by Wendi Zwaduk
She checked the dashboard clock. Crap. Two forty-eight. “I wish we had your siren. We need to get to Clarendon Avenue in twelve minutes and I’m not sure where it is.”
“The siren’s for emergencies, not impatient drivers.” He pointed straight ahead. “If you take a left at the stop sign and go two blocks, we should be in her neighbourhood.”
Before long, they sat in front of the powder blue Cape Cod. Her hands went clammy and her throat dry. “Is this it?”
“Three twenty-two. Yep, that’s it.” Marlon crossed his ankles. His wide smile heated the interior of the vehicle, even if he looked uncomfortable with his knees practically up to his chest. “You’ll get this job, Jaden Marie, I can feel it.”
Shoring up her courage, Jaden stepped from the car. She glanced down at her clothes—jeans and a hoodie with a long-sleeved tunic underneath. Wrestling the hoodie over her head, she finger-combed her hair back into place. Was that dressy enough? At home she’d had a closet full of baubles to accessorise. Here, she was out of luck except for what she’d tossed into her suitcase. She smoothed her hands over the crinkles in her blouse.
“You look beautiful,” Marlon whispered.
“Thanks.” She slid her gaze over his profile and grinned. So tall and strong, he probably feared nothing. With sure steps, she headed up the walkway. A woman with an unnatural shade of copper hair sat on the porch and a white Basset hound with caramel and coffee-coloured freckles lay spread out on the concrete, warming his belly in the late day sun.
“Are you Mrs Pennywood?”
When the woman nodded, short locks of hair bobbed. “People call me Judi, so if you’re working for me, then you can, too.”
Fluttering her hands for lack of something better to do, Jaden inched up the stairs. “You don’t know me and yet you trust me enough to hire me?”
“I have a great measuring system.” Judi pointed to the dog. “You see, Sparky doesn’t like strangers, but you’re on the porch and he’s not making a sound.” She nodded to the car. “Why don’t you get your gentleman friend from the car? We can talk and get to know each other. I assume he’ll be over quite a bit.”
Confused, Jaden flailed her hands once more. “Wait. Over? He’s not my… He’s taken. I’m… We’re friends.” Grief. She snapped her mouth shut to stop her babbling. Yeah, she wanted him to be more, and that kiss, those cuddles, seemed like more. But really. Coming to Ohio was supposed to get her out from under Daddy’s thumb and simplify her life—not make it more complicated. And certainly not for a love match.
Judi smiled. “A nice boy like that isn’t a friend for long.”
Stunned, Jaden sneaked a glance towards the car. As if he’d known they were speaking about him, probably because he’d overheard the conversation, Marlon was now ambling up the walkway. “Hello, Mrs Pennywood. I’m Marlon Cross. I work with Carol Ann.”
Judi snickered, just like on the phone. “I thought you looked familiar. You went with my friend Stella’s granddaughter Michelle for a bit, didn’t you?”
While Marlon fumbled for an answer, Jaden edged forwards to pet Sparky. She held her hand out and allowed the sleepy dog to sniff before she rubbed the top of his head. Brown eyes the colour of a chocolate bar stared at her. A pink tongue sneaked out of the side of his mouth and licked his jowls. She wrinkled her nose. So his breath wasn’t the best and his eyes were a little watery, but weren’t Basset hounds known for their droopy eyes? The more she scratched him, the more attached she became. Maybe being a professional dog walker wasn’t so bad.
“Do you have a place to stay?”
Her gaze snapped from the dog to Judi. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
Another smile crinkled the crow’s feet around Judi’s eyes, giving her a kind Gramma look. “I asked if you needed an apartment. You look a little lost.”
Easing down onto the concrete step, Jaden glanced at Marlon. Better go with the truth. If Judi understood why she’d fibbed and didn’t order her off the lawn, then maybe she was meant for the job. “I am looking for an apartment. I just moved into town and haven’t found anything I can afford. I’m sorry I lied and gave you his address.”
