Mad About Moon

by Melissa Foster

  She closed her eyes for a second, as she’d done before, inhaling deeply. When she opened her eyes, some of the irritation he thought he’d felt dissipated.

  “I’m sorry, Moon. I have a lot on my mind. I’ve only just spoken to Sarah, and I want to work on that. So maybe I will check out opportunities around the Harbor. But I can’t do anything until Hail’s back in school. He goes back next Wednesday.”

  That sounded much better than get lost. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll leave my number at the front desk in case you need anything, and I’ll swing by and check on you again soon.” He started walking toward the entrance, but he felt her eyes on him and glanced over his shoulder.

  She hadn’t moved. Her lips curled up, and she lifted her hand, wiggling her fingers in a tentative wave that made him want to stay.

  “Thanks for letting me hang out with you and Hail today,” he said. “Good luck getting him clean.”

  “Good luck getting your jacket clean,” she called after him.

  He noticed frosting smeared across the black leather. It’d been a damn good day, and with any luck they’d have plenty more.

  Chapter Three

  JOSIE SAT WITH her eyes glued to the Dark Knights’ website Thursday morning. She’d been scouring the site since Tracey came back from her orientation meeting at Whiskey Bro’s yesterday afternoon raving about the Whiskeys and the Dark Knights. She’d seen several pictures of Jed. There was one of him straddling a shiny black motorcycle, looking rugged and edgy, and a candid photo of him caught laughing with a beer in one hand, his other hand in the pocket of his low-riding jeans. In some pictures he wore a softer expression, and she studied those with curiosity, reading the captions and wondering about the relationships he had with these people. Like the picture of him talking with Red Whiskey, the wife of the president of the Dark Knights, and one with his sister, Crystal, who she was surprised had jet-black hair. And then there was a picture of him and two brothers named Quincy and Truman Gritt. In those pictures Jed resembled the mischievous twenty-three-year-old tough guy she’d met at that keg party all those years ago. He’d grown into an even more beautiful, thoughtful man than she could have ever imagined. Seeing him with Hail Tuesday morning had made her feel good all over, and that brought a smattering of guilt. She hadn’t been attracted to anyone since Brian.

  She clicked on the articles page, rereading one she’d seen earlier, which had brought her to tears, and she’d had to navigate back to Jed’s pictures to try to return to a happier mind-set. She forced herself to read the whole article, which detailed a rally and fundraiser the motorcycle club had held to help pay for Sarah’s and Scotty’s medical expenses after they were in the accident last summer. Sarah’s fear-stricken voice came back to her, followed by the gut-wrenching, heart-stopping wave of panic that had consumed Josie when she’d seen her in the hospital.

  Fresh tears filled her eyes as she forced herself to examine the pictures of Scotty in a wheelchair with pins in one leg, the other casted, and Sarah standing beside him, pregnant and smiling with her baby girl in her arms. Bones was by her side, holding Bradley. Guilt surrounded Josie like a winter shawl, stifling and weighty. She touched the monitor, wishing she hadn’t run from the hospital, or run later, when she’d seen Sarah at the shelter.

  Forgiveness, she reminded herself.

  Brian used to tell her that everyone did things they weren’t proud of, but while most people thought it was the forgiveness of others that mattered most, he believed it was forgiving oneself for their shortcomings that would make a difference in more than just their own future, but the future of others. She needed to remember that now more than ever. If she could forgive herself enough for not taking Christmas night one step further with Sarah and Scotty, and make the effort now, then maybe Hail could finally have an extended family. It had been just her, Brian, and Hail for so many years, she’d almost forgotten how it felt to have siblings. But now she longed for their connection.

  “Still lusting over those pictures of Jed?” Tracey slid into the chair beside her.

  “No,” she said, glad she’d already moved off that screen.

  She’d had a lot of time to think about Jed since, and she’d come to realize that in a world where she’d lost everything except her son, it was nice to have a friend who had known her after she’d run away from her parents’ house and before her world fell apart again. And yes, he was easy on the eyes and made her heart go wild, which brought a plethora of conflicting emotions, but she was trying not to think about that too much.

