Down Too Deep (Dirty Deeds, #4)(64)
“You don’t owe anyone anything,” Nathan said. “Was he calling because he’s in the middle of an emergency?”
“I don’t think so. He didn’t leave a message.”
“And if there were an emergency he probably would’ve, or he’d at least call back if it were something important, right?”
“Right.”
“So why do you feel bad right now? You’re not letting him down.”
I dropped my head back and blinked at the ceiling. I am not letting him down. I am not letting anyone down tonight.
“I guess when I look at it that way, I’m not sure why I feel bad,” I replied. A smile pulled at my mouth. “So I don’t. I don’t feel bad anymore. I’ll call him back tomorrow.”
“And what are you going to do tonight?”
“Exactly what I want to do.” I sat forward, snagging the remote and the bag of chips off the coffee table. I cued up Claws, popping a chip in my mouth. Then I pulled the basket of polish into my lap. “You’re good at this. I’m really glad I called you.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“What about you? What do you need tonight?”
“Jenna.” Nathan sighed, laughing a little. “Jesus Christ! You can’t stop yourself, can you?”
I chewed up another chip. “What?”
“This is not about me.”
“I’m not saying I’m going to help you!” I countered, giggling. “Awfully full of yourself, aren’t we? God…”
Nathan’s chuckle was soft in my ear.
“I was just curious. What do you need, Nathan?”
“Right now?”
“Right now.”
He thought for a long moment. “Nothing.”
Chapter Sixteen
NATHAN
Four Days Later
Marley came rushing at me from the kitchen the second I stepped inside the house. “Daddy! Daddy!”
I scooped her up and tickled her. She squealed against my neck, twisting her little body in my arms, but not pushing away. She loved being tickled. “How’s my girl doing?” I asked, closing the door behind me.
“Daddy, pway?”
“What did you play today, baby?”
“Daddy, go side?”
“You went outside?”
“She’s saying slide,” Olivia said, popping her head up from behind the couch. Her braids were messy. “We went to the playground after lunch. It was epic.”
I chuckled. “Did you have fun on the slide?” I kissed Marley’s smiling cheek as she nodded, her fingers holding tight to my neck. Then I peered into the kitchen.
Jenna was standing at the counter talking on the phone. She was already smiling, but when our eyes locked, I swore it felt like I was the reason for it. The way she looked at me lately…
I wondered if it was how I looked at her.
I lifted my hand, greeting her. Then I rounded the couch and took a seat beside Olivia. I peered over at Oliver. “What’s up, O? How was Scouts?”
Oliver was reclining on the love seat in his uniform, head on one end and bare feet on the other.
“Dumb,” he mumbled, eyes glued to his DS screen.
“Really?” I thought he liked it.
“All we did was go over stuff happening at the campout. That’s it.”
I thought about last month—Oliver crying, how upset he was over this, followed by my conversation with Jenna outside on the deck. I decided not to pry any further.
“If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here, all right?”
He glanced over at me and nodded, looking like that meant something to him, hearing that from me. Then he got back to his game.
Marley knelt in my lap and grabbed the stuffed turtle beside my hip. She spoke softly to it and studied its legs sticking out of the shell.
“My mom’s date is tomorrow night,” Olivia said, keeping her voice quiet.
“Oh yeah?”
She looked up from her iPad and grinned. “Yep. And we get to have a sleepover at Uncle Brian’s house. We haven’t done that in forever.”
My smile was so fucking forced right now, but I couldn’t not smile at her. Shit, I smiled the other night when Olivia told me all about this date. She was excited about it then. As soon as I walked in the door, Olivia shared the news.
She was speaking fast and jumping around, grabbing on to me so I’d stand beside her and listen. She told me how much her mom loved dates, all kinds of dates, because all girls did, and how Jenna never got to go on them but when she did get to go on them, “You should see how happy she is, Nate, and how pretty she looks. She dresses up and does her hair all wavylike with accessories, and her makeup is so super fancy. You should see her. I can’t wait for her to go on another one! You want her to go too, right, Nate? Don’t you want her to go?”
What the hell was I supposed to say to that? Olivia was impossible to disappoint. If I made her sad by answering how I wanted to answer, I’d hate myself for it. I knew I would. So I lied, telling Olivia I wanted her mom going. That I couldn’t wait either.
You should see how happy she is, Nate.
Fuck. And this shit was happening tomorrow.