The bell rang over the door, and several young mothers with school-aged children came in along with a few teenagers, including the ones she had hired. Saying goodbye to Tori and Katelyn, she hustled behind the counter and helped Marie and the others dish out ice cream.
During the summer season, she planned on staying open until eight at night, but while they were still getting used to everything, she was closing at five. Once the afternoon rush was over, she sent Marie and Richie home and let the two teenagers mop the floor, wipe down the tables, and help get the shop ready for the next day while she continued to make several new batches of ice cream. An hour later, she waved goodbye and grinned as they left, and Jason entered her shop.
He had ditched his garage coveralls, dressed in a blue button-up with the sleeves rolled up and jeans. His hair was still pulled back in a ponytail, and her fingers itched to take out the leather band and run her fingers through its length.
Practically skipping to him, she jumped into his arms, crying, “I had the most wonderful first day of business! Lots of sales and no disasters!”
Laughing, he twirled her around in the middle of the shop. “Love the sound of you happy, Rose.”
With her hands wrapped tightly around his neck and her feet around his waist, she leaned back and added, “And guess what?”
“What, babe?”
“Belle called and said that the owner of the nursing home wants to place an order for my ice cream to be served there on Saturdays! I told them that I would make extra batches on Friday and that I would get it to them on Friday when the shop closed. Would you be able to go with me?”
“You know I will,” he said grinning.
“I just don’t want to take up too much of your time away from your own businesses,” she said. “I feel like with everything that’s been going on, we’ve had to focus so much on me.”
He turned slightly and looked toward the front door, asking, “Are you all closed up for the night?”
Surprised at his question, she nodded and replied, “Almost. Everything’s fine in here, I just need to lock the front door.”
He gave her a bounce signaling his intentions, and she released her legs so that she could slide to the floor. Surprised that he seemed to be ignoring her concerns, she moved over and flipped all the locks. He reached his hand out, and she linked fingers with him, moving along as he led her to the back, and she turned off all the lights. He then led her upstairs to her apartment, and once inside, he moved straight to the sofa, sat, and pulled her gently down into his lap.
“I felt like we needed to talk, and I didn’t want to do it down in your store for someone to just walk in. This is the kind of talk where I wanted it to be just you and me, no interruptions, and you in my lap.”
Blinking, she stared at his face, unable to read his mood, and said, “This sounds really serious. You’re kinda scaring me, Jason.”
“No reason to be scared, sweetheart.” He shifted her slightly, making sure that she had a pillow at her back even though his arm was also there as support. “First, I need you to understand that you’re the most important thing to me. I don’t ever want you to think that what’s going on with you is a problem for me.”
Understanding dawned, and she said, “Oh, is this about me worrying about your businesses?”
“That’s just it…I don’t want you worrying about my businesses at all. My garage is good. Business is great, and I don’t see that changing. I’ve hired excellent mechanics, and if I’m not there, they can take care of everything. The tattoo business is something that I’m looking to hire someone part-time to help out anyway. It’s not my bread-and-butter. It’s something that I do because I enjoy it, but it doesn’t take precedence over you.”
“There’s just so much going on in my life. I feel like since we’ve gotten together it’s been all about me, and I’m just afraid that one day it’ll be too overwhelming for you.”
His blue eyes held her captive, and he reached up to run his hand through her hair, his fingers tangling in the tresses as his thumb swept over her cheek. “Baby, that’s what a relationship is all about. Sometimes it will be more about you. Other times, me. It’s a give-and-take. It’s hanging together during the rough times so that we appreciate the easy times more.”
She reached up and clutched his bearded jaws, loving the feel of his rough stubble under her fingertips, and stared into his eyes. “How’d you get so smart about relationships?”
Barking out a laugh, he said, “Maybe I just like to memorize memes.”
Now it was her turn to laugh, and she nestled deeper into his embrace.
“I need you to understand, Rose, that my businesses are a way to bring in money, and I’m fuckin’ glad I enjoy doing the work. But now, it’s all about you and our baby. That’s what’s giving me joy. That’s what makes getting up every day worth it.”
Her eyes moved about his face, memorizing every nuance. After her father’s sudden death and her mother’s stroke, she knew how quickly life could change and wanted to commit every detail of him to memory.
“Whatcha thinking, babe?” he asked, his arms tightening slightly about her.
Her eyes moved back to his, and she replied, “First, I was thinking how gorgeous you are, and then I just was so thankful that you love me.”
His white teeth appeared as he smiled widely, and said, “Now that we’ve settled that, you don’t need to worry about my business because as far as I’m concerned, my business is taking care of you, first and foremost.” Coming to his feet with her clutched in his arms, he continued, “And now we can take this to the bedroom.”
Once there, he loosened the hold on her legs and she slowly slid her feet down to the floor. With one arm still banded around her back, they were pressed together from knees to chest. He had been surprised when she called him gorgeous but humbled when she thanked him for loving her. Doesn’t she realize that loving her is such a gift to myself?
He bent to take her lips, pouring thoughts of her gift to him into the kiss. Soft and slow, warm and wet, his tongue moved in a slow exploration of her mouth. Her arms clung to his shoulders, and he held her tightly to his body. He felt her hands push against his arms, and he lifted his head in confusion. She continued to push, and his arms loosened so that she could move back a step.
