Jessa’s gonna owe me a full-body massage tonight. Back, shoulders, cock, all of it.
Shit—there I go defiling the man’s daughter again.
I haven’t been able to get her off my mind. She consumes me. Even when she’s nowhere in sight, that pixie woman with the sweet, little ass and big, knowing eyes has the cunning ability to pop inside my head and take over. She’s everywhere. It sort of freaks me out. I also really like it.
In my futile attempt to put the brakes on my feelings for her, I decided to take a day to myself. To step back and figure shit out.
Though, if I honestly wanted to get away from Jessa Robson, I should have come up with a better plan. I should have probably rented a boat and taken it up the river for the night. Throw back a few beers. Camp out in the woods.
And I definitely shouldn’t have driven to her hometown to spend yet another day with her eccentric father, helping him set up his repair shop.
I shake the thoughts loose from my head and squint at Jessa’s father. I make the same argument I’ve made ever since the first day I started coming here. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out why you’re taking on all this work by yourself. You’re handy, that’s for sure. But the workload here isn’t worth the time it’s taking away from your shop being open.” I shoot another dozen nails into the sheetrock in a precise, straight line.
Okay, straight-ish.
Fuck it. Straight enough. No one will notice once it’s patched and painted.
“Of course,” he beams, ever the optimist like his daughter. “Especially if you can get that brother of yours to help, too.”
I laugh. “Please! Pretty boy Cannon? As if he’d get his billion-dollar hands dirty? I’m telling you, you could get someone to do this work in half the time. Hell, they’d probably have it finished in just a couple days, with a big enough crew.”
The old man scoffs. “Yeah, and they’d charge me a month’s worth of labor. Can’t spend money before you’ve got it. First rule of business, son.”
“You’re lecturing me on business? Are you forgetting I ran a multi-million dollar real estate empire for years?” I shoot back. “Sometimes, you’ve got to spend money to make it. That’s just the way it goes.” I’m sure the crick in my neck is permanent by now. “If we hired someone, you would be able to open up shop next week.”
“Where’s the joy in that? I can do this on my own. The framing. The painting. The electricity. You name it. I’m a jack of all trades. Why hire someone to do the work I know how to?” I fail to remind him that I’m here helping, too. I’m still wondering how the man planned to get today’s two-man ceiling project off the ground by himself. “I ain’t never hired someone to take care of my business, and I don’t plan to start now.”
I chuckle. He really wants to do this his own way. “You may be all about saving money, but the business man in me is determined to get you to see the light. Eventually.”
“Ha! Good luck, son,” the man says with a booming laugh. “I respect your persuasion tactics, but they won’t work on me. I see why you’re in business, Eli.”
And so it goes, he and I arguing back and forth all morning. It’s all in good fun, though. I feel like I fit in here. It helps that I don’t feel the resentment toward the Robsons that I do toward my own family. And being here always makes me feel a little bit closer to Jessa, even though she doesn’t know that I’m here.
The little woman’s parents didn’t ask questions when I requested that they not mention that I’ve been coming to help at Douglas’s soon-to-be-open repair shop in my very ample spare time.
At first, I told myself I kept coming here out of boredom. With no job and no more home projects to keep me busy, I was just coming to Cowersville to entertain myself. But based on my never-ending questions about Jessa, I think the Robsons are starting to figure out that I’m freakin’ smitten with their daughter.
During a well-deserved lunch break, Douglas and I sit on overturned buckets, chowing down on the burgers I ordered from the diner across the street and staring out at the light traffic passing in front of the oversized shop windows.
It’s been a good day. The man is a little kooky, but he’s entertaining and no stranger to hard work. I see where Jessa gets her carefree love for life.
When there’s a lull in the conversation, I can’t help but ask. “What was Jessa like as a child?”
“Christ. That girl. You know how they always talk about the terrible-twos and those god-awful teenage years?”
“Well, I know about the two’s. Sure as hell am dreading the teenage period.” I chuckle.
