by Codi Gary
Clearing his throat, he put some distance between them. “Try to stay out of trouble.”
Her expression was puzzled, and he couldn’t blame her. She pushed the door open and gave him a little smile. “I make no promises.”
“And leave my bar alone.”
“It’s my bar!” She shut the door before he could say anything and flipped him off. As she ran into the front door of the hotel, heat pulsed in his veins. Excitement and arousal weren’t new to him, but it had been a long time since a woman had gotten to him this way. Since before Jake and Rand’s wedding to be sure.
As he drove home, his mind went into overdrive, scenes flashing in his head for his novel. Several minutes later, he hopped out of his car and ran inside. He flipped on the light, and Orange opened one eye from his sleeping position on his laptop.
“Sorry, buddy, but you got to move.” Red scooped up the cat, whose chest vibrated against his hand with a deep purr until he set him down. When he started to pull away, the cat swiped at him with one of his paws.
“Watch it, asshole, or you can kiss your comfy life good-bye.”
The cat’s tail twitched rapidly, but Red didn’t have time to soothe him. After making a fresh pot of coffee, he sat down and started writing. His characters had just shared their second kiss and some heavy petting when Red’s hands started to cramp. His eyes were bleary, and as he squinted at the clock, he realized it was almost six in the morning.
Saving his work, he shut his laptop and stumbled back to bed. As his head hit the pillow, Jessie’s face popped up behind his closed eyelids.
Whatever else, the girl was great for writer’s block.
Chapter Four
Jessie was up at the crack of dawn and at the bar to finish painting. It was a lot of work for one person, but she wanted the inside updates finished before she bought the new widescreens. Besides that, she needed a new oven and deep fryer for the kitchen, furnishings, and a staff. She had already set up the insurance and applied for her liquor license before she’d even arrived in Loco. They’d approved her a few days ago, so she was good on that. She had already paid for an inspection and business license, but there was still so much to do. It was such a daunting job that sometimes she wondered if she had really thought the whole thing through.
The answer was no. She just wanted out of a bad situation and to fulfill her dream.
And now she had really gone and done it. After Red had kissed her, she had tossed and turned half the night. She didn’t need the distraction or complication of “feelings,” especially for a guy like him.
Oh, you mean a guy who sticks up for a lone woman and offers to drive her home because it’s late?
No, a guy who used her explanation about friendship to kiss her.
Maybe he really had been just proving a point, but even if he hadn’t felt anything, she had. Briefly. Just a little spark, no big deal.
Ha, more like a Fourth of July light show. No, no, no. Stop thinking about him or whatever things you may have felt when he kissed you. You…do…not…want…him.
Trying to do what her brain demanded, she’d been painting for several hours when she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. Turning down the music, she looked at the cell and didn’t recognize the number. Pressing the decline button, she let it go to voice mail.
A minute later, her phone chirped. Putting down the paint roller, she tapped the voice mail icon, and held it to her ear. A familiar voice came over the line and a chill shot down her spine.
“Hey, baby.”
Jessie gripped the phone, her heart pounding hard and fast.
“I can find you anywhere you go, baby. Technology is amazing that way.”
It was impossible. Will was sitting in jail, so the only way he could have gotten her new cell number was if he’d had one of his tech friends search for her.
“I miss you, baby. Don’t you miss me?”
No! In fact, every time he called her “baby,” her skin crawled.
“I have good news. Looks like I’m getting out of here sooner than later. California prison system is overcrowded, and they’re looking for people who are nonviolent and truly repentant.”
“You aren’t sorry for what you did, you bastard,” Jessie muttered to herself.
“I’d love to tell you in person how sorry I am, but I heard you moved closer to your dad. Maybe when I get out we could—”
Jessie hung up the phone and tried to slow her breathing. It was the first time Will had called in over a year. It was why she’d changed her number three times and spent a year traveling; the last thing she wanted was Will getting out and looking for her. Especially after the last phone message he’d left her.
“You owe me, bitch. You ruined my life and if you think you’re getting away from me, you are delusional. I own you, baby. And I have the videos to prove it.”
Going behind the bar, she poured a shot of whiskey and tossed it back, hissing as the liquid heat singed her throat. She didn’t care that it was eight in the morning; she needed it. She knew the police had confiscated all the videos from Will’s computer, but the idea he might have had a backup somewhere haunted her, along with who might have seen it.
Scrolling through her phone, she pulled up her dad’s number and called him.
“Hello.” His rough voice came over the line and Jessie started to relax.
“Hey, Daddy.”
“Jessie-girl, is that you, honey? How are you? How’s the new place?”
Guilt assailed Jessie. No matter how many times she cut him out and hurt him, her dad was always there for her, worrying. She didn’t deserve him.
“It’s a lot of work, but I’m doing well.” When her hands were finally steady enough to hold a paint roller, she started painting again. “How are you? How’s Silvie and the girls?”
