by Jacie Floyd
“Who are you?” Reverend Watkins thundered. “What are you doing here? This is no place for you.”
But Mrs. Watkins stood off to the side, with one hand covering her mouth, the other covering her heart, and her eyes filled with tears.
“Hush, Jeremiah,” she said, as all the on-lookers gasped. Mrs. Watkins had never spoke against her husband in public before. She took one slow step after another toward the child. “I’m Noreen Watkins. What’s your name?”
Adam looked uncertainly toward Liam. “Can I tell her? You told me not to speak to strangers.”
“You can tell her.” He was here now to take care of it, if the situation didn’t work out well. Jillian nudged him forward.
Jimbo in his uniform appeared on the corner with one of his deputies and the mayor. They might be needed before the encounter was done.
“In fact, Mrs. Watkins, allow me to introduce you to your grandson, Adam Bowman.”
While the Reverend Watkins resumed his rant, Mrs. Watkins dropped to her knees in front of Adam, buried her face in his neck, and wrapped her arms around him. “At last,” she whispered. “I’ve prayed for this day. Thank you, God.”
“How dare you bring this boy to Sunnyside,” the Reverend thundered. “In the company of this woman.” He turned on Jillian and the crowd started. “The whole town knows you’re unworthy to be here.”
As Liam’s concern was for Adam, he stepped over to his nephew and pulled him out of Mrs. Watkins arms. “Adam has as much right to be here as anyone. If your wife wants to meet and talk to him, I’ll make arrangements for that, but I won’t allow you to harass him, now or later.”
“You’re at fault here, not I.” The Reverend thumped Liam in the chest. “You are the fornicator, the thief, and the purveyor of flesh. Your kind is not welcome in this town.”
Seething, Liam was pondering the wisdom of punching the Reverend’s sanctimonious lights out when Mick and Jimbo stepped between them.
“You’re overstepping, Reverend,” Mick said. “’Judge not, lest ye be judged,’ as the good book says. If you have a complaint, go with Jimbo now and file it. If you don’t, then go about your business and let these volunteers get back to work.”
“You’re the one out of line, Mayor. You know we don’t want people like Liam Bowman living in this town.”
“I don’t get to make that decision, but in my opinion, Liam is as welcome as any of the rest of us sinners.”
“More so than some.” Pastor Bob, the minister from the Presbyterian church, strolled forward with a gentle smile. “Liam’s been invaluable this morning, assembling the stable for the nativity scene. While he’s not one of our regular church-going members, his grandparents were, and I’m sure the Lord is smiling over Liam’s efforts, as am I. Are you here to help us do our work, Jeremiah?”
“Not if he is.” He pointed his finger like the wrath of God at Liam.
“Then so be it.” Pastor Bob held up his hand in benediction. “May God be with you.”
The growing group of onlookers held their breath to see if the Reverend would argue further or acquiesce. “Come on, Noreen. We’re leaving.”
His wife stood straight and squared her shoulders. “I’m staying.”
His eyes shot venomous daggers, but he turned on his heel. “That’s a poor choice, but we’ll discuss it at home.”
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, folks.” With a clap of his hand, Pastor Bob dispersed the gawkers.
The tension seeped out of Liam’s shoulders, he hugged Jillian and Adam to him, and he pumped Doc’s hand in gratitude for the help. He herded Jillian and Adam to the church steps for a little privacy. Noreen tagged along. “Some scene. You okay, buddy?”
Adam stared wide-eyed after the old man. “Holy shit. Was that my grandfather?”
Liam laughed, but Jillian poked him in the shoulder. “Language, young man, but yes. That was your mother’s father.”
He made an exaggerated grimace. “No wonder she left.”
“Yes.” Noreen nodded solemnly. “I should never have let that happen, but he’s intractable when he’s made up his mind about wrong and right. He would never have left her in peace after she got pregnant. And he’s never forgiven your father, as you could see.”
Adam’s face screwed up with confusion. “He didn’t mention my father, but he’s really ticked off at Uncle Liam.”
