Regretting the Wife He Threw Away novel Chapter 397

Jeannie pitched her tent with Irwin on a patch of grass right next to Briony's group.

James noticed immediately and was thoroughly annoyed.

"What is with those two? Can't they take a hint?"

Briony was a bit irritated herself. But the field was spacious, and it was first come, first served. There wasn't much she could do about it.

James had just finished setting up the canopy and was about to start on the tents. Crystal, ever the handy one, already had two hammocks strung up in no time. Little Nina and little Mario each claimed one, while Carol and Crystal gently rocked them back and forth. The kids' laughter rang out, bright and carefree.

Meanwhile, Jeannie started pitching her tent with Irwin in the empty spot right beside them.

"Irwin, sweetheart, I can handle this. Why don't you go play with the other kids?" she said.

Irwin's face lit up, and he trotted off toward the hammocks.

"Hey!" James spotted Irwin making a beeline for the two little ones and immediately dropped what he was doing to intercept him.

Irwin stopped, tilting his head back to look up at James. Even after four years, the memory of James stuck with him—he remembered clearly that James had never liked him.

"Mr. Delaney," Irwin greeted politely.

James let out a cold snort. "Well, look at you. Four years gone, and your mind's gotten sharper along with your height, huh?"

Irwin said nothing.

"Mr. Delaney, I just want to play with my little sister. Could you please let me through?"

"No chance!" James planted his hands on his hips and glared down at Irwin. "Your uncle here believes in holding grudges by association. Too bad you got stuck with a mother like yours. Now beat it—stay away from my daughter!"

Irwin hadn't expected James to be so blunt. His face crumpled with hurt.

"Irwin, what happened?"

"Ms. Radcliffe!" Irwin flung himself into Jeannie's arms, sobbing out his complaint. "Mr. Delaney yelled at me. He won't let me play with the other kids!"

"There, there, sweetheart, don't cry. I'm sure Mr. Delaney didn't mean it. He was probably just joking with you…"

"Cut it out!" James couldn't stand Jeannie's sweet, syrupy tone. "Don't make excuses for me. I meant every word."

Jeannie was momentarily thrown off.

James didn't give her a chance to play peacemaker. "I don't like you either. Why don't you both find somewhere else to play, far away from us?"

Jeannie was stunned. She hadn't expected James to be so vicious with his words.

It took her a moment to recover. Frowning at James, she finally managed, "Mr. Delaney, I'm sorry. I just thought, since Irwin and Little Nina are both Mr. Wentworth's children, maybe it would be nice for them to get to know each other now that they've met…"