The Promise (Neighbor from Hell Book 10) Page 9

  The kid hugging his knees didn’t say a word as he continued sitting there, staring down at his feet as he absently rocked back and forth, periodically reaching up to dry his eyes with the backs of his hands and looking completely lost. It was a scene that she was painfully familiar with, she thought as she pulled her legs closer and got comfortable. Once she was settled, she reached into the bag next to her and pulled two sodas out, placing one by her side and the other one next to him. She did the same with the sandwiches and chips, all without saying a word.

  When she was done, she pulled her iPad out of her bag, plugged her headphones in and placed one earphone in her ear and left the other one hanging. She grabbed her sandwich, took a bite, and absently noted that he’d briefly glanced over at her. By the time she’d picked out a movie, he’d tentatively reached over and picked up his soda and took a sip. A few minutes later, he was eating his sandwich and scooting a little bit closer so that he could see the iPad. With a glance at her, he cautiously picked up the other earphone and placed it in his ear.

  They were halfway through their food when she found him sitting next to her, the iPad in his lap, and a small smile on his face and that’s when Reed found them. He didn’t say anything as he crawled beneath the table and sat next to whoever this cute little kid was, shifting lower to avoid slamming his head into the table as he went. When he was done, he shot her a curious look as he reached over and plucked the bag of chips out of her hand.

  “What are you doing?” Reed asked as he turned his attention to the movie.

  “Having lunch and trying to figure out why you asked me to come down here,” she said, grabbing the brownie out of the bag only to sigh when it was plucked out of her hand. Grumbling, she pulled the second one out only to have this one taken away by a much smaller hand.

  Biting back a smile, she handed the other earphone over to the best lunch date that she’d had in years and asked, “How about you?”

  “I’m hanging out with Shawn,” Reed said, devouring his brownie as he turned his attention to Shawn. “Do you want me to call your mom?”

  Shaking his head, Shawn decided to see what else was on the iPad and closed the movie app so that he could explore. When he found the Minecraft app, he handed her his empty soda can and quickly forgot about the two of them.

  “You’re late,” Reed said, helping himself to her soda.

  “Had to remind your brother that short people are to be feared,” Joey said, digging into the bags and found another sandwich, which was promptly plucked out of her hands.

  Sighing, she grabbed a slice of apple pie and couldn’t help but smile when a small tan hand plucked that out of her hands. A second later that hand was back out, waiting expectantly for a fork. She’d barely managed to hand over a plastic fork to Shawn when a much larger hand reached over and plucked the bag out of her hands. A second later, the second bag was gone, and she was left sitting there, resigning herself to grabbing a burger on the way home.

  “Any permanent damage?” Reed asked, not really sounding like he cared all that much as he dug through the bags.

  “Only emotional,” Joey said, watching in amazement as Shawn built a complex world out of nothing.

  “What happened?” he asked, helping himself to the second slice of apple pie that she’d really been looking forward to.

  “He destroyed all of my hopes and dreams,” she said on a wistful sigh as she pointed to the corner of the screen. “I’m going to need a castle with a view.” With a nod, Shawn abandoned the road system that he was developing and began building her castle.

  “I meant about your job,” Reed said as he pointed toward the screen and added, “Don’t forget the moat. She’s a bloodthirsty little thing.”

  “I really am,” she said, nodding as they sat back and watched Shawn work. “You mean, how did I end up on sabbatical halfway through spring semester without putting in for one?”

  “For starters,” he said, searching through the rest of the bag and grabbed another sandwich.

  “I was asked to read a book that another professor wrote and endorse it only something about the book didn’t feel right. Instead of letting it go, I did my own research, which unfortunately had the undesired effect of ruining another professor’s career,” she said, really wishing that she’d kept her mouth shut and told them what they wanted to hear.

  “I see,” Reed murmured after a slight pause before saying, “And I’m guessing that upset a few people.”

  “It usually does,” Joey said with a shrug because there was nothing that she could do about it now but wait.

  Maybe she should take up a hobby? she wondered while she sat there, watching as Shawn continued to build her dream castle. At least a hobby would keep her out of trouble, she mused only to feel her shoulders slump in defeat because she didn’t want a hobby. She wanted to-

  “You can start tomorrow,” Reed said, finishing off the last bite of his sandwich.

  “Start what?” Joey asked even as she couldn’t help but nod in approval at the castle that Shawn was building for her.

  “The favor you owe me.”

  Chapter 16

  “I have some follow up questions,” the little demon that he was stuck with said when he made the mistake of opening his bedroom door.

  “What are they?” he asked, sighing heavily as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall while he waited for the latest round of questions to begin.

  “Have you talked to Jackson?” she asked, shifting the large stack of books that she’d helped herself to in her arms as he reached over and plucked the small Tupperware bowl off the top.

  “No,” he said, pulling the lid off and taking a peek to find the bowl filled with-

  “Are you planning on telling him that I’m here?” Joey asked as she plucked the bowl back out of his hands and placed it back on top of the stack of books that she would most likely devour before morning.

