Page 38 of The Ex Next Door (Charming, Texas #8)

D eclan had a sense something was off with David, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

It could be that he worried his parents were out front arguing, but from here they couldn’t hear anything.

They threw the ball back and forth, David’s strength notably improving.

He was also catching the ball so easily that Declan threw him a few curveballs and made him work for it.

“I’m going back to coaching a team after the summer,” Declan said by way of conversation.

“Little League?” David threw the ball back to him.

“Our local high school’s varsity team.”

“That’s cool.”

“That’s where your mom and I first met. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be coaching you someday.”

“Maybe. If I don’t quit baseball.”

Declan caught the ball and hesitated before throwing it back. “Why would you quit?”

“I don’t know, no reason.” He shrugged.

But he looked, for lack of a better word… guilty . There was more to this story. Maybe his thoughts were running toward giving up the sport and he regretted all the time and effort Declan had put into helping him.

“If you ever think about quitting, talk to me first.”

Naomi joined them outside. “Are y’all going to play catch all day ?”

“Do you want to try?” Declan offered. “No reason why you can’t play, too. I might have an extra glove laying around somewhere.”

“I don’t want to play ball.” Naomi crossed her arms. “I want to hunt for fairies!”

“Fairies?” Declan chuckled.

She reminded him of Amy more each day.

“Either that or I want to solve a mystery,” Naomi said. “Like Nancy Drew.”

“We don’t have a mystery to solve around here, unless it’s why weeds grow so easily when flowers you plant need to be watered every day or they die. That’s above my pay grade so I’ll help you find the fairies.” Declan threw one last ball to David. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah.” David threw his glove down, then he gave Declan what he could only describe as a self-defeated look. “I’m really sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Declan said.

“And if you don’t want to help me with baseball anymore, I’m not going to be mad at you.”

“We’ll play catch again later, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” But David went inside, the sound of the screen door slapping loudly in his wake.

Declan turned to Naomi, hands on his hips. “Where should we start our search?”

“Over here in the bush. I saw some ladybugs and they might know the way.” She pointed in the direction.

“Of course. They’re also small. Makes sense.”

“Yeah. Small bugs probably would know where all the fairyland creatures live.” Naomi knelt and dug at the base of a bush. “Yoo-hoo! We’re looking for fairies.”

“A little softer,” Declan said. “I don’t think they like it when we’re loud. Just whisper.”

“Oh. Okay.” Naomi slid a finger over her mouth in the “zipping it closed” move.

They didn’t find any fairies, but Declan suggested instead they make a little home for them. Naomi gathered pebbles, leaves and sticks and fashioned them into mini furniture for them.

The screen door slapped open and closed again a few minutes later.

“What’s going on out here?” He looked up to see Amy, cupping her hands over her forehead, shading her eyes against the sun.

“Lookin’ for fairies.” Declan stood and brushed the dirt off his knees, thinking how easy boys were compared with girls.

All you needed to do was kick or throw a ball around, but girls were a hell of a lot more creative, it would seem.

She’d obviously had an argument with Rob, going by the worry in her gaze, the tightness around her mouth. Yep. They’d argued.

“Everything okay?”

“We’ll talk about it later,” she said, further confirming it.

Declan had already accepted that Rob would be a part of his life, too. He came with the territory. He came with Amy.

And Declan could handle him.

* * *

Later that night, once the kids were asleep, Declan walked outside with Amy.

The summer night was clear, the stars shining bright above them. He held Amy’s hand and sat on one of the steps, pulling her down next to him. His life was coming together in all the important ways and for the first time in so long he felt settled.

“What’s up? You’ve been quiet all night.”

“You won’t believe this. Rob just sprung this on me tonight.”

“Is he giving you a tough time about us?” He threaded his fingers through hers.

Declan would have expected no less. It might be one thing for her ex-husband to move on, but it would be another one watching her move on with an ex-boyfriend.

Declan had already determined to make friends with Rob, despite what he personally thought of him.

For the sake of keeping the peace, he’d keep his less-than-charitable thoughts to himself.

He figured they would never be the best of friends, but Declan could get along with almost anyone.

