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“Hey, do you think he might be the one who broke into her office?”
Dean nodded as he looked back. “After last night, he’s my first guess.”
“You think he was just trying to scare her, or is there something more?”
While he figured out how to answer, his gaze strayed to the lit windows again. “There’s more going on between me and Jack, but I’m not sure yet exactly how it connects to her.”
“Well, if you need anything, I’m happy to help if it takes care of the useless piece of shit.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Chapter 17
Gina fastened the tabs on Cody’s clean diaper and glanced over at the sound of hushed voices out in the hall. It almost sounded like they were arguing, but a moment later, Joel called out goodnight to her, and Britt entered the room with a smile that said all was well. Her friend’s comfortable looking lounge pants and T-shirt had her wishing for her own pajamas.
“There’s Mommy.” The infant gave an extra energetic kick as she tried to get his foot in the leg of a one-piece sleeper. As she worked to get him dressed, she asked, “How was your night out?”
Britt leaned one hip against the changing table and caught Cody’s flailing arm. He gurgled up at her and she grinned back. “Wonderful, but I’d rather hear about yours.”
That was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Too many confusing emotions she hadn’t had a chance to sort through yet. Taking the easy route, she concentrated on the end of the evening and clung to her annoyance over their final exchange. “It was fine.”
“I don’t know. I saw dishes and glasses by the sink. Dinner, wine…?”
She lifted the dressed infant to hand him over to his mother. “Baby.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Britt conceded with a laugh. She took a moment to hug him close and nuzzle his cheek before starting from the room. On her way down the stairs, she asked over her shoulder, “So…what was Dean here for if not the romance of babysitting?”
Directly behind her, Gina opened her mouth to answer, but then realized she didn’t have a clue. “You know, he never really said.”
Her friend gave her a wide grin at the bottom of the stairs. “That makes it pretty obvious.”
“Not really.”
Maybe before dinner, but he’d seemed different on the way out. Distant, almost. And then he’d practically yelled at her when all she did was repeat her offer to help.
She followed Britt into the living room. “He arrived right at the point when Cody had been crying off and on for over an hour. I couldn’t calm him down, so Dean offered to stay and help.”
“Sorry about that,” her friend said with a grimace. She sat on the floor in the living room and laid the baby on a blanket. When she handed him a toy to play with, it went right in his mouth.
“It’s okay.” Gina sat on the edge of a chair across from them. “Turns out he’s great with babies, so while he settled him down, I made us something to eat. I hope you don’t mind?”
A hand waved away her concern. “Joel’s always been able to calm him better than I can. I’ve learned to accept it and take the break. The real question is, did Dean mind?”
She shook her head, recalling the expression on his face as he rocked the little boy, and his confession about helping his mother in the children’s hospital. Her heart softened all over again. “No, not at all.”
“Okay…so…did he insult your cooking skills?”
She frowned at the odd question. “Of course not. Why?”
“Because after all his help, you didn’t even say goodbye.”
“I said thank you just before you guys pulled up,” she defended.
“But what were you so mad about?”
She sat back, arms crossed over her chest. “Last night I offered to help him with Jackson. He said he’d think about it, but suddenly tonight, he flat out said no, and got mad at me when I argued.”
“Can you blame him?”
