I feel a tug on my jeans. Looking down, I see those big blue eyes again. She raises her arms to me. “Up, pease.”
I don’t care how big and bad you are, when an adorable little kid asks you to hold her, you hold her. I scoop her up and settle her on my arm. “Whatcha want to see, beautiful?”
She points at the pictures. “Pop?”
“Yeah. That looks like him, huh?”
She urges me to move to the other pictures on the wall. Some of bikes, some of animals, some of sunsets. Whoever takes these is amazing. She babbles absently about the pictures, pointing things out to me. I smile. I remember Belle at this age. She was always babbling about nothing.
“Emmy, there you are,” Beth says, coming down the hall. “I am so sorry, Cole. You don’t have to keep entertaining her. She usually isn’t like this with strangers.”
“Don’t worry about it. She’s fine. We were just looking at the pictures together.”
Beth holds her hands out. “Come on. Let’s go see Daddy.”
Emmy turns and wraps her little arms around my neck, laying her head on my shoulder. I smile and pat her on the back. “Don’t you want to go see your Daddy?” She picks up her head and shakes it. I look over at Beth, my sticky arm forgotten. “Honestly, she’s fine. I was headed back to the living room. She can hang with me if she wants.”
Beth’s eyes widen. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother. She is so tired, but won’t sit still because she’s afraid she’ll fall asleep.”
“She’s no bother at all,” I say, patting Emmy’s back. I remember holding Belle like this to get her to go to sleep. Worked like a charm.
Beth smiles. “As long as you’re sure.”
I nod and head toward the living room. Most everyone is outside. I can hear music and laughing coming from the patio. I make my way over to the recliner and slowly sink into it. After a few minutes, I feel Emmy’s body jerk as she starts to fall asleep. Soon, she’s out cold. I don’t want to make any sudden moves, fearful it will wake her. I get myself comfortable and start rocking slowly while flipping through the TV channels.
The only person I truly had a conversation with today was Beth. I said a few words to a few of the guys, but not a real conversation. I turn on Strike Bikes on The Discovery Channel and keep rocking, getting comfortable.
*
I have been in this same position for at least an hour, Emmy still sleeping in my arms. The episode I was watching on TV is over, a new one starting a little while ago. I rest my head back on the chair and close my eyes. Who knows how long I am going to be stuck like this.
I hear people moving around in the kitchen. Knowing they can’t see me because the chair is angled away from them, I strain to listen.
“I don’t know why you don’t give the new guy a chance. He’s hot as hell, a wet dream walking. Muscles, tattoos, a mechanic,” I hear J’s friend say.
I perk up, realizing they are talking about me. I slow the rocking of the chair so I can listen.
“Jules, please. I am not after a relationship. You, of all people, know what hell I went through with Justin. Plus, I have no idea if I can trust this guy yet.”
“Yes, J. I know the hell that cheating, controlling bastard put you through, but are you going to become a fucking nun? You are in your twenties. You need to have fun.”
“Bitch, I love you, but are you ever going to grow up?”
“Fuck no. I am going to have a blast for as long as I can. You never know when your moment will come. I am going to party my ass off until that moment happens. I don’t want to live life saying ‘what if’.”
I hear J mumble something, which I can’t make out, then they get silent. Jesus, whoever this Justin prick is sure did a number on her.
I slowly rock, keeping my eyes closed, not knowing if stopping completely will wake up Emmy.
“Oh, my god. J. Come here,” Jules whispers. “I think my uterus just perked up. Tell me this isn’t the fucking hottest thing you have ever seen. A guy sleeping with a baby in his arms. If this doesn’t make you want to have babies with this man right this second, we are not friends.”
“Shhh, don’t wake Em. Beth will kill you.”
I hear them walk to the patio door as they debate the best age to have babies. I shake my head. Women. I truly will never understand them.
*
I feel someone shaking my shoulder. I jump and move quickly, not knowing where I am or who is touching me. I almost drop Emmy to the floor in my haste. “Oh shit,” I say, pulling her tighter to me. I must have dozed off.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, kid. I apologize,” Darren says, his hands out in front of him.
“I must have dozed off. What time is it?” It know it has to be late, given the fact Emmy didn’t budge when I jumped, just snuggled closer to me. She must have been sleeping for a while.
“It’s after ten. They should all be ashamed of themselves for leaving you in here to babysit.”
“It’s fine. I volunteered. I’ll take her out to Beth, then head out. Thanks for dinner.”
Darren looks at me like he has more to say, but just nods. “See you Monday, kid.”