“You? Lie? I’d never guess.” Despite her snappish words, Judi’s eyes sparkled behind her glasses. “I need someone to take over the second floor and stay with me in case I fall or need to go to the grocery store. I’m seventy-two years old and with my angina, I can’t take chances.”
“Angina?”
“I had my heart attack at sixty, but the doctor suggested I be careful and reduce my stress.” She waved her hand. “Stress…tell that to Steven. He’s my son, but I can’t count on him to be around if he’s in one of his moods.”
“I’m sorry.” Jaden sighed. She knew all about moody people. “I’d love to help if you’re offering me the place to crash.”
“Then the bedroom is yours.” Judi turned to Marlon. “Although you won’t be able to visit all hours of the night, I expect to see you. You see, I do have rules. No men after ten.” She giggled again. “Ooh, and that rhymed. I am a pistol.”
Jaden exchanged a confused glance with Marlon only to have him smile and look away. What did he mean by the grin?
“Why don’t we see the upstairs? It’s cosy and already furnished, so you don’t have to lug anything up the stairs. They twist, you know, and that’s hard for manoeuvring. I’d hate for you to get hurt before you hit thirty. But I love my quirky house.” Judi snapped her fingers. “Come on, Sparks. Let’s show our Jaden the room.”
With his hand on the small of her back, Marlon followed Jaden into the house and up to the suite of rooms at the top of the stairs. When Judi opened the bedroom door, he whistled. “This is spacious. From the outside, it looked a bit dinky. Nice.”
“I’m full of surprises.” Judi sighed. “I don’t come up here as much as I’d like. The old hips can’t take the stairs like they used to.” She patted Marlon’s arm. “I’ll leave you two alone, but no horsing around. I like to keep my walls free from divots.”
With a wide-eyed stare, Jaden met Marlon’s equally shocked gaze. Moments after Judi left the room, he whispered, “Did she just say something about denting the walls?”
Jaden nodded. She’d dented a few walls in her time and annoyed people in neighbouring hotel suites. But to hear her landlady mention sex… Well, whatever. She’d go with the flow.
“Does she think we’d screw like rabbits while she’s home?”
Rolling her eyes, Jaden turned her gaze to the colourful quilt decorating the bed. “She used to be young once, too. I’m sure she and her husband did it when she was married. I’m sure you do it, and I’m not exactly virginal, so what’s the big deal?” Not that she wouldn’t mind doing it with him, but he’d never offered. Hell, she wasn’t sure if his long glances and soft caresses meant more than a casual thing. Most men she knew wanted a quick fuck to mark their bedposts and nothing more. One guy even made his encounter into a T-shirt: I laid Jade. Then there were the lies about the extent of her relationship with Sabrina…
Still, Marlon’s fumbling responses jarred her. Maybe he didn’t see them spending time exploring each other’s bodies.
Interrupting her musings, Marlon spoke in his usual sure baritone. “Why don’t we go get that chair so you can get settled?”
With a sigh, Jaden shook her head. “Sure. It’s not like I had a hot date tonight.”
His eyes widened. “Hot date? You just got into town.”
A streak of anger swelled within her. Another man who didn’t trust her to take care of herself. He might be six inches taller than her, but he didn’t scare her. “Don’t get your boxers in a bunch. You have to work, I have to unpack, and it’s not like we’re a couple. Besides, I’m giving up dating for a while to clean up my act.” She clamped her mouth shut. He didn’t deserve her fit of temper, but why’d he have to act so pissy when she mentioned another man—even in theory?
His eyes narrowed. “You’re right.” Jamming hi
s hands into his jeans pockets, he started towards the door. “You’re a piece of work. Look, I’m only three blocks from the department, I think I’ll walk. Maybe you can con your ex-flame, Logan, or that hot date you claim not to have into moving your God damned furniture.”
A howling came from the other side of the door. He tore the wooden barrier open, to find Sparky sitting on the hall carpet, growling and barking.
With a snarl, Marlon turned. “See? You even turned the fucking dog against me and I just met him. No wonder I didn’t want to get involved with you.”
Stunned, Jaden pointed to the door. “If I’m so repulsive, get the hell out of my room and don’t come back. I hate you and never wanted to go out with you.”