  “It’s cool that Jed’s prospecting to be a Dark Knight, don’t you think?” Tracey asked.

  There was a whole article about Jed becoming a prospect, which she learned meant that he was trying to become a member of the motorcycle club and was in an evaluation period. The pictures of the Dark Knights’ past rallies and fundraisers portrayed a somewhat intimidating crowd of leather-clad, tattooed men and women. Some men were menacing, with bushy beards or bald heads, while others were clean-cut and didn’t look like bikers at all. But she’d read that the Dark Knights were a motorcycle club, not a gang, and she’d learned the differences between them. She’d also read many articles about the good the club had done for the community over the years, which gave her a better understanding of the old saying Don’t judge a book by its cover.

  “It is cool,” she agreed. “And I’m glad Sarah and Scott have everyone watching out for them.”

  Tracey gave her a deadpan look. “Where’s the rest of that sentence? The part where you say you’re glad they sent Jed to watch out for you and Hail, too?”

  “Jed volunteered,” Josie said. It felt really good to know he had.

  “Really? I guess he liked what he saw through the door at Sarah’s, huh?”

  Josie hadn’t told Tracey about her and Jed’s past. She’d never had girlfriends before, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about sharing something so intimate. Brian had encouraged her to make friends, but she’d liked living in her happy little world with Brian and Hail. Now that Brian was gone and her world had changed so much, she understood why he had always told her that having girlfriends would be totally different from having him in her life. He’d had her best interests at heart, which was only one reason why she’d loved him so much. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to reveal to Tracey, but she wanted her to know there was more to her and Jed than just what she saw yesterday and settled on, “I knew Jed when I was a teenager.”

  She waggled her brows. “Knew him knew him? Or like, ‘Hey, how’s it going,’ knew him?”

  “Stop!” Josie bumped her with her shoulder and laughed, though she felt her cheeks burning.

  Tracey pointed to the dark-haired guy on the monitor and said, “That’s Bear, the one who builds motorcycles. Isn’t he hot? He’s married to Crystal, Jed’s sister. She’s a total badass and pregnant. And ohmyGod, Josie. I want to be Dixie when I grow up. I bet no one gives her shit about anything. She’s—”

  “The tattooed redhead who manages the businesses for the bar and the shop,” Josie said. “I know. I’ve practically memorized the entire site. I just can’t stop thinking about how stupid I’ve been. I’ve avoided the only two people in the world who were there for me before Brian.”

  “So take the next step,” Tracey encouraged. “Call Sarah. Set up lunch or something with her and Scott and go make things right. They’ve left the ball in your court. If it were me, I’d jump at the chance, even if I knew it would be weird at first. I’ll go with you so you’re not too nervous.”

  Josie looked across the room at Hail and Emily coloring at the coffee table. “You make it sound so easy. Maybe next week, after Hail’s in school so he doesn’t have to see me get emotional.”

  “You worry too much. Moms are supposed to be emotional. If you weren’t, I’d worry about you.”

  Josie’s mind traveled to the dark place she rarely let it go—to what life had been like with her parents. Her mother had been callous, uncaring, angry
, and mean. But for reasons Josie would never know, she never had it as bad as Sarah and Scotty. Sarah had been a beautiful teenager, though she’d never flaunted it, and their mother had made sure she’d never want to, calling her a slut, a whore, and worse. And poor Scotty had been called things Josie couldn’t bring herself to even think about.

  “Let me think it over,” she finally said. “The last thing I need to do is chicken out again. I can only do that so many times before they think I’m psycho.”

  “Too late for that,” Jed said with a wink as he walked into the recreation room with a Zooey Deschanel look-alike whose walnut-colored hair fell in waves over her shoulders. The woman by his side wasn’t just girl-next-door pretty but stylish in a pair of tight jeans tucked into knee-high furry boots and a white parka. The royal-blue scarf she wore made her vibrant blue eyes even brighter.

  Josie pushed nervously to her feet. “Moon. What are you doing here?” And who is your girlfriend? The thought struck a jealous chord she’d never felt before, and she didn’t like the way it clawed at her chest.

