“Yeah. I like the second one.”
Jax stood nearby watching us with his narrow hip resting on the counter’s edge, a sexy smirk on his face. He was dressed in loose-fitting jeans and a plain white t-shirt.
“Talked to Brody today.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“You didn’t mention the incident from the other night when I talked to you this morning.”
I waved him off. “It wasn’t a big deal. I took care of the little...” I looked at Donovan. “...problem.”
“You could’ve been hurt, Mercy. You shouldn’t have gone outside.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I prepared for battle. “I’ve known how to shoot since I was twelve and I’m da...rn good at it. Trust me. I wasn’t in danger. The only one in danger was the maggot that messed with June.”
He huffed. “I wish I’d been there.”
“You shoot?” Donovan asked, his eyes wide.
“Yes.”
“What do you shoot? Arrows? Guns? Both!?”
“I know how to shoot guns. I’ve never tried arrows, but the crossbows at the pawn shop look pretty badass. Oops. Sorry. I didn’t mean to curse in front of you, buddy.”
Donovan puffed up his chest. “I’m a man, damn it! Cuss all you want.”
I giggled and looked to Jaxon who was laughing, too.
“Better lay off those words, buddy. Girls, especially hot girls, don’t like guys who talk like sailors.”
“Really? Mercy, do you like guys who talk nice?”
“It’s true. I love guys who talk nice, especially in front of ladies.” I pursed my lips together.
“Okay.”
Donovan stirred the sauce in the pot with a wooden spoon. “Hey, Mercy?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re really pretty. Don’t you think she’s hot, Uncle Jax?”
My cheeks warmed and I laughed slightly and shifted my feet. Jaxon’s voice caught my attention. “Yeah, I do, buddy. She’s beautiful.”
Two evenings later, Jaxon, Donovan, and I walked onto the pier. Its planks were dried, and warm underfoot. These boys weren’t just here to have fun. They meant business. Jaxon had rented enormous fishing poles, and the fish in their bait bucket were nearly big enough to eat. Donovan had repeated the old fisherman’s advice at least seven times since we’d left the truck.
They’d even rented a pole for me. No way I was gonna squish a slimy fish onto a hook, though. After Jaxon set us all up, spaced far enough apart so that the lines wouldn’t get tangled, I curled my bottom lip under and held up my hook.
He laughed and rolled his eyes. His dark hair was longer and shaggy now. It was fun. It was sexy. There wasn’t much about him that wasn’t, truthfully. He baited my hook and was getting ready to demonstrate, when I put my hand on his forearm. “Hand it over. I know how to cast a line, I just don’t like baiting the hook.”
Jaxon handed me the pole with a royal flourish and bow, laughing as I moved over to my spot. He baited Donovan’s hook and was teaching him how to cast. I laughed at him. He was so technical about everything. “Oh, you wanna help him, Mercy?”
I shrugged. “Sure. See this button?”
“Yep.”
“Hold your pole back and before you throw it forward, push the button and hold it in. It will release your line. Okay?”
“Okay.”
I asked him to watch me and I cast the line perfectly from the end of the pier. I moved back so I wouldn’t get hooked--just in case--and waited for Donovan to cast his line. He climbed onto the wooden bench a few feet from my pole and casted like a pro. He did a happy dance and cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “Thanks, Mercy!”
I ruffled his fire-engine red hair. “Welcome, buddy.”
Jaxon grinned.
We spent all evening on that pier and only caught two things, a fish that was too small to eat and a sting ray. Jaxon let Donovan reel both in, his muscles straining and his face scrunched in determination and delight. I backed up and let them handle the slimy thing. No way I was getting anywhere near it.
As Jaxon loaded the pickup he had borrowed from Brody with our poles and gear, I helped Donovan climb into the back seat and made sure he buckled up. He didn’t even protest. He was worn out. “I can make you guys some dinner. Not fish, but I can throw something together.”
“You sure?” Jaxon asked.
“Positive. But dinner is at my place tonight, boys.”
“Yes, ma’am,” smarted Jaxon.
An hour later, I had made green beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese--for Donovan--and was in the process of mixing salmon cakes. They were just like crab cakes, only they used salmon instead. My mom had made them for me when I was little. I’d helped her mix the ingredients. Of course, that was long before everything went to hell.
I poured oil into the skillet and let it heat up before easing each patty into the sizzling golden liquid. When I placed the final patty, hot, molten grease splashed onto my fingers. I screamed and time ticked slowly until my brain kicked in and I ran to the sink, turning on the cold water and submerging my hand.
My right ring finger and pinky were already turning red from the burn. I felt like my skin was still on fire. Jaxon ran in from the living room, where he and Donovan had been reminiscing about their fishing adventure and how they would catch Jaws the next time. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine. I just burned my hand a little.”
“A little? Let me see.” He propped his hip up against the counter next to me.
“No. It’s fine. I’m good.”
Looking up at the ceiling, he released a breath. “Are you always this stubborn?”
“Yes.”
“Let me see.”
I huffed. “Fine.” I turned off the water and held my hand out.
“That’s going to blister.”
“No it won’t. The water helped. I soaked it as soon as I realized I’d been burned.”
