Just Practicing (Hearts for Ransom Book 2)

by Georgia Evans

  “I have to watch Dr. Phil!” Mildred started crying. Wasn’t that just wonderful? Jan had managed to make the woman with the “wrath of the cane” cry.

  “I’m sorry, Mildred,” she told her in a soothing voice. “Just turn around and we’ll go to lunch. You can watch Dr. Phil as soon as we get back. Okay?”

  Mildred sniffled. “Okay. I’m going to marry him when I’m old enough, you know.”

  “I know.” At least Mildred had forgotten Gertrude in the uproar.

  “Leonard, please!” He had goosed her. She turned to face him. “You can walk in the front of the line since you can’t keep your hands to yourself today.”

  “I don’t like to walk in front,” he told her. “I can’t watch the girls’ tushes when I’m in front.”

  “Well, you should have thought of that before you decided not to keep your hands off mine,” she countered. “Now, front of the line, please.”

  “I used to have lines,” Albert said. “Lines I put in the water to catch fish on. Sometimes I caught bluegill, and sometimes I caught catfish. Those catfish have ugly, old whiskers.”

  “Lines are for walking in and whiskers are for shaving,” was Samuel’s contribution to the conversation.

  “Let’s go to lunch,” Jan suggested. “Start walking, please, Leonard.”

  He took off at an amble, with Mildred closely behind him.

  Jan had to turn around and get Raymond, who stopped to chat with the goldfish again. He politely told them to enjoy their swim before he went with her.

  She had just gotten them through the line and seated when Lance showed up.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look terrible. What’s wrong?” She only saw friendly concern on his face.

  “I can’t talk about it now.” She was afraid she would start crying again. She, who used to never cry at all, was now officially a certified bawl baby.

  “Okay.” Lance’s eyes didn’t leave her face. “I’ve got these guys covered. Go to lunch.”

  For once, she didn’t even put up a token protest.

  She took her lunchbox to the swing in the flower garden, where she knew it would be peaceful and quiet. Bo had already been gone when Seth got up with Jan and fixed her lunch. She smiled as a few tears fell when she took her first bite of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was nice—like old times. Living in a two-income family had changed their style of living, but Seth obviously still thought his sandwiches were a treat.

  He was still upset about Bo’s desertion the night before. She had no idea what to tell him. It made no sense that Bo would have left Seth to go talk to Logan. What could have been so important he’d have left Seth and then apparently forgot him? She decided that for once, she wasn’t going to fix this. Bo was going to have to figure out how to mend his relationship with Seth on his own.

  And her mother? Last night had been the first time since she returned to Jan’s life that Patsy had shown anger. She stood in the living room and carried on about Bo disappointing her. He always seemed so responsible and loving toward Seth. Was he changing? Was he getting tired of being a parent to a teenager? Good questions.

  Then there was the fact that for all intents and purposes, Bo had not only planned to lie to her; he asked Seth to do the same. What kind of message was he giving the teenager when he told him it was “okay” not to share “guy stuff” with her because he “wasn’t doing anything wrong?” If Bo could lie about something like that, what else could he have lied about?

  Tears streamed down her face as she thought about how much she loved him anyway. The big buffoon had stolen her heart. And he most likely only wanted her body on loan until Seth’s graduation. Once her tears started, she couldn’t stop them.

  Jan ended up spending most of her lunch hour sitting there crying. She forced herself to eat her sandwich since Seth made it for her, but the rest of her food would have to be put back in the refrigerator once she got home.

  It was just a few minutes after she was due back to work when she finally got control of herself and returned to the unit. Lance, obviously seeing evidence of her tears, stepped in and did most of the work with the residents. Jan mechanically went through the routine work, talking very little. Teresa and Sammi even looked sympathetically at her when they came on duty.

  She was just getting into her car when Lance appeared at her side.

  “I’m just being your friend.” He pulled her into his arms.

