Mad About Moon

by Melissa Foster

  Hail pulled the handprints they’d made with Jed from one of the boxes and said, “Can I hang this next to my bed?”

  As her shaggy-haired boy flashed an adorable toothy grin, she was glad eighteen felt a lifetime away. “We sure can.”

  She reached for a thumbtack from the container on the dresser as Jed appeared in the doorway with a giant bag. He stepped into the room and put a hand on Josie’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. How could something that simple feel so intimate? It was the secret in his eyes. They’d been sneaking kisses when they weren’t around Hail or the other kids, and she was getting addicted to them.

  “How’s the unpacking going?” he asked.

  “Good! I’m hanging up our picture.” Hail pressed the handprint picture against the wall next to his bed and said, “Put it up, Mama!”

  “That’s a great place for it,” Jed said as Josie pinned it to the wall. “I found this out there and thought it might belong to you.” He set the bag on the floor beside Hail and winked at Josie as Hail dug into it.

  “Mama! Is it Christmas again?” Hail asked as he tugged a comforter with colorful construction trucks and 4x4s on it from the bag. “Did Santa come?”

  Her heart swelled at the happiness in her boy’s and Jed’s eyes. She had a good idea just who Santa was.

  “It’s not Christmas,” Jed said as he helped Hail spread the comforter over his bed. “But moving is a big deal, and I thought you might like a new comforter to celebrate your new room.”

  “Thank you!” He threw his arms around Jed’s legs. “I love it! Look. There’s a green truck like ours.”

  “That’s right, buddy, just like ours,” Jed said as Josie came to his side.

  “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that,” she said softly as Hail announced the name of each and every piece of equipment on the comforter.

  Jed pressed his hand to her back, gazing lovingly at Hail, and said, “Maybe not, but look at that face. I’m sure glad I did.”

  “Bradley!” Hail yelled as he ran out of the room. “I got a truck blanket!”

  Jed’s lips captured hers. He grabbed her ass, pressing their bodies together. She felt him go hard, and he made a lustful noise that sent sparks through her veins. She heard the pounding of little feet racing toward the bedroom, and Jed quickly pulled back and set his hungry eyes on her.

  “God, I want you,” he ground out as the kids ran into the room. He adjusted his shirt over the formidable bulge behind his zipper.

  As Hail showed Bradley his new comforter, Jed led Josie out of the room. He glanced down the hall toward the kitchen, then pulled her into her bedroom, kicking the door partially closed behind them. She loved that he couldn’t keep his hands off her. He backed her up against the wall behind the door, boxing her in with his big body.

  “I’m crazy about you, Jojo,” he said, driving her wild with a series of feathery kisses. “I’m glad you and Hail are here in Peaceful Harbor, safe, with your family.”

  He moved his hips in slow thrusts and enticing gyrations, until she felt herself go damp. She grabbed the belt loops on his hips, pulling him tight against her. “Me too.”

  “I’m trying to get my own place,” he said between tantalizing kisses. “Then we won’t have to sneak around.” He kissed her again, and then he gazed lovingly into her eyes with a deeper expression that made her pulse quicken and said, “I got you something, too.”

  He picked up a small gift box from the dresser, which hadn’t been there when she was unpacking her things, and handed it to her. She lifted the top, and her love for him grew at the sight of an almost-heart-shaped rock on which he’d scratched The start of something wonderful. She lifted it up and turned it over. He’d scratched Moon + Jojo, and the date they first saw each other again, on Sarah and Bones’s porch.

  “It was the night you came back into my life, when I saw you on the porch. It’s not much, but I wanted you to have it.”

  “It’s everything, Moon. It’s us.” She wound her arms around his neck and said, “I love this more than you could ever know.”

  As he lowered his lips to hers he whispered, “That’s how I feel about you.”

  She could barely breathe, but she didn’t have to. He recaptured her mouth, sealing his words with another smoldering kiss and breathing new life into her empty lungs.

  “Josie?” Sarah called as she came down the hall.

  He put space between them, but his eyes told her they weren’t done. Not by a long shot.

