Never Been Ready (Ready #2)(70)

Logan grinned at my snide comment. It really was damn hot though. Summer was the one season I both loved and hated. I loved it when I was able to lie near a pool and sunbathe. I hated it when I was required to wear clothes, and jumping in water wasn't an option. Virginia in the summer was hot and sticky and made my hair do hideous things.

Connor and Maddie chose that moment to run by, laughing, making a beeline to the swings. They had become fast friends, which had made Clare and me swoon as we envisioned an adorable wedding in twenty years. The men had just shaken their heads at our crazy plans.

Connor had made tremendous progress. Between all of us, including Sarah and Devin, we had helped him through the roughest months and the strongest memories. He'd learned to recognize that memories of his mom were good things and should be celebrated. Declan and I had taken him to an ice rink, and we'd all gone ice skating, which was something Connor had always done with his mother. We'd made a new tradition of eating our ice cream with the cones flipped over in a bowl because that had been the way his mom used to give it to him. We didn't want him to lose her, but we also didn't want him to live in the past. We tried to bring new adventures to his life as well, so he could create new memories.

The fact that Connor still didn't know who Declan was killed him. Declan wanted to tell him, but Sarah and Devin had asked for six months. It was difficult on Declan. He was developing this amazing relationship with his son, but it was based partially on a lie. By the end of the summer, we would fulfill the time requirement, and then we could tell Connor.

"Hey, where's Goober?" I asked, noticing Garrett's absence and the obvious void in our little family.

"He said he had something for work, so he couldn't make it." Logan shrugged.

"On a Saturday afternoon?"

"I don't know. He does work a lot," Clare answered.

"I'm worried about him. I don't think he's had a date in months, if not years. He doesn't do anything but work, and it's beginning to show. He looks tired and worn out all the time."

Clare nodded in agreement. "I know. Me, too. I've tried to talk with him, but he brushes it off, saying he needs to put in the time to move up. He says he'll have time to do everything he wants to do later when he's higher up the ladder."

"I don't think it's a career choice. I think he's purposely avoiding something. Work is just a happy accident that keeps his mind occupied," I said, holding up my glass to my face in a vain attempt to cool myself down.

Backyard cookout in the summer? Whose dumb idea was this?

Oh yeah, mine.

"But what could it be though?" Clare asked.

"I don't know, and I doubt he'll tell anyone. Keep an eye on him, and if it gets worse, let me know. I'll force it out of him if I have to," I said.

The men wandered over to the grill, pretending to cook, as they drank beer and laughed. Clare and I took a seat on the patio where a fan had been plugged in, and we sighed as the cool wind blew in our direction.

"Guess what?" Clare said before sipping her sweet tea.

I didn't know how she stomached the stuff. I knew I was born and raised in the South, but I couldn't stand it. It tasted like simple syrup with a bit of tea thrown in for color. Yuck.

"You really do think I look fat in this dress?"

"No!" She giggled. "You look gorgeous as always. You need to take it down a notch and give the rest of us a fighting chance."

"Oh, please. Do you see the way your husband keeps looking over here? He's staring at one of us, and it's definitely not me. I'd say you have it going on and then some."

She smiled as she quickly glanced across the yard, catching Logan's heated gaze. His hair had mostly grown back, and it was back to his messy signature style.

"You were going to tell me something before you started eye-f*cking your husband?" I teased.

She blushed and laughed. She tore her eyes away from Logan and focused back on me. She was the color of a cherry red tomato, and she probably would be for the next five minutes. No amount of embarrassment ever went unnoticed on Clare's fair skin.

"Yes! I'm going back to work! I start back this fall," she said excitedly.

Clare, in her former life —before Ethan had become sick and it had become too hard to take care of him and work at the same time —had been a high school history teacher.

"That's great! Is Logan excited?" I asked.

"Yes, it was his idea. He knew I was lonely in the house now that Maddie is in school. My mom will have to pick her up from school since the high school runs a bit later than her elementary school, but I will still be able to be here with her in the late afternoons. I honestly can't wait to get back into teaching."

"That's great. And hey, think of all the teenage boys who will have crushes on you! That will be a boost to the ego when you hit the big three-oh," I joked.

She threw a napkin at my face, and we continued to talk until Declan came over, announcing dinner.

"I cooked a mean steak, snickerdoodle. You have to try it."

"Nope."

"Nope to the steak or the pet name?"

"The pet name. It's awful. Call me that again, and I swear to God I will tell Clare right here in front of all our family and friends what your favorite movie is," I threatened.