Kaleidoscope (Colorado Mountain #6)(77)

That was funny so I smiled up at him, leaning in further.

“Today hasn’t been good, honey,” I pointed out quietly. “My fault, but also, I think maybe they need some quality time with their son.”

“They’ll get it and get it with their son’s woman.”

“Ja—”

He interrupted me to declare, “Haven’t slept apart since that first night we got together. Not startin’ now.”

I liked that that meant something to him and wanted to keep our roll going, just as much as it kind of freaked me out.

But no way I was staying.

“Okay, let me rephrase,” I began. “Today hasn’t been good for me. Your dad isn’t my biggest fan and—”

He cut me off. “He’ll come around.”

I felt my eyes get big and I leaned closer. “Jacob, he was totally pissed I was late. He didn’t get over it all day and let me know it.”

I said that but what I didn’t say was that, even though it was rude to be late, it wasn’t like I breezed in having forgotten them because I was at home inserting razor blades into Easter candy I’d pass out at church to all Gnaw Bones’ children.

I’d screwed up and people did that.

I also apologized.

Which meant his dad didn’t like me but I also was not a big fan of his dad.

“Last woman I got serious about was Elsbeth,” he remarked.

I shut my mouth and leaned a bit away.

Jacob lifted a hand to curl around the side of my neck and he brought me back, dipping his face even closer.

“You know how that ended. So do they,” he finished.

“It’s been nine years and I’m not Elsbeth,” I replied.

“I been hung up on her for nine years and you’re not Elsbeth but you knew her. You know she was notoriously late for every-f*ckin’-thing. He probably got a flashback and if you wouldn’t pull away or act like my touch burns every time I get close, he’d get over it.”

“I didn’t pull away or act like your touch burns,” I returned.

“Babe,” he stated and said not another word but his mouth got tight after he was finished uttering it.

Then again, for once, “babe” said it all. Jittery and freaking out, I did just that and we both knew it. Therefore I couldn’t argue that point.

“Okay, how about this?” I asked. “I want to go home because I need a break. I need to regroup and maybe you can bring them around tomorrow for a tour of my house and I’ll try again.”

“How about this?” Jacob responded immediately. “You sleep where you belong, beside me, and we all go over there tomorrow so you can give them a tour after lunch.”

“Honey, can’t you understand where I’m coming from?” I pleaded.

“Baby, I could if you hadn’t f**kin’ forgotten my f**kin’ parents were comin’ to town. Somethin’ you’ve known for weeks. Somethin’ we made concrete plans about days ago. Somethin’ you gotta know means somethin’ to all involved. Then you show and act not you, which, since we’re havin’ this conversation, I’ll point out, you been actin’ not you for a while.”

I blinked at his words, not to mention his sneak attack, and pulled at his hand at my neck.

It tightened so I stopped pulling and asked, “What?”

“Since Faye had the baby, you’ve been off.”

“I have not,” I replied. “I’ve been me. And, by the way, I acted not me today because Rich put me on edge.”

He ignored my second statement and returned to his earlier theme.

“You miss my calls, when you never missed my calls. You call back hours later, but only if I leave a message. You never call me, which you used to do just because. And you’re comin’ to my place later and later, or textin’ me to ask me to show at yours later and later ’cause you supposedly have shit to do.”

“I’m one man down at the yard and in the middle of hiring a temporary replacement who actually won’t be a temporary replacement once Dane goes down, so he has to be the right guy for the job,” I reminded him.

“You shiftin’ lumber?” he asked.

“No,” I answered.

“Then you gotta put an ad in the paper and sift through applications, Emme. It isn’t like you’re out in the yard workin’ shoulder to shoulder with your boys.”

I felt my back get straight and my eyes get squinty. “You don’t know all the ins and outs of my job, honey.”

“I know hirin’ one guy doesn’t take five extra hours of your day, babe.”

“I didn’t say it was taking five extra hours,” I shot back.

“Then why are you suddenly unavailable pretty much all f**kin’ day?” he asked. “Unavailable when before I always got you.”

“We’re settling in, Jacob. Before, what we have was just starting. Fresh. New. Now it’s a part of life.”

“Emmanuelle, we been seein’ each other not even two months. It’s still just starting. And, babe, just sayin’, that just starting feeling is the best one to have so maybe we might want to hold onto that for as long as we can.”

“I have a life, Jacob. I have to live it and fit us in it.”