  “Think Scott will mind if I take a cold shower?” he asked as he adjusted himself. She couldn’t suppress a giggle, and he kissed her again, quick and hard. With a wink that held all sorts of unspoken promises, he pulled open the door and said, “She’s right here, Sarah, unpacking.”

  He left them alone, and Josie set the rock on her dresser and tried to remember how to think.

  “How’s the unpacking going?”

  Sarah’s knowing gaze told Josie her sister knew what they were doing. Josie peeked into the hall and saw Bradley and Hail walking toward the living room. She took Sarah’s hand and dragged her to the bed.

  “I need some advice,” she whispered hurriedly.

  “By that flush on your cheeks, I’d say you know exactly what you’re doing.”

  Josie covered her face and groaned.

  Sarah laughed and moved her hands away. “Josie, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s good. Jed’s crazy about you—we all know that—and you sure seem crazy about him.”

  “I know, but I’m not sure how to act around Hail. What did you and Bones do about the kids? Did you let them see you holding hands?” She lowered her voice and whispered, “Kissing?”

  “Not at first, but it happened pretty quickly. It was natural, like you and Jed. Hail obviously loves him.”

  “I know. But how do I know if seeing me and Moon kiss will mess him up? I don’t want him to forget Brian, and at the same time, Hail’s in a really good place right now. He no longer wonders if Brian will come back, or cries when he misses him. He’s adjusted. How do I keep from screwing that up?”

  Sarah put her hand on Josie’s, and her gaze softened. “There’s no guidebook for this stuff. I’d imagine every kid is different. Have you talked to Jed about it?”

  “Yes. He’s willing to go slow. But we suck at slow. Obviously. My insides are still vibrating from our kisses.”

  Sarah sighed dreamily. “Isn’t that the best?”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t like this with Brian.” She got up and paced. “I’m dealing with some guilt about that, too, and Moon is so good about it. He doesn’t try to act like Brian never existed, or that he wasn’t important to us. That makes it easier, but…You really think it’s okay to let this thing between us just grow naturally? I trust you, so tell me if you think I’m going to screw up Hail, please.”

  “I think you can’t go wrong by trusting your heart. Lots of single moms date.”

  “I don’t. I can’t imagine what a date would be like. But this thing between me and Jed? I think it started years ago, and never died.”

  “Do you hear yourself? This is good, Josie. You’re blessed. And you will know what dating is like,” Sarah said. “Scott, Bones, and I are great babysitters, and you deserve to have a life that includes going out with someone who adores you.”

  “Thank you. Two years ago, I thought I’d never be truly happy again. But here I am, back with you and Scotty.” She motioned around the room. “Scotty gave us a home, I have a job I love—Penny is amazing to work with—and I found Moon, who I never thought I’d see again. I missed him, Sarah. I may not have let myself acknowledge that in any big way when I was with Brian, but seeing him again brought everything rushing back, only stronger.”

  She reached into a box and took out a picture of her, Brian, and Hail and sat beside Sarah again. She ran her fingers over Brian’s handsome face, and a pang of longing washed through her. But it was different than it had been even a year ago, when she couldn’t look at his p
icture without crying.

  “Is that him?” Sarah pressed closer.

  “Mm-hm. That’s my Brian.”

  “He’s handsome. He looks happy and nice.”

  “He was, and he loved me and Hail so much. Doesn’t his skin look as soft as Lila’s?”

  “It does. We don’t see many baby-faced guys around here, do we?”

  “He shaved every day, and never had scruff. He kept his hair short, too, like a military cut. I used to buzz it for him.” She laughed softly and said, “I’d tease him and say I was going to carve my name into it, and he’d tell me, ‘Go ahead. Do it,’ but I never had the guts. He had no tattoos, he loved to play football and basketball, and he never cursed, like, ever.”

  “He sounds wonderful.”

  “He was.” She turned to Sarah and said, “But what do I do with this picture? Do I leave it out? Will that make Moon uncomfortable? Should I put it in Hail’s room, or will that make it harder for him, seeing his dad every day? I don’t want it sitting in a drawer somewhere.”

  The door swung open, and Jed stepped into the bedroom. “The kids are hungry, so we thought we’d order pizza. Any preferences?” He eyed the two of them. Then his gaze dropped to the picture in Josie’s hand. His lips curved up and he said, “That’s Brian, huh?”

