Page 27 of The Secret Crush Book Club (Peach Blossom #3)

Nineteen

D ani told herself she wasn’t gearing up for a fight. Sure, she had called her ex-husband and told him that he needed to physically come inside to pick Jordan up for his weekend, but she wasn’t planning on jumping him or anything. They just needed to have a conversation and talk some things out.

All week, Jordan had been almost a shell of his normal boisterous self.

He had done his homework like normal. He went to his esports club and talked with his friends.

Dani had even had to remind him not to get too loud when he was in his room playing games online.

But still, there were times when maybe he thought no one was paying attention that Dani would see his happy expression fall, leaving his face devoid of anything.

She knew instinctively that he was still trying to come to terms with the changes his dad had foisted on him.

The worst part was that Dani was still not sure how to help.

She and Jacob didn’t often discuss their private lives.

She had met his fiancée years ago and she didn’t have anything against the woman.

She was nice enough and as long as Jordan never had any complaints, Dani was happy to keep things pushing.

Now though, something needed to happen. A knock on her bedroom door startled her from her thoughts and Dani looked up in time to see Daniel in the doorway.

His expression was solemn as he looked at her.

“Jacob is coming up the drive.”

She nodded. “Thanks, Pop. Keep Jordan up in his room and occupied for a bit, alright? He doesn’t need to be part of this conversation just yet.”

“I agree. But you let me know if I need to come down.”

Dani smiled. She knew her dad had her back, as would Ava if she let her.

Dani had purposely told Ava to leave the house after divulging the news of Jacob’s impending nuptials.

Dani had had to keep her from marching over to Jacob’s and telling him about himself.

Ava might not have kids of her own, but she always went to bat for Jordan.

It made Dani feel good to know that not only she, but Jordan had a support system here that would take care of him no matter what.

She walked into the hallway and knocked on Jordan’s door. She waited for him to call out before she cracked it open and stuck her head in. “Your dad is here. I’m going to talk with him a bit and then Grandpa Daniel will let you know to come down, okay?”

Jordan gave her a distracted nod. His gaze was still trained on the computer screen. “Alright, Mom. Try not to get too heated.”

Dani snorted. “Come on. It’s me we’re talking about.

If it were your aunt Ava though…” She trailed off, delighting in the way Jordan chuckled at her words.

The whole family was in agreement that Ava was the winner when it came to anger issues, with Daniel coming in at a close second. “I love you, kiddo.”

Jordan glanced at her then with a lopsided smile. “I know, Mom.”

Dani rolled her eyes before ducking back out of the room and closing the door.

She didn’t doubt that Jordan would try his best to sneak a listen, but Daniel was upstairs and would keep the worst of Jordan’s curiosity at bay.

When Dani got downstairs, she had to take a deep breath before opening the front door.

Jacob looked the same as always. At one point in time, Dani had thought he was the most attractive boy she’d ever met.

That was before she had ever left Peach Blossom.

Objectively, he was still good-looking, but he did nothing for her anymore.

“Hey,” Jacob said glancing around. “Where’s Jordan? Isn’t he ready to go?”

“He is, but I had mentioned needing to talk to you, remember?”

Jacob sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Dani, I have a lot to get done today. I don’t have time for this.”

She folded her arms, giving him a heated look. “This is about our son, so I suggest you make time.” Her voice had gone hard, and she knew she struck her mark when Jacob’s eyes widened. “Come inside and sit down. I have things to do as well, so I’m not trying to take up all of your or my time.”

Dani moved back, allowing Jacob to walk into the house.

She closed the door behind them and glanced at the stairs, hoping that Jordan had his headphones on and was engaged in a game rather than paying attention to what was going on downstairs.

She led Jacob over to the couch, sat down and gestured for him to do the same.

It was the first time he had been inside the home in a long time.

Jacob glanced at the stairs before sighing again and sitting on the edge of the couch.

It was strange to see him sitting again on the couch after years of absence.

