Falling Hard Read online

  Admittedly, her eight-week rotation in pediatrics during med school had hardly made her an expert when it came to kids, but she was fairly certain that children were supposed to be able to speak in full sentences by that age.

  “Hi,” she said again.

  The girl continued to stare.

  “Aren’t you a little too young to be outside all on your own?”

  “I’m not young—I’m five!” the girl declared, scrunching up her nose as if Jordan had offended her.

  Jordan had to smile. So the kid was a bit older than she had thought. Maybe she was small for her age, or maybe Jordan needed to brush up on child development. “I was starting to think you couldn’t talk.”

  “Of course I can talk,” the girl replied immediately. “But Mommy says I’m not allowed to talk to strangers.”

  Well, at least the mother had some common sense, even though she let the kid run around alone outside. But then again, maybe that was okay for a five-year-old. Jordan had no idea about the do’s and don’ts of raising children.

  “That’s a good rule,” she said because she didn’t know what else to say to a child. “My mother taught me the same.” She hadn’t really. The army posts she had grown up on had been a safe environment for Jordan and her sisters.

  The girl colored in the right ear of the animal she had drawn and then peeked up at Jordan. “My name is Molly, and this is Mouse.” She held up the stuffed lion.

  “Mouse?” Jordan repeated.

  Molly nodded as if naming a lion Mouse was a logical thing to do. Well, Jordan figured she couldn’t complain too much. She had named her cat after a fish.

  “What’s your name?” the girl asked.

  “I’m Jordan, and this is Tuna.” She pointed at the cat.

  “Jordan?” Molly repeated. “But that’s a boy’s name! Jordan from my preschool class is a boy.”

  Figures. The girl thought Tuna was a perfectly fine name for a cat and chose to focus on her name instead. Jordan scratched her head, not sure how to explain.

  But luckily, Molly moved on to the next topic before she could think of an answer. “Is Tuna your cat?”

  “I guess so. At least I’ve been chosen as the person who has to pay for all the cat food.”

  The girl giggled. “Is it a boy cat or a girl cat?”

  “She’s a girl,” Jordan answered.

  “Does she sleep on your bed at night?”

  Jeez, this kid was asking a lot of questions. Jordan was starting to feel as if she were in a police interrogation. “Sometimes.” Not in the last two days, though. Since Simone had arrived, Tuna had looked for a quieter place to sleep. Jordan suppressed a grin.

  The girl watched as Tuna rolled over her drawing, getting even more chalk all over her fur. “Bad cat! Stop it!”

  “Yeah, stop it, Tuna. No destroying the art.”

  Tuna stopped rolling, but just as Jordan thought she had finally asserted her authority over her furry roommate, the cat licked her tail.

  Jordan blinked. Was that a kiss my ass?

  “Maybe my mommy will get me a cat too,” the kid said.

  You can have mine was on the tip of Jordan’s tongue, but she had a feeling the girl would take her up on it, and then she might have two very annoyed parents on her hands.

  “Where is your mommy?” Jordan asked. “Where do you live?”

  Molly proudly rattled off some address in Portland, even though Jordan was pretty sure her mother would have a rule about telling a stranger where she lived too.

  Wait a minute… Portland? Did that mean…?

  “Actually,” a voice to the right said, “that’s our old address. We live here now, remember, Molly?”

  Jordan looked up.

  The door to the neighbor’s part of the duplex had opened without her noticing, and Emma stood in the doorway. A hint of sweat gleamed on her forehead, as if she had either worked out or lugged around furniture or moving boxes. Instead of the sexy pair of jeans Jordan had seen her in two days ago, she was wearing gray sweatpants that were baggy at the knees. Even that old, ratty thing couldn’t hide her lush curves.

  Jordan stared at her. Damn. It rarely happened, but apparently, her gaydar had been off. Her cute neighbor was straight. Not that Jordan had ever let that bother her. In her book, most women were straight—until they weren’t. But Emma had a kid and very likely a husband, and if there was one rule that Jordan always stuck to, it was to never, ever get involved with someone who was in a relationship.