  Jan put her head on his shoulder and cried. She felt him gently patting her back and heard him telling her that whatever had happened, it would all work out. She would be fine.

  Suddenly, Lance was jerked away from her. It happened so fast Jan couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  “Get your hands off my wife!” Bo slugged Lance’s face.

  Jan’s tears dried up in horror at her husband’s violence. “What? Why did you hit him?” she demanded. “He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just being my friend.”

  Bo sneered at her. “If you’ve decided you’d rather meet his needs than mine, you should just tell me.”

  She couldn’t help herself. She felt her palm make hard contact with his cheek and saw the print it left.

  Jan turned to Lance, who was holding a hand over his eye. She was barely aware of Bo walking away, but she heard the tires of his truck squeal as he pulled onto the highway.

  “I’m so sorry, Lance. I didn’t know…I never dreamed he’d be like that.” She tried to look at his eye.

  He waved her off. “I’ll be fine, Jan. You need to go home and set things right with your husband.”

  “What?” she asked. “But he hit you for nothing.”

  “If I had walked up and seen my wife in another man’s arms, I’d have slugged him, too.” Lance spoke fervently. “Now, go home and fix things.”

  She silently got into her car to drive home. She didn’t know if there was anything left to fix.

  Bo was about as drunk as he’d ever been. And that blonde waitress with a chest the size of Texas was coming on to him again. He was a married man, though, right? Married men didn’t fool around.

  “I’m up for a little extra action with you,” she murmured in his ear.

  Maybe a little extra action was what he needed. His wife was probably getting some from her “friend” about now.

  “Let’s take it to your car.” She rubbed her breasts against his arm and leaned over. Those sure were big gals.

  “I don’t have a car,” he slurred. “We hafta use my truck.”

  “That’ll work, big boy.” She brushed her hand across his groin. It looked like his parts weren’t working right again, though. Maybe they’d kick into gear pretty soon. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re up for some action before we get started.” She noticed his problem. Should he be embarrassed? He wasn’t real sure.

  “Less go,” he told her.

  With one arm thrown around her, they made their way outside to his truck. He somehow got into the passenger seat and found himself sitting with his legs out the side of the truck and his feet on the ground.

  “This’ll work fine,” she crooned. “I’ll just take a little somethin’ off and hop on for a ride.” She put her hands under her skirt and the next thing Bo knew she was waving a pair of panties in his face.

  She dropped them before she crawled up on his lap and straddled him. Was he back in business? Nope. Nothing happenin’ down there.

  “Now, let’s let the big guy come out to play. I’ll wake him up.”

  Just as she started to unfasten his jeans, Bo saw Jan’s face. This wasn’t his wife on his lap. He didn’t want to make love to any woman except his wife. He abruptly stood up, dropping the woman onto the asphalt, her bottom smacking the ground soundly and her feet flying up in the air.

  “Are you after another woman’s guy again?” Logan had appeared from nowhere and was addressing the waitress. “This one’s even wearin’ a wedding band, for the love of Babe Ruth!”

  She ma
naged to stand up and looked from Logan to Bo, and back again.

  “I might have known he’d turn out to be your friend,” she hissed. “You two are about as much fun as a root canal.” She started to limp away. Looked like she might have a sore hip or something.

  Logan leaned down and picked up her panties. “Forgot somethin’!” he called out before he tossed them to her. “And I’d say during your last root canal, the dentist drilled a little too deep and sucked out what little brain you had left in that airhead.”

  Even in his present state of mind, Bo realized this must be the waitress who hit on Logan the night Mason encouraged him to cheat. And Bo almost had sex with her. If she could have got his parts to work, he’d be a cheating husband. A no-good, cheating husband who didn’t honor the wedding vows he promised he’d honor. And cheating on the woman he loved. He was worthless.

  “I bite.”

  “Yes, my friend. Right now I have to agree.” Logan didn’t seem happy with Bo.

  “Why are you here? You’re mad at me.” Bo pointed his finger at Logan and poked his nose. “I can tell.”

