Read Plain Jayne for Free Online Page B

dark. “It’s me, Jayne. Jayne Morgan.”
    “Jayne. Right.” Jeff’s pale eyes, so much like his grandmother’s, widened slightly, then shifted from her to Nick and back again. He cleared his throat and nodded briefly. “Good to see you. Maybe we can, uh, catch up sometime.”
    Okay, that would never happen, but Jayne wouldn’t say that in front of Mrs. Goodsen. Instead she squeezed the woman’s hand and smiled.
    “I’ll be watching for you at the parade.”
    She waited until the Goodsens were out of earshot, then jabbed Nick in the arm. “Enough with the glare. He’s gone.”
    “He’s an idiot.”
    There was no question Jeff was an idiot, but if it hadn’t been for him stealing Jayne’s cookies in kindergarten, she and Nick might never have become friends. Nick had chased Jeff across the playground and sat on him until Jeff finally surrendered the snack from his coat pocket. By the time Nick returned them to her, the cookies were nothing more than a crumbled mess, but that’s not what made her cry. At the time, she didn’t understand why she was crying, or why she cried even harder when five-year-old Nick wrapped her in her first hug and promised he’d never let anyone take her cookies again.
    They’d been friends ever since.
    “You’re gettin’ slow, old man.” Jayne chuckled as she dodged a kid on a skateboard. “Those firemen were easily packing an extra twenty pounds each.”
    Nick’s limp suddenly became more pronounced. “Bum knee.”
    “Yeah, whatever.” She unlocked the car and climbed behind the wheel. “Want a ride to your truck?”
    “I’m good. I’ll go hunt down Carter and meet you at home.”
    Jayne nodded, and fifteen minutes later they were all back in the kitchen laughing at how Nick and Carter had had their asses handed to them by Mr. October and company.
    “It wasn’t that bad,” Nick muttered over a grin as he filled his water glass.
    “Let’s just say, if I was you”—Jayne smirked—“I’d give some thought to trading spots with their Dalmatian next year.”
    They were still laughing when the door swung open and in walked a raven-haired woman in khaki capris and a crisp white blouse, looking as fresh and pretty as a spring day. Her hair, cut just below her chin, hung in thick dark waves, her wide eyes almost the same shade as her pants, and that skin … good Lord, she could have been a Revlon model.
    The first blip that raced through Jayne’s mind pegged her to be someone Carter would date; if he had a type, she was it: young, pretty, and perfect.
    But the second Nick looked up, Jayne knew. This was Linda.
    He stepped toward her and kissed her upturned cheek. “Lisa, this is Jayne.”
    Right. Lisa.
Not Linda
.
    “Lisa.” Jayne stood up and reached to shake the woman’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
    “You too. Nick’s told me a lot about you.”
    “Don’t believe all of it,” Jayne winced over a grin. “I’m not that bad.”
    “Yes she is.” Carter wrapped his elbow around Jayne’s neck, then smacked a noisy kiss to her cheek. “Nothin’ but trouble, this one.”
    “Oh.” A flicker of uncertainty flashed across Linda-Lisa’s face as she glanced from Carter to Jayne. “Nick didn’t tell me you two were …”
    Nick’s brow furrowed a second. “Who? Those two? No, they’re—”
    “Us?” Carter choked. “Yeah, right.”
    “Thanks a lot, jerk.” Jayne shoved away from him and cuffed him up the back of his head. “What am I, a leper or something?”
    “Ow! No.” He rubbed his head and grunted out a loud snort. “Nick’d kill me if he even thought I was looking at you that way.”
    Jayne knew Carter was just being an ass; Nick knew he was just being an ass. But Linda …
Lisa
 … well, she didn’t seem to know whether to shit or go blind.
    “Just ignore Carter,” Jayne said, rolling her eyes. “We do it all the time.”
    “Right. Okay.” She smiled back at them, but it was a careful smile, without the barest glimpse of