It was uncomfortable in a way that Dani wasn’t expecting.

“Okay, you have me here. Now, let’s talk about whatever it is you think is the issue quickly so I can get going. What’s going on?”

Dani was doing her best not to let her attitude get in the way of the conversation they needed to have, but it was hard.

She was normally a chill person, but for some reason, Jacob was one of the people who just always got under her skin.

This was part of the reason why they hadn’t been able to work out all those years ago.

It had been like trying to combine oil and water.

All it did was make a huge mess. Even on a good day, trying to have a hard conversation with Jacob was worse than trying to pull teeth that weren’t ready to be removed.

“Jordan let me know that you are getting married next year.”

Jacob nodded quickly. “Shit, yeah, I am. Sorry that I didn’t let you know first but we’re still at the beginning of planning and nothing’s even close to being finalized yet. We haven’t even picked a date.”

Dani waved off his words. “That’s fine. I’m happy for you both.

It just would have been good to get a little heads-up for Jordan’s sake.

” She was trying to keep the conversation focused on their son and not on how much she wanted to throttle Jacob.

She doubted that he had forgotten to tell her about the proposal and wedding.

It was far more likely that he just didn’t want to and hoped that everything would happen before she found out.

“He’s been a little upset lately, especially after that night. ”

Jacob rolled his eyes before shaking his head.

“There was nothing wrong with him sitting on the front porch waiting for you. I told him to keep his behind in the house, but he insisted that he was grown,” he said, trying to justify it.

“If I had known that you were going to freak out about it so much, I would have let you know ahead of time so you could prepare yourself instead of blowing up my phone with text messages after the fact.”

“I don’t think it was out of line for me to suggest that letting our eleven-year-old son sit outside in the dark by himself was a bad idea,” she countered.

“We might not be concerned with people coming by to snatch him up, but never mind the fact that we got coyotes prowling all over the place. Didn’t anything like that ever cross your mind? ”

“Of course it didn’t cross my mind because it wasn’t very likely,” Jacob said, frustration coloring his voice.

“Nothing happened but some hurt feelings and maybe a mosquito bite or two, and he learned a valuable lesson about picking and choosing your battles. He called you to pick him up and you came. There’s no reason to draw this out unnecessarily. ”

Dani begged to differ, but it was clear that Jacob was not going to see reason.

He was so sure that everything he had done was correct that even if Jordan had been crying his eyes out, Dani doubted he would have apologized or even said that he did anything wrong.

“And what about naming your new baby after yourself? Did you not stop to think that maybe Jordan would feel some type of way once he found out?”

“I don’t think what we name our future baby is any of yours or Jordan’s concern.

Besides, it was your fault I didn’t name him after me in the first damn place,” he replied.

He stood up from the couch. “Is this seriously what you brought me in here to talk about? Are you really so petty that you would want to ruin my happiness just because Jordan isn’t getting his way for once? ”

Dani looked up at him in disgust. “You really think that Jordan has been upset for the past week simply because he isn’t getting his way? Is that truly something that just came out of your mouth right now?”

“I don’t know what else it could be. It’s not like I’m the only one who has moved on.

Word on the street is that you’re all over the town with someone who might not even be here in a year,” he accused.

“Which do you think is going to cause more lasting damage when it comes to Jordan? Him seeing me in a long-term, healthy relationship, or you hopping from one person to the next depending on who shows you attention?”

Dani’s stomach dropped at Jacob’s words.

She knew that really, he was just trying to get a rise out of her and hurt her as a way to defend his own actions.

Still, she couldn’t deny that there was a thread of truth there.

She was seemingly moving on with someone who was already in Jordan’s life.

They hadn’t gotten to the point where they were really discussing exclusivity or their plans for the future, but Dani knew that if things went bad between her and Zoe it could affect Jordan in a very real way.

