Beth Andrews - What Happens Between Friends

Oh, sure, they would always be friends, but things would change between them. How could they not? No longer would she be able to stay at his house when she returned to town. She’d have to stop calling him whenever she wanted, night or day, just because she wanted to hear the sound of his voice. Because she’d missed him.

No longer would she be first in his life. That spot would belong to his wife, his family, the way it was supposed to.

He wouldn’t need her at all. He’d have what he’d always wanted.

And she’d be left alone.

CHAPTER FOUR

JAMES SANK ONTO a lounge chair on the deck, opened his bottle of water and took a long drink. He wanted to get home. Though tomorrow—he checked his phone’s clock—though today was Sunday, he still had to work. He needed to finish that estimate for the Websters’ addition, catch up on some billing and put in a few hours working on the design for Mrs. Kline’s kitchen.

The door opened and Maddie, the youngest Montesano sibling and only girl, sauntered onto the deck, followed by her eleven-year-old daughter, Bree. Zoe, lying at James’s feet, rose and walked over to Bree.

“I thought you left ten minutes ago,” Maddie said to him.

“I’m waiting for Sadie.” It seemed as if he’d spent his entire life waiting for Sadie. “She wanted to double-check if Mom needed any more help cleaning up.”

He wanted to follow her back to his place in case there was more damage to the Jeep than they initially thought.

“God help her.” Maddie glanced through the door’s window, her white summer dress like a beacon in the dim light. “We’re heading out before Mom can give us something more to do.”

“We waited until Nonna went into the living room and then snuck out,” Bree whispered excitedly, her hand on Zoe’s head. “Poppa kept watch.”

James pulled her down beside him and put his arm around her shoulders. “You’re taking your lives in your hands doing that.”

“Desperate times, my friend,” Maddie said. “You know how she gets after a party.”

“Crazy,” Bree said solemnly.

He squeezed her. “That’s my girl.”

“When I told her I’d come back in the morning to run the vacuum, I thought her head was going to explode. And that I would have to clean that up, too.” Maddie shook her head. “I think this school thing really has her freaked out.”

“She’ll work through it.”

“I know. But it’s tough when she’s the one we can always trust to be practical and responsible. Well, other than you, that is.”

“You make practicality and responsibility sound like negative traits.”

“Did I?” she asked sweetly. “So sorry.”

She wasn’t. She was rarely sorry, even when she knew damn well she was to blame. And there wasn’t much sweet about her, either. Growing up with three older brothers had made her tough as nails. Her stubbornness, competiveness and bordering-on-obsessive need to prove she was equal to the men in her family in every way was due to the prickly, pugnacious personality she’d been born with.

Was it any wonder they all adored her?

Maddie tugged Bree to her feet. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s get out of here before Nonna realizes we’ve escaped.” When James stood as well, Maddie hugged him. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

She stepped back and Bree moved into his arms. “Happy birthday, Uncle James.”

He held her close. She was a shorter, rounder version of her mother with her tanned skin, dark hair and heavy eyebrows. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, surprised to realize she now reached the middle of his chest.

When the hell did that happen? How did it happen?

It seemed like just yesterday she’d had pigtails and a wide, empty space in her smile where her two front teeth used to be. Those teeth had long ago come in, and she’d traded in the pigtails for a supershort pixie cut that accentuated the fullness of her face. But that would change soon, too. She’d get taller. Thin out. Grow up.

But she still smelled like a little girl, like clean sweat and baby powder. She still hugged him fiercely as if she never wanted to let go.

Love for her swamped him and he hoped she never did let go.

“Hey,” he said, leaning away so he could look down into her pretty face. “How about on Tuesday we go to that new bakery that opened up downtown?”

She stepped back, sent her mom a worried look. “Tuesday?”

“That’s the first day of school, right?” He pulled out his phone. He could have sworn he’d made a note that school started on the twenty-fourth.

“Yes,” she said slowly, sidling closer to Maddie, “that’s the first day, but—”

“Or we can stick with Rix’s Diner if that’s what you’d prefer. What?” he asked when he realized they were both staring at him, Bree rubbing her eyebrow, a sure sign she was upset or nervous.

Standing behind her daughter, Maddie placed both hands on Bree’s shoulders. “Actually, Neil is coming into town Monday night so he can be here for Bree’s first day of seventh grade.”

Neil Pettit, NHL star and original Hometown Boy Done Good, was also Bree’s father.

“Okay,” he said. “What does that—”

“He wants to take her out,” Maddie said softly. “He wants to take us both out. You know, start a new tradition.”

A new tradition.

Ever since Bree was a precocious, chubby three-year-old preschooler, James had taken her out to breakfast on the first day of school. Every year. It was their tradition, one he’d thought meant as much to her as it did to him.

“We could do something else, Uncle James,” Bree blurted. “The two of us. Like, start a new tradition.”

She looked so worried, he couldn’t even get angry she was throwing him a bone. Besides, she was just a kid. A sweet, quiet kid who’d had his heart from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her as a squalling, red-faced infant. Her entire life he’d done his best to be there for her, to fill the void Neil had left when he’d walked out on Maddie twelve years ago.

James had given her time and attention and, in the rare instances she needed it, discipline. For eleven years he’d been the biggest male influence in her life. Had been more of a father to her than her real dad.

Until two months ago when Neil had returned to Shady Grove and decided to be a part of his daughter’s life full-time—or as close to it as possible when Neil played for the Seattle Knights and spent half his time on the other side of the country. Though he still had over two years left before his contract with the Knights was up, he’d made his desire to be traded to an East Coast team sooner rather than later clear. It was only a matter of time, and getting the right offer from another team, before the Knights let him go. But even though Neil wasn’t with Bree on a day-to-day basis, the results were the same. He was Bree’s number-one guy now.

Leaving James to be demoted to favorite uncle.

Change happened. James accepted it, rolled with it.

But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Sure,” he said, trying to smile. To reassure her. “We can do something different. You pick.”

“Do I have to decide right now?”

She loved to weigh her options, to take her time and think things through before making any decision, whether it was what kind of ice cream to order or what she thought of the latest book she read. She sure as hell hadn’t gotten that from her mother.

“No hurry,” he said. “You just let me know whenever you’re ready.”

“Why don’t you wait for me in the truck?” Maddie asked, giving Bree a gentle nudge toward the steps. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Good night,” Bree told him.

“’Night.”