  At least it explained why Emma hadn’t been interested in having coffee with her. Maybe she hadn’t lost her mojo after all.

  “I’m sorry.” Emma nodded down at her daughter and the chalk drawings all around her. “It looks like we’re blocking your garage again.”

  “It’s okay. We all have to make sacrifices for art, right?” Jordan couldn’t stop the wink or the automatic grin she flashed Emma. Flirting with women was ingrained into her DNA, so it was hard to cut it out now that she knew Emma was off the market. Well, establishing a good relationship with her new neighbor was a good thing, even if that relationship would never be extended to the bedroom.

  Emma laughed. “Yeah, well, this artist has to go to bed now. Come on, Molly. Let’s get you cleaned up and into your jammies.” She held out her hand to the girl, apparently not minding the red chalk that clung to the small fingers.

  “But Mommy, I haven’t finished the cat. Look, it has no tail.” Molly pointed at the chalk drawing.

  “How about we finish it together tomorrow, after you’re back from kindergarten and I’m done with my clients?”

  “Yay!” Molly jumped up and skipped across the driveway toward her mother. “Can you draw me a giraffe too? And a Saint Bernard!”

  The girl jabbered on and on all the way to the door, and for a moment, Jordan exchanged an amused smile with Emma before both mother and daughter gave a quick wave and the door closed behind them.

  Only when her own front door opened did Jordan remember that she had someone waiting for her.

  “What are you doing out there?” Simone called.

  Jordan looked from Emma’s door to the chalk drawing and then to Simone, who was all dressed up, ready to go out. “Um, nothing. Let me take a quick shower and we can go.”

  As she walked over to her side of the house, Tuna jumped up and ran ahead of her.

  “No! Don’t let her into the—”

  Too late. Tuna slipped past Simone and disappeared into the house, no doubt heading straight for the living room to leave chalk dust all over the couch.

  Jordan sighed. She had definitely been right—getting a pet was the first step toward being tied down by the shackles of domesticity. But at least she didn’t have to wrangle an energetic five-year-old into bed. The only female she’d take to bed today would go there quite willingly.

  Grinning, she sauntered toward Simone to kiss her hello.

  The next morning, Molly’s first day at school, wasn’t off to a good start.

  Molly sat at the breakfast table, clutching the spoon without even touching her cereal.

  “Hey, little dreamer. Don’t forget to eat, or you won’t have enough energy to keep up with the other kids in your class.”

  The spoon clattered to the table. “I don’t want to go to stupid school.”

  Uh-oh. Emma put her coffee mug down. “But, honey, you loved preschool, and I bet you’ll love kindergarten just as much.”

  Molly’s bottom lip quivered. “I won’t. Kindergarten is stupid. I want to go home.”

  Emma’s heart ached. So far, Molly had seemed to love the new house and getting to stay home with Emma for a couple of days, but now that she was trying to get them settled into their new routine, it stopped being a fun vacation. “This is home now, Molly,” she said gently. “Why don’t you go today and give it a chance? Y
ou might like it.”

  “No!” Molly kicked the table, toppling over her glass of milk.

  “Molly!” Years of motherhood had honed Emma’s reflexes. She tried to catch the glass but was a second too late.

  The white liquid spilled over the table and splashed onto Emma’s lap. She bit back a curse and jumped up. Her wet pants stuck to her thighs, but that would have to wait. Milk dripped onto the floor as she rounded the table, pulled Molly from her chair, and knelt in front of her so that they were nearly at eye level.

  “Listen, Molly. I know you miss your old room, and you miss Kenny and Sarah.”

  Molly stared at the drops of milk on the floor, not looking up into Emma’s eyes. “And Mama,” she whispered.

  Emma swallowed. Her eyes burned, even though she had thought she didn’t have any tears left. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her tightly, not knowing what to say to that. It wasn’t as if Chloe had spent a lot of time with Molly, even when they had lived in the same house, but for a moment, guilt still clawed at her.