“It’s already bubbling up.”
I jerked my hand back from him. “I’m fine. Can you flip the patties? I’m going to get the Neosporin and some Band-Aids.”
“Sure.”
I plopped down at the small black kitchen table and started unwrapping Band-Aids. Jaxon pulled a chair in front of me and settled in. He jerked my seat forward and suddenly my knees were situated between his legs. It was close and unsettling. And close. The rich, masculine scent of his aftershave, salt and sand wafted up at me. I nearly moaned. This was bad.
“Hand.” He demanded. I thrust it at him. He chuckled. He spread the ointment onto the burns, which were still burning fiercely, and then peeled the little strips of wax paper from the bandages. He placed a few on my ring finger and one on my pinkie before he was satisfied. “You might want to take a couple Advil. It’s going to sting for a bit.”
I nodded. He grabbed my hand. “Oh, I forgot.” He grinned crookedly, showing that damned dimple.
“What?” I tried to tug it back from him.
He pulled my fingers toward his mouth, puckered up and kissed my bandages. He kissed my boo-boo. My heart melted a little. Right there in my kitchen. He held onto my hand. “Sorry you got burned.”
I cleared my throat. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”
He smirked. “You’re making dinner for us. It kind of is my fault.”
“My clumsiness is not your fault, Jaxon,” I giggled.
He still hadn’t let go of my hand. “I had a great day today, Mercy.”
“Me, too.”
His thumb brushed back and forth over the back of my hand. He crouched and then stood. Then he crouched back down and kissed me. It wasn’t on the mouth, but on the corner of my lips just beside it. Definitely not on the cheek. I inhaled sharply. He laughed and left to check on Donovan.
I sat there stunned, until I smelled smoke. So much for the green beans.
I lay awake in my bed staring at the ceiling. Donovan was snoring in the guest bedroom. The kid had tonsil problems and was hav
ing them removed in a few weeks. He would only be here for another couple of days. I was trying to think of fun things we could do to fill up our days and evenings, things he would enjoy. But, of course, like a boomerang, my thoughts kept drifting back to Mercy. I’d shocked her with the little peck. I’d meant to. I just didn’t know how much her little gasp would shock me.
I threw my covers off. I needed to get some fresh air. I needed to think, or to clear my mind. I snuck into Donovan’s room and put a walkie talkie beside his bed. We’d been playing on them all week and he’d know how to get in touch with me this way. I took mine and headed out the back door to the sand.
It was after four o’clock in the morning. So, seeing her there surprised me. Mercy sat on a blanket stretched over the sand, her knees tucked into her chest, watching the surf. The tide was high and the waves roared toward the shore and angrily retreated.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Suit yourself,” she replied, grinning widely. “Donovan okay?”
“Yeah.” I held up my walkie and she nodded knowingly. She’d no doubt heard us through the thin walls. For several minutes, we just sat beside one another, staring at the sea. Mercy was the one who broke the silence.
“What was it like?” she asked.
“What was what like?”
“The mines? What was it like going down there?”
I blew out a breath. “The first time I went down, I was scared. I’m not even going to lie.” I picked at a string hanging off my shorts. “The elevators aren’t like those in buildings. They’re industrial and loud. It doesn’t descend far before all light fades away and you just drop down into darkness, into the belly of the earth.”
“That sounds so scary. Are there any lights? I mean, I saw the thing you wore on your head, but is it pitch black everywhere else?”
“No. There are these power centers set up every so often. There’s always light around those. I expected it to be black as the coal we were mining, but it wasn’t. The walls were kind of a ghostly white.”
Her brows rumpled. “White?”
“Sort of. To prevent fires, they coat everything—the walls, the floors, ceilings, everything—in rock dust. It’s white, so it coats the black. It didn’t take me long to get used to going down there. The guys I worked with were great. Some were young like me and so there was a comradery there, but the ones who’d worked in coal for years took us under their wings, so to speak. They looked out for us, showed us how to do everything safely. It’s a bond that will last forever.”
She nodded. “That’s really neat, Jax.”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that.”
“About the mines?”
“Yeah. I mean, my family has. Brody has. No girl has ever asked me that question. I don’t think any of them have ever really cared enough to.”
“That’s so sad.”
“Yeah. My fault, though.”
“Tell me about her.”
“Starla? The woman who ripped out my heart. Where to start that story...” I blew out a harsh breath. She turned to face me, her eyes never leaving mine. It looked like she was searching for something there. “I met her at my brother’s bar. She was visiting family and decided to go out that night. Starla was beautiful, I mean, really beautiful. She was older and confident. She didn’t giggle or throw herself at me like most of the young girls back home. She just smiled, almost like she knew I would be begging at her feet in no time. And did I ever. I followed her to Florida. Moved in with her and we went out every night. That lasted for a while. Then I found a job and started working.”
Mercy never said anything, just waited patiently for me to continue. “That’s when things started to go bad. I worked at a bar. Long hours at night. She apparently got lonely. You know what’s crazy?”
“What?”
“I thought I loved her. I really did. But it was all a lie. She said she loved me a hundred times a day, and didn’t mean it once. Not a damn thing about what we had was real. And she just about broke me when she told me it had been fun, but it was over.” Mercy sat silent, staring out at the waves.