“I never asked.”
Slamming the door, Marlon stormed down the steps. Through the thin walls, Jaden heard him speak to Judi and excuse himself. Good riddance. As she sank down onto the bed, a tear slipped down her cheek and splashed onto her hand. Why did the cute ones always have attitude issues? And to think, she’d rather liked him.
* * * *
As he stomped down the walkway, a gentle voice called from behind. Although he wanted to keep going, he turned. Judi stood on the porch with her arms crossed. “I know you just left, but I have something else I want to say to you.”
Forcing his feet to move, Marlon strode back to the steps. “I’m sorry I raised my voice and disturbed you and the dog. I was out of line and I won’t do it again. In fact, I’m pretty sure I won’t be back.”
Judi pulled the terrycloth housecoat a bit more tightly around her shoulders. From behind her, Sparky barked and howled. “I know you won’t holler again. I remember your folks—Renee and Michael didn’t raise a brat. Too smart, but not a brat.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“You’re a decent man, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be back, but that’s not what I need to say.” She sighed and gestured to the deck chairs. “Sit. There are a few things you need to know.”
Marlon held the chair as she sat, and plopped down on the seat next to her. “I’m all ears.”
“You’d better be.” Her voice, though soft, never wavered. “You’re a police officer, right?”
“Sheriff’s deputy. And damned proud of it.”
“So you know when a person isn’t telling the truth, I assume.”
“Most of the time.” Where the hell was she going with this?
“Then you know she’s not running from the law like they say on all those lousy tabloid shows? Rotten so-called newscasters getting the story all backwards to increase viewership.”
“Huh?”
“That sweet woman in my upstairs bedroom isn’t running from the law and she isn’t running away to be belligerent. She’s scared, confused, and trying to figure out who she is without all the fancy, frilly garbage. Don’t you remember being young once?”
Young? He might have been eighteen once, but never young. “Judi, my past has nothing to do with Jaden.” And neither does my future.
She took his hand in hers. Her fingers barely wrapped around his wrist. “Look at the life she’s led. My goodness, I wonder if her father cares about her at all. I watch Delish TV. I think she knows her father is a louse, so she’s trying to find something…and someone to care about her. She’s been embarrassed, harassed and overexposed. Here, she can be a normal, average woman.”
He shifted his feet. Was Jaden looking to him for love? As much as part of him wanted to run upstairs and offer her the world, no. Not possible. Men like him made lousy husbands, if Addy’s words were right. He worked shitty hours, put himself in the line of fire, and cared about almost everyone in the county. He lived and breathed his job. No, she needed a stable guy who worked a stable job and could give her the attention she craved, the attention she deserved. And there was the pesky issue of her past. Crazy former lovers he could handle—the possibility she’d return to her California lifestyle scared him senseless.
“You’re over-thinking this, Marlon.” Judi released his hand and laced her fingers. “Give it time. You may not be soulmates or forever loves, but you won’t know if you don’t give it a chance.”
Leaning back in his seat, he studied the porch rafters. Glints of light shone in what should’ve been a solid surface. Chinks in the armour, so to speak. Could Jaden understand? Would she want a passionate relationship, even if it fizzled? Having her interest, even in theory, warmed his heart almost to the point of melting the ice around it. To keep his mind out of forbidden territory, he changed the subject. “Your porch roof has holes in it.”
“So then I expect to see you on your next day off to fix it.”
His gaze jerked to meet hers. “What? That’s not until next weekend and I had plans to…go fishing.” Or something that kept him far from Jaden.
“It’s been leaky for this long. One more week won’t hurt anything. And don’t try to fib to me.”
Crooking his brow, he considered her. “Are you sure I can do it? What if I’m lousy with my hands?”
“You aren’t.”
Her vote of confidence floored him. “How are you sure?”
“Carol Ann told me how you fixed her car when it broke down last winter and how you managed to figure out the wiring on that heater in the sheriff’s office. Fixing a roof can’t be any harder.”