“That was never Jessa. Lexi, definitely. But not Jessa. That girl was the happiest kid I’ve ever seen. Her mom and I kept waiting for the tantrums to come. The talking back. The strong-willed stubbornness. But nope. Nothing but smiles and laughter and silliness. I don’t know where she got it, but I’ve never seen a person bursting with so much hope. So much positivity.”
I can’t help but grin.
At first, I tried to find that trait annoying but it quickly grew on me. With all the bullshit life has thrown at me from every angle, Jessa Robson has been nothing short of refreshing. She just has a personality that draws you in. She’s so damn bright, so certain, and it pulls you like a magnet.
I listen as her father carries on. “Hell, it was damn-near impossible to discipline that girl. You’d be yelling, red-faced and spitting, telling her she was grounded until the end of time, and she’d just stand there with that pretty smile, ‘Okay, Daddy’,” he mocks, in a high-pitched, sickly sweet voice.
We both laugh, because I know that tone. It drives you mad, because you just can’t stay…well, mad.
Our laughter fades away and Douglas gets a wistful look in his eyes. “My Jessa is a very special girl,” he says meaningfully.
I look the man in the eye, earnest as fuck when I say, “I know she is.” Understanding passes between us. Man to man. Douglas knows I’m not perfect. He knows about my failed marriage and my criminal record. But he knows I’d never hurt Jessa. It’s an unspoken promise I intend to honor.
After the meal, we return to the shop. The old man is standing at the top of a ladder, while I spot from below. We’re trying to install this big ass industrial-sized ceiling fan in the center of the shop while I continue my fruitless efforts to convince him to hire help. I leave him to take the reins on that. I may dabble in home improvement work, but running a business is my game.
“Don’t you think we should flip the power breakers or something?” I’m no expert in electricity, which is why he’s up there, and I’m firmly on the ground. But that tidbit seems important.
“The breaker’s in the basement behind a whole bunch of crates and shit. It’d take me longer to move out all that crap than it would take me to quickly get this thing installed.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea…” I squint up at him.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says confidently. “I’ve done it a million times. And I’m not worried about the electricity. I’ve got a trick they don’t teach ya in trade school.”
“If you’re sure,” I offer a hesitant chuckle.
He laughs from above me, yanking on more wires from the ceiling. “You sound just like my Alexia,” he tsks. “Always questioning me.”
Probably rightfully so. I scrunch up my lips, hold the words in and hope for the best.
He’s still spouting off from the top of the ladder when his words cut off mid-sentence. I look up, about to ask what’s going on, and my eyes widen. Mr. Robson’s arm is extended, fist tight around one of the longer, exposed wires. His body jerks for a second and goes stiff. I shout out.
But it’s too late.
Suddenly, his frail body is tumbling down, and I’m frantically trying to catch the man as he hurtles toward the concrete floor.
43
Jessa
I sprint through the hospital doors like Usain Bolt.
Well, if Usain Bolt had itty bitty legs an
d got winded halfway up a flight of stairs.
Oh, never mind. Let’s just say I’m moving as fast as my short legs will take me.
I left Callie with her grandparents at the inn. I’ve never made the drive back to my hometown in such a short time.
Eli called me with the news. Yet I still don’t even know why. Why him? Or how? How did he know that my dad was rushed to the hospital?
I’m at the emergency room’s reception desk, sputtering out my dad’s name and the sparse information I have when I feel a large hand wrap around my bicep. I’m ready to swing back and punch this fool in the nose—just like my Daddy taught me to—because I’m on a mission and in no mood to socialize, not until I know that my father’s okay. But when I turn around, I find Eli staring down at me.
I grip him by the shirt and the panicked questions start tumbling out of me. “Where is he, Eli? Is he okay? How badly did he get hurt? Tell me he’s okay.”
My boss steps back, holding me at arm's length so he can meet my eyes.
