by Allie Kay
“Jack, I’m so sorry. What Mateo meant to say was we will be neighbors.”
“I figured.” I grinned down at her. “My mouth tends to get me in trouble sometimes too. I tend to pop off the first thought that comes to mind so don’t even worry about it.”
She jerked her hand away from her son and wiped it on her thigh. “Ugh. What have I told you? No licking people!”
Mateo spun away from us, arms out at his sides, spinning, spinning until I felt a little dizzy just from watching him.
I choked back a laugh and when our eyes met, I winked at Joy. “You sure about that one?”
“Yes.” Her cheeks flushed and the pink spread from her cheeks to below the collar of her sweater. Just how far down did that blush go?
She’d never been licked by the right person; I’d bet my left nut on it. I took a step closer and lowered my voice. “I’m gonna take that as a challenge.”
Leaves crunched under the realtor’s feet as she stomped up beside us, putting an end to my flirting. She glared at me for a moment, and then turned to Joy and said, “I certainly hope you know what you are doing. When this doesn’t work out for you, I do hope you will choose another agency to help you with your ridiculous search needs.”
Anger rose in me at her words. Who the hell did this bitch think she was? “Hey, there’s no need for that. I do believe you get paid by helping people find a place. You helped her find a place, so you work for her, not the other way around. You need to calm yourself, lady. Do some yoga or meditate. Something.”
“Hmmph.” She crunched through the leaves, kicking one of my piles into the air and cursing when her high-heeled shoe followed the leaves through the air. Limping, she hurried over to grab her shoe before getting into her car and spinning gravel out of the driveway.
When the rental contract on the unit expired, I would be looking for another realtor. I didn’t want to be connected to her, even peripherally. Fucking bitch didn’t know how to treat a customer.
“You know, I don’t think that old”— Joy cleared her throat, interrupting me, with a pointed glance at her son— “witch likes me very much.”
She arched her brow. “Was witch what you were going to say?”
“You’ll never know.” I grinned at her. “Hey, little man, I do believe your mama said you could jump in the leaves after you looked at the house. Guess what? It’s after.”
I walked over to the little boy and swooped him up in my arms. I spun with the giggling child a few times and dropped him gently in the largest leaf pile. In the fun of playing with Mateo, I almost missed the tenseness radiating off Joy. Almost. She watched my every step, her muscles poised to attack over her child.
There was not a single doubt in my mind that she’d die to protect that little boy. She stood at the ready, more than willing to take me on, despite me having at least seventy-five pounds on her. Remembering the bruises I’d seen on her the day we’d first met, I wondered how many times she’d taken on a bigger opponent in defense of her kid.
Mateo looked up at me, leaves surrounding his slight frame, the innocent happiness only a child could pull off filling his eyes. He held his arms out, trusting me to pick him up once more. “Again, Mr. Jack. Throw me again.”
How could I resist such a sweet plea? I scooped the little guy up and tossed him into the pile again, making sure to move over slightly and keep plenty of leaves beneath him. I didn’t want to hurt the kid, after all. That would negatively impact my chances with Joy.
Chances with Joy… What the hell was I thinking? Despite thinking of Joy differently than most moms, a relationship with a single mom could get messy fast. And if my suspicions were correct, her ex was an asshat, so there’d probably be a lot of drama. If that bastard showed up here, it could get violent.
Was she worth going back to prison over?
Hell, I didn’t even know if she was single. That was all just an assumption on my part. But I probably would go back to prison if that guy moved in and hurt her or Mateo. I already knew I wouldn’t let them be hurt if I could stop it.
Mateo giggled and pulled me back to the present. I smiled as I watched Joy stuff crisp orange and red leaves down inside the collar of Mateo’s shirt. The boy squirmed and made a half-hearted effort to get away.
When Mateo noticed me watching, he held his hands up and cried out, “Help me, Mr. Jack. Save me from Mama and the scratchy leaves.”
I bent down and scooped up all the leaves that I could hold. I carried them over and held them over Joy and Mateo’s heads. Color rained down over them, coppery orange and crisp red, tangling in Joy’s blonde locks and sticking to her sweater.