“Uncle Liam?” Now it was Noreen who looked confused. “He calls you Uncle Liam? Why?”
“My brother Caleb was Adam’s father.”
She nodded slowly. “I should have known. Your brother has died, and you’ve stayed in touch with his son. That’s admirable.”
“He’s visiting me here for a few weeks.”
“And… his mother? Where is my daughter?”
“She’s on a mission in Guatemala. She’s a pediatric nurse.”
Tears misted her eyes. “That’s very good. Will she see me? Can I visit with my grandson?”
“I can’t speak for her, but I believe if you ask so see her, she’ll agree.”
“Thank you.” She took Liam’s hand and shook it, vigorously, finally letting it go, then letting her gaze bounce back and forth between Liam and Jillian. “And you two are still together?”
“Not together, but friends…” Jillian said, “And we’re working on it.”
The admission was a few degrees more positive than an outright denial, and Liam’s heart expanded a few sizes. “And speaking of work, we’ve still got a lot to do here today before the Santa Walk gets under way. Let’s get back to it.”
“Uhm, Liam?” Noreen stood at the bottom of the steps clutching her handbag. “Can we set up a time for me to get to know my grandson?”
“He’s going home tomorrow, and we’re committed to the Santa Walk today, so maybe this evening? Dinner, or after dinner? Where would you like to meet?”
“God, my feet hurt.” In a meeting room at the City Administration building, Jillian and Liam waited for people to arrive for an informal review of the Santa Walk committee. She toed off her shoes off and plopped her feet in Liam’s lap. “I’m so out of shape, I’d have a hard time going back to work if I had to.”
Pressing his thumbs into the soles of her feet, he worked a kind of magic that almost made her purr. “You should practice yoga to keep your core, back, and legs in shape for standing your work requires. I could help with that while you’re here.”
“I’ll think about it. Maybe I can commit to something starting Monday.”
As members of the committee arrived, Jillian moved her feet to the floor and took a tally of those present. Barb, Myrna, Lenore, Claire, and the mayor, and George Mason, the local reporter. He’d been great about promoting the Santa Walk with his contacts at the other local papers.
“So, how did we do?” Mick asked, taking a seat at the head of the table. “Who wants to go first? Jillian?”
George raised his hand. “Just so everyone knows, I’m recording this meeting. Pretend I’m not here and proceed.”
“My snowflake booth was busy all day. And Tyreen’s snowman pancakes were selling like crazy during breakfast. I’ll donate the money I made on the snowflakes to the town for the Cocoa and Carols program on Christmas Eve.”
“The weather co-operated, and the foot traffic was brisk,” Barb said. “My fingers are crossed for better than average earnings.”
“It’s the best Santa Walk we’ve had in years,” Myrna Hooper said with more enthusiasm than Jillian expected at the end of a long day. “We had a ton of visitors for the Candy Cane Trail in the library.”
“Everyone raved about the new food choices, and some of us ran out before eight o’clock,” Lenore reported. “We’ll have to do better with supplies for next year, but that’s a good problem to have. If we added an evening event, we could get visitors to stick around longer.”
“How’d Bennie’s screen-print do?” Jillian asked Myrna.
“Mega success. We sold out of the prints, the bags, the or
naments, and we took orders for more. I’m going to recommend that this be an official product of the walk, and next year, we’ll be prepared to offer more items like coffee cups and coloring books. Bennie was tickled about the turnout all day long.”
Jillian made a note to get over to Bennie’s workshop and see what kind of artwork he was producing. If the quality on the other pieces matched his Santa Walk designs, it might be worthwhile to promote him and fund a studio for him out at the highway intersections. His talent could turn into a real asset for Sunnyside.
“Excellent. What else” Mick asked. “What were the hits and misses?”
“The nativity scene and petting zoo were a hit,” Liam said.
“Is that what you’d call it?” George looked up with a smirk. “I heard there was almost an explosion with you and the Watkins before the opening this morning.”