Oh god. Oh god. This can’t be good news. I feel my breakfast swishing around in my belly.
The tears burst out of me like a water balloon hitting a tree. “Eli, I just—”
“Relax. Your father is fine. He’s fine, baby.” He smooths a big, calming hand down my hair.
“He’s okay?”
Eli nods. “Yeah, he’s okay.”
Air whooshes from my lungs. If I weren’t so darn relieved, I’d smack the guy. Right on his sexy, muscular ass. “Lordie. You could have led with that important piece of information on the phone.”
He shrugs. “To be fair, when I called, you didn’t even give me half a second before you hung up and dove into your car.”
I chuckle shortly. “I guess you’re right.”
He grabs my hand, lacing his strong fingers with mine, and I’ve never felt so safe. “Let me show you to his room.”
As we walk to the elevator, Eli fills me in. My dad suffered a mild electrocution and took a tumble off a ladder at the shop. Eli managed to catch part of the old man’s body on his way down, but Dad wasn’t able to avoid a nasty bump on his head. Eli downplays his own role but I can tell from his description that Dad’s injuries would have been far worse if he hadn’t been there to break the fall. If my father’s back had hit the floor after falling from that height, Eli would be recounting a whole different story right now. I shudder just thinking about it.
“But I don’t understand.” I say when we’re passing the nursing station and nearing the door Eli pointed to a second ago. “What were you doing there today?”
That boyish look crosses his rugged features, and I decide right here and now that it’s my favorite look on Eli Kingston. “I’ve been spending time here, helping your dad with the renovations.”
“You’ve been what?” I look up at him, searching his eyes.
“I’ve been coming by here every now and then to help Douglas get the shop ready to open up.” The man shrugs like it’s no big deal that he spends his spare time, working his sexy butt off, doing free labor for my father.
“I don’t know what to do with you, Eli Kingston. Thank you.” My eyes fill with tears again. This time when I grab the front of his shirt, I lift onto my toes and seal my lips to his in a kiss. It takes him a second to wrap his arms around my waist. When he does, I fling my arms around his neck and kiss him deeper.
I don’t stop until I hear someone very deliberately clearing their throat. We pull apart and find my mother grinning smugly from the doorway to Dad’s hospital room.
I scrunch up my nose at her and give her a quick hug before rushing toward my daddy’s bed. “You scared me so bad,” I tell him, wrapping his frail body up in a gentle hug.
“I’m fine, kiddo,” my dad chuckles into my hair, and the vibration of his voice warms me up.
I take a step back and examine him for myself. I don’t see any visible signs of injury. I take hold of his hand and scowl at him. “I’m mad at you, Daddy. Everyone knows you should always shut the power off.”
Mom chuckles from the other side of the hospital bed. “Nothing can keep this man down. Don’t you worry,” she says to me, but I know her. I know she had her own moment of sheer panic over her husband. Mom likes to act like she’s got it all together, but I know she’d be a mess without Daddy. Our whole family would.
“Lexi’s on her way,” I tell my parents. “I called her from the car. She should be here any minute.”
“Oh, boy,” Dad groans because he knows my sister is gonna chew him out.
Mere seconds later, Alexia barrels through the hospital door, her wild hair whipping out all around her worried face. Cannon is hot on her heels.
“What the hell, Daddy?” she wails as she grabs his hand. “What happened to you?” She presses kisses to his knuckles.
I jump in and recount the story of our father’s electrocution and fall, just the way Eli told it to me.
Lexi’s gaze goes narrow and she eyeballs my boss questioningly. I know exactly what she’s thinking. I feel the smile on my lips when I offer her the explanation she’s looking for. “Eli was there when it happened. His sneaky ass has been coming to Cowersville—behind my back—for I-don’t-even-know-how-long, helping Dad prepare the repair shop. If he hadn’t been there today, I don’t want to imagine what might have happened to our stubborn father.”
My sister’s eyes widen at Eli. She blinks. Then, she launches herself into his arms. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she sobs.