“Mr. Jack, that’s not what I meaned!” Mateo scrambled away from his mother to stand in front of me where he stomped one little sneaker-clad foot.
“Meant, Mateo. That’s not what you meant,” Joy corrected, frantically trying to brush the leaves from her hair.
“Got her to let you go, didn’t it?” I pushed Mateo over into the undisturbed pile behind him. I laughed at the cloud of leaves puffing up around my tiny, giggling target. “If you didn’t want me to get her to let you go, what did you mean?”
“You’s supposed to… put leaves down … her shirt likes she’s doing to me, silly,” Mateo finally managed to gasp out between giggles.
“Oh.” That was an interesting thought. My gaze met Joy’s and that sweet blush colored her cheeks once more. Really, I was going to have to find out just how far that blush went. Did it stop at just beyond the edge of that sweater? Go down her entire chest? I took a deep breath. Damn. Trying to keep my thoughts from getting too x-rated, I bent over and grabbed a handful of leaves.
“Jack.” She took a step back, but the protest didn’t reach her eyes.
No, there was mischief in her gaze. And if I wasn’t mistaken, a hint of longing. Her lips curled up and I imagined what they’d feel like wrapped around my—Damn those lust-filled thoughts that popped into my mind again. There was a kid present. Couldn’t be thinking about that. I stepped closer and Joy held her ground.
She blushed deeper as she shook her head at me. “You wouldn’t…”
“Get her, Mr. Jack,” Mateo urged.
I took another step closer. The briefest moment of fear flashed in her eyes and I dropped most of the leaves. Keeping just one, I brushed it over the uncovered skin at her throat. I trailed it down to the top of the luscious curves tempting my hands, begging to be held. Carefully, I let the orange leaf drop into her cleavage without even a graze of my finger against her undoubtedly soft skin.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, Joy. I’m not in the habit of putting my hands inside the shirts of women I just met.”
She nodded. When she squared her shoulders back and met my gaze with an unexpected boldness, the x-rated thoughts returned. I dropped my voice to a low whisper that Mateo couldn’t hear and added, “When I have my hands inside your shirt, it will be because you want it as much as I do. And you damn well will trust me enough to know I’d never hurt you like your asshat ex did.”
6
Joy
My heart raced at the steely determination in Jack’s statement. The heat burning in his eyes when our eyes met made me momentarily doubt the choice to move here. Emotionally, mentally, legally, I was in no position to start a relationship with someone new.
But the stubble on his strong jaw begged for me to nibble at it, to savor the texture against my lips. And his broad, well-muscled shoulders were just meant for a woman to hold on to. The protective type, Jack would always make his woman feel safe. Unlike Ricky.
Wait.
He’d said my ex was an asshat. How did he know about Ricky? My muscles tensed, eyes darting to Mateo and the car. Should I run? Was it safe for us to stay here?
I took a step back and looked at Jack closely. He did look vaguely familiar. If he knew Ricky, if he told him where to find me… Where to find Mateo… I looked him up and down, noting the way he raised one dark, perfect brow at the scr
utiny.
“How do you know my ex wasn’t a good guy? That I’m not a widow grieving the most wonderful man to ever exist.” I sucked in a sharp breath. My exhale refused to release, holding in anticipation, in fear of his reply. I tried my best to ignore the ice running down my spine.
In movies, days that turn out dangerous are usually overcast with ominous clouds hanging low, the threat of rain just off-screen. In real life though, I had found that danger lurked not only in the dreary days, but in bright sunlight as well. The sun had never protected me like it had the beautiful actresses, and if Jack wanted to hurt me, wanted to tell Ricky where I was, it wouldn’t protect me today either.
Jack leaned down a bit so that his eyes were even with mine. With a calm, steady voice, he answered, “Fear in your eyes when I stepped closer. Anxious way you watched my every move with your kid. It was more than being cautious about someone you just met.”
“That obvious?” I looked away.