  When they were kids, it used to amaze him to see how many books she could go through in a day. Every day at lunch she used to grab the bagged lunch that he’d had his eye on and head to the library where she would find a new stack of books to bring home only to haul them back the next morning, grumbling that she didn’t have anything to read. She used to read everything that she could get her hands on, history books, textbooks, comics, novels, magazines, brochures, manuals, absolutely fucking anything and it seemed that hadn’t changed, he thought, biting back a smile as he took in the stack of books in her arms.

  “It depends,” Reed said, reaching out to take back the Tupperware bowl only to find her stepping back out of reach.

  “On what?” she asked, with a curious tilt of her chin as he leaned back against the doorframe with a sigh as he took in the little pain in the ass, noting just how cute she looked in that oversized tee-shirt and baggy flannel pajama pants that were too big for her with her cute little toes just barely sticking out from beneath the folded pant cuffs.

  “On whether or not you’re going to take the job,” Reed said, running his gaze back up to find her eating one of his brownies.

  “I thought it was a favor,” Joey said, shifting her bundle to one arm so that she could take another bite.

  “So is letting you live,” Reed pointed out.

  “True,” she murmured, nodding in agreement before asking, “Isn’t having me stay here going to cause problems for you?”

  “Probably,” he murmured absently as he took in those oversized pants that were practically hanging off her, the crease lines running down the middle, and couldn’t help but wonder who they belonged to.

  “Is Julie okay with this?” Joey asked as she finished off the brownie while he stood there, trying to figure out what the hell she was talking about.

  “Okay with what?” Reed asked, shifting his gaze to that oversized black tee shirt and wondered if she’d borrowed the clothes from Matt.

  “With me living here,” Joey said, making him frown even as he decided that it would probably
be for the best if he let her borrow his clothes from now on.

  “What does she have to do with anything?”

  “Everything?” Joey said, blinking up at him as she reached into the bowl and helped herself to another brownie.

  “She’s just a friend,” he said absently as he wondered if those clothes belonged to another man only to immediately dismiss the idea since Jackson would have called him to bitch about another asshole that better keep his fucking hands off his baby sister. Since that hadn’t happened in a while, Reed was going to have to assume that the clothes belonged to Matt.

  Which reminded him, where was the little bastard?

  “He’s out back working,” Joey said, correctly reading the glare that he was shooting his brother’s closed bedroom door.

  Nodding, Reed returned his attention to the little pain in the ass who was now walking past him and heading toward his bed. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked as he watched her walk around his bed, stumbling along the way thanks to the pants that were way too big for her.

  “Really hoping that you’re willing to overlook the fact that you hate me so that I don’t have to sleep on the couch,” Joey said, shooting him a hopeful smile as she deposited the stack of books on the nightstand before she yanked her pajama pants back up, somehow managed to trip the short distance to the bed, grumbled something, yanked her pants back up again, climbed onto his bed, sat back, grabbed a book and another brownie before she settled in for the night.

  “I don’t hate you,” Reed said, closing the door behind him.

  “Okay, then you have a severe aversion to my existence, but I’m still hoping that you don’t make me sleep on the couch,” she said, nodding solemnly even as she continued shooting him that hopeful smile that left him powerless to say no to her.

  “I thought you were going to sleep in your room.”

  “I considered taking Matt up on his very generous offer to use the questionably stained, lumpy old sleeping bag that smells like cheese and sleep in my own room, but in the end, I felt that it would be for the best if I slept somewhere else,” the small woman that he should be avoiding said as she reached over and stole his pillow while he stood there, telling himself that he should just go sleep somewhere else, but…

  “Are you going to take the job?” Reed asked as he walked over to the bed, stole his pillow back along with the Tupperware bowl full of brownies and settled back on the bed next to her.

  “Are you going to tell Jackson that I’m here?” Joey countered as he helped himself to a large brownie.

  “No,” he said because he wasn’t a fucking tattletale.

  Then again, since he knew how well Jackson watched over his sister, he doubted that it would take long before his best friend showed up at his door so that he could throttle the little pain in the ass trying to take another brownie. Shooting her a glare, he pulled the bowl away and put it out of her reach.

  “Then I suppose I’ll take the job,” Joey said with a long-drawn-out sigh that had his lips twitching before she gave him a curious look and asked, “Why?”

  “Why what?” he asked, finishing off his brownie and grabbed another one.

  “Why are you giving me a job?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

  “To keep you out of trouble,” Reed said, finishing off the brownie before he reluctantly put the cover back on the bowl and set it on the nightstand.