Her eyes never left his as her lips slowly curved, and her hands went to the bottom of her pink polo with its embroidered logo of deep-colored rose with green stem and leaves, the swirly words Sweet Rose encircling the flower. Arms crossed in front of her, she pulled the shirt upward, shifting it over her breasts, before it skimmed her head and landed in the floor.
His gaze dropped to the pink satin bra she was wearing, the little silk bow right in the middle of her cleavage. Shucking her jeans down her legs, she toed off her pink sneakers before kicking the jeans to the side, leaving her in pink satin panties.
She swept her hand across her body and downward like a game show hostess exhibiting a prize. “As you can see, I finally splurged on some new lingerie. I figured it was time you saw me in something besides plain, white, boring underwear.”
His hands snaked around her waist, sliding down over the curve of her hips with the pads of his fingertips squeezing the flesh before gliding back up to just underneath her breasts, his thumbs sweeping the undersides.
“Sweet Rose, you never have to splurge on anything for me. Everything about you is gorgeous and sexy.”
He watched her smile, and his heart ached, wondering if there was a way he could hold onto that smile forever. Just like that, no artifice. No pretense. Just this beautiful woman who looked up to him as though he could move mountains.
He startled out of his musings when her hands reached for his shirt, deftly unfastening the buttons. Reaching up, she slid it over his shoulders, allowing it to drop behind him. He bent to untie his boots, toeing them off before shucking his pants. Now completely naked, he delighted in finishing undressing her.
With one hand on he
r hip, the other trailed light fingertip touches over the swells of her breasts. Sliding both hands to the back, he unsnapped her bra and gently pulled the straps from her shoulders, allowing the soft material to slide down her arms and land at their feet. With his thumbs hooked into the elastic at her hips, he gently worked her panties over her ass and down her thighs. Instead of just letting the material fall to the floor, he knelt and continued to drag it slowly. With his face so close to her core, he inhaled the scent of her arousal deeply.
The backs of her legs were at his bed, and he gently pushed her so that she sat on the edge of the mattress. She leaned back, propping her weight on her elbows, and he pulled her legs over his shoulders as he dove in. All of his senses were firing. Her scent filled his nostrils, her nectar on his tongue, the petal-soft skin of her thighs against his cheeks. His cock was full and erect, but he wanted her ready for him.
He tasted and suckled, tongued and licked until her hips writhed against his face. He shifted higher up on his knees, lifting her hips slightly, and moved his hands over her body. With one hand staying on her mound, his thumb pressed against her clit, his other hand moved upward, cupping her full breast as he gently tugged on her nipples.
Her hands had found their way to his hair, her fingernails scraping against his scalp, and she buried her fingers into his thick, long tresses. Suddenly she gripped tighter, and the slight sting in his scalp only made his cock harder.
A groan dragged from her body as she finally cried out his name, and he felt her orgasm rush from her, continuing to lap her essence. Her legs flopped open wide, falling off his shoulders, and as he lifted his head, he admired her glistening sex before dragging his gaze over her flushed body, finding her brown eyes staring back at him.
Lifting to his feet with his palms pressed into the mattress next to her hips, he rose over her, crawling onto the bed. He started to place his cock at her entrance, but she surprised him with a sudden movement and she flipped him over onto his back.
Grinning down at him, she said, “Now, it’s my turn to play.”
“Got no problem with that, babe.”
She lifted on her knees, and with her hand gripping his girth, settled herself over the tip of his cock before sliding down, sheathing him with her body. Once seated, she leaned forward and placed her hands on his shoulders before she began to move up and down. Nothing else existed at the moment other than the movement of her body on his cock and the sparkle in her eyes as her long, strawberry-blonde hair fell down in a curtain around him.
As she began to slow, his large hands lifted her slightly, and his hips took over, pumping up and down, thrusting his cock into her sex.
Her short fingernails dug into his muscles as her second orgasm moved through her, and he felt her sex clenching tight against him. Following immediately afterward, he continued to pound until every drop had been wrung from his body.
Uncertain if he could move, he managed to roll them so that they were facing side to side, his arms encircling her body. The only sounds in the room were their heartbeats and heavy breathing as they both slowly came down off their orgasmic high. He knew he needed to head to the bathroom to get a cloth to clean her up, but his body continued to reject the idea of moving for a few more minutes as he continued to hold her.
“I hate to move, babe, but I need to—”
The sound of his phone vibrating in his pants on the floor snagged their attention. Deciding to let it go to voicemail, their eyes jumped to each other’s when the phone immediately began vibrating again.
“You’d better see who that is,” she said, just as he was already moving to climb out of bed.
Pulling out his phone, he saw that the call was from Mitch and immediately connected. “Mitch?”
His eyes moved to the bed where Rose was still reclining, although she had bent her left arm so that she could use her hand to prop up her head, her gaze pinned on him. He listened to everything Mitch had to say before replying, “Yeah. I’ll let her know. Thanks.”