  To her relief, Molly cuddled against her and hugged her back. After a moment, she pulled back and frowned. “You’re all wet, Mommy.”

  “Yeah, because a certain someone knocked over her glass of milk.” She nudged Molly’s chin, making her giggle and the tears in her eyes disappear.

  It would have been easy to distract her now and change the subject, but Emma knew she would have to address this sooner or later. Still kneeling, she looked into Molly’s eyes. “I know you miss her, honey. I’m sure she misses you too.” She didn’t believe that last statement, but what else was she supposed to say to her five-year-old?

  “Then why can’t she come live here too?”

  “Do you remember when you and Jessica stopped being best friends?”

  Molly nodded.

  “Well, sometimes, that happens to adults too, and then they go their separate ways and no longer live together. That’s what happened to Mama and me.”

  Molly sniffed once and scrunched up her face in that way that meant she was thinking hard about something. “Will you find a new friend, like Kenny and Sarah?”

  “I’m sure I will one day, honey.” But it wouldn’t be the kind of friend who would move into the house and make her daughter cry when she left. “And I bet you’ll find plenty of new friends in kindergarten. Want to know why I’m so sure?”

  Molly softly swayed back and forth, her hands behind her back. “Because I’m smart?”

  Emma chuckled and realized that Molly was repeating what she had often told her in similar conversations. “Well, that and because we’re gonna stop at a bakery on the way to school and get cupcakes for everyone.”

  A broad smile spread over Molly’s face. “Cupcakes! Can I pick them?”

  “Yes, you may—if you help me clean up the milk. After all, it’s your mess, so it’s your responsibility.”

  They worked together to wipe down the table and clean the floor. Of course, Molly was adding to the mess more than really helping.

  When they were done, a glance at the clock revealed that they had to leave. No time to change into a dry pair of pants.

  Emma grabbed her car keys and Molly’s backpack, and they headed out.

  Just as they left the house, the door on the other side of the duplex opened and Jordan stepped outside, followed by an attractive black woman of about Emma’s age, who carried a laptop bag over her shoulder.

  Emma hadn’t seen Jordan’s girlfriend yet, but she had heard her plenty for the last three nights. She had to admit the two made a nice-looking couple, but she couldn’t help wondering if the poor woman knew that her partner had a wandering eye.

  “Good morning,” Jordan said, and her girlfriend echoed it.

  Yes, that was definitely the voice of the vocal woman who had kept her up for several nights in a row. Emma struggled not to blush as she returned the greeting and quickly pulled Molly toward the garage.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jordan walk her girlfriend to a car that was parked at the curb. The logo of a rental company was emblazoned on its side. Apparently, the two of them were in a long-distance relationship or something. Then Jordan pushed her lover against the driver’s side door and kissed her.

  Christ! This woman really had no shame. Bad enough that she had kept Emma awake with the seemingly endless banging—pun intended—but now she had to suck face with her lover while Molly watched?

  Not that Molly was watching. She was so used to two women kissing that she didn’t even spare them a glance.

  Calm down. Yes, her new neighbor was possibly an ass who was flirting with other women even though she was in a relationship, but it was none of her business.

  Intent on ignoring them, she strode toward the shared two-car garage, opened the large door, and pressed the button to unlock her Toyota Prius. The key fob didn’t beep, and when she reached out for the driver’s side door, it didn’t open. Frowning, she took a step back and tried again.

  Nothing.

  She pressed the key fob repeatedly. Normally, a red light flashed, but now it didn’t. Great. Today, of all times, the battery in the fob needed to be replaced. Had she seen any extra batteries when she had unpacked the moving boxes?

  She couldn’t remember.

  “Mommy?” Molly tried to peer around her to see what was going on. She sounded worried.

  “Everything’s fine. We’ll be on our way in a second.” Thank God the car’s producers had planned ahead for such emergencies. She pulled the mechanical key from the side of the key fob and inserted it into the driver’s side door lock.

