He stopped talking when a familiar blue pickup sped into the tenant parking lot.
“So?” Jackson pressed.
The teenager shrugged. “Forget it.”
Clearly Danny didn’t want to talk in front of his sister, who’d just parked the pickup and was hurrying toward them.
“Hey!” she said breathlessly. “I’m so sorry I’m late. Bill and Wendy asked me to stay late and clean out the freezer, and it took a ridiculous amount of time. Did you guys already have dinner?”
“Yup,” Jackson answered. “But we left you a plate in the fridge.”
Her eyes flickered with gratitude. “Thank you. I’m starved.” She glanced at the football in his hands. “Are you two ready to go inside or are you still playing?”
“Naah, we’re all done, sugar.”
The three of them entered the building through the back doors and they’d just reached the third floor landing when Danny’s cell phone chimed.
He quickly checked the screen before looking at his sister. “Braden and the guys are going to this all-ages club in the Gaslamp tonight and they want me to come. Is that cool?”
She narrowed her eyes. “How will you be getting there?”
“Sean’s getting his mom’s car. And you know he’s a good driver—you forced him to take you around the block after he got his learner’s permit,” Danny said with a pointed stare.
“I had to make sure he wasn’t going to kill you!” she protested.
“Anyway, they wanna pick me up in an hour. Can I go?”
It didn’t take long for Mia to cave. “Fine, you can go. But you have to be home by curfew, and if you see one of the bartenders serving minors, I want you to leave the club immediately. Oh, and don’t you dare try to con someone to buy you alcohol or I’ll kill you.”
Danny just laughed and darted toward the stairwell door.
“You know you can’t stop him and his buddies from gettin’ loaded,” Jackson murmured as they trailed after Danny. “Teenage boys are gonna experiment with booze sooner or later.”
“Not on my watch,” she vowed.
Jackson grinned. “Good luck with that.”
Once they’d reached Mia’s door and walked into the apartment, Mia instantly disappeared into the kitchen to warm up her dinner while her brother sprinted down the hall to shower and change before his friends showed up. Jackson wandered into the living room and channel-surfed for a bit, then chatted with Mia as she flopped down beside him to eat. She didn’t stay long, though—the second Danny came out of the bathroom, she left to take a shower of her own, leaving Jackson to his own devices.
He felt unbelievably content lying there on Mia’s couch. The entire apartment had such a homey feel to it, reminding him a lot of his family’s ranch house. You could always feel the love when you walked into his childhood home. At least before the rift that had torn him and Shane apart.
But he refused to let himself dwell on that heartrending situation. It was over and done with, couldn’t be changed. What he needed to focus on was the present, and when Mia returned a little while later and curled up beside him, that sense of pure joy only intensified. He stroked her hair, twining one silky strand around his finger, enjoying the steady beating of her heart against his chest.
Danny popped back into the room almost an hour later, took one look at them and made a gagging noise. “Can’t you two cuddle somewhere else?”
Mia snickered. “Says the guy who was making out with Angie on this very couch last night.”
“We wouldn’t have to make out on the couch if you hadn’t enforced your crazy keep-the-bedroom-door-open rule,” her brother retorted.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she grumbled.
“Yep.” He grabbed his letterman jacket from the armchair. “Later, Jackson,” he said as he headed for the door.
“Goodbye to you too, Daniel!” Mia called out after him.
Jackson couldn’t help but laugh. “You two kill me. Are you ever not bickerin’?”
“Not really. It’s kind of our thing.” Grinning, Mia sat up and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Hey, listen, so I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“I’ll do it,” he said instantly.
A laugh flew out of her mouth. “You haven’t even heard what it is yet!”
“Fine, I’ll humor you. What’s the favor?”
“Danny’s going to Irvine next weekend with the team. The game is on Friday night.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that.”