“Yeah, a little bit. But you are safe here. You can trust me.”
Nodding, I released the large breath that by now threatened to choke me. How long would it take for me to feel safe? To stop questioning the motives of every person I met.
“Mama, can we jumps in the leaves again? Donkey and me’s having fun.” Mateo tugged at my hand.
I looked down at his sweet face, eager to continue his play. And while deep down I knew I shouldn’t compare Ricky to Jack, I couldn’t help but do so. Ricky would have never let Mateo jump in leaves... Unless he used it as a cover for a new bruise. Jack not only didn’t mind, he seemed to be enjoying the play almost as much as Mateo.
Looking at my son’s hopeful face, I found I couldn’t deny him. Jack would have to be the one to put the end to the play. I just couldn’t. Mateo asked for so little. My voice creaked the slightest bit when I said, “Ask Mr. Jack.”
Jack reached out and took my hand, giving it a small squeeze. As if he knew I needed him to be the adult, to be the bad guy, when it came to the leaves.
He crouched down to Mateo’s level. “Okay, you twisted my arm. A few more jumps, then you have to help me rake them up. Deal?” He stuck his right hand out for Mateo to shake.
Mateo scuffed the toe of his sneaker into the grass, digging a little divot. Uncertainty filled his blue eyes and I ached to scoop him into my arms to reassure him that nothing bad would happen to him again. “What if I can’t do a good job? I’ve never rake leaves before.”
Jack shrugged. “Well, today’s as good a day as any to learn, right?”
“Yeah...” Mateo said slowly. “But you won’t spank me if I don’t do it right? Cause sometimes I try and I can’t do things right. And I don’t like getting spanked.”
The worry in my baby’s voice made my heart hurt. Ricky would have done more than spank Mateo for messing up his leaf piles. He would have whooped him, probably with the belt, maybe even used his fists. And the grass stain I could see on the knee of his jeans would have gotten us both a tight slap.
Jack sighed, rubbing his left hand over his face. “Buddy, I promise you I will not spank you. Ever.”
Mateo looked up at me in question before cautiously putting his tiny hand in Jack’s large one. “Okay. I’ll help you.”
My heart froze in my chest when Jack picked Mateo up. It started beating again when Mateo squealed with pure joy as Jack spun in a circle with him and tossed him into the leaves. I swallowed down the fear and tried my best to trust. So far, Jack had been true to his word. He’d been gentle with Mateo, careful even as they’d played roughly in the leaves. He’d given no reason for me to respond as I was, but years of experience had left me with shaky nerves and an untrusting nature.
“A few more jumps first. That was the deal.” Jack turned back to me. His eyes sparkled with what could only be described as trouble. “Now, what am I going to do about you?”
My heart raced again, but not with fear, when he turned that mischievous grin on me. I backpedaled as he stepped toward me. “Leave me out of this. Your deal was with Mateo.”
“Yeah, deal was he had to help me and I wouldn’t spank him.”
The emphasis on the word him made my breath catch. Was he flirting with me? I almost thought he was, but then why would a guy who looked like him want a broke single mom with nothing to offer? Ricky had told me so many times that I was a waste of air. So, surely Jack wasn’t flirting.
“You better run,” he said with a laugh. He moved toward me quickly and, instinctively, I ran. His longer stride allowed him to catch me quickly. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me against his chest and spun with me like he had Mateo.
A high-pitch squeak escaped me as he flopped backward into the biggest pile of leaves with me still in his arms. Air whooshed from my lungs when I jolted into his hard chest. I sucked in a deep breath and instead of a big exhale, a string of giggles came out. I hadn’t giggled like that in years.
His chest rumbled and shook with laughter beneath me. “I told you to run.”
With hands planted on his firm pecs, I pushed myself up so that I could see his face. “I did. I can’t help it if my legs are like half the length of yours.”
He brushed my hair back and let his warm hand linger on my neck. “Your legs are pretty damn perfect.” Jack’s gaze focused on my lips. He leaned up slightly and I thought he might kiss me. He was flirting with me. I had no clue why, but he was. My breath hitched when his eyes closed. Mine fluttered shut and I waited for his lips to touch mine.
