Chapter Thirty-Two

Jonah

Jonah pulled into the office complex ten minutes before his meeting. Out of the blue his old buddy had called him and asked if he was still looking for a job. Jonah had played it cool and said he was weighing his options but would love to meet and see what Curt had to say.

He damn near strutted into the office in his new suit that Evie had picked out and felt invincible. He was going to nail this meeting and be the kind of provider his family deserved. Damn it felt good.

He felt good.

He hadn’t really had the bandwidth to absorb how much of himself he’d lost when Amber had been diagnosed. Parts of himself he was excited to explore again—like helping people manage their futures. He was even exploring what it was like to be a present father, how to show up for the people in his life. And it was working.

Ryan’s grades were slowly improving. Waverly was sleeping in her own bed and was a four-out-of-five potty champion. And his mom no longer called him ten times a day to check in on him. Then there was the way his friends treated him—like he was back and better than ever.

Plus, he had a magical mouth.

The thought made him grin.

Evie had been beyond adorable the other night. From the time he tucked her into his car until they arrived home, she had talked nonstop about her night. Even called herself the new Dr. Ruth of ClickByte.

He’d walked her to her door and, a testament to just how good his mama raised him, he gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek and waited until she went inside her own house where she crawled into her own bed. Then he walked into his own house and climbed into his own bed with nothing but a hard-on and the imprint of her lips on his to keep him company.

That had been three long days ago and he hadn’t had a chance to see her since. Between football games, dad duties, and attempting to tame his garden affordably, he’d been beyond busy. And based on how rarely her car was in her drive, he imagined Evie’s schedule had been equally as hectic.

She’d been more than upfront about how crazy her life was when she’d approached with her proposition. He’d just never paid enough attention to her comings and goings to see just how stretched thin she was. Yet she seemed to manage juggling all her hats with ease.

At least that’s what he used to think. Now that she’d cracked open that door and shown him parts of herself that she kept hidden from the rest of the world—including her family—he knew that in order to keep everyone else’s lives spinning she’d had to give up her own. Another thing she’d been upfront with him about. It was the reason behind their relationship.

Jonah’s reasons had shifted. He was no longer interested in an easy fix. He was interested in seeing where this thing with Evie could go. Now he just had to get her to admit that there was more to this thing between them than a short-lived, contrived honeymoon phase.

Jonah told the receptionist he was there to meet with Curt, who immediately came out to meet him.

“Man, it’s great to see you.” Curt greeted him with a side hug and a slap to the back. “Come on in.” He followed Curt into the office and took a seat across from his old boss.

“How have you been?” Curt asked with an edge of concern to his voice.

“Really good,” Jonah said, and for the first time he really meant it.

“Yeah, I’ve seen the ClickByte videos. My wife is obsessed. Evie looks good on you.”

She really did, he thought, and he wanted to tell her but he didn’t want to blow up what they had going. He knew how he felt, but it was in direct conflict with her last rule. And he knew how much she liked her rules. So for now he’d keep things to himself.

He knew she liked him, but it was like a game of chicken, both of them waiting for the other to crack and admit their feelings first, but too afraid in case they weren’t reciprocated.

“I even heard that you were practicing again.”

“Just taking on a few clients,” he fibbed. He had exactly one client. Mrs. Gomez was it and that was more of a favor.

“Heard you took on Frank and lived to tell the story.” Curt barked out a laugh.

“He was going to fire some poor new dad to give me a seat at the table. Not my kind of life anymore. You know?” Jonah said, wanting to be upfront. Because while he needed a job, he didn’t want the kind of job he’d had before. His family deserved more.

“What are you looking for?”

That was a question he had finally stopped to ask himself. “I want to be challenged, work hard, help my clients ensure their loved ones will be taken care of, and be a present dad.”

“What if I can offer you that?”

Jonah waited for the suffocating feeling to swamp him but instead of wanting to hide, Jonah wanted to lean into a new chapter. Working with Mrs. Gomez had really helped him see that he could parent and jumpstart his professional life without sacrificing the things that were important. Sure, shirts would get stained, and there would be more misses than potty-hits, but the love and support was there.