  “Mel’s tending bar tonight. He saw how soused you got your stupid self and called me.” Logan smacked Bo’s hand away from his face.

  “I hafta get home to my wife. She’s gonna let her friend meet her needs if I don’t do it. I wanna meet her needs, I like hearing those happy noises, and she feels so good. I love her.” He grinned at Logan. “Didja know I love my wife. She don’t know it, but you do. Does that mean I love you too?”

  “You are the most idiotic drunk I’ve ever seen,” Logan told him plainly. “Come on. You’re going home with me.”

  “I hafta go home to Jan. I need to meet her needs. She can get all of my parts workin’ again. They work real good for her. Didja know that?” Why wasn’t Logan listening to him? Didn’t he realize how important getting home to Jan was?

  “I guarantee if you go home, the only needs you’ll have to worry about are the ones Em meets for you in the emergency room, after Jan’s finished with you. Now, come on.” He pulled on Bo’s arm.

  “Wanna hold my hand?” Bo asked, swinging his arm around Logan’s shoulders. “If we hold hands, you can tell Jan you’re my best friend, and I’m not meeting your needs. She can’t meet her friend’s needs then, either.” That made sense. She’d have to listen to that.

  “Bo, if you don’t shut your mouth and get in my truck, I’m gonna knock you out cold and drag you.” Logan was really mad.

  Bo felt bad. He made everybody mad. “I make everybunny mad.” He felt the need to confess to Logan. “I make Jan mad. I make Passsty mad. I make Sef’s coach mad. I even make you mad.”

  “Shut up,” Logan repeated as he stuffed Bo into the truck and fastened his seat belt. “And if you barf in my truck, you’re paying to have it detailed. Understand?”

  “Jan will be worried when I don’t come home,” Bo managed to say.

  “Emily already called her. You’re out of luck, too, because Em won’t lie for you. Your wife already knows where you are and the condition you’re in. Let’s just hope she doesn’t find out who I found you with.”

  “Iss okay. I couldn’t do anysing anyway. She’s not Jan, and I only want Jan. My parts don’t even work for anybody but Jan.”

  “Really, Bo.” Logan sounded disgusted. “Shut your mouth now.”

  Bo felt sleepy. He put his head back. His last conscious thoughts were of the importance of meeting Jan’s needs.

  Jan was seeing red, and it wasn’t her nephew’s hair. Emily picked her up bright and early and drove her to Trimble’s parking lot to pick up Bo’s truck. She made one quick stop before she drove the rest of the way to Logan and Emily’s house to pick up her husband.

  Emily must have told him she was there because she had just pulled up when Bo walked out. He looked like death warmed over, which was fine with Jan.

  As soon as they got on the road, she reached over and tuned the radio to a country station before cranking it up almost as loud as it would go. Then she pulled out the big, greasy slice of breakfast pizza she bought at the convenience store. With a silent prayer that it didn’t make her sick, she began wolfing it down, making sure to wave it around in front of the air conditioning vents so Bo could get the full effects of its odor.

  Instead of driving straight home, she pulled off onto an old gravel road that meandered around and eventually ended up a few miles past their house. As she drove and ate with the music playing loudly, she made sure to hit every bump and hole she could see.

  Bo finally put his head in his hands, then raised it and looked at her through bloodshot eyes.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” he yelled.

  She cranked the stereo a little louder and started singing along, without swallowing her food. She had just taken her last bite when he shouted again.

  “I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everything! I shouldn’t have acted like a jealous husband yesterday, and I shouldn’t have gone out and drank myself stupid last night!”

  She pulled over and jerked the truck to a stop. After shutting the stereo off, she turned to Bo.

  Childhood memories fueled her rage. “What exactly are you trying to teach Seth? That it’s okay to hit first and ask questions later? Of if you mess up, you should go get wasted and screw the first piece of tail that flashes her boobs at you? If that’s the kind of role model you want to be, maybe Seth and I would be better off with my mom!” Even though she was angry, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

  “I didn’t cheat on you,” he said softly, trying to pull her into his arms.