“Jax?”
“Yeah.”
“She may have lied, but your love was real. You loved her. That wasn’t a lie.”
“Our relationship was.”
“But your love wasn’t.” She looked back toward the sea and then said, “I think she’s crazy for not loving you back.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. She sounds like a complete idiot.” She giggled. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that out loud.”
“No. I needed to hear that.”
“It’s her loss, Jax. You’re a great guy. And you’re going to make some girl very happy someday—”
I couldn’t let her finish. I’d waited this long and...I grabbed the sides of her face and smashed my lips onto hers. Her lips were soft and inviting. They started moving against mine, perfectly in sync before she opened them to let me in. And I was immediately in heaven. Grabbing her waist, I moved her over to straddle my lap. She settled in and I realized what was happening. This was Mercy. I couldn’t treat her like the others. Fighting every instinct in my body, I slammed the brakes on.
“Mercy. Stop. We need to stop.” I wasn’t above taking her right there on the beach, but she deserved more. She deserved more than me. I was still a mess, a walking nightmare for a girl as sweet as Mercy. If she was smart, she’d walk away right now, before whatever this was even got started.
She pulled back, her eyes questioning mine. My mask back in place and walls erected like my dick, I moved her off of me.
“You kissed me.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have let it happen. I’m your boss.”
“You’re seriously going to give me that bullshit line?”
“Yep.”
“Whatever. I don’t need this crap. Later, Jax.”
One thing was for sure, Mercy was smart. She was walking away, just like she should be.
Daddy,
I hope you are doing well. I miss you like crazy. I miss our talks, your advice. I could sure use some right now. I like this guy, a lot. But I don’t think he feels the same way. It hurts. I wish life could be easy, less complicated.
Have you heard from Mama? I keep hoping and praying she’ll get some help, maybe come and visit you. Tell me what’s going on with you. Are you going to get the assignment you wanted?
Love you,
Mercy
I stared at my ceiling most of the remainder of the night last night and was dragging butt this morning. I rushed through my shower when I saw I was running short on time. Red glowing seven forty-five stared back at me, mocking me. I chucked my sneaker at it and knocked it off the bedside table. Take that! Aww, yeah.
Running my fingers through my wet strands, I separated them and wove them into a long over-the-shoulder braid before wanding on some mascara. Running to my closet, I yanked a maxi dress off its hanger and then slid my feet into my black foam flops. I ran downstairs, grabbed an apple and a bottle of water, my purse and keys.
The shop was dead and I’d crocheted a new beach cover-up by lunchtime, so I decided to call June. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Mercy.”
“How are you, June?”
“I’m good. Hold on.”
She came back on the line a minute later. “Sorry. Brody is asleep. He had the overnight shift last night.”
“And how is Mr. Brody?”
“Good,” she nearly purred.
“Finally found your perfect distraction?”
She laughed. “You could say that.”
“Well, I’m glad. Hey, speaking of Brody, I have a favor to ask.”
“Sure.”
I explained that I’d felt kind of sick lately and wanted his opinion. I couldn’t afford a doctor and she said she’d see if he could swing by on his way to work this evening. She would be waitressing at the Hard Rock Cafe and her shift started at four o�
�clock this evening. We made plans to hang out on Sunday, our day off.
Celeste came in at four thirty, an unusual half hour early. “You have an appointment?”
“Not with a doctor.”
“Brody?”
I nodded. “How bad is it?”
She shook her head. “I can’t tell for some reason.” She looked at me with pity. This was bad. Even when she’d caught me eating from her garbage, she hadn’t looked at me like she was now. “Mercy, I wish...I wish I could afford to give you health insurance and hire you properly, but I’m on Medicare. Even if I did pay you like the law says I should, if I were to enroll you in a program, it and taxes would eat almost all of your income from the shop up. I looked into it today.”
“Thanks for checking for me. I’m sure this is all nothing. I’ll be fine. I’m young and healthy. Right?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I hope so, Mercy-girl. I really hope so.” Celeste hugged me tightly and told me to go home and wait for Brody. So, I did. He showed up just before six o’clock.
I’d been pacing the floor, waiting for him, so I met him at the door and flung it open before he could even ring the bell or knock. “Hey.”
“Hey. June said you were sick. You’re not pregnant are ya?” he joked.
“I wish,” I muttered. His eyes widened and he stepped inside. Before I closed the door behind him, my eyes locked on a pair of sea-green ones. Jaxon stood in the driveway looking up at me. I rolled my eyes and slammed the thing shut behind me. “I don’t really wish I was pregnant, and I’m not really sick. I... Look, I don’t know how to say this. It’s really embarrassing. And it’s probably nothing, but I was showering this morning,” I paused, taking a deep breath, “and found a lump.”
“On your breast?” His eyebrows rose in concern.
“Well, sort of beside it. It’s tender and I think that’s the only reason I noticed it. I don’t have health insurance and just wanted to get your opinion. I mean, I know you’re not a doctor, but you could tell me if I need to see one, right? You could tell me if you think it’s worth looking into?”
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