“Really good. You know, Megan got into law school, and Laura is going to UC Davis in the fall. She wants to major in journalism…”
Her dad went on and on about his stepdaughters, and her good will diminished as she wondered what he said when people asked about her. Oh, Jessie, well, she got involved with this dirt bag and ended up in some pornos against her knowledge. She sued him and had him thrown in jail, and now she lives off the grid somewhere, only calls home a few times a year. So proud of her.
In her heart, she knew her dad wouldn’t say anything like it to other people, but it didn’t stop her from berating herself for letting him down. She had let jealousy cloud her judgment, and now karma had bit her in the ass hard.
“Jessie?”
Shit, she hadn’t even been listening, but she didn’t want to tell her dad that. “Sorry, Dad. I was painting, and my cheek hit the mute button. What did you say?”
Her father’s sigh told her he didn’t believe her. “It’s okay, I was just saying that I wanted to come out and visit you soon. I kind of like the sound of Loco, Texas.”
Jessie smiled at her dad’s teasing. “Oh, you’d love it. As soon as I find a house, you can come on out and play cowboy.”
“Play, hell, I could ride circles around those Texans.”
“On a horse?” Jessie teased.
“Hell no, on my hog. When you get to be my age, honey, just the thought of getting on a horse can make you hurt.”
Jessie laughed. “Well, all right, Dad, I’ll talk to you later. Got a lot of work left for today.”
“I love you, honey. Call me, no matter what time it is.”
Her heart squeezed. “Thanks, Dad, I will. I love you too.”
Jessie hung up the phone, and the loneliness of her situation really sank in. She had moved across the country, away from family and friends and everything she knew. She was truly alone, and suddenly, her grand adventurous dream seemed like the stupidest idea she’d ever had.
* * *
Red yelled as he woke up, wiping the ice-cold water from his face. When his vision cleared, he saw his mother standing at the end of his bed, an empty glass in her hand, and dressed in her church clothes.
“Couldn’t you have asked me that without trying to drown me?” he griped, wiping his face with his quilt. The air in the trailer was stifling, and he realized he’d forgotten to turn the heat down.
“I tried, but you just continued to snore, so I decided you needed a little encouragement.”
Red swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, realizing too late he was naked. Grabbing up the quilt, he wrapped it around his waist. “Shit.”
“Language, Albert,” his mother said.
She bent over to pick up his boxers and pants off the floor like he was still fourteen years old and handed them over. He took them from her outstretched hand and waited for her to turn around. When she didn’t immediately turn her back, he glowered.
“Can I get some privacy in my own place?”
“Oh, are we embarrassed now? I’m your mother, you know. It’s not like I’ve never seen your package before.”
Nearly choking on his mother’s use of the word package, he said, “I assure you, my package has changed quite a bit since the last time you changed my diaper.”
“You don’t have to be crude, you know.”
He twirled his finger at her, and she turned her back on him. He was just pulling his boxers over his hips when she repeated, “Now, why weren’t you in church?”
“I wasn’t in church, Mother, because I overslept.”
“That is fairly obvious, Albert. What I want to know is why you overslept. Jake and Miranda were in church this morning. I thought you went over to visit them last night.”
God knew he loved his mother, but she still treated him like a twelve-year-old.
Finally, he finished buttoning his jeans. “All right, I’m clothed.”
She spun around and, as if to highlight her irritation with him, started tapping her foot. “You were explaining why your friends were in church, and you look like you just did five eight-second rides with the meanest bull in Texas.”
“Not that it is any of your business, but Rand fell asleep early, and Jake was tired. So, I left their place and went out.”
“And got into some trouble from the looks of that jaw.” As if to get a better look, she grasped his face and turned it toward her.
Red winced as she squeezed the tender flesh, and grabbed her wrist gently. “Ow, let go.”
“I just want to look at it. When are you going to outgrow all this hell-raising and fighting?”
He finally got away from her motherly ministrations. “I didn’t start it. Couple of cowboys were hassling the new owner of the Watering Hole, and I stepped in.”
His mother’s eyes gleamed with a terrifying light. “Oh, really? That was nice of you to take the part of a stranger. I heard the new owner was a woman. What’s her name?”
He hesitated, not liking his mother’s sweet tone. “Her name is Jessie.”
“Well, I’ll have to stop by and welcome her to town. Maybe invite her for dinner. Where does she live?”
It was a trick question. If he told her Jessie lived in the hotel, it could go a couple of different ways, and neither of them were good.
“She’s staying at the Loco Inn. And before you say anything, I offered her a ride home after the fight, and that’s all that happened.”
“I didn’t say anything. You’re a grown man, and you can do whatever you want.”
Red snorted. “Really? Then why are you in my trailer giving me hell for missing church?” Red watched his mother’s eyes narrow with irritation.
