Disgruntled

by Shelley Wall

  “You just want to see me na—” Todd stopped and glanced at Eric as he growled at the blue water that trailed off his feet in puddles.

  “This is a G-rated yard now, but yeah, you caught me.” Reva shook her hair out of her face to avoid stroking it back with orange fingers. “Like I said, hand it over.” She snapped her fingers.

  Todd drew the T-shirt over his head and tossed fabric into the orange hand. He raised a brow and Reva knew he doubted it would be the same again.

  “Your stomach’s blue, Dad.” Eric pointed. Todd looked down and laughed. The blue paint had seeped through the cloth and branded him with blue splotches across the pecks. He had soft lapis-colored hairs over his heart that filtered to a dark brown toward his jeans. Even the odd color didn’t squelch Reva’s uncomfortable desire to touch them. “So are you, bud. Let’s go home and take a shower.” Reva liked the two of them together. They had an easy affection that comforted her. An affection that was based on trust and a lot more. Todd had never laid a hand on this child. She was certain. That knowledge made him incredibly desirable.

  “Why don’t you just climb in my shower? By the time you get home, it would dry and probably crust a nice tattoo. There’s soap and everything in there, a loofa too. That might scrub the color off. Sorry about the mess. I didn’t really think this through, I guess.” She stood.

  “It’s okay, Reva,” Todd said. He reached for her arm. Eric bounced from foot to foot as he admired his work. “I liked painting. That was awesome Miss Zamora! Can I keep the towel?” He noticed Todd’s hand on her arm and smiled. “Of course! It’s yours. Let me iron it so the color sets while you two clean up. Then we’ll have some lunch. Okay?” She cast a glance to Todd. He nodded.

  Todd tugged Eric’s shirt up. It caught briefly on his head then released. A white shirt emblazoned with a kid’s team name, now covered in blue. He tossed it to Reva. She caught the cloth mid-air and turned toward the sink.

  “Wait.” Todd blurted. “Don’t wash it out. Would you mind ironing those with the towels?”

  “But they’re covered in blue paint. They’re ruined. I can get it out if we hurry and wash them.”

  He swallowed and she thought his eyes glistened. “I don’t want you to wash it out.” She spread out the shirts on the counter and stood back.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Reva, I may not get much more of this with him. If Annie marries this guy—let’s just say every day or weekend is a gift. This,” Todd waved his hand toward the shirts, “is a gift. It’s something he’ll remember and so will I. We’re keeping the shirts exactly as they are.”

  Todd’s eyes lowered and he pointed at her breasts. “You may want to wash that though.” He grinned. “Eric’s a hugger.”

  Two blue splotches strategically placed. “Oh my God.” Reva blushed.

  Todd’s lips twitched. She watched him struggle to control the laughter.

  “Quite a fashion statement. I think there’s hand prints on your back too.” He turned, scooped Eric up, and carried him to the bathroom. The child wiggled and giggled all the way. From the bathroom Todd shouted, “I’ll pay for your shirt if you iron that in for me too. Hell, I’ll iron them all myself if you give me a few minutes.”

  “Daddy, you said a bad word.”

  “I know. Sorry.”

  She heard the water running just before the door closed. Reva went to her room and changed into a clean bra and shirt. The tenseness in her neck and back fell away. Todd wasn’t mad. He hadn’t yelled at Eric for getting it all over him. He didn’t get upset with her either. Additionally, he looked hot as hell without a shirt and smeared in blue paint. How wonderful that this moment had meant so much to the man! She hugged herself.

  12 CHAPTER TWELVE

  Todd stripped Eric, lathered soap into the loofa, and began scrubbing the blue coating from his skin. Yeah, it’s semiwater soluble. Good thing it hadn’t reached his face or he’d look as if he had a health problem. The paint left his skin a faint purplish hue. Still, Eric had enjoyed it. Not just enjoyed it, he bubbled. As the shower flowed over his face, Eric rambled on and on about the picture. Apparently there had been a method to the handprints.

  “Dad, did you see the horses? I used my hands to make them.” The shower water had cleared somewhat. “You did a great job.”

  “And the grass under them? Did you see how I made it go up around their feet?”