  “You said you couldn’t interview in person until next week.” He shrugged and said, “So I brought an interview to you. This is my friend Penny Wilson. She owns Luscious Licks, the ice cream shop in Peaceful Harbor, and she happens to need help at her shop.”

  Penny offered her hand. “Hi, Josie. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Um…? You too.” She shook Penny’s hand, astonished that Jed would have gone to such trouble for her. “You didn’t have to come all the way out here.”

  Tracey jumped up and said, “What she means is, thank you for coming all the way to Parkvale. I’m Tracey, Josie’s friend.”

  “Yes, sorry,” Josie said. “Thank you. This is just unexpected.”

  “That’s Jed for ya,” Penny said. “He and his roommate, Quincy, can be a little pushy. So is this okay? Would you like to interview with me?”

  “Oh, yes, please, and thank you both, actually.” She peeked down at her sweatshirt and jeans and absently touched her hair. “I would have dressed for the occasion if I’d known you were coming.”

  “You look great, Jojo,” Jed said with a spark of heat in his eyes that set a nest of butterflies loose in her stomach.

  Tracey nudged Josie again and said, “Josie, why don’t you and Penny go talk in the other room, and I’ll stay with Hail and Jed.”

  “Oh my gosh, of course. Thanks.” She needed to get a grip before she blew her chance at a job, but how could she when Jed had just surprised the heck out of her?

  “I must sound like a bumbling idiot,” she said to Penny as they headed down the hall. “I didn’t know Jed was coming, much less bringing you here, although I really do appreciate it.”

  “Don’t sweat it. You aren’t bumbling, and you certainly don’t sound like an idiot,” Penny said as they walked into the den. “When Jed gets an idea, he moves on it. He said you were friends when you were younger, so you probably know he came from a pretty rough background. He’s really turned things around. He’s one of the best friends I have. And if you think Jed’s pushy, you should meet Quincy. That man…” Penny shook her head as she took off her coat and they sat on the couch.

  Josie could tell how much Penny liked them both, but when she spoke of Quincy the lilt in her voice told her she was especially fond of him.

  “Thanks for letting me know. I still can’t believe he did this, but where do we start? I haven’t been on many interviews, and I don’t have much experience. Before I lost my husband, I was home with my son, Hail, full time. He’s five now and in kindergarten full time, so I can work during those hours.”

  “I didn’t know you lost your husband. I’m so sorry.”

  Josie was surprised Jed hadn’t told her if they were as close as Penny indicated, but she was thankful that he’d left that decision to her. “Thank you. It was more than two years ago. The first few months were pretty awful, but we got through it, and Hail and I are in a much better place, emotionally speaking. Luckily we had some savings, so I was able to focus on Hail during the worst of it. Since then I’ve worked on and off wherever I could find a job and find babysitting for Hail. I worked at Dairy Queen in the mall for three or four months, but I lost that job when my babysitter went to college. Then I worked at the convenience store on Seventh Street for six months or so, until they were robbed. That scared me, and I quit that night. And I waitressed at a really awful bar, but I lost that job because Hail came down with a flu that lasted for almost two weeks and I couldn’t work. To be honest, between quitting the night of the robbery and losing that last job, I doubt my references will be very good. But I promise, as long as Hail’s in school, I will show up for work and do whatever you ask. I just need to get back on my feet so we can find a stable place to live and move forward with our lives.”

  Compassion rose in Penny’s eyes, and she said, “Life happens, and I understand about sick children. Hopefully you won’t have to worry about things like robberies as much in Peaceful Harbor as you do in Parkvale. The Dark Knights have a really strong presence there, and the Whiskeys are always coming by the shop. They would never let anything happen.”

  “I was reading about the motorcycle club just before you guys arrived. I didn’t know the Whiskeys’ ancestors started the Dark Knights and they’ve been watching over the community for decades.”

  “My sister, Finlay, is married to Bullet Whiskey—”

  “Really? I met Finlay. She’s the reason I ended up here at the shelter.” She realized Penny had probably heard about how she’d met Finlay. There was no reason to try to hide it. “I’m sure you know my sister and brother, Sarah and Scott Beckley? And how Bullet and Finlay found me and Hail after I ran from Sarah?”

