Nate shrugged. “Not a thing. I intend to keep an eye on your place, Bailey. I can do that from inside your house, or I can camp out in the front yard.”
“You can’t be serious.”
Jenny chuckled. “Oh, we’re very serious. Except Nate and I would take turns watching your place out front. Tag team it, you know?”
Bailey rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. She looked over at her boys, who were sitting at the picnic table. Jordan was driving a toy car around the top of the table, but Seth was clearly listening to the conversation.
“You two aren’t going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope.” Jenny perched her hands on her hips.
Nate gave her that smile that told her he knew he’d already won. “Not gonna happen.”
“Fine.” Bailey threw her hands in the air. “But I guarantee you, twenty-four hours in my house, and you’ll be more than ready to go home again.”
His lips lifted in an almost boyish grin—one that traveled all the way to his dark eyes. He motioned toward the parking lot. “In that case, I’m going to run home and pack a bag, get a few supplies, and Minnie and I will be back as soon as possible.”
Jenny leaned against one of the poles that supported the awning overhead. “I’ll stick around until you get back.”
With that, Nate waved to the boys and jogged back to his truck.
Bailey pinned her friend with a stern look. “I can’t believe the two of you conspired behind my back like that.”
“We knew you wouldn’t go along with it unless we had it all figured out first.” She tossed some hair over her shoulder. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
As much as Bailey wanted to, she couldn’t. Because if their roles had been reversed, she wouldn’t have hesitated to help either of them in a similar manner. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It was Nate’s idea. He didn’t like the idea of the three of you being out here alone. I didn’t either.” She hesitated. “He really hoped you’d agree to let him stay.”
“I hate that he feels obligated to keep checking on us.”
At her words, Jenny’s brows rose. “Obligated? You really have no idea, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
Jenny shook her head. “Come on. Let’s get the boys back to your house. I’ll help you get dinner ready for a seat at the table before I head back out.”
Bailey laughed at that. “I’ll take you up on that deal.”
She finished closing the store, but Jenny’s words kept going through her mind. What had she been talking about? Bailey had no idea about what?
It bothered her that Nate gave up his vacation to stay atthe house, but she couldn’t deny that it’d be nice to have someone else around after everything that had happened. Vandalizing the goat pen was bad enough, but tearing the shop apart was on a whole different level. How far was someone willing to go to get her to sell her place?
Chapter Thirteen
When Nate got back to Bailey’s house, she and Jenny had an early dinner ready. The chili dogs and chips tasted fantastic. It’d been a while since he’d last had a decent chili dog, and he’d had to stop himself from eating a fourth.
The five of them relaxed and talked about easy topics like Minecraft, catching bugs, and their favorite desserts.
After they were done eating, Jenny helped Bailey clean up the kitchen while Nate took the boys outside to throw the ball for Minnie. She liked it even better when Seth and Jordan ran after her, the joy evident on her face. She galloped across the yard just fast enough to stay out of arm’s reach but slow enough to encourage Jordan to keep up the chase.
Bailey’s laughter reached Nate’s ears from the back porch where both women were now sitting. He wanted to join them but played with the boys and Minnie for a few more minutes until the Rottweiler collapsed on the grass, her tongue hanging.
Even Seth and Jordan looked tired. Hopefully, they’dhave no problem going to sleep tonight. Another glance at Bailey earned Nate a subtle nod of approval, which sent warmth through his chest.
It probably would’ve been smarter if he’d encouraged Jenny to stay with Bailey instead of taking on the job himself. But then, he would’ve been worried enough to camp out in front of her place anyway to keep an eye out for trespassers.
No, this was exactly where he needed to be. Spending extra time with Bailey, especially, wasn’t exactly a bad thing, even if it made it harder to keep his feelings in check. He never would’ve doubted that until he’d nearly slipped up yesterday.