  “Hooves. Horses don’t have feet, they have hooves, Eric.” Might as well use the opportunity to teach something. “They don’t have hands either, and no fingers or toes but they do have teeth. Maybe we’ll go ride some when there’s time.” “Maybe. Uh, I don’t know how.”

  “Then, you’ll learn. It’s not that hard. You just have to be careful. We’ll try it sometime.”

  “Can Ms. Zamora go with us? Does she know how?” Todd lathered Eric’s hair, rinsed it, and wrapped him in a towel. “I’m not sure if she does or not. Put your clothes on and go ask. Let me wash off real quick and I’ll be right there.” He smiled as Eric wriggled into his shorts and ran out, leaving the door wide open. If only life remained as easy as when you were little. Everything a new adventure, no fear of death or failure. No reason for modesty. He closed the door. There was something to learn from that.

  He heard them singing as he approached the kitchen. He smiled. The two of them chanting along to the radio. Nice. He added his voice before rounding the corner. Eric sat on the counter. Todd grabbed him and threw him in the air then caught him. It was one of their favorite routines that always got a bout of giggles from the child.

  “Watch out, you’ll hit his head!” Reva warned.

  “We do this all the time and so far, he’s only had six stitches.” Todd winked as he lowered a giggling Eric to the floor.

  “He’s just kidding, Ms. Reva. I had six stitches when I tried to climb the tree in the backyard and fell. Daddy didn’t do it.” Eric pulled up the hem of his shorts and showed the scar. A tiny white mark on his tanned leg.

  “Oh, that’s nothing!” She grinned. “It makes you look tough. Maybe I’ll show you mine sometime.”

  Todd suppressed a frown as he thought how she might have obtained similar scars. The fact that she offered to show them interested him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see. “You had stitches too?”

  “Yes, a bit more than that.” Reva pulled a paper towel from the roll by the sink and wiped down the counter.

  “Then you must be really tough!” Eric said.

  Reva stopped wiping and her shoulders stiffened. “That’s exactly what she is,” Todd acknowledged. “And smart too if she can keep someone like you entertained all morning.” He tousled Eric’s wet locks.

  Her shoulders fell and she commenced wiping again. After a few tries, the ironed artwork lay on the counter for display. Todd and Reva had taken turns setting the color. They’d laid cheesecloth over each piece and pressed it. The heat soaked through the layer and supposedly sealed it, saving Eric’s handprints for posterity. Todd salvaged Reva’s shirt from the trash in order to press it. She barely protested. It was ruined anyway.

  “Miss Reva, want to go with us to the monster truck show?” Eric asked.

  Surprised, Todd shot a glance at the round eyes pleading him to give in. Todd had purchased the tickets online from the office before he left work. He’d mentioned it to Eric on the phone that morning. It was intended as a potential reward for behaving at Reva’s house until he arrived. “What?” She looked from boy to man.

  “We have tickets to the Monster Mash at the convention center tonight. It’s one of those truck things where they drive over cars and things. I bought them this morning.” He wagged a finger at Eric. “There were conditions though and you know it.”

  “I already cleaned everything up.” Eric held up his hands. As if he had recollected another requirement, he pressed his face into Reva’s legs and wrapped his arms around her. She faltered a step to catch her balance and patted his back. “Thank you, Miss Reva,” he sai
d.

  Todd watched her face warm. Did he really see her eyes glisten? Yeah. Her eyes wandered from the painted shirts to Eric and then up to meet his gaze. She gets it.

  “No, Eric. I have you to thank. I would have been bored to tears if you hadn’t been here.”

  “Daddy?”

  “Yeah?” He liked that Eric used the word even if it didn’t rightfully apply.

  “Reva can go now, right?”

  Todd sighed. Damn, the kid liked to put him in awkward situations. Sure, she could go but did she want to? He raised his eyes to her.

  “Yes, Eric,” Reva answered for him. “Reva can go as long as your Dad doesn’t mind—but you know it’s not nice to do that. He may have already asked someone to go.” Seriously? Who would that be? It’s not like he had time to socialize. In fact, he had intended to spend the night in front of the computer entrenched in invoicing until Eric called. Now, it seemed his weekend would be a lot more interesting and certainly a lot less tedious. “I called up Angelina Jolie but Brad answered the phone and squashed that plan. So, I guess you’ll do.”

