Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

"Okay, your turn." Aelin shifted on the grass, staring at her cards laid out on the paving stone. If they had to be locked out, today wasn't the worst day for it to happen. They didn't have any plans that night, and being outside forced Bailey to hang out with her instead of instantly jumping on her tablet and talking with her friends after school.

They had food and drink, courtesy of Wendy's, and she wasn't staring at Clark Moses's smug grin. That was a win.

Bailey bit her lip as she deliberated over her next move. She reached out a tentative hand, her fingers hovering before seizing a card, then groaning when she saw the picture. "It has a bent corner! I thought it was the Queen of Hearts!"

Aelin laughed. "I saw you scoping that out."

"Did you bend the corner on the Cookie Queen?" Bailey looked scandalized.

"It was too obvious otherwise."

"Mom!"

Aelin played a four, a two, and a six, then picked up three new cards. Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen, hoping it was an update on the spare key .

When she saw Megan Moses's face on the screen, she asked Bailey to pause and answered.

"Hey! Any luck?"

Megan paused. "Yep. Key's on the way." Her voice was a little too chipper.

"Megan—"

"Ugh, Aelin, I tried. I told him I was going to pop by after work, and he did that thing he does where he makes you feel like an idiot. He was like, "That makes no sense. We're all adults here, and I'm already home, plus I need to pick up my camping mats?—"

"He does NOT need to pick up his camping mats. I told him he's not getting those until he brings back my mother's table runner." Aelin's jaw ticked.

Megan sighed. "Yeah. Well. He's on his way."

Aelin turned to face the side yard and squeezed her eyes shut. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Why did he insist on digging in his claws at every damn opportunity? And why didn't she leave a spare key under the mat like a normal person?

"Mooom, it's your turn."

Aelin sniffed. "Yeah, I know, baby."

"I'm sorry, A." Megan groaned.

She nodded. "No, it's not your fault. Thank you."

"Drinks next weekend?"

"Yeah. I'll be there."

Megan exhaled. "‘Kay. Stay strong. Call me after if you need to vent."

"Thanks, Megs."

Aelin dropped the phone from her ear. So much for not seeing Clark's smug face.

She turned just in time to see a grey sedan turning onto the block. Speak of the devil.

"Hey, Bail's, good news. Your dad—" Aelin froze. That wasn't Clark's car .

Bailey turned to the street and jumped up from the grass, grinning from ear to ear when she saw Amaya in the passenger seat window. "Did you call them, Mom?"

"No, I didn't call them. I don't have her dad's number." She didn't know why that felt important to explain, but it did. Possibly because Ryan's face— okay, and body —had popped into her head multiple times during mediation.

It had just been such a shock. Seeing him there in her kitchen. Her house had been man-free, besides the guy checking their internet connection, for the past fourteen months.

That was why the image of him leaning against the wall had branded itself in her brain and her stomach did a little flip when he stepped out of the car. It was a good thing. A gift, really. Since Clark had moved out, she wondered if she'd ever find another man attractive again.

With Clark, the option had been to wear her emotions on her sleeve and get burned or shove them all down deep. No expectations meant no disappointment. Burying was better than hurting.

But after all this time, it was kind of comforting to know she was still capable of feeling . . . something.

Ryan closed the door and rounded the hood. He wore the same clothes he had on that morning, but they looked different in the afternoon. The top button of his shirt was undone, and he'd rolled up his sleeves. Not to mention that his bun was decidedly messier.

Bailey abandoned the card game and ran with Amaya into the backyard.

Aelin shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. "Let me have it. How did I fail as a parent this time?"

Ryan stopped partway up the paving stone path and glanced down at the card game. "Amaya told me you were locked out."

Aelin drew a breath. "It wasn't your fault. If that's why you're here. "

He glanced up at the front door. "It wasn't because I locked the door handle when I left this morning?"

"Well, yeah, but I didn't give you any instructions. It was a little chaotic." She rocked on her feet. "I don't blame you. I took the wrong set of keys and the garage pad thingy is busted."

Ryan frowned and turned to scan the side of the house. "What's wrong with it?"

She shrugged, following him as he walked over to inspect it. "I don't know. It hasn't worked for the last six months, which hasn't been an issue because the opener in my car works." Ryan glanced at her car in the driveway. "Bailey took it out of my car yesterday because she went to a friend's house three doors down and didn't want to knock when she came home. It's sitting inside on the counter."