She had a point. He sighed, scrubbing the back of his neck. It’d mean more time around Jade and after his little outburst, she wasn’t his biggest fan. Then again, with the right clothes and a touch of finesse, maybe he’d win her over. “When do you want me to come back?”
“Next Friday when you get off work will be fine. I’ll have my son, Steven, bring the tools and the supplies.”
Though he knew to keep his mouth shut, he forged on. “Why can’t he do it?”
Judi smacked his knee. “Where do I start? He’s fifty-four and married. He’s got his Daddy’s cranky streak and he’s not fond of my dog. But you, you’re…what, thirty-three? You’re handsome and I know you aren’t married, so what’s the problem?”
Problem? No problem, unless a five-foot-eight blonde swathed in designer denim continued to live on the second floor. He dug his nails into his palms. “I don’t need dating advice. I’ve been through hell and I’m not about to go through it again.” Not when he could screw his life up on his own.
“Suit yourself.” She stood. “But a pretty girl like that won’t stay single for long when the wolves are nearing the yard.” As she opened the door, she spoke over her shoulder. “I’ll see you on the twelfth at ten sharp.”
Wolves in the yard? In Ohio? What? Clenching his fists, he strode down the stairs. Well, fuck. Had other men already noticed Jaden? If she walked through the diner, then yeah, half the single male population of Crawford would see her and if any of them got wind that she was the former socialite…
Dammit. Wolves, leeches, and every other lowlife scum wanting to use her to make a quick buck would be right at the door.
Which did he want? To stay in the solitary security of the job, or to succumb to Jaden’s charms? The department had never let him down—except during his time with Addy. He’d brought that problem on himself. Jaden had more than her share of problems as well. Distance—he needed distance.
But going to the house to check on her and helping out did mean reasons for seeing her without the threat of trying to make it a date. Plus, then he could see the woman she really was, the woman he’d spoken to at the department on the night of the shooting.
The woman of his fantasies.
Maybe handyman work for Judi wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Chapter Seven
One hectic week of learning how to run a vacuum cleaner, hand-washing dishes, and scooping dog poop from the back lawn later, Jaden collapsed onto her bed. If someone had asked her two years previously how she’d feel about leading the Poop Brigade, she would’ve laughed and stuck her nose in the air. But knowing that her work kept Sparky not only healthy, but happy, made her day. Hell
, it made her year. Someone depended on her, she wasn’t letting them down as she usually did, and her father didn’t run her life.
She closed her eyes, and her mind drifted to Marlon. His words still stung a week later. Yes, two years ago she’d had the world’s biggest crush on Logan Malone. Who hadn’t? He made movies, had a hot ass, and had chased her in return. Yes, when he’d fallen head-over-heels for Cass Jensen, it had hurt, but not for long. He was happy, and who was Jade Weir—socialite and loose cannon—to argue? He looked sexier in love anyway. But to have an affair with him? No. Her friendship with Cass was too great to chance it.
Besides, there was Marlon.
How could one man, a cop at that, drive her insane and keep her wanting more at the same time? Because he was different from the men she’d usually chased. He didn’t define her by what she could do for him or what her father’s money could buy him. He saw the scared little girl who wanted to go home, and until now had shown her a bit of human kindness. So why did he want to tear her down?
Maybe the ‘I hate you’ remark? She balled her fists. How else was she going to show his lack of confidence hurt like hell? Tell him? Like that ever worked. She’d given her father the truth and he’d acted as though she wanted him to rip his own heart out.
Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes. No. She wasn’t about to cry over one man who didn’t care and another who wasn’t interested. Forget it. The way her luck ran, Marlon probably knew the skeletons buried in her past, or worse, he’d talked to her father.
“Jaden! Can you come down here?”
When Judi called, Jaden sat up. Even her new friend knew she didn’t need to cry over stupid men. Pulling her hair back into a rhinestone clip, she rose from the bed and started down the stairs. “You needed me?”
Cell phone in hand, Judi grinned. “Sparks wants to go for walkies and Cass called. You left your phone down here so I answered. She wanted to know if you wanted to go to the dirt races with her. Sounds like fun.”