however, miss the other perks of marriage but hoped that might change this weekend.

Declan had officially asked her out on a date. He said it was a surprise but would involve water, so she assumed the boardwalk, a place she hadn’t enjoyed in years without her children.

As planned, Rob showed up to pick up the kids without his girlfriend.

“Where’s your friend?” Naomi asked.

“You’ll meet her at the park,” Rob said, taking her backpack and stuffing it in the car.

“I hope I like her,” Naomi said, giving Amy one last hug.

David said nothing, just hopped in the car and buckled in. “I brought my glove, and it’s pretty seasoned now.”

Rob chuckled. “Seasoned? Okay, you’re trying to sound like a pro.”

“I’m really good ,” David said, and Amy thought he sounded a little defensive.

She sincerely hoped David wouldn’t compare himself with Matthew, who seemed to have more of a natural-born ability for athletics. But Declan, God bless him, refused to admit it. At least not to Amy and certainly not to David.

Rob shut the passenger door. “So, Declan, huh? Spending a lot of time with him.”

“Yes.” She was not going to discuss her love life with Rob in any detail.

At this point, even she didn’t know where they were going with this. She didn’t know if Declan was serious or just having a little fun with an old flame.

“Convenient the kids have already met him,” he said with narrowed eyes.

“He’s our neighbor.”

Amy refused to say more. Too bad if she had an edge because the kids lived with her the majority of the time.

She wouldn’t talk to Rob about Declan for many reasons, not the least of which she’d already had told him about Declan once.

When they’d first met, Declan was that ex she’d talked about.

The one who broke her heart. The one Rob should properly hate.

Rob had one of those exes, too, of course.

Everyone seemed to in college. It was a relief to unload on someone, but if Rob remembered half the stuff she’d said, when she’d painted Declan as the only reason for the failure of their relationship, he wouldn’t have a fair and accurate picture.

Declan hadn’t wanted to get married at seventeen and hindsight being twenty-twenty, she’d had no business getting married so young.

It would have never worked. Declan would have gone away to college and later been recruited to the majors with or without her.

In another scenario, she would have somehow been to blame for his leaving baseball.

Instead, it was a choice Declan made that had nothing to do with her.

Amy stood outside and waved as Rob and the kids drove off, then she strolled over to Declan’s house.

The door was slightly ajar, and she let herself in since she could hear the TV blaring. Still, no Declan watching ESPN. Instead, the announcer spoke enthusiastically to no one who cared. Amy flipped the remote off and continued walking.

“Declan? Dec?”

She didn’t find him in the kitchen, or the back bedrooms. There was only one place left to look and she found him outside in his yard, halfway up a fence, trimming the branches of a cherry tree.

It was such a domestic picture she had to adjust her eyes by blinking into the bright sunshine.

She cupped a hand over her eyes to give her shade.

Yep, that was Declan. If she didn’t know any better she’d wonder whether he was auditioning for the part of future husband.

She used to beg Rob to take care of these gardening chores, especially after the time she’d fallen off a ladder and bruised her temple.

Instead, he’d hired a gardener since he couldn’t be bothered.

Declan wore a backward baseball cap, a thread-bare As tros T-shirt tight enough to accentuate every muscle rippling and low-rise jeans.

Each time he reached higher, the jeans stayed low around his hips and the tee went up, showcasing tanned, taut skin.

She’d bet he didn’t have more than 10 percent fat on that body.

He turned when he heard the back door slapping shut and his big smile made her heart kick up.

“Hey.”

She walked to meet him halfway when he climbed off the ladder, dropping the clippers on the ground.

“Hey yourself. What if I told you my tree needed trimming?”

“I would say let me at it.” He grinned. “Are the kids gone?”

She went into his arms. “Yes, and I came over to see if I might get a clue about what we’re doing so I can dress accordingly.”

Declan pressed his chin to the top of her head. “If you dress for an afternoon on the water, you’ll be fine.”

“We’re going to the boardwalk?”

“Near the water, but that’s all I’m going to say.” He twirled her, and his gaze swept down her body. “Dayum you look good, Tinks.”

She was wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt, which she’d thrown on this morning after a quick shower. “Thank you, sir. So do you.”

“I still have some errands to run and some prep to do for tonight.”

“Sounds like you’re going through a lot of trouble. Don’t worry about impressing me. I haven’t been on a date in… Hmm, actually, I forgot.”

For a while, she and Rob had instituted a “date night,” but after he’d had to cancel several times because of work travel, it fell off the radar and never came back on again.

“It’s not too much trouble. You’re worth it.”

He kissed her, threading his fingers through hers. It was official. Declan made her feel not only wanted and desired but beautiful and…new.