“That would be great.”

“It will take a ton of sweat equity, but my partner is retiring and we’re looking for someone to manage some of his client portfolios.”

“How many clients are we talking?”

“How many can you handle?” Curt looked at Jonah’s suit, his eyes zeroing in on the smear of peanut butter he hadn’t noticed on his tie, and Jonah could see doubt creeping in. But he wasn’t scared of a little peanut butter anymore.

He shrugged. “Kids. They’ll get you every time. Yesterday it was frosting from a cupcake. Tomorrow it will probably be something else. Nothing a dry cleaner or spare shirt and tie in the car won’t fix.”

“Are you at a place to get back in the game?”

Not only was he ready, it was time. If he wanted his family to find peace and move forward, he needed to set an example. And while it would be rough at first, he’d make it work. Hell, he used to be one of the best investment brokers in Denver, he could do it again.

“I’m ready.”

“My partner comes back in two weeks, let’s schedule an appointment here at the office. I’ll introduce you to him. He’ll want to see your mind at work, so come prepared with a hypothetical on a widow in her fifties whose husband left her a two-million-dollar life insurance policy. The house is worth a million, but she owns a little over three hundred K with a seventy-five K equity line. She has another mil in an IRA. She’s fifty-three with three teens, two of them almost college-aged. We’ll see how you do and take it from there.”

“Here are some references.” Jonah took out a crisp piece of paper and slid it across the table. “Frank’s reference will be shit, but you know what I can do.”

“I do. That’s why I agreed to meet. But know that I need someone I can really rely on. You used to be that guy. I just want to make sure you’re that guy again.”

“I am.”

“My partner has been grooming his son-in-law, but we don’t gel. He gave me a month to find someone else. I need to get this nailed down in the next few weeks.”

Which meant Jonah had to nail this.

He looked back at Curt. “I’m your guy.”

“Good to hear.”

…

Jonah was an hour late by the time he got home but he was on cloud nine, riding the high of the interview. He had it. He knew it in his gut. He could come up with the perfect hypothetical, he knew it.

He opened the door and walked inside whistling. The shoes by the door were in a straight line, jackets hung on their respective hooks. Even the rug had been vacuumed and not a single toy littered the entry.

Huh.

Jonah kicked off his loafers and walked into the family room, which had a direct line of sight to the kitchen that, save for the two pizza boxes on the counter, was as immaculate as the rest of the house.

Sitting on the couch was Ryan. And instead of being engrossed in a video game, he was watching some kind of rom-com on the flatscreen. Jonah had a strong inkling that the reason for his shift in hobbies was the petite brunette snuggled up next to him.

Camila was pressed against his side and they were sharing a blanket—strange, since it was over eighty degrees today. Jonah held back a chuckle and, instead, in his best dad voice said, “Hands where I can see them.”

The two teens parted faster than a set of repelling magnets. Camila straightened her hair, using it as a blanket to cover her bright red face. Ryan’s face was red, too, but not for the same reason.

“We were just watching a movie,” Ryan defended.

“Waverly was the product of just watching a movie.”

“Gross, Dad.” Ryan stood and walked toward Jonah, pulling him by the arm into the kitchen. In a low voice he said, “I’m going to ask Camila to homecoming and you’re totally blowing the vibe. Can you go someplace else?”

He took in the spotless house. “The vibe I’m getting goes way past a homecoming invite.”

“Seriously, how much trouble can we get into while babysitting the lil’ monster?”

He looked at Waverly, who was sitting on the floor in her big-girl underwear, and felt a lightness that he hadn’t felt since the diagnosis.

“Can’t you just go next door? I promise we won’t do anything.”

Jonah didn’t have a problem going next door but he did have a problem promising not to do anything. But he said, “One hour and then I’m back. Lights stay on, bedroom is off-limits, and be sure this isn’t a Netflix and Chill moment.”

Ryan gave him a scout’s salute. Not that it made Jonah any less hesitant to leave them alone. Ryan was never a scout.

Jonah ran upstairs to change and then whistled as he walked across the lawn to next door.