But what was Jacob talking about Zoe potentially not being here in a year? Did he know something she didn’t?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes to time frames and why that has any relevance to what Jordan is going through right now,” she said, trying to keep the subject focused on the here and now.

“I haven’t said anything to Jordan about me dating because none of it has gotten serious to the point that he needs to concern himself with it.

I’ve already said if anything ever gets to that point then I would have a conversation with you. ”

“You didn’t think it was already serious enough, considering the fact that she is sponsoring one of the clubs that our son is in?”

“No, because I can still walk away, and Jordan would be none the wiser. Rumors start every day in this town. It doesn’t mean that they’re all correct.

But you have confirmed something that affects him and all I’m asking is that you take the time to truly think about things and talk to your son the way he deserves. ”

“No, what I deserve is to not be ambushed because you’re jealous that I’ve moved on and you haven’t.” Jacob’s words and his continued stubbornness had Dani jumping up from the couch.

“What the hell do I have to be jealous about, Jacob? I’m not the one who cheated and broke up our family.”

“Well, clearly it wouldn’t have worked out anyway because you don’t even date men anymore.” How the conversation had spiraled so heavily out of control Dani wasn’t even sure. “How do you think Jordan is going to feel, considering he has his own crush on his favorite librarian?”

Dani froze. This was news to her. She knew that Jordan was fond of Zoey, but he had never said anything about potentially having a crush on her. It didn’t matter of course in the grand scheme of things, but it was just one more thing that Dani now had to worry about that she hadn’t planned for.

“You spend all this time judging me and yet you’re the one making decisions without considering the long-term effects on the people around you.

” Dani knew Jacob was talking shit, but like always he was able to pinpoint some of her greatest insecurities and weaponize them, leaving her feeling off kilter and unsure of her next move.

Footsteps on the stairs had Dani glancing over her shoulder just in time to see Jordan come tumbling down the steps.

His lips were turned down in a scowl and his dark brown eyes were trained on Jacob.

“Dad, why would you tell Mom that? I told you that stuff in secret,” Jordan said, his voice loud and laced with anger.

“Your mom and I were just having a conversation,” Jacob said. “Go get your stuff so we can get out of here.”

Jordan shook his head. “I’m not going.”

Dani’s eyes widened and she took a step toward Jordan. She put on her calmest voice and hoped that she could defuse the situation before it spiraled even more out of control. “Jordan, it’s fine, sweetheart. It’s time for you to go with your dad and I’ll see you on Monday.”

He turned to look at Dani and she froze again.

Never had she seen Jordan so angry before.

“No, I said I’m not going.” Before Dani could reach out, Jordan turned and ran back up the stairs.

His footsteps rang out against the hardwood until they were followed by the slam of his bedroom door.

For a moment she wasn’t sure what to do.

Even as a toddler, Jordan had been fairly easygoing and kept his tantrums at a minimum. This moodiness was brand-new behavior.

“I don’t need this shit,” Jacob hissed. Dani turned to see him swipe a hand over his face. His lips were turned down in a scowl just like the one she had seen on Jordan’s face. “I have things to do, so you let me know if Jordan is ready to act like he has some sense.”

“What are you talking about?” Dani asked in confusion. “Are you seriously just going to leave and not go up and say anything to him?”

“He wants to act all big and bad, yelling at people like he’s grown. Fine. He can have these grown consequences.”

Dani shook her head in disbelief. Now she was really and truly angry. She was angry at Jacob for acting like this toward their son. And she was angry at herself for ever thinking that he would be a good father to begin with.

“You are truly unbelievable,” she said quietly. “Go. I’ll take care of Jordan, just like I always do. I hope you’re a better father to this new baby than you have been. I truly do.”

She could tell that something about her words had resonated with him.

Jacob opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came.

He glanced at the stairs one more time before making a hurt-sounding noise and turning to exit the living room.

Dani heard the front door open and slam closed a few moments later.

She had hoped that having a conversation would help solve things, but now Dani was worried that things were worse than ever.