She’d sounded like a woman who was deeply annoyed with her man. Not one who was about to walk out.
Every night he felt like he made a tiny bit of progress. She let him hold her, let him carry her to their bed, and this morning she’d flat-out let him make love to her. She wouldn’t shower with him, but they would get there.
Except he’d taken two steps back because he hadn’t told her about Tessa.
How would that conversation have gone? Probably about the way this morning had gone except maybe his mom wouldn’t have been there to call him out. Vanessa had been able to slip away while he’d been trying to explain to his mom that he wasn’t trying to embarrass his whole line.
Only his mother still referred to her family line.
The door started to close when a big hand came out from the other side, slapping the sensors and forcing them to come back open.
Deke hopped on, a frown on his face and his cell phone in hand. “You didn’t tell your girlfriend about Tessa?”
Michael felt his jaw drop. They’d had the fight less than an hour ago. “How the hell do you know that?”
Deke’s shoulders shrugged as he pressed the button to close the doors again. “Grapevine. I managed to get on the text loop many of the ladies use when they need someone to pick up the kids or they need to talk about how dumb their men are. It’s entirely entertaining.”
The carpool loop was legendary. It was also supposed to be all female. Not that the men didn’t drive the kiddos around, but they weren’t on that loop. The “grapevine” as they called it was used to plan and organize the McKay-Taggart world. Everything from potluck menus to carpool schedules were devised and carried out over that text loop. “I’m sorry. What the actual hell, man? How did you end up on there?”
“Oh, Big Tag sent me undercover. It’s part of my job.” Deke slid his phone into his pocket. “I was to infiltrate and report back. My oldest sister’s potato salad recipe got them to notice me. But then Seth broke his arm and Charlotte’s Navigator was in the shop, and he couldn’t get into Big Tag’s truck, but my SUV was perfect and comfortable, so I drove him to school when she couldn’t. Two weeks later, Luke had that crazy accident during his football practice and then I was driving two of them. So Charlotte added me to a text that got me in the loop. I started replying with helpful hints my sisters fed me. Then I threw all the guys under the bus and I was in.”
“And you report back to Big Tag?”
“Oh, yeah, but only the good gossip like what I got this morning about you. Charlotte caught on very quickly and turned me with a combination of fear and her chocolate chip cookies. I’m way more scared of the ladies,” Deke admitted. “So I’m a double, but I’m pretty sure Big Tag knows that, too. I’m a pawn in their game of love.”
His workplace was weird. He knew they were all in the information game, but still, this shit had only gone down an hour before. “So who the hell told? Tessa’s not in that loop.”
It wasn’t that the women of MT weren’t nice to his ex, but she wasn’t in need of help with childcare, and he couldn’t imagine tough-chick Tess trading key lime pie recipes with the girls. In that Deke really did belong more.
“Oh, no. Tessa told David, who told Kyle, who texted MaeBe, who went straight to Charlotte, who texted the group,” Deke said like it was a totally normal thing to do. “MaeBe tells Charlotte everything because when she finally gets married and has kids, she wants on that loop. She thinks loyalty will get her there. Then Charlotte posted the whole thing as a poll on our Facebook page.”
That was news to him. “There’s a Facebook page?”
“It’s more of a group. Charlotte found it was more versatile than texts,” Deke explained. “You should know you’re not polling well.”
There was a quiet ding, and the doors opened. Michael thought seriously about quitting and walking away now. He could move to a deserted island and live off the land. He wouldn’t have to face anyone again.
Oooo, he could kidnap Vanessa. She’d mentioned at one point that she might think about forgiving him if he was the last man alive. He wouldn’t technically be the last man alive, but he could be the only one she could talk to. Maybe forcing her into complete isolation with only him as a companion would make her rethink her stubborn stance.
Or he could take his medicine and be the man she needed.
Damn it. “I think I need a sparring session. See you downstairs at 10?”