  “I do,” Penny said softly. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by bringing it up, but Sarah and Scott are friends of mine.”

  “They seem to know everyone,” she said, and it brought her comfort to know they had so many friends.

  “I don’t want you to think I’m here because Scott or Sarah asked me to come. They didn’t. I’m here because Jed said he had a friend who was down on her luck and needed a job. He said you had a little boy and wanted to work while he was at school. I run the ice cream shop by myself, and I could use the help.” She paused and then she said, “I was at Bones and Sarah’s house Christmas night when you stopped by. I’ve never seen Sarah and Scott so happy.”

  Josie’s eyes teared up, and she quickly turned away and wiped her eyes, trying to regain control of her emotions. “I’m sorry. Knowing they’re happy makes me emotional. Whew,” she said with a laugh. “That was even more unexpected than you guys showing up. I promise if you hire me I will not cry at the mention of my siblings’ happiness.”

  “I have a feeling that might happen for a while, regardless of how you prepare yourself. But that’s okay. I have a sister. I get it. Now, about the job…”

  Josie was relieved for her understanding and the change in subject. Penny explained what she could expect if she took the job at the ice cream shop, which included things like kids changing their minds a dozen times about what ice cream they wanted, helping with inventory, and for the first few weeks, sore wrists from scooping ice cream. She said the shop was really busy when there were community events like parades and festivals and that in the winter she had a steady business, though it was not as busy as in the summer. They talked for so long, Josie forgot it was an interview and felt like she was just chatting with a friend.

  “If you’re interested, stop by sometime tomorrow with Hail. I’ll show you around the shop, and we can go over a schedule.”

  “I am very interested, but are you sure you don’t mind if I bring Hail?”

  “Not at all. I want to meet him, and it’s an ice cream store after all. He’s not lactose intolerant, is he?”

  “No, and he has no food allergies.” Sarah had all sorts of food allergies, and because of that Josie had had Hail tested when he was younger. But he wasn’t al
lergic to anything.

  “Great. Pack a few toys for him and we’ll see how it goes.”

  “Thank you so much, Penny. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

  Penny rose to her feet and said, “It means a lot to me that you’ll consider it and that Jed trusted me enough to ask. It was pretty clear that you’re important to him when we had to make an emergency stop at the bookstore where Quincy works. Did you see that bag he was carrying?”

  “Bag?” She’d been so sidetracked by the steamy glances Jed had given her, and his bringing Penny, she hadn’t noticed a bag.

  “The big softie bought three kids’ books about construction vehicles,” she said as they headed back down the hall. “He said Hail loved them and that maybe he could teach him a thing or two.”

  “He’s in for a surprise. My boy knows more about construction vehicles than you probably know about ice cream.”

  They found Hail and Emily standing in the middle of the recreation room with their hands over their eyes counting loudly. Tracey was sitting on the couch paging through one of the books Jed brought, and Jed was hiding behind the couch with his finger over his lips, shushing them. It was so cute, seeing that giant man huddled behind the couch, his eyes pleading for them not to blow his cover, Josie’s heart stumbled again.

  “Nine. Ten!” the kids yelled, and then they proceeded to peer around every piece of furniture until they spotted Jed—and then jumped on him in a fit of giggles and squeals.

  “I’ve got the wild monkeys!” Jed rose to his feet with one wiggling child under each arm. He hoisted them up, whispered something to each of them, and then plunked them down on either side of Tracey and said, “Tickle fight!”

  “I have to get in on this!” Penny ran into the room and started tickling the kids.

  While the kids were busy tickling Tracey and Penny was tickling them, Jed strode toward Josie, his eyes sliding hungrily down her body. Her heart beat faster as she watched his well-muscled body moving with as much grace as confidence. Her body reveled in his open admiration, heating and tingling with desires she’d thought were long gone, while another part worried. She had a long way to go before she and Hail were on their feet again, and she didn’t need this type of complication. But this was how it had been with him before, and she had a feeling that wasn’t going to change.