“Oof. I’m so sorry.”
She heard a deep male laugh, and strong arms shot out to steady her, giving her a brief glimpse of very strong, very toned biceps.
“Are you okay?”
She kept one eye peeled around him to see the kids all scurry back into the day-care room. “I’m fine. Sorry again.” She was about to dash away when he said her name.
“Jane?”
She lifted her gaze and was blasted by melt-your-panties whiskey brown eyes, dark hair closely cropped, a strong jaw, and a smile she knew all too well, though she hadn’t seen Will Griffin in a while. He worked nights on highway patrol, and she worked days, which meant they didn’t run into each other often. And that suited her just fine, since he’d been best friends with her ex-husband, and seeing him reminded her of things she really didn’t want to be reminded of.
Like good-looking men. And getting dumped.
“Oh. Will. Wow, it’s been a while. Wish I could hang out and talk, but I have kids I need to watch over, so I can’t. Great seeing you again.”
She started to walk away, but he grasped her wrist. “Wait. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, uh, I’m working at the day-care center here.”
His brows shot up. “A new job? You’re still teaching, aren’t you?”
“Yup. Still do that, too. Gotta run. See you later.”
Or, never. Hopefully. She looked like a wet basset hound, while Will had always been hot. And built. And as sexy as any man she’d ever known.
Of course she’d once thought Vic was hot and sexy, and look where that had gotten her. Divorced, with two children, a mortgage, and flat broke.
Never again would she let a hot body and bedroom eyes seduce her. She was a lot smarter now.
Though her rapidly beating pulse and all her feminine parts hadn’t gotten the message. They were screaming at her that she hadn’t been with a man since she’d been abandoned by her husband two years ago. She hadn’t even gone out on a date.
Too bad. There were things high on her priority list, like making sure to keep a roof over her children’s heads, and keeping everyone fed.
Not dating. Or having sex. Those weren’t essentials. And right now, all she could afford to think about were essentials, so her thrumming body could just go to hell.
* * *
Will Griffin stood in the hallway, too surprised to even move as Jane hustled away after a trail of small kids, her daughter, Tabitha, one of them.
No wonder he’d recognized the great legs earlier.
He blew out a breath, guilt knotted up in his stomach. He should go by Jane’s house more often, should have made it by regularly when he’d known for sure Vic wasn’t coming back. But it had been awkward then. Still was. What was he supposed to say? Sorry? Not that it was his fault his former best friend turned out to be such an ass**le. But he could have offered to mow her lawn or help her out in some way. Instead, he’d stayed away, figuring the last person she needed to see was someone she so closely tied to her deadbeat ex-husband.
And now, two years later, he still wasn’t any better at making conversation with her or seeing her. The distance between them was as wide as the Grand Canyon. They all used to be close—him and Vic and Jane. That changed somewhat when he and his girlfriend Chelsea had broken up, but Jane insisted nothing would change just because Jane and Chelsea were best friends. He’d appreciated their friendship, but he hadn’t turned out to be such a good friend after all, had he?
No sense gawking after shadows of the past when there was nothing he could do about it now. Jane obviously wanted nothing to do with him.
He’d come out to get a sports drink after his treadmill workout, so he wandered over to the vending machine, grabbed one, then used his key card to get back into the workout room, deciding he needed to lift some weights and ease some of the tension this day and seeing Jane had dropped on him.
He caught sight of Luke on the weight bench and wandered over there. He warmed up with some lighter weights, then laid down on the bench for the heavy stuff.
Luke came over. “Want me to spot you?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
He went three sets, then racked the bar with Luke’s help. When he added another twenty-five pounds to each side, Luke cocked a brow.
“Sure you’re up for that?”
“Trust me, I need the challenge.”
“Okay, buddy. I’ll hang on to the bar for you in case it comes crashing down on your chest.”
“You’re so funny. I think I can handle it.”
Will slid onto the bench, determination setting his lips in a grim line. As he lifted the bar out of the rack, his arms shaking from the added weight, he realized he deserved this punishment for not being there for Jane, for not recognizing how Vic had been self-destructing in front of him.
Maybe he just hadn’t wanted to see it.
“Eleven, twelve,” Luke said, racking the bar. “Though I think I had to do the last one mostly by myself.”
Out of breath, his arms wobbling like overcooked spaghetti, Will grabbed his towel and swiped it over his face. “Yeah, you probably did.”
“Why the punishment? You hand out too many tickets on the highway today and feel guilty?”
Will choked out a laugh. “I never feel guilty about that.”
“Did you sleep with some girl then dump her?”
“Uh, no.”
Luke came around and faced him. “Then what is it?”
“Nothing, man. Just a rough day and I needed a push.”
“Well, if there’s something you want to get off your chest, you know I’m always here for you. Even if you are highway patrol and I’m local law enforcement. I mean, I can forgive you even that.”
Will snorted. “Gee, thanks.”
Luke gave him a wink. “Hey, nobody’s perfect, man.”
Yeah, Will was definitely not perfect. Far from it. In fact, in some areas he was a downright failure.
But maybe he could fix that.
CHAPTER TWO
“I hate broccoli.”
Jane inhaled a deep breath and let it out, then turned and faced her eight-year-old son, Ryan, with a smile on her face. Always approach everything with a smile, right?
“Broccoli’s good for you.”
They were eating dinner at Bert’s, one of her favorite diners in town. It had been a rough day, and she just didn’t have it in her to cook a meal and spend the evening inside with the kids. She needed to be around the presence of other adults.