Ryan gave a soft "Hmm" then lifted the cover on the pad. He pressed the buttons and when they didn't light up, dropped the cover. "Does the other electrical work out here?" He pointed to the two covered outlets on the porch.

"Not sure. I didn't put Christmas lights up last season, so they haven't been used in over a year."

He nodded once. "Do you have a bobby pin?"

Aelin blinked. "If you're going to shove a piece of metal in the outlets, I can think of easier ways to pay penance."

"I thought it wasn't my fault?"

She shot him a look. "Why do you need a bobby pin?"

"To unlock your door."

Aelin blinked. "Ryan, I appreciate you coming back, but you really don't owe me anything. Our spare key should be here any second, and . . ." She trailed off, remembering who was bringing said spare key. Clark was going to be pulling up in front of her house and witness her talking with another man. An attractive, athletic man who possibly knew how to break into houses.

"You know what? I'm intrigued." Aelin turned back to her purse still sitting in the grass. "How many bobby pins do you need? "

"Just one."

She dug in the zipper compartment, moving aside the lip balm, Neosporin, Band Aids, and the Bluetooth headphones for her phone. "Got it." She dug a bobby pin out of the crease at the bottom of the pocket and straightened, then crossed the yard and handed it to him.

Ryan took it and started to straighten it out.

"This isn't going to ruin the lock?"

He shook his head and climbed the porch steps, then dropped to one knee in front of the door. He moved closer to the handle, slipping the pin into the key slot.

Aelin leaned against the porch railing, glancing back at the street. If Clark could show up right about now . . .

She turned back, noticing how Ryan's shirt stretched against his shoulders as he manipulated the pin in the lock. "Should I be concerned that you know how to do this?"

"Depends."

"You know where I live. You could break in whenever you wanted to."

Ryan pulled the pin out a few millimetres and reinserted it. "I guess I could." There was a soft click, and he slipped the pin free, then lowered the handle and the door swung open.

"Seriously. Where did you learn to do that?"

Ryan turned and handed the splayed out bobby pin back to her. His thumb brushed hers, and she shivered. "My parents used to lock the door at midnight. If I got home late, I had the option of staying with a friend, sleeping in the garage, or—" He pointed at the lock.

"What was the ratio?"

"What?" He frowned.

"Like, a third staying with friends, a third sleeping in the garage, and a third breaking and entering?"

Ryan's lip twitched. "Two-thirds with friends. One-third breaking and entering."

"No garage sleeping. "

"Correct." Ryan didn't drop his eyes, and Aelin's cheeks started to heat. She was fumbling for something to say when she heard a car coming up the street.

She turned, and her heart jumped into her throat. Holy hell. This was happening. Clark was going to get out of his perfectly detailed car to find her standing on the porch with another man. Aelin felt like she was standing on a bridge about to bungee jump.

"Okay, listen. I'm a bit of a dick for not telling you to leave right away." She flashed an apologetic smile, then walked to the stairs.

Clark got out of the car. He looked at Aelin crossing the lawn, then flicked his eyes to the porch. "Megs said you needed the spare key."

"Mm. Yeah, I called her earlier. I thought she'd probably get off work before Ryan did." She nodded casually over her shoulder. "That was nice of you to bring it over."

Clark's jaw tensed, and Aelin forced herself to keep a straight face. Man on the porch. Door already open. She wanted to point a finger in his face and announce, "See? You're useless to me."

Earlier that morning, Clark had sat across the table from her and calmly described how her refusal to budge on his parent time was causing him emotional trauma. After he'd missed two of his last daddy-daughter dates—circumstances outside his control—and cancelled the trip he'd planned with Amaya for spring break. Like an asshole.

"Hey, you must be Clark?" Ryan stepped up next to her, and her pulse fluttered at her throat. What was he doing, and how did he know her ex's name?

Clark's eyes locked onto Ryan like a pit bull hearing a dog whistle. He flashed a smile and rounded the hood. "And you must be . . . the handyman?"

Ryan chuckled, but Aelin could've sworn his stance widened. He put out a hand. "Not exactly. "

Clark shook it, his expression cagey. "Is Bailey here?" He dropped Ryan's hand and turned his attention to Aelin.

"She's with a friend." Aelin crossed her arms over her chest and took a step back on the grass.

Clark nodded. "Hmm. You know, Aelin, I wondered if I could get those camping mats. I think I left them in your garage."

Aelin's nostrils flared. He'd flipped her off last week when she'd told him he couldn't have them, and now he was pretending like this was the first she'd heard of it? "I have them ready for you, actually. As soon as you're able to bring by my mom's table runner, I'd be happy to exchange."