  “Well, that’s a bummer. Second fiddle again.” She grinned. “At least I know who the competition is.” She whirled around and headed toward the door.

  Competition? Did that mean something? Todd followed with Eric’s hand clutched in his.

  “I’ll come by around six-thirty to get you.” He scooted Eric out the door. “And Reva? Thanks for today. I can’t believe she—” He stopped as he remembered his audience. “She probably didn’t know you weren’t there.”

  Eric listened quietly. Todd didn’t say what crossed his mind but knew Reva picked up on it. She nodded. She knew; she just didn’t care.

  “Thanks.” He tugged Eric’s hand and they headed home. Man, she was something. The walk to his house was filled with Eric’s incessant chatter. Eric held up the shirt and pointed out every paint smear. The kid obviously didn’t get a lot of praise on a day-to-day basis. He craved it and Todd didn’t mind. It frustrated him that Annie hadn’t been the kind of mom this child deserved. The kind that would praise him for painting a T-shirt blue with his hands. Or the kind that would let him paint at all. As soon as they got home, Eric went to his room to put it back on and Todd changed into a clean shirt.

  Tap. Tap. Tap. A knock at the door. As Todd went to answer it, he called to the back. “Eric, why don’t you lay down for a short nap before we leave?”

  “’Kay Dad.”

  He swung the door ajar and turned back…to Reva. She glanced around the room behind him.

  “Hi.” She hesitated, then reached a hand to his face. Her fingers were warm against his cheek. He smiled. “I just wanted to, um, do this.” She entwined fingers into his hair. He couldn’t help but stare as her tongue trailed across her lips. She stepped into him and pulled his head down. What a unique sensation to have a woman kiss you when she’s shaking so much she’s practically vibrating. Todd wrapped his arms around her waist and held tight, trying to still her nerves. She relaxed. For a second. Then she pushed her other hand up to his chest, slipping her fingers under the shirt he’d recently donned.

  Todd sucked in the smell of her hair and her skin. “Reva, you—”

  “Shhh. Don’t stop me while I’m on a roll,” she mumbled. He wanted to eat her up. She smelled delicious. She looked delicious. And wow, she felt it too. Reva skidded her mouth across his cheek and laced her tongue along the lobe of his ear before returning to his mouth and opening hers for him. He didn’t hesitate. That tongue that had slipped so seductively across her mouth moments earlier, now tangled with his. A wet, silky dance performed together. It filled him with need. Need. He hadn’t felt that in a while.

  Todd pulled her from the threshold, his mouth locked to hers. He shifted Reva to one side and freed a hand to slip the door closed.

  “You taste – amazing, Reva,” he whispered huskily. Amazing. Soft. Sexy. Sweet and incredibly female. Without thought, he grazed a hand up her spine and trailed his fingers through her hair. He reared his head back to watch the softness of it slip through his fingers before lowering to slip the shoulder of her shirt to the side. He nibbled at the silkiness of the revealed skin.

  Reva moved her head to the side as if to give him more room. She closed her eyes and smiled. She smiled. The most seductive and beautiful smile he’d ever seen was focused on him. Then she brought those lips back to his.

  “Back at ya,” she said.

  One more taste. Mmmm. Todd leaned toward her, lifting from the wall, straining to get closer.

  “I’ll see you later,” she whispered. Reva trailed a hand across his cheek, pulled the door open, and slipped into the fresh air, leaving him wanting.

  13 CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Brent dwelled on simple communications too much. His ex had said it many times but he didn’t listen. Not in those words exactly, but she had said a lot of things that he didn’t care to remember. Too many, in fact.

  He had followed Reva the night they’d had their first discussion. He’d done so mainly because he was certain she’d been lying about having a commitment after work. She’d gone straight home. Figures. Women are so dishonest. She just wanted to get rid of him.

  He wondered how much of their conversation held any merit. Probably none.

  He had decided to keep tabs going forward. His curiosity was out of whack. He wondered if the entire story of softball was pure fiction. “We’ll just see about that,” he had said the following night as he rumbled past her house around eight. The lights were off and her car sat idle in the driveway. He pulled past and parked two houses down, a step he had done the night before too.

