Surviving Broken(56)
Shayla nodded. “I heard she passed away.”
JC threw her arms around Shayla. “He’s so nice.”
Shayla withdrew from JC’s grip, analyzing her as she practically jumped for joy, dancing in a circle and throwing her hands in the air. “What’s going on with you?” Shayla asked with a suspicious smile.
JC clutched onto Shayla’s hand and hauled her down the hallway into her bedroom. Her voice filled with excitement as she plopped down on the edge of her bed. “He’s so nice!”
Shayla narrowed her eyes. “You already said that. How long have you been hooking up with the neighbor?”
JC jumped to her feet, pacing in circles, giggling like a little girl. “I’m not hooking up with him. He’s gonna be my boyfriend, but we haven’t sealed the deal yet.”
Shayla’s eyes popped wide in disbelief, her mouth hung open. “Boyfriend? Sealed the deal?”
JC couldn’t contain her enthusiasm, dancing around her room then back to Shayla, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Yep! Boyfriend! And we haven’t even kissed yet either. We keep getting interrupted.”
Shayla dropped back, nearly falling onto the edge of JC’s bed. “Have you been drinking?”
JC giggled, shaking her head.
“Smoking pot?”
“You know I don’t smoke pot. I like him a lot.” JC sat next to her and they both flopped backward lying on the bed. Overcome with happiness, JC said again, “He is so nice, Shayla. He’s big and strong and smart and gorgeous. He’s from Texas. And he calls me Darlin’.”
Shayla’s lip tugged into a sneer. “You let him call you Darlin’?” Wiping a tear from JC’s cheek, she asked, “Are you crying?”
JC couldn’t hold back, sniffling as she nodded. “Yeah. I don’t why. I’ve been a little emotional lately. Plus, he makes me so nervous I can’t even think straight.”
Shayla’s head wrenched back, staring at JC in bewilderment. “Oh, my God!”
JC’s smile faded. “What? What are you Oh my Godding about?”
Shayla’s face went blank.
“What?”
Shock mixed with a look of unidentified revelation. “Nothing,” Shayla simpered, a wry grin tipped the corners of her lips.
Richard and Thomas bolted through her door, pouncing on the bed between the two women. JC grabbed her nephews, pinning them to the bed, tickling them until one of them got the hic-ups. “What’s up, guys? Are you gonna go boogie boarding with me tomorrow? I haven’t been to the beach yet. Sandcastles? Kites? What’s it gonna be?” She looked at Shayla. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? How long are you staying?”
“Well…” Shayla stumbled over her words. “We decided last minute.”
John and Reed appeared in the doorway. “I tried to get a hold of you. I was hoping you’d do me a favor,” John stated, flashing an imploring smile.
JC watched Reed’s gaze as he nonchalantly studied her bedroom. She shrugged at her brother. “Sure. What do you need?”
“It’s okay. Never mind.” Shayla shook her head adamantly. “We didn’t think you’d have…plans.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What do you need?” JC assured.
John chimed in without hesitation. “We need a babysitter. It’s our anniversary and we haven’t been out in months.” His voice was on the verge of pleading.
“It’s okay if you already have plans. We had a babysitter lined up for the weekend and she bailed out three days ago. Her friend invited her to Hawaii.”
“It would just be for a few hours,” John persisted.
From JC’s perspective, being a parent was one of the hardest jobs any one person or couple could ever take on. It made her job look like a spa vacation. She stayed with John and Shayla on numerous occasions and tried to help Shayla out as much as possible when she visited. Being a make-shift mom’s assistant or babysitter was exhausting and she never figured out how Shayla and John managed it, but they did.
JC glanced at Reed, who was walking toward a table made of dark wood in the corner of her room. “We…we didn’t really have any plans.”
Richard and Thomas stared up at her with pouted lips and hands folded as if they were praying.
Reed caught JC’s eye and nodded with understanding. “We were just gonna order dinner.”
Thomas hung his arms around JC’s neck. “Can we order pizza?”
“Pizza? You want pizza?” Both boys nodded with excitement. “Okay. Pizza it is.” JC smiled appreciatively at Reed.
“Are you sure? I owe you big time,” Shayla said.