  But luck wasn’t on her side today. When she turned the key, it didn’t budge. She carefully pulled it out and tried again—with the same result.

  “Is there a problem?” someone asked from the other side of the garage.

  Emma looked up and met Jordan’s gaze over the roofs of the Prius and Jordan’s sports car. “No,” she said quickly and tried not to let her frustration show as she jiggled the key in the lock a little.

  “We’re getting cupcakes,” Molly announced.

  “Oooh, cupcakes! That’s great.”

  Jordan’s very white teeth gleamed against her flawless dark skin. There wasn’t a wrinkle in sight, even though Emma guessed her to be slightly older than her own thirty-two years. With the day she was having, Emma found it strangely annoying.

  “If I can get the da…dumb door open,” she muttered.

  Instead of getting into her car and driving off, Jordan came over to their side of the garage. Her gaze wandered down Emma’s body, and it took Emma a second to realize she was staring at the way her milk-drenched pants stuck to her thighs.

  God, the woman was a pig. Her girlfriend had left less than a minute ago, and here she was, already checking out another woman.

  “Something wrong with the car?” Jordan asked.

  Emma pulled the key out of the lock and let her hand dangle down. “The door won’t open.” She demonstrated by pressing the unlock button and halfway expected the door to open and embarrass her, but it didn’t happen.

  “Hmm.” Jordan stepped next to her, and they both bent at the same time to peer into the lock, which brought their faces within inches of each other. When Jordan turned her head to look at her, her warm breath washed over Emma’s lips.

  Emma’s traitorous heart picked up its beat. Quickly, she stepped back to create some space between them.

  “I take it you tried the mechanical key?” Jordan asked. Her gaze was no longer on the lock but fixated on Emma’s lips.

  “I did. It wouldn’t open either.”

  Chloe would have taken the key from her and tried it herself, making Emma feel as if she couldn’t even handle as simple a task as inserting a key correctly. But Jordan didn’t reach for the key. Instead, she asked, “How long have you had the car
?”

  “Five years,” Emma said. “We bought it when Molly was born.” We. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. When she opened them again, she looked right into Jordan’s eyes.

  Jordan didn’t ask questions, at least not about the other part of the we. “Have you used the key in the door before?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Jordan walked back to her side of the garage. When she returned a few seconds later, she pressed something into Emma’s hand. “Here. Try this.”

  Emma stared at the blue-and-white can. “What’s this?”

  A mischievous grin stole across Jordan’s face. “Lube. It can do wonders for orifices that haven’t been used in a while.”

  Was everything the woman said a double entendre? “I can’t imagine you having that problem,” she muttered under her breath.

  Jordan tilted her head. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Mommy, what’s lube?” Molly piped up. “And what’s an odi…odifice?”

  They looked at each other like two kids who had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar and then burst out laughing. As much as she wanted to, Emma could no longer hold on to her annoyance. “You’re getting me in trouble,” she whispered to Jordan. To Molly, she said, “She’s talking about the door lock, honey. Ms. Williams gave me some lubricant spray to put in the keyhole.”

  “Jordan, please,” Jordan said. “Otherwise, I’ll start feeling like a kindergarten teacher, and I think I just proved that it wouldn’t be the best job for me.”

  Emma suppressed a smile, not wanting to reveal that she did find Jordan amusing every once in a while. She nodded her acknowledgment and turned back toward the car door. They really needed to get going. She pulled the cap from the aerosol can and sprayed a bit of the lock lubricant into the keyhole.

  “Put a little on the key too,” Jordan said. “If you have never used it in the lock before, there could be some dirt in there.”

  Emma sprayed a little lubricant on the key, inserted it again, and slowly turned it. This time, the lock opened immediately, and she could pull the driver’s side door open. “Yes!” Her legs weakened with relief. She had already imagined herself getting the car towed and spending hours at the dealership, and she really didn’t have time for that today.