  His cell rang and he killed the engine, grumbling as it sputtered twice before going silent. “Brent,” he barked. “It’s me.” His ex-wife. Great. Haven’t you taken enough? “What do you want?”

  “The car stopped working this week.”

  “Not my problem. You wanted it, you fix it.”

  “I know, I took it to the shop down the street. Remember Bob, the mechanic? He looked at it.” Yeah, he remembered Bob. She had a thing for the guy. “He said there was water in the gas tank. Sound familiar?”

  He snickered. Yeah, he’d poured a gallon in but so what? “Nope, why are you calling me about it?”

  “Apparently gasoline floats on top of water, so if you pour in several cups of it, the fuel pump will fill the fuel lines with water instead of gasoline and the car would have major problems. At least that’s what Bob said.”

  “So?”

  “So, did you or did you not put water in my gas tank?” “Why the hell would I do that, Tina?” He hung up and didn’t bother to cover a grin. It amused him that she was pissed.

  From behind, he heard voices. Loud, boisterous voices. He glanced in the rearview and saw Reva and three guys headed down the street. They weren’t going to her house, but on past. She had dirty shorts on and one of the guys carried a baseball bat and glove.

  “Hmmm, maybe she is playing ball. And fraternizing with the entire team, it looks like. Figures.”

  He waited a while, then turned the key in the ignition. It took a moment for the truck to cough back to life, and he maneuvered it away from the curb. It tempted him to follow the group but he decided he’d skip that for now. Another time. Since she’s so social with those guys, maybe she wouldn’t mind if he dropped by some day.

  He looked at the end of the 9mm he’d slipped under the seat. Maybe he’d go shoot a few rounds. Let out some steam.

  14 CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Incredibly Loud, Super Fast, and Insanely Crazy – that’s all Reva could say about the Monster Truck show. It captivated Eric and she couldn’t help but be entranced as well. By the end of the evening she was exhausted and totally enthralled from watching Todd, Eric, the trucks, and all the craziness of the event. Mainly though, she just watched Todd. Covertly, of course. Sure, he’d caught her staring a few times; he just tossed a smile back and she went all mushy and hot inside.

&nbs
p; When they walked out of the convention center, Todd grabbed her hand along with Eric’s. The three of them walked together still feeling the roar of the engines in their guts. She attributed some of the rumble to the chilidogs and popcorn. The night wind caught them as they rounded a corner to head toward his truck. Reva shivered. This was good.

  By the time they’d reached her house that night, Eric was fast asleep in the back seat, hunched over against the door. “Tired. I’m hellaciously tired.” She yawned and let her head drop against Todd’s chest as he stood in front of her at the door of her house. A monumental step for someone who carefully measured every movement around her. He smelled so good and warm.

  “Hold on a second,” he murmured as he lifted his hands to her hair and fumbled. “You have some popcorn in your hair. There. Got it.”

  Reva inhaled the scent that emanated from his neck. So. Incredibly. Yummy. She couldn’t stop it, her mouth just had to go there. And it did. She touched her lips softly against his throat. She thought he groaned softly. She felt the rumble.

  “You sure you want to do that?” he said.

  “Come in with me.” She opened the door and pulled his hand. An entire day of these two had her hormones in overdrive. Todd had lifted Eric easily to his shoulders to walk through the crowd. He’d dropped an arm casually across her shoulders periodically and she had felt the strength in it. He had no need to prove strength was there, it just was. He had no need to use it for any purpose other than to tighten the relationship between he and Eric, or perhaps steer her gently through the throng of people. “I have Eric.” Todd nodded toward the car.

  She nearly forgot about the child! “You have Eric.”

  Todd ran his fingers into her hair, gathering it between a forefinger and thumb. He twisted it and watched in a trance. “I don’t want to go,” he murmured.

  “But you have to. It’s okay.”

  Todd pulled her to his chest and wrapped his big, thick, liftanything arms around her. One of the perks of working with lawn and garden things obviously. “This has been the best day, Reva. I don’t want it to end.” He kissed her hair. “I know. Me too.” She slid her fingers up his back. “There will be other days. Lots of them.” He stroked her hair.