  “No!” She shoved him away. “You smell like stale beer and cheap perfume. If you want a woman like the ones who work at Trimble’s, say the word, and Seth and I will be packed and out of your house before you know it.” The tears were falling faster.

  “I only want you.”

  She wanted to laugh. “You sure have a funny way of showing it. I hope you remember how to set up that cot, because I’m not sharing a bed with you.”

  “I’m sorry, Jan. Please…”

  “We’re going home before Mom brings Seth back. You need to take a shower and try to act like the man he deserves.” She wiped the last of her tears away and pulled back onto the road.

  “I want to be the man you de…”

  She didn’t hear the rest of what he said. She had turned the stereo up full blast again.

  If there was a place on Bo’s body that didn’t ache, he didn’t want to know where it was. He had gotten used to sleeping in their king-size bed with Jan, and now he was back on that blasted cot, right where he deserved to be. He was actually surprised she hadn’t kicked him clear out of the bedroom.

  He hammered another shingle down. How far he had fallen! He had been days away from telling his wife he loved her, and now they were sleeping apart and barely speaking to each other. Every time he tried to apologize, she shot him down. He was plain miserable.

  “Bo!”

  He looked down to see Gerald Ryman yelling up at him.

  “Logan wants you—now.”

  Bo didn’t even have it in him to ask what was going on this time. He silently climbed down the ladder and walked to the trailer.

  “Before you sit down, look out the window,” Logan instructed, no humor whatsoever in his voice.

  Bo groaned as he looked at the roof and saw the only row of shingles he had time to lay—sideways again.

  He dropped onto the chair and put his head in his hands.

  “What’s going on, Bo?” Logan asked wearily.

  Bo looked at him. “I don’t know. I keep screwing up.” He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a husband or father. I’m only twenty-six years old, and I’ve never had anybody to learn from.”

  “What about your dad?” Logan’s voice was kinder.

  Bo shrugged. “Didn’t have one. I was raised in the foster system until I aged out. I don’t have any idea who my parents are, or where I�
�m even really from. Maybe I was just born to be a screw-up.”

  Logan frowned. “So, you didn’t have a fairytale childhood. Who did?” He was really angry. “You need to get over yourself and look at what you’ve already done with your life. You’ve helped a boy who came from a worse situation than the one you came from. You’ve helped raise him for over a year. The kid calls you ‘dad’! And you’ve been growing closer to the woman you’re married to, and claim to love, during all that time, too.”

  Bo listened, a pensive expression on his face.

  “It’s up to you though, Bo. If you really want to be a bachelor with no obligations other than taking care of yourself, you need to decide now and do something about it. It’s not fair to Jan or Seth for you to drag it out, if you’re gonna cut and run.”

  “I don’t know…I just don’t know anything anymore,” Bo quietly said.

  “Well, I know you’re taking the rest of the day off to clear your head. I can’t afford to keep re-shingling our houses.”

  Without another word, Bo stood up and walked out of the trailer.

  He had some important decisions to make.

  It had been a crazy Friday for Jan. She and Lance had taken the residents to the discount store for an outing, and Raymond wanted to bring a large stuffed rabbit back with him. They weren’t on an approved shopping trip this time; they were just on a community visit. The sweet old man was near tears when he finally told the rabbit goodbye and promised to write it letters. It was all Jan could do not to buy the rabbit for him herself, rules or no rules.

  Then Mildred chased Gertrude around the rec hall a couple of times, threatening her with her cane, as usual. Gertrude surprised Jan when she stopped and took a stand, armed with her crochet hook, of all things. Of course, Leonard was egging them on, chanting “cat fight,” and both Albert and Samuel added to the uproar with their standard observations. Claudia, sitting in her chair right in the middle of the action, slept peacefully through it all.