Chapter 9

Declan finished putting Sadie's room to rights and considered the rest of his day. He had nothing planned, and since last night was a bust, he wasn't going to try again. Besides, he'd been having fun hanging out here with Renee. He'd never been much of a homebody. He liked to go out and be with people, but maybe he was getting old because sitting on the couch, having a couple beers, and watching TV with Renee the other night had been pretty perfect.

He took the tarps from Sadie's room. When he got to the living room where he planned to drop them off in preparation for painting there, Sadie held a finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet. She sat behind Renee's legs and Renee was sound asleep.

"You want to go out to play?"

Sadie's eyes lit up, but then she frowned. "Mom said watch a movie. I can't go outside by myself."

"You won't be by yourself. I'll be there."

She jolted and then slowed her movements to climb off the couch. "Sure Mom won't get mad?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. Let's go have some fun."

Sadie carefully picked up the remote and paused her movie. Then she took Declan's hand like it was the most natural movement in the world.

"You should grab your jacket just in case."

She pulled her jacket from the hook near the front door and slid her arms in. Declan led the way out the back door. He hadn't looked at the yard yet, and he didn't know what he was expecting, but this was kind of sad. He clapped his hands. "Okay. What do you want to play?"

"I dunno."

"What do you usually do out here?"

"Nothing. I don't play here. There's nothing to do."

"Where do you usually play?"

"Mom takes me to the park."

Declan stared at her for a moment and debated. Had he just been scammed into going to a park? "Do you know where the park is?"

She shrugged and smiled. "We pass the green house and then the yard with the big dog. He jumps at us and barks real loud."

"Okay. Let's leave a note for your mom and then we'll try to find it."

They went inside and he left a note on the table by the remote and used his phone to try to find the closest park. Once they were down the front steps, he turned right.

Sadie tugged his hand. "This way."

He glanced at his phone, but she seemed sure, so he let her lead the way. At each corner, she paused and looked thoughtfully in each direction.

"You don't have any idea where we're going do you?"

"I thought so, but..." Her face screwed up tight, and he was afraid she was going to start crying.

"Hey, it's okay. We're on an adventure. Let's explore. There's nothing that says we have to go to the same park. Maybe we'll find something better."

She relaxed and took his hand again.

"What did you do with your dad this weekend?"

"Nothing."

"Come on. You must've done something."

"We had a snack and watched a movie. He doesn't have good books for story time at his house."

"Why don't you bring the book you read with your mom?"

"I did that one time but..." She looked up at him with wide eyes and lowered her voice. "Daddy's not as good as Mom at reading the stories. He just says the words. No voices or anything."

"Did you ask him to do voices?"

"No. But I never ask Mom." She tugged his hand again. "Look!"

He followed her pointed finger. They found a school playground. It wasn't a park but it would do. "Is that your school?"

"Nuh-uh."

They crossed the street. "What do you want to play on?"

"Can you teach me to do the monkey bars?"

"I don't know."

"You can't do them either?"

He stretched his arms above his head. "I used to be able to, but I haven't in a long time."

He reached up, took a bar, keeping his knees bent so his feet wouldn't drag, and swung down the line. Like riding a bike.

Sadie hopped up and down. "Like that. I wanna do it."

"Come here." He lifted her so she could grab a bar. Then he paused and thought about how to explain the movement. "Now you want to swing your body like a monkey and reach for the next bar."

"I'll fall."

"I've got you." He kept his hands on her hips and helped her swing. "Reach!"

She hung there, stuck between the two bars. "Now what?"

"Doing monkey bars is about momentum."

"Huh?"

"You have to keep moving. If you stop, that's when you lose your grip."

Her eyes widened in fear.

"I'm still here. You're not going anywhere." He sighed. "Let go a second."

He set her back on the ground. "Watch me again."

This time he talked through how he swung and kept momentum. He dropped down at the end. "Got it?"

Her eyes were wide, but she said, "Maybe."

He lifted her again and held her as she swung. They went down the line and back. On the third trip, she told him to let go. Declan didn't like the idea, but he did.

On the third rung, she slipped and hit the ground. He braced for tears, but Sadie stood, her face pinched in anger. She looked so much like Renee that he almost laughed.

"I want to try again."

"Go ahead." He lifted her, figuring they would work on getting started another day.

Another day? While he'd known Sadie her whole life, he wasn't a regular part of it. He was right now, but this wasn't supposed to be a forever thing. He shook his head. Sadie had made it down the line and was dangling from the last rung.

"Now what?" she yelled.

"Let go. Drop to your feet, but keep your knees bent a little."

She dropped. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she fell back on her ass. He leaned over her and held out a hand to help her up.

"You did a great job. I'm impressed. You mastered the monkey bars in one day." He yanked her up.

"Not really. I can't get up by myself and I fell."

"Falling is part of learning. Ready to head back home? I don't want your mom to worry."

"I want a snack. I can't wait to tell Mom about the monkey bars."

They walked back to the house with Sadie chattering the entire way. Declan just smiled and agreed with whatever she said. She didn't seem to be looking for input.

Renee jolted awake when the front door opened. For a moment she was disoriented as she realized Sadie's movie was paused and she wasn't sitting by her on the couch. Then she saw the note from Declan at the same time Sadie ran into the room.

"We went on an adventure!"

"Did you now?" Renee asked, rubbing her face to fully awaken.

Sadie climbed up onto her lap. "Declan wanted to go to the park, but I couldn't remember the way and he said it was an adventure. Then we found a park and he taught me how to swing on the monkey bars. And I did it all the way. I fell once, but then I tried again like you always tell me to. Declan says I mastered it but I don't know how to get up yet, so I need more practice."

