“Do you still?”
That was a really tough question, but Ryan guessed he owed Dean the most honest answer he could give. “That Lauren? No. That faded a long, long time ago. Mostly what kept me away was embarrassment, I guess. I wasn’t pining away. This Lauren? I don’t know yet. It’s really...complicated.”
“I hurt her and I lost her. And I love Jody more than I thought I could love a woman, but I still care about Lauren and she’s my son’s mother. If you end up walking away, do it straight up. Don’t screw with her head.”
With anybody else, Ryan might have gotten belligerent, because he didn’t need a lecture on how to treat a woman. But Dean had the right to say it. “I’m going to try my damndest not to.”
“Nick says you’re a good guy. He likes you.”
“The feeling’s mutual. You have a great son.”
Dean nodded, then took a deep breath. “You and I are never going to be friends.”
“I regret that, but I understand it.”
“We don’t have to be enemies, though.”
It was more than Ryan had hoped for. “No, we don’t.”
Nick walked out onto the porch at that moment, and both men turned. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder and was munching on a cookie.
Rose followed him out. “Remember. You use that hand sanitizer I gave you. And wash your hands a lot. And don’t share a cup or a fork or anything with your mom.”
“I won’t,” he called over his shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t dig through my stuff for a painter’s mask for you to wear,” Ryan told him when he got to the minivan.
“Believe it or not, she mentioned those.”
“Oh, I believe it. See you tomorrow, kid.” He lifted a hand to Dean, then walked back to the ladder.
Josh was on his way down and they met at the bottom. “Looks like it went okay.”
Ryan nodded. “Better than I expected.”
“For the record, if there had been a fight, I’d have stepped in, but I’d have let him get one good shot in first.”
It took a few seconds for his meaning to sink in. A guy didn’t let his brother take a hit from a guy who’d been an ex-husband for eight years. “What the hell do you know about it?”
“Remember when I went through my secret-agent ninja phase?”
“Yeah. You were one seriously messed-up kid, by the way.”
“I was under your bed when you were practicing your ‘divorce my best friend and run off with me’ speech in the mirror.”
“Are you shitting me?”
Josh raised his right hand. “I shit you not.”
“And you never said anything to anyone? Not even to me?”
“A secret-agent ninja never reveals his secrets,” Josh said solemnly and headed for the barn.
“You’re a seriously messed-up adult, too,” Ryan called after him.
Josh just laughed and kept walking.
*
Lauren knew it was Ryan’s truck as soon as the headlights splashed across her living room window, and she pulled the blanket up over her head.
“You want me to tell him to go away?”
“No, that would be rude.”
“Not if I say please.”
She laughed, but that hurt her throat. And it was hot under the blanket, so she pulled it back down. The static did wonders for her hair.
Nick let Ryan in when he knocked, then hefted his backpack. “I have an essay due Friday. I’m going to go work on it in my room.”
Even with a fuzzy brain, Lauren appreciated the gesture. He wasn’t going away to sulk, but to give them some privacy.
She could see Ryan battling not to look amused by her appearance, but he lost. “You were fine yesterday. What the hell happened?”
“It’s always that way. Colds hit me hard and I have sensitive skin, so the red nose and puffy eye thing happens fast.”
“I can see that.” He held up a plastic tub of something. “Did you eat?”
“I’m not really hungry. Nick had some leftovers. There should be a couple more slices of homemade pizza in the fridge if you want them.”
“This is Rose’s miracle chicken soup. She told me to make sure you eat it.”
She sniffed and reached for her best friend, the tissue box. “I’m not hungry.”
“Maybe you missed the part where she told me to make sure you eat it.”
“Fine.” She pushed back the blanket and swung her legs off the couch.
“Nice outfit.”
She was wearing faded flannel sleep pants and a fleece pajama top with Christmas trees on it. And no bra. Whatever. Any man who got past the hair, eyes and red, runny nose wasn’t going to be put off by fleece and flannel. Not that she was trying to attract one.
She heard Ryan rummaging around in her kitchen and a few minutes later he brought her a bowl of soup, a spoon and a napkin, which he set on the coffee table in front of her. “Eat.”
He went back into the kitchen and a couple minutes later, she heard the microwave ding. She stared at the chicken soup, trying to work up the will to spoon it into her mouth.