He chuckled, his smile never faltering. "Do you see this, Ryan? A guy can ask nicely." He shook his head. "I haven't had any luck finding it, but I'll look again."

"Sounds great." Aelin's nails bit into the skin on the backs of her arms.

Clark glanced at the open gate to the backyard. "Let Bailey know I stopped by."

"Sure, and can I have my key please?" Aelin swallowed hard. The last person in the world she wanted to have the key to her house was Clark Moses.

He cocked his head. "Your key? Last I checked, the title for this house was still in both our names."

Aelin pursed her lips. They'd agreed in their last mediation that the house would stay with her and Bailey, and they'd divided all their other assets. The only thing they had left to figure out was custody and child support. "Clark?—"

"Have a good night, A. Ryan." He waved and stalked back to the car, getting into the driver's seat and peeling away from the curb without a second glance.

Aelin deflated like a balloon.

"Are you okay?" Ryan's voice was low.

"How did you know his name?" She rubbed her hands over her arms to stop them from shaking .

Ryan's jaw worked. "I saw a message on your phone. When you left it on the porch."

"Ah." She turned and walked toward the backyard, her ribs tightening around her lungs, wringing her out. She knew exactly the message he was talking about. This would all be a lot simpler if you weren't so difficult and exhausting to love. "Thanks for opening the door, Ryan. I'll get Amaya."

She worked to draw a full breath as her shoes crunched over the gravel in the side yard. He was gone. It didn't matter if he had a spare key, he wasn't allowed to enter the premises without her permission per their mediation. If he did, she'd have grounds for a restraining order, and Clark was far too proud to be a partner at Nelson and Sons to risk getting arrested.

He wouldn't do it. She was safe here.

"Hey girls!" she called out. Amaya and Bailey were up in the tree house. "Amaya, your dad is waiting for you out front. Bailey, time to get dinner ready."

"Is the house open?" Bailey popped her head out the open window.

Aelin smiled. "Yep. You can pee in a real toilet!"

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Gross, mom. I don't even have to go that bad."

Aelin waited for the girls to climb down the ladder, then walked with them back to the front. Ryan leaned against his car looking at his phone. Amaya gave Bailey a hug, then jogged across the grass. Ryan looked up.

"Can we get food before we go see Mom?" Amaya asked, and Aelin's stomach twisted. Ryan had come here to pick her lock when he was supposed to be visiting his wife in the hospital?

Ryan nodded. "Sure." He opened the door for her, then closed it and turned back to Aelin. Before he could say anything, Amaya was pushing her door open again.

"Can Bailey play on Saturday?" She poked her head out, kneeling on the seat .

Bailey ran up next to Aelin, pulling on her arm. "Please?"

"Since when are you two best friends?" Aelin asked. She could count the number of times Bailey asked for a playdate on one hand since the holidays.

Bailey gave her a look that said, "Do not embarrass me, Mom."

"Sorry, okay. Umm, your dad is picking you up at noon for his date, so I don't know if that works great."

"I don't sleep in on Saturdays. We always make pancakes, but we don't have to make those so I could come early." Amaya said.

Aelin was about to say that Bailey never woke up before ten when her daughter blurted, "Me, too. Mom, can Amaya come over at nine?" Her pupils dilated until she resembled an anime cat.

Aelin looked up at Ryan. "I—I don't even know what to do with this."

Ryan shoved his phone back into his pocket. "I can bring Amaya over Saturday at nine. I can pick her up at eleven thirty. Or right at noon if that's helpful." He raised an eyebrow, and Aelin's mouth suddenly felt like it had been swabbed with gauze.

She straightened. "Eleven thirty would be great."

Ryan nodded. "Okay, then. Saturday."

Bailey jumped up and down, pulling on Aelin's arm and dragging her into the house.

"We have to clean up the cards." Aelin laughed, pulling her hand free and crouching to pick up their game. Bailey helped, and by the time they walked inside, Ryan's car was gone from the street. "This only happens Saturday if you do your chores."

"I know!" Bailey ran up the stairs, her hair flying behind her.

"I'm talking washroom, bedroom, everything."

"I know , Mom!"

Aelin shook her head and retrieved Bailey's backpack from the porch. She set it on the bench in the entryway, then tidied their shoes and walked into the kitchen. It wasn't until she pulled out the shredded chicken and cilantro from the fridge that she noticed the sticky note on the counter.