*
Walking into the shop Monday morning, I head for Darren’s office to find out what he wants me to start on. When I knock on his open door, he motions me in while he is on the phone. He points to the chair across the desk, then turns his back to me. With nothing else to do while he finishes, I look around his office. It is the complete opposite of his house. It’s a mess. Paperwork piled at all angles on his desk, a calendar hanging crooked on the wall. Smiling, I look closer, noticing it’s not even on the right month…and is three years old. On the shelf, I spot the same picture I saw Friday night on Darren’s wall of J as a little girl.
Darren spins the chair around and slams his fist on the desk. “Look, Glenn, I have been doing business with you for over twenty years. Shit’s just not adding up… No, goddammit. I don’t know where it went. Do you?… No, I’m not accusing you of stealing it, but someone fucking did…” He lets out a breath. “Yeah, I know. Call me with what you find out.”
He slams the receiver down and runs his hands over his head, adjusting his bandana. He looks up, seemingly just remembering I am sitting in the room. “Fuck,” he says, shaking his head. “Cole, whatever you overheard, you need to keep to yourself. You got me?”
“No problem,” I say. “Where do you need me to start today?”
Darren stands and looks around his office. He seems off his game. “Nan!” he yells.
“What?!” she yells back, not sounding like she is in the best of moods, either.
“Get Cole the keys and the paperwork on the plow.”
“They are already sitting on my desk.”
He turns and looks at me. I jump out of the chair. “I got it.” I walk out of his office and stop at Nan’s desk. She points to the stack of papers, the keys sitting on top. I nod my thanks, then head into the garage.
I wonder if the tension I felt in that office is a normal thing or because of what Darren was on the phone about? Whatever it was, I am glad to be out of there.
I walk behind the garage, seeing the plow sitting there. I match the license plate with the paperwork, then walk around it to verify the shape it’s in. At one of the first mechanic jobs I had, I didn’t know you were supposed to give the car a once-over before ever touching it. I was burned once. It won’t happen again, especially when I am trying to make a new start.
After I pull the plow into the bay and get out, I notice someone walking in my direction. I turn and unlock my toolbox, not paying much attention to him. Something about the guy doesn’t sit right with me, but I don’t want to be a dick. When he slaps me on the shoulder, I look over at him.
“Hey, man. Thanks for Friday night. Sometimes Em can really be a handful and I needed a break. Beth said she really took to you. Thanks for keeping an eye on her.”
So this must be this elusive Mark. I’m just ab
out to tell him she’s his fucking kid, regardless of the fact he needed a break, but I don’t get the chance because Todd walks over.
“Hey, Cole. Remember that oil pan we were talking about? What do you think?”
I look at him like he has three heads. What the hell is he talking about? What oil pan?
Mark slaps me on the back again before walking away. I tighten my grip on the wrench I’m holding and watch his back.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I ask Todd as he walks closer.
He laughs. “Man, I’ve been there. Mark can be a total dick. He couldn’t give a rat’s ass about Beth or Em. He doesn’t know how lucky he has it. She loves him and will do anything to keep him happy. She keeps thinking she can change him. Well, it’s been four years with no luck yet.”
“She deserves better. They both do.”
Walking back to the car he’s working on, he looks over his shoulder. “I hear that.”
*
I finally got a month of work under my belt. I think it’s gone well with no real issues, other than Mark being a dick and the tension between Darren and Nan still raging. It feels good to be back in the working world. I’m exhausted, but it’s a good thing.
Tonight’s another family dinner. Since I’ve started, I have been keeping my distance from J. She has issues with me. I get it. I’m not about to make it awkward for either one of us. I won’t say I don’t notice her every chance I get because I do. In those unguarded moments, when she’s not on the defensive, she has to be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. What I wouldn’t give for just one night with her, but I know better. No mixing work and pleasure…especially if that pleasure is my boss’ daughter.
Stifling a yawn, I put the paperwork and keys for a Ford F-150 on Nan’s desk.
“Hey, none of that. We still have dinner tonight.” She smiles, picking up the keys.
“I know. I know. I shouldn’t have gone to the gym so early. My butt is dragging.”
“Well, you’d better be there tonight, and no taking the easy way out by watching Em.” She winks at me.
“Yes, ma’am.” I smile. “I’ll catch you later. I’m going to try and grab a nap really quick before dinner.”
“Cole, come in here,” Darren yells from his office. He doesn’t even let me get through his doorway. “Listen, I need an engine picked up for a job. I can’t wait on the delivery.”
I sit in the chair across from him. “Okay. Where do you need me to go?”
“Georgia.”
I blink a couple times. “I’m sorry. Georgia?”
“Yeah, Atlanta. That going to be a problem?”
“Um, it might. I’m not supposed to leave the state.”
“I already called your PO. Officer Collins said as long as you check in daily, he doesn’t have a problem with it. You have been checking in regularly and not giving him any problems. He’s agreeing because it’s for work. You see any other issues?”
“I guess not.”