A muscle twitched in Liam’s jaw. “No blood was shed.”
“So that little kid you’ve been dragging around all week is Leah Watkins child?” the reporter asked. “And you’re not the father?”
People were bound to be curious, but Jillian tensed beside Liam, uncertain how he’d handle the question.
“Since we seem to be the talk of town, I’ll confirm, off the record, that Leah’s son Adam is my nephew.” He glared at George. “And I better not see a word about that in the paper.”
The reporter held up his hands in surrender. “I never print gossip—unless it has a news-related slant.”
“If this was ever news, it’s a decade old now,” Liam said. “Don’t print it.”
“What else do we have to discuss?” Jillian wanted to move on and prevent the two men from a confrontation they might regret.
Claire cleared her throat and looked up from a notebook. “I made a circuit of the local merchants. Some of the giveaways were doing better than others, as we expected. Marty’s bakery was giving away adorable and delicious iced sugar cookies. And selling her specialty cookies and candies as fast as she could put them out. Men enjoyed buying the pink hammer tied with a bow, but I don’t know how thrilled the ladies will be to get that in their stocking on Christmas morning.”
“How were his follow-up sales?”
“Amazing! He had coordinating tools in the same set, and he sold more of them today than he had in the past year.”
“That’s what I like to hear!” the mayor said. “I don’t want to keep us here too late, but I appreciate this preliminary report. I understand the town has made a profit and so have many of the merchants. Thanks to everyone for your hard work, and to Jillian for encouraging us with her new ideas.”
Liam started a round of applause and the others joined in. She heaved a sigh of relief that they’d had more than a little success, and no one was trying to run her out of town just yet. Several of the committee members were congratulating her on her minor accomplishment when Liam pulled her aside.
“I have to take Adam back to my place before the babysitter gets there. Can you come out to the club later?”
“I’ll try.” She’d been so busy, it had been days since they’d had any alone time. But she was beat after working from eight AM to eight PM at the Santa Walk. Maybe she could just stop by for a little while. Going out to see him didn’t mean they had to go at it like sex-crazed animals all night. But who was she kidding? They probably would. “What time?”
“Whenever you want. I’ll leave my door unlocked. Text me when you get there.” The smoldering gaze he sent her managed to melt away some of her exhaustion. “Are you set up with Maddie to visit her tomorrow? If you’re still planning to ride along, I’m leaving after Tyrell’s brunch to take Adam to St. Louis.”
“She says she’s up for company, if you’re willing to take me to her house and pick me back up.”
“Not out of my way, at all. I’ll be happy to see her, too.”
“Okay, we’ll make plans later.”
He helped her gather her things, but with the committee and the reporter looking on, they couldn’t share anything more intimate that a casual hug. “See you later,” he said, with a wave as he hurried off.
She could hardly wait.
Jillian texted him from his room above The Kitty Kat. With his sophisticated security cameras, she had expected him to get there before her. It looked like he’d been there but left. His desk chair was pulled out, and his laptop was on.
Exhausted, she sat down in his chair to remove her shoes and socks. Accidentally nudging his laptop, it flared to life. She wasn’t normally a snoop, but Liam was so closed off about his life, she often wondered if he did anything besides work from dawn to dark. She shouldn’t look, but she did. The open file was a website for online stock trading company.
Since he claimed to have no interest in stocks any longer, it was odd that his laptop indicated otherwise. Which made sense. He’d made a living trading stocks for years. It must be hard to give that up cold turkey. And illegalities aside, he’d been good at it. She wished she had a knack for investing, but she always led with her heart instead of her head. She could use some guidance in getting some extra income.
Lance would help her if she asked, but his track record for his own portfolio was only so-so. Liam was the superior choice between the two, when it came to financial investments anyway.
The door opened, and he stepped into the room. “Thank God, you’re here.” He pulled her into his arms, holding her for a moment, pressing his nose against her neck, and breathing in her scent. “How long’s it been? I don’t think I could’ve gone another moment without touching you, kissing you.” He followed the words with actions.