“Believe it or not, tonight he told me that he wants us to get back together. He said he wants another chance.”

The shock hit Declan hard, reverberating through him. This is the one thing he hadn’t expected. He hadn’t planned for this. But damn it all, of course Rob wanted Amy back, because this was Amy . Only an idiot wouldn’t realize what he’d lost.

“What about Shannon?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. It already didn’t work out.”

Something unnamed bothered Declan now, niggling at the edges of his mind. And then he found the end of that thought, clear as the evening air. Amy wasn’t laughing. She wasn’t talking about how ridiculous the idea was now, after they were already divorced, for crying out loud.

Because Declan was speechless, Amy kept talking.

“He said we never tried to fix our marriage, and the thing is, he’s right, we never did. We should have, and I wanted to, but he said no. He just walked away, gave up, and now he has the gall to suggest we try again. For the kids, for our family.”

“Okay.” He let go of her hand, whether out of self-preservation or not, he didn’t know, but this wasn’t the time to analyze. “Is that what you want to do?”

“No. I love you, Declan.” She tugged on his hand, bringing it back to her.

He realized in that moment he had a chance but knowing Amy… His heart told him he was still going to lose this battle.

“I get it. It would be good for the kids if their parents were back together. David would be very happy.”

And suddenly the apologetic looks in David’s eyes, the way he’d actually told Declan that he was sorry… It all made sense. Poor kid. On one level, he felt remorse for Declan’s inevitable loss. David expected what everyone else did.

Amy would choose her children and that meant choosing their father.

“But where does that leave me? I’m going to be miserable without you.” Amy moved closer to him on the step.

He had a lot to say about how miserable she would be without him, because he’d done everything to make himself indispensable to her, but she would have to make this decision on her own.

“You’re never going to be without me.” Declan drew her close, framed her beautiful face in his hands. “You’ll always have me even if I’m on the sidelines as a friend. I’ll always love you. I’m going to be here and I’m not giving up on us. But I know you too well. You want to save your family.”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean I want to lose you.”

“Still, I have to let you try. I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t.”

“Noo.” The sound coming out of her was like that of a wounded animal. “It’s not fair after what he’s done. I can try but it will never be the same. That’s not a marriage. That’s like…my children being held hostage.”

“Hey, those are my arguments.” The sentiment was exactly right and on point.

He tried to chuckle, but it wasn’t coming. Instead, a desperate ache filled his chest. All that sense of being settled, of utter and complete contentment, was slowly leaking out of him.

“I’d do anything for my children, but it just isn’t fair to expect me to do this. Not now.”

“But if he’d come back sooner, you would have tried.”

She didn’t answer because the answer was of course, yes, she would have tried to save her family. And it made sense to Declan. It was one of the things he loved most about her. She didn’t give up on people. Sure, it was coming back to bite him now, but it was one of her best qualities.

“We can’t move forward with this hanging over our heads.” He let his arms dangle between his legs, a sense of defeat spreading.

“What do you mean by that?”

Still, he’d never been one to give up without a fight. He’d been taught to play fair, however, even if nothing seemed equitable about this. On one side stood Rob with their children, the real weight in all this. On the other side stood Declan, alone.

He got up, sticking his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to take her into his arms. So he wouldn’t be tempted to remind her who was here first, whom she truly belonged to.

“Take a week and think about this. Decide. And if you choose your family, I’m going to always be here.

I’m going to be here when you need me. I’m going to be there in the background, watching and making sure he treats you right.

I’m going to be with you no matter what.

You won’t lose me. But this has to be your decision. ”

She didn’t speak but covered her face. The sobbing started soon after, and he had to force himself not to turn back, take her into his arms and comfort her.

Declan walked across their shared lawn, and it was by far the longest twenty feet he’d ever walked.

* * *

Two days later, Amy was still a mess of tangled emotions and thoughts.

Declan wanted her to take a week, and she would, but she didn’t see how she could wind up having answers in such a short time.

She might never know the right thing to do.

Already she missed Declan desperately. Someone had cut out her heart and expected her to walk around and live and breathe without the organ so vital to life.