“Good. That’s what I like to hear. I am going to send J with you. It’s probably going to take a day or two and I hate to have only one person on such a long drive. I am going to need you to leave tonight. I’ll call J before she heads to the house to start dinner. Be here at five thirty. If anything changes, I’ll call you.”
“Okay,” I say, taking in all the information Darren’s throwing at me. I stand to head out of the office.
“Here.” He shoves an American Express card at me. I look at him, then the card. “It’s the company card. I’m not asking you to pick this up on your own dime. Charge everything to the card…room, food, gas, whatever. Grab the keys to the white company truck from Nan.”
“Thanks,” I say, heading out of the office.
Normally, I love a good road trip, but fuck. Days stuck in a truck with J? This is not going to end well.
Chapter Four
J
I only worked until noon today, deciding to take some time for myself and get a workout in before dinner. Forty-five minutes into my ninety-minute session on the elliptical, my phone rings. I usually let it go to voicemail, but this is the second time Pop has tried to call me in the last twenty minutes. I slow my speed to a walk and answer.
“Hello?” I say, out of breath.
“J-bird, I need a favor.”
“Sure, Pop.” I wipe my head with the towel I have hanging on the bars of the machine and bring the elliptical to a stop.
“This piece of shit truck needs a new engine. I can have it delivered, but it could take up to two weeks. If I go pick it up, I can have it in a couple days. The faster I get this done, the better.”
“You need me to watch the shop or something?”
“No. I need to be here to figure some things out. I need you to go pick this thing up for me.”
I love my father, but this is pushing it. He usually sends one of the younger mechanics for jobs like this. Why in the hell can’t one of them do it?
“Why can’t Mikey go?”
“He has a training course tomorrow, and I can’t afford to send Mark because he’s working on a city truck that has a deadline.”
I sigh in frustration, but all that seems to do is piss Pop off.
“Listen, J, you are going to pick up this engine for me. I don’t need to explain anything to you. Cole will be at the shop at five thirty tonight so you two can get an early start. Be ready.”
Before I have a chance to ask why the hell he is sending Cole with me, he hangs up. Perfect. I don’t even know where we are going. I try and regain my rhythm and momentum on the elliptical, but that isn’t happening. I hop off and head to the locker room.
*
As I walk into my apartment, I’m more pissed. It’s Friday afternoon. What if I had plans? Then that thought almost makes me laugh. I never have plans unless Jules drags me out. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy being social, but I don’t want to meet a guy at a bar. I learned my lesson with Justin. I thought I won the jackpot with that jackass. Boy, was I wrong. Sure, things started off great. He would take me out, brag about me to anyone who would listen, was proud to be with me. I loved the attention he gave me. Then things changed. He hated taking me anywhere, never took me around his friends. If I begged enough and we went out, we always ended up in a town or two away.
It took a long time for me to learn what kind of man he truly was. When I moved in with him, the “honeymoon” period was over and I saw his true colors.
I loved him, even with how controlling he was. It was just little things at first. Doll, I love your hair down better. So I’d wear my hair down. Don’t wear that to the gym. I don’t like how the guys look at you. So I wore baggie clothes. The first time I didn’t do what he wanted, he hit me. I could say it was unexpected, but that would be a lie. I saw all the signs. I knew that switch could easily be thrown. I flipped it and took the slap he delivered.
I always thought I was a strong woman. No man would smack me around and get away with it, blah, blah, blah. I was ashamed. Ashamed I let it happen, ashamed I wasn’t stronger, ashamed I was dumb enough to think I could change him.
About a year into our relationship, I walked into our living room and saw him with a blonde. At that moment, I knew I was in this “relationship”, if you could even call it that, alone. When he demanded I join them, my brain kicked in. I dealt with all the slaps, pushes, bruises, but seeing him getting his dick sucked by someone else finally gave me the guts I needed to get away from this man. I pushed my family and friends away for some cheating, controlling, abusive bastard.
After I kicked out Justin, I found out he had been seeing other people throughout our relationship. He was expecting his second child, which surprised the hell out of me…seeing as I didn’t even know about the first one. He left the apartment willingly since I paid all the bills and bought all the food.
I felt like such a failure. Everyone else saw what a dick he was, but I didn’t, even though the evidence was right in my face. Jules hated him, making no att
empt to hide it. For months, she told me he was up to something. I refused to believe her. Pop hated him with a passion and thought he wasn’t good enough for me. Pop confronted me in the beginning, then said he’d never say another word about it. I could tell how happy he was when I told him I kicked Justin out, though. Even the boys in the shop wanted to kick his ass. They still don’t know the whole story. I always had an excuse for the visible marks. Jules is the only one I told everything to because I knew she’d never tell. I was embarrassed. I was hurt. I fell for the game. In my quest to be loved, I was made a fool of.
Trust in Us (Forbidden Love Book 1) Page 3