  Josie nodded and handed him the picture.

  “Yup. That’s the dude who told me you were seventeen and to back off all those years ago. He looks nice. I bet we could have been friends.” He set the picture frame on the dresser beside a baby picture of Hail and a picture of Brian’s grandmother and said, “So, any preferences on pizza?”

  Sarah and Josie exchanged a glance that said, I guess that settles the picture questions, and Josie said, “I’ll eat anything. I wasn’t hungry before, but now I think I can eat.”

  Chapter Twelve

  JED WORKED THE day shift Wednesday at Whiskey Bro’s. It was the tail end of the lunch shift. Jed held the cell phone to his ear, listening to Warren “Buck” Myer, a Dark Knight and banker, explain what he needed in order to prequalify for a mortgage loan. As Buck talked about tax documents, pay stubs, and credit ratings, Jed kept an eye on Tracey. She was waiting on a kid at a table across the room. She set a plate of fries and a burger in front of him, chatting for an extra minute the way Dixie had taught her to with the lunch crowd. Tracey was doing a good job, but the teenager she was waiting on screamed trouble. His dark hair fell over his eyes, but that didn’t stop Jed from seeing him scoping out the place. His leg bounced beneath the table, and when Tracey walked away, he stared down at the food but didn’t eat it.

  As Tracey approached the bar, Jed said, “Buck, can you email me the details? I’ll get you what you need this week. Thanks, man.” He ended the call and pocketed the phone. “What’s up with the kid?”

  “Nothing. He seems nice, a little quiet. Can you bring him a Coke?”

  “Sure.” As Jed filled the glass, he glanced at the kid again. “He’s not eating.”

  “He’s probably waiting for his drink,” she teased. “Do you always watch everyone so closely?”

  “No, but he can’t be older than sixteen or seventeen. Why isn’t he in school?”

  “Want me to ask him?” She picked up the glass and said, “I don’t mind blowing my tip to satisfy your curiosity.”

  “Smart-ass.” Jed had seen kids like him before, trouble waiting to happen. Hell, he’d been one.

  Isabel served a guy at the end of the bar, then came to Jed’s side and said, “Can you stop staring at the young guy long enough to answer a question?”

  “Sure. What’s up?” He grabbed a towel and began wiping down the bar.

  “Are you still okay to cover for me next Saturday afternoon?”

  “For the baby-shower-planning hen party?” he said as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no problem. Jojo asked Sarah to babysit to keep her from bumping into you guys at Red and Biggs’s house.”

  “That was smart. I can’t wait to meet the girl who wrangled the lone wolf into a relationship.”

  “Don’t give her a hard time, Iz,” he warned.

  “I wouldn’t.” She looked out at Tracey and said, “She’s been through enough already. So has Tracey. I can’t imagine anyone hitting a girl.”

  “Men who hit women are fucking cowards.”

  As Isabel walked away, Jed glanced at the shady-looking teenager and saw him wrap half his burger in a napkin and tuck it into his shirt pocket. He stuck a few fries in his mouth and finished his drink.

  Jed shot off a quick text to Josie. How’s work? He felt his phone vibrate as he served another customer, and then he read her response. Amazing. I learned to make cones. We ate the ones I messed up. I swear I’ll gain twenty pounds this month. He thumbed out, More of you to love. He stopped cold, staring at the text. His pulse kicked up as he realized his feelings for her were that big. Falling hard for Josie was not even close to going slow. Fuck. He deleted love and typed devour.

  Tracey cleared the teenager’s dishes away and left him with the check. The door opened, and a noisy group of bikers came in. Jed waved and turned to ask Isabel a question, catching motion in his peripheral vision. A dish shattered on the floor, and he realized the kid was bolting.

  “Goddamn it! Iz, take over!” Jed barged through the group of bikers, causing a slew of curses as he tore out the door after the kid. He ran across the parking lot and lunged, catching the back of the teenager’s flannel shirt.

  “What the fuck?” the kid hollered as he fell back against Jed.

  “That’s my line.” Jed grabbed him by the collar with both hands as the kid cursed and fought for freedom. He was about six inches shorter than Jed and too young to be out of school. “You’re not going anywhere, so you might as well calm the hell down.”

