2. Courtney

Chapter 2

Courtney

A s a schoolteacher, the days leading up to Christmas break are always hard. The kids are excited and the parents are exhausted. Between parties and shopping and all the extras that come with being a mom at Christmas, there is never enough time to take a break. Especially if you have to be mom and dad all at once.

I’m in my classroom packing up for the afternoon and running through the never-ending list of errands I have to complete in the next week, when there is a knock on the door.

“Courtney.”

I know that voice instantly, and I turn to him, my body automatically pulling toward the only man I’ve ever loved until I force it to stop, reminding myself it’s not my place anymore. I notice he responds the same way until he also halts in his tracks, shoving his hands in his pockets. His shoulders are bunched and his posture is rigid. Gone is the relaxed, confident man I've always known him to be.

“What are you doing here, Jack?”

“I’m here to see my son. ”

My eyes flip to the calendar on the wall. “You're early.”

“It’s Christmas,” he answers with a shrug.

“When has that ever mattered to you?” I bite out the words, crossing my arms in front of me, needing to put a wall between us.

He exhales at my words, running his hand through his dark hair, which is longer than I remember it being. I also remember how soft it always felt and how he’d sigh in pleasure every time I ran my hands through it.

Stop remembering.

As he steps in the room, I step away from him.

“Why are you here, Jack?”

“I just told you.”

“No. You’re early, and that’s only because you need something else. Let me guess, you’re here on business?”

“Yes, actually, I am here on business. I was going to send my assistant to handle it but figured since I’m coming to visit Joey anyway, I’d come myself.”

“Oh, how nice of you. Hope you didn’t put yourself out.”

“Nope. Two birds with one stone, you know.” His tone is sharp and clipped. The businessman he’s become showing through to the forefront. He’s not the boy I used to know, the boy I used to crave. Where his eyes were always on fire for the world around him, and especially for me, now they seem uneasy and a bit insecure. It’s like he’s afraid to look at me again.

Jack and I met in grade school. We were as different as they come, but even as kids, our attraction was undeniable. We grew up together, forming a tight friendship before we ever thought about dating, or ever dreamt about leaving this small town together.

His stoic stance turns into a swagger as he walks closer to me. I step back with each of his steps forward, doing my best to ignore the overwhelming sense of being his prey.

He clears his throat. “What I mean is, no, it wasn’t a big deal to come early, it just gives me more time with Joey.” His tone is a bit apologetic. “And it is business but friendly business. Your best friend's brother called me. Seems the Nilsson’s need a little help.”

“Don’t even think about buying them out. They are all that’s good in this town. We don’t need another chain coffee shop or restaurant going in.”

“No one said anything about buying them out. I'm an investor,” he replies with an even tone, while mine keeps rising.

“You're a thief!”

His eyes widen at my outburst. “I’ve paid for everything I own. And everyone has signed it over of their own free will.” His words are firm. “I’ve never taken what doesn’t belong to me.”

I turn my back on him, not missing the paying and owning comments. He continues to deposit money into my account each month. I hardly ever use it, choosing to stash it away for Joey when he’s older. I can give my son whatever he needs on my own. “You leave people with no choice.”

“There’s always a choice, Coco.”

“Don’t call me that!“ I yell out, unable to keep my temper at bay.

“Am I interrupting?” January, my best friend, enters, holding hands with her daughter and my son.

Our son.

“Daddy!” Joey yells and tries to run for him, but January holds his hand tight.

“Are we okay here?” January eyes me and I give a nod. She lets Joey’s hand go and he runs straight to Jack as I try to calm myself. This is the usual thing for us. We escalate from zero to one hundred within ninety seconds of being near each other. I used to love that passion. As a teen, it was exciting. We’d fight then have makeup sex, and I thought that's how love was. A fiery existence between the two of us where the only thing that kept us grounded was the physical act of working out our differences with each other.

The “D” word did wonders to make that fire sizzle out. Maybe that’s why he’s not really fighting back anymore.

Jack drops down to Joey's height and captures him in a hug. It breaks my heart how much Joey loves him without even really knowing him. But as he grows up, he’s going to need him more. FaceTime calls and texts aren’t going to cut it much longer.

Jack stands, holding Joey now, and January says, “I didn’t realize you were coming so early.”

“I came early because your brother called.” Her eyes narrow, and his grin widens. “Oh, you didn’t know? You should check in more often.”

And that’s yet another dig from him. My best friend, January Nilsson, just moved back to town after we all ran from this place together. We left here right out of high school, thinking there was so much more out there. A life of grandeur and men who could give it to us.

We were both so stupid.

“I’ll be speaking with Lief, but you can’t just walk back in and take over,” January says.

“That's not what I’m here to do, which you would know if you were more involved.” he replies with a sneer.

“Jack.” My tone is sharp, and I give a slight head shake due to the kids in the room. “Leave Joey with me. Go handle whatever business you have to do, and we’ll work out dates in the next few days. There is a week of school left before Christmas break, so we need to get a few things in order.”

He studies me like he has more he wants to say but thinks better of it. “I'll call you later.” He places Joey back down, ruffling his hair as he turns and walks out.

Jack Fristoni always used to know how to make my heart race. Now my ex-husband only knows how to break it.