It takes him by surprise but after a few seconds, he awkwardly pats her back. “Um, you’re welcome.” When he extricates himself from Lexi’s hold, Cannon steps in and gives him a solid handshake. I see the look of mutual respect that passes between the brothers.
From the bed, Dad rolls his eyes. “I don’t understand why you’re all making a big deal about this. I’m as healthy as an ox, and I just can’t wait to get back to work. Another week or so, and we’ll be rolling out the Welcome mat.”
“About that,” Eli says, and I whip my head around to meet him. He’s been standing beside me, keeping a respectable distance but I just want his arms around me. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Mr. Robson, but I’ll be making arrangements to get a general contractor to finish up the shop repairs.” When he says that, a look passes between him and Cannon. The brothers nod at each other. “You can still roll out that Welcome mat in the near future, but you'll be taking it easy until then.” There’s finality in his tone. He leaves no room for argument.
Dad grunts from his bed and Mama claps in excitement.
Me?
I melt into a puddle of goo on the sticky tile floor.
This man may be my boss, but now he’s spending time with my family, being kind and generous to my parents.
Where is the angry, jaded man I met a few weeks ago? This one…he’s thoughtful, compassionate, heroic. It makes me all hot and tingly.
I slide my hand into his and give a squeeze. Silently, I’m listing out all the ways I’m going to thank him once I get him alone and naked again.
44
Eli
Does it smell right?” I ask as my mother sniffs the air.
She stares thoughtfully into the skillet. “I’d say we need a tiny bit more turmeric.”
Following her orders, I grab a spoon and the plastic bottle of the powdery vibrant yellow spice. “About this much?” I ask after I shake a healthy amount into the spoon.
“Yes.” Ma nods. “That should be enough.”
I dump the turmeric into the pot of sizzling onions and give it a little stir. She leans in and sniffs the rich fragrance then gives an approving hum. We toss in a bunch of other ingredients including some more spices, some chicken cubes, coconut milk and crushed tomatoes. The aroma fills the house and Ma grins contentedly.
“What next?” I ask anxiously.
She washes her hands and leans against the counter. “Now, we wait. We let it all simmer together for a while.”
Today, I
took a stab at a chicken curry recipe I found online. When things took a turn for the worse, I sent out an SOS call to my mom and she was here in a flash to help me rescue dinner.
“Better?” I ask when she sniffs the air again.
“I think so.” She twists her lips to the side. “The thing with chicken curry is, there’s a fifty percent chance that it will turn out edible and there’s a fifty percent chance that it’ll wipe you all out for the next three days with a wicked case of food poisoning. I guess we’ll have to watch and see.” At my terrified expression, she slaps me with a kitchen towel. “Just kidding. Lighten up.”
Jessa spent the past two days with her parents and I swear I’ve been going crazy without her. I’ve already gotten used to curling my body around hers at night, falling asleep with her nestled in my arms. And I didn’t like the feeling of the cold sheets against my skin the past few nights.
“Why the sudden interest in chicken curry?” Ma asks, her tone not all that innocent. Maternal instincts on point as always, she smells that something is up.
I shrug and try to act casual. “Just…uh…was in the mood for something spicy tonight.”
“Is ‘spicy’ code for something else? Booty, maybe?” my mother grins.
I choke on my own tongue. Did she really just say that?
My mother loves to put my brothers and me on the spot.
I could bullshit her but Ma is intuitive as hell. Plus, I wouldn’t mind a woman’s perspective on my plans for tonight. “I wanted to do something nice for Jessa,” I blurt out.
Ma’s eyebrow jerks up and she wears a happy little smile on her face. “Is that so?”
“Yeah.” I lick my lips nervously. “She’s been really good to Callie.” I hesitate. “And to me.” I shove my fingers through my hair. “So I just wanted to do something nice for her, too.” I give a little chuckle.
Mister Bossy (Bad Boys in Love Book 4) Page 22