Crunchy, scratchy leaves got shoved into the collar of my sweater. Stems poked and prickled beneath the thin wool. I slapped my hand against his chest and Jack fell back to the ground, clutching his side as he laughed.
He lay in the leaves, laughing, the bright orange and reds creating a contrasting frame for his sun-bronzed skin. He still held me against his wonderfully hard chest with one strong hand.
Mateo came over laughing and cheering. “Good job, Mr. Jack. High five!” He held his little hand up for Jack to slap it.
I slid off Jack’s prone body. I held the bottom of my sweater out and shook, trying to dislodge the broken bits of leaf clinging to my skin. I had been certain he was flirting, but I’d hardly call leaves down my shirt a good move.
“Need some help?” Jack asked from his relaxed position next to me.
I poked his side. “You’ve done enough, thanks.”
He grinned. “I guess we better get started on the cleanup then. Wanna get some lunch with me after?”
I looked at Mateo who was throwing leaves over his head, ignoring us entirely. As much as I wanted to say yes, with how much Jack turned me on, it was best I put a bit of distance between us. I was too confused right now, and I needed to be sure I was ready for a relationship—and I knew I wasn’t yet—before I let us move beyond neighbors and some light-hearted flirting.
“I can’t. I need to get our stuff from the motel and I need to find a furniture store that can deliver. We have very little and I need to get on that quickly. I really don’t want to stay another night at the Garden Falls Budget Motel.”
Jack sat up, his much larger frame invading my personal bubble. “I get that. Stayed a few nights on those lumpy beds myself when I first came to town. Raincheck then?”
I sighed. “I’d like that, but—”
“Why’s there gotta be a but? I’m single. You’re single. There’s clearly chemistry.” He plucked a leaf out of my hair and twirled it in his fingers.
I sighed again. “Jack... I literally just got out of a bad relationship. I’m not looking for anything, in any way, other than a friendly neighbor and maybe a friend.”
“Got it.” He stood up and walked stiffly to the shed. From his posture, I thought I must have hurt his feelings, but I had to be honest, not only with him, but myself as well. And I knew I wasn’t ready to date.
Jack came back a moment later with another rake and spent the next few minutes showing Mateo how to use it. And while he shot me a few sometimes longing, somet
imes confused glances, he thankfully didn’t push.
My chest tightened as I watched Mateo puff up with pride when he raked the first little pile of leaves. Jack encouraged him and with each word of praise, Mateo’s shoulders slid back and his chin raised another notch. I sat in the leaves watching while Mateo and Jack bagged up the leaves Jack had raked earlier along with what Mateo managed to rake up.
Memories overwhelmed me. This time last year, I was on the other end of the state with a black eye. Mateo had wanted to go trick or treating and I’d made the mistake of asking if Ricky thought it would be okay. I hadn’t been able to take Mateo trick or treating this year either since we’d been on the run.
Mateo laughed as Jack rolled the big bag of leaves after him. If only I could have met Jack once I was ready to date again. It would be unfair to ask him to wait when I didn’t know how long that might take. When I might have to move on if Ricky found us again.
If only...
7
Jack
I walked in to Garden and took a seat at the bar. I slapped a hand down hard on the gleaming hardwood and called out loud enough to be heard over the music, “Hey, bartender. Gimme a drink already. How long you gonna make a fella wait?”
My best friend, and boss, looked up from the paperback in his hand and flipped me off before strolling over. “The fuck you doing here, asshole? Thought you needed the day off?”
“Yeah. I did. Do. Hell, I don’t know. Can I get a drink?”
Sean grunted and poured me a Dr. Pepper. He slid the icy mug across the bar to me. Leaning back against the wall, Sean turned on the scrutiny. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t have to. My best friend knew me well enough to know that I’d give in and spill my guts entirely if he was patient enough. It only took a moment of the questioning gaze before I spoke.
“How long did it take for you to know Talia was the one?”