  The teen lifted his chin, which was peppered with the sparse whiskers of a boy on the cusp of manhood, and spat, “Fuck you!”

  “No thanks.” Jed hauled him back toward the bar. “Want to tell me why you’re skipping out on your bill?”

  He clenched his mouth shut, glowering at Jed.

  “Listen, the way I see it, we’ve got two choices. I can call the cops, and you can get arrested for a ten-dollar lunch, or we can work this out between us.” The last thing Jed wanted to do was call the cops, but he couldn’t just let the kid go. He’d just dine and dash at some other place.

  “No, man, don’t call the cops,” flew from the kid’s mouth. “Please don’t call the cops. I won’t ever come back here, promise.”

  Shit. “Guess you’ve been in trouble with the law before?”

  “Just don’t call the cops. I’ll give you back the half I didn’t eat.” He reached for his pocket.

  “Leave it,” Jed commanded. “Why are you stealing?”

  His jet-black hair hid his eyes well, but not well enough. He avoided Jed’s gaze as he said, “I was hungry, man.”

  “Why aren’t you in school?”

  “I ditched.”

  “Fuck. Okay, come on.” He dragged him up the steps.

  “No, man, please,” he begged with a shaky voice. “Please don’t call the cops.”

  Bullet’s motorcycle roared into the parking lot, drawing the kid’s attention. Bullet climbed off his bike and took off his helmet. His cold, dark eyes locked on them. The blood drained from the kid’s face as Bullet climbed the steps and stared down at him. “What’s going on with him?”

  “Dine and dash,” Jed explained. “I’ve got it under control.”

  Bullet’s eyes narrowed, still trained on the boy. He made a grunting noise that sent the kid stumbling backward. Jed didn’t need this kid any more scared than he already was.

  “I had to leave the girls alone,” Jed said. “Can you make sure they’re all right?”

  Bullet nodded, glowering menacingly at the kid one more time. The kid took another step backward, and then Bullet headed into the bar. The air rushed from the boy’s lungs.

  “Let’s go,” Jed said, dragging him t
oward the door. “I’m not calling the cops, but you’re going to wash dishes to pay off that burger and fries.”

  “No cops?” he said anxiously. His eyes implored Jed for leniency.

  “No cops this time. What’s your name?”

  “Ricardo.”

  “Where’s your coat, Ricardo? It’s freezing out here.”

  He shrugged. “Ain’t got one that fits.”

  Fuck. “You got parents?”

  He nodded.

  “Where are they?”

  “My old man’s in prison. My mother works two jobs. I don’t need a coat, man. I’m fine. Just don’t call the cops. My mom don’t need more trouble.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Seventeen.”

  Christ. This kid didn’t need more trouble either, and Jed knew damn well he’d get into it the minute he let him go. “How about we make a deal. You wash dishes for an hour and promise me you’ll stop ditching school, and I won’t call the cops.”

  “Really? You…you trust me? You’ll let me go? No cops?”

  “I sure as hell don’t want to put you on a leash, so I have no choice but to trust you. Dude, I’ve been where you are. You need to straighten up or you’ll end up in and out of jail.”

  “I will, man. I’ll straighten up.”

  Jed didn’t believe that for a second, but at least for now he could try to teach him a lesson. “Is your mother good to you? She hit you? Does she do drugs?”

  “No, man. She’s a good mother, just busy. She don’t earn much.”

  The look in Ricardo’s eyes told Jed he was telling the truth. “Give me her number. I want to let her know you’re okay.”

  “No, man. She knows I’m okay.”

  “Which means she doesn’t give a shit if you ditch school?”

  He lowered his eyes again, trembling from the cold. “She does give a shit.”

  Anger shot through Jed’s chest. He’d had a fucked-up mother, Josie’s parents had beaten their kids, and he’d seen worse. He wasn’t about to let this kid fuck with a hard-working mother’s sanity. He tightened his hold on Ricardo’s shirt, bringing his face within inches of his, and seethed, “Then why are you doing this if you know she doesn’t need more trouble in her life? Do you have any idea how hard it is to raise kids alone?”