Disconnecting, his gaze stayed on her as he stalked back to the bed. Laying his phone onto the nightstand, he slid into bed, but she had already sat up quickly, unheeding her nakedness as she reached out and clutched his arms.
“What is it?” she asked, her words rushing out.
Not making her wait for the answer, he said, “Mitch got a late call from his friend at the Forensic Lab. They made a positive identification with the dental records. The woman in the cellar was Charlotte Robinson.”
Her eyes filled with tears and her fingers pressed against her trembling lips. “Oh, Jason. That poor girl died alone, down in the cellar. Oh, God, and she was pregnant and all alone.”
Her hand had just left her mouth and moved to her still-flat abdomen when he pulled her into his arms. Having no words to relieve her anguish over the young woman who died many years ago, he simply loved her as they clung to each other in the night.
26
Grant popped his head into Mitch’s office and said, “He’s here. And he’s not alone.”
Mitch gave a short nod and asked, “Lawyer?” Seeing Grant roll his eyes as a response, Mitch stood and walked into the interview room. Corwin was sitting at the table, his face set in anger while his eyes registered nervousness. Lawrence Buckley, an attorney in town, was sitting next to Corwin, both with cups of coffee in front of them that the police receptionist, Mildred, had brought in.
“Corwin, Lawrence,” he greeted. “We could have easily done this at your office and not here at the station.”
“And have everyone at Town Hall wondering why the police chief was coming in to question me?” Corwin asked, his cheeks turning red.
“Considering that I’m often summoned to your office to discuss police matters, I don’t think anyone would have thought anything about it.” Glancing at Lawrence, he continued, “Right now, I just want to gather as much information as I can about the young woman whose remains were found in the cellar.”
“At this point, it is pure conjecture that my client might have known who she was,” Lawrence began but was interrupted as Mitch began to talk over him.
“With the information that was given to us, we subpoenaed the dental records for a young woman who used to work with your aunt in the late ’70s. The Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory has positively identified the young woman as Charlotte Robinson.” Lawrence gave no visible evidence of knowing that name, but considering he was younger than Corwin, Mitch was not surprised.
But Corwin’s eyes widened, and a slight gasp was emitted before he shook his head slowly from side to side and whispered, “Charlotte.”
“As you can understand, we are looking into her to see if we can determine why a young woman would die in the cellar of the shop where she worked and no one reported her missing. To do that, we’re speaking to anyone who might have known her.”
Lawrence began to bluster again, but Mitch halted him when he raised his hand. “Corwin, is there a reason why you don’t want to give us any information about Charlotte?”
“You don’t have to answer that,” Lawrence said.
Corwin looked unsettled, his forehead breaking out in a sweat as he lifted a forefinger, tucked it between his neck and shirt collar, and gave a little tug. “I barely knew her, so I don’t have any useful information I can give to you.”
Nodding, Mitch prodded, “That’s fine. As I said, we’re just talking to anyone who may have known her. We don’t have your aunt’s business records, so do you know if Charlotte was at the shop often? We know she lived in the apartment above, but did you ever see her out and about town?”
“I used to come in to visit my aunt and saw lots of shop women over the years. My aunt was very generous when it came to employing young women who might not have the background to have a job in a nice shop. I remember her, but we were acquaintances only.”
“I believe your wife mentioned you were sweet on a couple of women that work for your aunt—”
“That was said in
jest,” Lawrence interrupted.
“So, Charlotte wasn’t anyone that you took a particular interest in?” Mitch continued.
Shaking his head, Corwin said, “No. I remember being introduced to her and we would chat…uh…exchange pleasantries if I had to wait on my aunt. That’s all I remember about her.”
“Would you say that she was a pretty woman? Someone who attracted a lot of attention? Talkative? Shy?”
Corwin’s eyes drifted to the side for a moment before answering, “Yes, she was an attractive girl. I can’t say that she attracted a lot of attention, but I remember her as being quite pretty. Not very talkative, but she had a sweet smile.”
“She was close to your age. Did you remember her in high school?”
Shaking his head, Corwin said, “No. I actually went to a private high school in Accawmacke County. I never met Charlotte until seeing her at my aunt’s shop.”
“Did you ever have the opportunity to talk to her, have real conversations with her at any time?”
“Not that I recall,” Corwin said, shifting in his seat.
“I think it’s evident that my client, the Mayor, has no information about this young woman at all. She was simply someone that he met casually and was no more than an acquaintance,” Lawrence said. Turning to look at Corwin, he continued, “I think Chief Evans will agree that this interview is concluded. I would also like to say that I think the Baytown Police Department’s resources could be better used focusing on crimes that are happening currently and not something from forty years ago that may or may not have even been a crime.”
Lawrence stood and indicated for Corwin to stand as well. Mitch halted their progress when he said, “One last question…for now. Did anyone you know, perhaps any of your friends, talk about her or have any dealings with her?”
Swallowing deeply before clearing his throat, Corwin replied, “No. Not that I know of. Not for sure that I can recall. I certainly had no idea that she was leaving town. I just remember my aunt being very upset that she left suddenly, without saying goodbye or turning in a notice.”
Sweet Rose: Baytown Boys Page 21