Renee blinked at the vomit of information. How long had she been asleep? "It sounds like you had a lot of fun with Declan. Go wash your hands and you can have a snack."

She ran off to the bathroom and Renee looked at Declan who stood there with his hands in the front pocket of his jeans. "You didn't have to take her to the park."

"We went to the yard, but your yard sucks. There's nothing to do out there."

"No, I mean, you didn't have to do anything with her. She would've been fine hanging out here watching her movie."

"I know. But you were really tired."

"She's not your responsibility. You should be out doing your own thing, having fun."

"Who says I didn't have fun? Sadie is a great conversationalist. I hardly had to do anything."

Renee laughed. "She is a talker." She stood and stretched, her neck feeling tight from sleeping in a weird position on the couch. "Are you going to be here for dinner?"

"Depends. What are you making?"

She rolled her eyes as she considered what she had on hand. "I'm thinking the ever-popular chicken nuggets for your friend Sadie, but I can do some stir fry or pasta for us."

"I was kidding. You could totally feed me chicken nuggets and I'd be good."

"Well, I'm not, so pick. Pasta or stir fry?"

"Whatever sounds good to you."

She went to the kitchen to start dinner. Since it had been a busy weekend with a lot of upheaval, Renee let Sadie sit in the living room and watch some TV while they ate. She and Declan sat on the couch with their stir fry. It was one of Renee's go-to meals since it only required dirtying one pan.

"Mmm. This is really good," Declan said.

"Are you sure? I could always toss in some more nuggets."

"Chicken nuggets are better," Sadie chimed in.

"I don't know, Sadie. Your mom's a really good cook. Have you even tried this?"

"Nuh-uh." She wrinkled her nose as she did every time Renee offered her something different.

"Come on. Today is all about adventures, remember? We wandered around, tried a new park...you should try some new food."

Sadie huffed but turned around, opened her mouth, and closed her eyes. Renee sat in total shock. This man was the child whisperer.

He stabbed some meat and vegetables and put them in Sadie's mouth. Sadie chewed without opening her eyes. Renee half expected her to spit it out but she didn't.

Once she swallowed, Declan asked, "It's good, right?"

"It's okay. Nuggets are still better."

"But maybe next time, you can have a little stir fry with your nuggets."

Sadie bit into a nugget and squinted her eyes as she chewed thoughtfully. "Maybe."

Renee smiled and shook her head. To Declan, she mouthed thank you.

He leaned back on the couch. "I told you, Rennie, women find me irresistible."

She had no doubt.

As Declan helped her clear the dishes, he said, "So I've been thinking about your yard."

"What about it?" she asked as she filled the sink.

"It sucks."

"You told me earlier."

He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "I think we should build Sadie something out there. Swings or monkey bars. Something."

"That's sweet of you, but I can't consider that until at least the spring. There are too many other things that need to happen around here first."

"It's free labor."

"You can't build an entire playset on your own. Plus there's the cost of materials." She turned to face him. Placing a hand on his chest, she added, "I appreciate it. I really do. But I have to be realistic about what I can do."

"Okay." He turned away and instead of leaving the room, he picked up a towel and started drying dishes.

"You don't have to."

"I know." They didn't say anything else.

After cleaning up from dinner, Renee gave Sadie a quick bath and had her lay out her clothes for school. Renee settled back on the couch to read more of the book she needed to finish for book club. It was a good historical romance about two people who didn't want to get married but whose families were pressuring them. So they hatched a plan to marry each other in name only so they could each live their own lives. Renee was woefully behind because she'd been so busy with the house, and book club was Tuesday night.

"Five more minutes, Sadie. Then it's brushing teeth time."

"Okay."

Renee rolled her neck again to ease some of the tension.

"Are you okay?" Declan asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You keep twisting your neck and I'm hearing some weird pops."

"Ha-ha. I slept funny on the couch. My muscles are a little tight."

"I knew that was gonna happen. That's why I told you to go to bed."

"It's normally not a big deal. I think I was just super tired."

He set his beer on the table and said, "Come here." He patted the cushion between his legs.

She huffed.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. Back to me and I'll rub the kinks out of your neck."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Come on."

She sighed. A neck massage sounded great. "Fine."

As she shifted over, she told Sadie to go brush her teeth. She set her ereader on the table beside his beer and sat stiffly in front of Declan.

When his hands grasped her shoulders, she sucked in a breath.

"Problem?"

"No," she answered quietly.

Declan's fingers dug into the sore muscles of her neck and shoulder. "You're tight."

"That's what he said," she said with a chuckle.

He laughed behind her, his breath brushing across her neck. "Good one."

His thumbs press up the back of her neck, causing her to groan. It immediately relaxed her. Her head lolled forward as he worked some kind of magic. Then he hit some point in her shoulder and all she could do was moan, "Oh, God."

"That's what she said," he responded.

It was supposed to be light banter between friends, but with his breath coasting along her skin, it didn't feel friendly. She released a long, slow breath. This was getting out of hand. Between the steamy scenes of her book and not having been touched by a man in far too long, her libido was getting away from her. She should stop this. She needed to stop this.

But it still felt so damn good.

"Okay, Mommy. All brushed."

Renee stiffened again. She blinked and slid carefully away from Declan. "All right. Let's go read." She stood and took Sadie's hand. As she headed out of the room, she looked over her shoulder, and said, "Thanks."

"Any time." He winked and picked up his beer.

She had no idea how to read him. Her imagination was not doing her any favors. Declan would not be flirting with her. They were friends. They'd known each other most of their lives. He was her brother's best friend. Her younger brother. There. That thought was enough to douse her hormones.

She just needed to keep reminding herself.