  “Fair enough,” she said, absently nodding as she reluctantly closed her book and placed it on the nightstand before climbing off the bed and-

  “Damn it,” Joey grumbled when she tripped over her pants, somehow landed on her ass, sighed heavily and pulled herself right back up and headed toward the closed bathroom door. A minute later there was another, “Damn it,” the sound of her stumbling and another grumbled, “Stupid pants,” while he laid there, closing his eyes on a tired sigh, wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

  When she opened the door a minute later, he didn’t bother to open his eyes as he said, “Leave the cat in the bathroom,” which was immediately met with another grumble as she reluctantly turned around and returned the furry little bastard back to the bathroom. A minute later, he heard the bathroom door click open again and opened his eyes to make sure…to make sure…

  “Are you sure he’ll be okay?” Joey asked, throwing him a curious look over her shoulder before she went back to peeking into the bathroom to make sure the kitten that she’d decided was hers was okay while he sat there, licking his lips as he watched the large black tee shirt as it pulled up even higher when she leaned over, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of white cotton panties and the soft curve of her generous ass.

  “He’ll be fine,” Reed said hollowly as he ran his gaze down her short, lightly tanned legs only to shake his head in disgust when he realized that he was checking out his best friend’s sister, because he had more important things to think about right now like how he was going to survive another night with her in his arms.

  Chapter 17

  “So, I’m curious,” John, the man that had been introduced to her a few minutes ago as the head of the History Department, said as he pulled out a chair at the small library table where she was currently killing time with a book on Jack the Ripper that she’d helped herself to and nibbling on the breakfast she’d picked up on the way here.

  “About?” she asked, not bothering to look up as she picked up her extra-large glass of apple juice and took a sip.

  “A few things,” he murmured as he placed his coffee on the table and sat back in his chair. “Like, what is a published professor with two Ph.D.s from one of the top universities in the world doing working in my department as a substitute teacher.”

  “I have some free time while I’m on sabbatical, so I decided to help out,” she said, deciding not to point out that she’d been desperate for something to do and that the man that she was ninety-nine percent sure was going to kill her had given her the job just to keep her out of trouble.

  “I see,” he said while she sat there, contemplating looking up from her book to see if Reed was still glaring at her only to decide that it would probably be for the best if she avoided making eye contact with him for the time being.

  “And is there a reason why Reed won’t stop glaring at you?” John asked while he absently drummed his fingers against the table.

  “Usually,” she said, stupidly risking a glance up only to decide that it would probably be for the best if she focused back on her book.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him glare before,” John murmured thoughtfully.

  “I bring out the best in people,” Joey said, still wondering what she did to piss him off this time.

  Last night he’d seemed fine and then this morning…

  This morning he was glaring at everything she did.

  Absolutely. Everything.

  From the moment she woke up curled up in his arms, and oh, god, did the man know how to cuddle, he’d been glaring at her. When she’d murmured, “Good morning,” he’d glared even harder, which had resulted in her quickly apologizing for whatever may have transpired during the night, hoping that would be enough.

  It wasn’t.

  After she’d reluctantly crawled out of bed, and she’d been surprised by just how badly she’d wanted to stay in his arms, she’d headed for the bathroom only to rethink that plan and head toward the downstairs bathroom when he continued sitting there, glowering. From there, he’d glared at her when he walked into the kitchen, when she’d offered to make him pancakes, when she’d asked how much the rent was so that she could write him a check, when she’d asked him what he wanted for dinner, and kept glaring at her until she’d finally taken the hint and decided that it would probably be for the best if she grabbed something to eat on the way to work.

  Unfortunately, Reed had the same idea. When he’d spotted her in line, he’d glared and kept on glaring until she had her order and left only to end up-

  “Except he’s glaring at me n
ow,” John said, sounding amused.

  Frowning, Joey picked up her blueberry danish and took a bite as she looked up and noted, that yes, Reed was now glaring at John. When Reed shifted that murderous glare back on her, she bit back a sigh and resigned herself to taking Matt up on his offer to use his old sleeping bag. For a moment, she considered trying to sleep on the couch again, but in the end, she felt that it would probably be for the best if she slept behind a locked door tonight.

  “Good luck,” John said, chuckling as he grabbed his coffee and left just as Reed headed in their direction.

  Thankfully, she had somewhere else to be.

  With that in mind, she shoved the rest of her blueberry pastry in her bag, grabbed her backpack and her drink, and made a hasty retreat, deciding that this would be the perfect time to check out her new classroom. Unfortunately for her, that was the same time that Reed decided to call the morning meeting to an end. Before she managed to reach the double doors, he was by her side and-

  Glaring at her as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. With a muttered curse and one last glare, he bit out, “I’ll be right back,” before he answered his phone and headed in the opposite direction, leaving her to find her classroom on her own.

  *-*-*-*

  “So, I can’t help but wonder why you’re running a background check on my sister,” Jackson drawled as soon as Reed answered his phone.

  “And I can’t help but wonder why it took you so long to call,” Reed said, watching as the first wave of students made their way inside.

  Chuckling, Jackson said, “I didn’t find out until last night.”

  “You’re losing your touch,” Reed said absently, watching as Shawn started walking toward the front door only to pause and watch as his mother drove off before he moved off to the side and found a spot away from everyone and everything and sat down.

  “I know,” he said, sighing heavily before asking, “How’s she doing?”