His mouth captured hers in a scorching kiss that sizzled from her head down to her toes. She clung to him and he carried her to his bed. Stripping her clothes off took barely a second, but she had more difficulty with his due to her wrapped hands. Impatiently, he pushed her hands aside and took over. He removed his belt with a snap, he unfastened his jeans and pulled his shirt over his head, naked in ten seconds flat.
Stretching out beside her, he swept his hands along her body, leaving trails of heat along the way. “I’ve had a boner for half an hour waiting for you. I had to stay behind the bar to keep from poking people with it.”
“Show me,” she said. “Show me how much you missed me, and I’ll show you I missed you more.”
“There’s no possible measurement for missing me more than I missed you. The way I missed you is infinite, like pi.” He kissed her on her smile. “When other people recite pi, they’re just rounding down. No one has ever gotten as far into the equation as I missed you.”
“You’re romancing me with math? That might be impressive in some circles, but it’s entirely unnecessary in mine. You had me at ‘thank God.’ Actions speak louder than words, you know.”
He grabbed a condom, suited up, and rolled on top of her. Holding her still, he pressed his forehead to hers. “What does this action say? Does it say I missed you? Does it say I think about you night and day? Does it say I can’t tolerate being away from you for two hours, let alone two days?”
“I’m not sure it’s saying all that. I need more proof.”
“Here’s your proof.” He slid inside her and breathed a heavy sigh of satisfaction. “That’s better. Hang on, or I might lose you.”
He pumped his hips, and she matched the movement. There was so much more she wanted to do, but her bandaged hands limited her. But she didn’t need anything more than the constant friction, the awareness, the heat. The longing. She went up and up, and finally shattered at the top, her orgasm exploding with a magical glow. A lightshow of epic proportions. She screamed Liam’s name, but he was right there with her. As he reached his own climax, he held on tight. “I’ve got you,” he said into her ear. “I’ve got you.”
And he did. So true. So heartbreakingly true. How could this end with anything but heartbreak for one or both of them?
Liam’s heart pounded, and his chest heaved. The wonder that was Jillian surrounded him and
all was right with the world. For the moment. Her being here—at The Kitty Kat Club—with him like this—in his bed—was a dream he hadn’t believed would ever come true again. They were still in the ‘thinking’ stage. No guarantees. But for now, she was here. He’d savor the moment. Except he was probably smothering her. Squashing her.
He slid onto his side and slipped out of the bed on his way to the bathroom. She snuggled under the sheets and sighed. The glow of his laptop screen on his desk drew his attention. Pulling back the covers, he froze, remembering what he’d been looking at before he got called down to the club. Had he closed the trading app?
It wasn’t like his day trading was a secret, but he didn’t want her to know about it. He didn’t want anyone to know about it. It might be misconstrued. It might be… suspicious. He had every legal right, he knew that, but it was more the perception of what he could be doing that had him keeping the activity to himself.
It was evident right away that he had indeed left the computer on, the app up, and his account open. What in the world of holy hell was he thinking? Behaving like a shit-for-brains schoolboy who didn’t understand privacy issues. Had she seen it? She’d been sitting at his desk when he came in. He pushed his hands through his hair and clicked out of the program.
But when he turned back to the bed, Jillian was watching him. “What?” he asked and even he could hear the defensiveness in his voice.
“Have you been trading stocks?” she asked.
“No.” He’d softened his tone, but the single word cut through the room.
She didn’t dignify it with a response, simply pulling the sheet over her shoulder and turning to her other side.
“I follow a few stocks. Invest the minimum when the time is right. Sell when they go over or under certain parameters. It’s like a game.”
“Sounds like trading in the stock market to me.”
“Okay, so that’s what it is. But it’s allowed in my plea agreement. I do it just for me. Small amounts. Just to keep my hand in and my interest up.”
She shrugged. “You don’t have to justify your actions to me, Liam. I think it’s great.”