Chapter 110

Jon stood up, turning to face the familiar voice. Brown eyes stared back at him, vacant and unseeing as she focused at a point to his right. He dropped his hand on Tessa’s shoulder. “Dorothea, what a surprise.” He could feel Tessa stiffen beneath his touch, unsure if it was because of him or his ex-wife. He squeezed gently, trying to reassure her and himself that this wasn’t going to be as awkward as it felt already.

“I didn’t realize you had company,” Dorothea said stiffly, hiking Romeo higher on her hip when he reached for Jon. “Not right now, Romeo.”

Jon let his fingers ease away from Tessa as he transferred his straining son onto his hip, with only a mild pull back by his former wife. “Hey buddy, how you feeling?”

Romeo rubbed his nose and dropped his head against his chest with a thunk. “Hot,” he said and let out a soft moan as he settled himself.

He brought a hand up to rub his back automatically. “Any reason why you’re taking them out while they’re still sick?” He asked with an arched brow.

Dot’s eyes went arctic as she glanced at Tessa again and back to his face. “I was going to leave them with you because Jennifer is too sick to even get out of bed. I need to pick up my parents from the airport and didn’t want to have to drag them in and out of there.”

He hushed Romeo and nodded. “That’s fine, but a call would have been nice.”

“Jessie and Steph are in school or I wouldn’t have inconvenienced you,” she said with as much warmth as the Navasink River.

“Hey! They’re my kids too, but I would have warned you that I had company,” his voice rose as a tickle in his throat threatened. He tried to swallow the cough, but it wouldn’t be denied and he turned away to cover his mouth, he caught the look on Tessa’s face. Closed off, eyes glassy with tired and sick, but she sat there with her shoulders back. He hated that he still had to keep his two lives separate, but their protection was more important than what he wanted.

Maybe this would move them a step closer to trying to do that. He turned back when Jake tugged at his hand. “Daddy, is that your girlfriend?”

“Uh,” he glanced at Dot, then back to Jake when her only response was a stony face, he lowered himself to his height, shifting Romeo to his other hip. “She’s a really good friend of mine.”

Jake nodded. “The bookstore lady, right?”

When Dorothea crossed her arms over her chest, he bit back a sigh. “Yes that’s right, Ms. Donovan.”

He smiled and dragged the back of his hand over his nose. “Pirate lady.”

Laughing, he stood. “Yes, that’s the one. Good memory, Jake.”

He walked over to Tessa and looked up at her. “Are you sick too?”

Tessa looked at Jon then to Dorothea before she answered. “Yes, I think I have the same thing you do.” She sighed with a sniff and gave him a conspiratorial whisper, “It kinda sucks doesn’t it?” Her face had gentled as soon as she started talking to his son and he started to relax.

“Is that from kissing my Daddy?”

Dorothea stepped over and took his hand. “Leave Ms. Donovan alone, Jacob. C’mon, you guys are going to go to the airport with me.”

So much for relaxing, he thought as he brushed a hand brush over Jake’s sandy colored hair. “Why don’t you leave them here? We’ve got Lottie to help us out.”

“I don’t think so,” she said with a clipped tone.

Ignoring her Jon eased Jake toward his housekeeper, “Lottie, why don’t you get the boys some juice?”

Lottie came forward and gathered Romeo into her arms. “Come with me, darling. I have some graham crackers with your name on it, yes?”

Jake perked up. “The ones with Spider man?”

“Ahh, you know I only get your favorite kind!”

“Let me walk you out,” Jon said amiably. He turned back to Tessa. “I’ll be right back, ba-“ he cut off without finishing. “I’ll be back, just wait here okay?”

Tessa pushed her hair behind her ear, sniffling from her cold, he hoped. Her green eyes were shuttered and she wouldn’t look at him. “Sure.”

Fuck. He put his hand at the small of Dot’s back and led her to the front door. “Look, just go to the airport and pick up the kids on your way back. It’s no big deal, they’re here already.”

“I told you I don’t want the kids near your new girlfriend yet.” She used such venom on the word girlfriend that he winced. “I’m not sending her away, Dot, nor am I sending her upstairs away from the kids. We all ended up with the same cold, so we’ll be fine. They can’t get it again.”

She leaned on the door. “You know that’s not the point. But beyond that, just how am I supposed to explain that,” she gestured to the kitchen, “to my parents when I come to pick up the kids?”

“I don’t know, Dot. How do any former in-laws deal with another woman in the ex-husband’s life?” His voice lowered dangerously. “Look, you were the one that wanted the divorce. You were the one that wanted a separate life. It took me some time, but I moved on-“

“Didn’t take long,” she said on a low breath.

Exasperated he took a step back. “Is that what this is about?”

“Does any woman want to be replaced by a younger model? And so quickly?” She asked and reached for the door.

His anger melted away. “Hey, I thought we talked about this.” He snagged her arm. “It wasn’t that quick, Dorothea and she’s just a few years younger than me.”

“She doesn’t look it.”

“Well she’s sick without a stitch of make-up on.”

“And why is she here if she’s sick?”

Because she loves me and wanted to take care of me and got sick for her trouble. He heard that in his head and well, that would just be stupid to say. “Because Lottie got a good look at her when she came to check on me and deposited her upstairs to be taken care of, but that’s not the issue, Dorothea.” He gentled his voice. “You cannot get mad because she’s here. I’ve done everything I can to keep up our end of the bargain and not mix the kids with my relationship for awhile. You came here unannounced.”

“You have to know how hard it is to see you with someone else,” she said softly.

He sighed and gathered her in for a hug. “I know, I’m sorry, Dots. You know I wouldn’t flaunt it in front of your face if I’d known you were coming.”

She snuggled in to his arms and pressed her nose into his neck. “It’s ridiculous how good you smell even sick,” she said and pulled back slowly, smiling up at him. “I didn’t mean to overreact. I just need to protect my kids, Jon. You understand right?”

“Of course,” he said amiably. Inwardly he sighed. He knew when she was manipulating. He’d been with her for enough years to scent it before she even started working him. He knew it was hard on her. Knew that in her position he probably wouldn’t have dealt as well with it as she was.

He opened the door wider for Dorothea. “We’ll be fine while you’re gone.”

She stopped at the door jamb. “I don’t like this Jon. Not at all.”

Jon put his hand over hers on the door. “Change isn’t ever easy, but we’ve gotten through it before, we’ll do it again.”

She lifted her hand to his face. “I know.” She said and stepped away from the door.

Closing it as he turned, he saw Tessa at the doorway to the kitchen. He started forward, “Tessa, wait.”

She just held up a hand. “Don’t,” she said with a broken whisper. “Just don’t.”

She backed away and into the kitchen.

He headed after her and watched her stuff feet in shoes, as she opened the back door. “Tessa,” he said on a sigh as the door closed in his face. He grabbed her jacket and his and was just about to follow her when Jake tangled himself around his legs.

“Dad, where’s Ms. Donovan going?”

He sighed and looked down at his son. “She’s a little mad at me, Jakey.” He ruffled his hair. “Where’s Romeo?”

“He fell asleep. Lottie put him in his room.”

“Oh, alright. That’s cool. What about you, big guy? Feel like a nap?”

“Nope,” he said and grinned up at his dad. “Lottie said we could make cookies. Think Ms. Donovan would like that?”

“Only if there’s extra M&M’s in them.”

“Yeah!” Jake ran back to the pantry. “Lottie! Do we have M&M’s?”

He waved at his housekeeper, motioned toward the door. When she nodded, he slipped out and looked around the grounds, until he saw a flash of copper by the dock. “Shit,” he said and started walking.