“You may be too big to turn over my knee, but you might want to remember who washes your dirty drawers before you get flip with me.”
“You haven’t washed my drawers for quite some time.”
“But I do make your favorite biscuits, and if you ever want to eat at my table again, you better show me some respect.”
Dammit, she was right. No one made buttermilk biscuits like his mama. Walking past his mother, he dumped out the coffee from the night before and started to make a fresh pot. “I am sorry, Mother. You want some coffee?”
“No, I need to go make lunch for your father.” Heaving a heavy sigh behind him, she added, “I worry about you, Albert.”
He turned and leaned against the counter. “I promise I’ll be back at church next Sunday, ready and willing to have the fear of God shoved down my throat.”
She whacked him on his arm. “One of these days, you’re going to learn to watch your mouth.”
He grinned impudently. “Probably not today.”
Red thought he heard her snort as she headed for the front door. Before she left, she gave him a wide grin. “If you run into your Jessie, you should invite her over for dinner.”
“She’s not my—” But his mom was already out the door.
As he waited for his coffee to percolate, he thought about Jessie and her ability to turn him into a writing machine. Maybe it was because he wasn’t just going through the motions in his life. He had something to shake up his humdrum existence.
After he showered and dressed, he got into his Charger and drove toward the Watering Hole. He wasn’t exactly sure what he would say to her when he got there, but he was hoping after a few more encounters, he’d finally have a novel to send in.
* * *
Jessie loved Journey. Belting out the words to “Don’t Stop Believing,” she danced in place as she painted the wall black. Her plan was to leave the bottom half cedar with a break and texture the top half. She was going to mount three wide-screen TVs on the walls and another behind the bar. She thought the plain black would look good, especially if she covered the walls in photographs of local landmarks and people. She wanted to draw the townsfolk to her bar, and if they found pictures of themselves spread throughout, it might ease the sting of her changes.
A beam of sunlight came from her left, and she jumped as she turned to find Red standing in her doorway, looking sheepish.
“Sorry. I knocked, but I guess you didn’t hear me.”
Realizing he must have heard her caterwauling, she snapped, “Obviously, or I would have come to the door to tell you to get lost.”
Red held his hands up, and she hated to admit the color of his hair was starting to grow on her. His gorgeous blue eyes were wide, and the smile he gave her ignited those bad, man-is-he-cute feelings she had been trying to suppress.
“I come in peace,” he said.
“Yeah, right.”
As concrete proof, he bent over to pick up the paintbrush, and when he stood back up, waved at the wall. “Where do I start?”
Her jaw dropped. “A few days ago, you were stomping around yelling at me, and now you want to help me?”
“Well, as you pointed out, this is your bar, and as we’ve both witnessed, I’m not exactly welcome anywhere else in town. So unless I want to stay home or head to the next town, I should probably help you out. Because if you are the only one doing all this work, you are going to take forever.”
She wasn’t sure if he was up to something or not, but she couldn’t afford to turn down the help. Besides that, she wouldn’t mind the company, even if he was kind of an ass.
“You can stay, as long as you don’t kiss me again,” she said.
“No problem. I told you, it was like kissing my sister.”
That stung, even if she’d been asking for it. “Oh, so you do that often? I’ve heard stories—”
His cheeks turned an awful shade of pink. “Shut up and point me to where I’m working.”
She almost felt a little bad for teasing him, since he was here to help. Only a little, though. He’d made her feel about as attractive as mud.
“Okay, well, right now I’m painting the textured part black. My plan is to put three wide-screens spaced out, two on this wall and one in back by the pool table. Once we finish with the painting, it will need to dry before we can do anything else.”
“Did you say three flat-screens?”
She took in h
is wide-eyed, eager expression as a good sign.
“And one behind the bar,” she said, smiling.
He started painting the wall with a grin. “I take it back. You might know what in the hell you’re doing after all.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“So what made you want to open a bar in East Texas in October?”
She took her time answering, wondering why he was so interested. “Because you already have a great bakery, and if I opened a drug store, I might end up back on the pipe.”
She kept a straight face long enough to get a load of his. When she burst into peals of laughter, he shook his head at her. “You are a regular comedian.”
“I know. I used to do stand-up.”
“You did?”
“Are you really this gullible?”
“Around here, we tend to take people at their word.”
Jessie bit her lip, forcing back her smile. “I’m sorry. I’m just not big on talking about myself.”
“So what are you big on talking about?”
“My new life, my new bar, and all things rock ’n’ roll.”
Red grunted. “Seems like we’ll have a lot to talk about, then.”
Chapter Five
Red was an active guy, but after five hours of painting, his arms were sore as hell. He stepped back and looked around the bar at their handiwork.
“I think that’s it,” he said.
She walked over to the space heater and turned it on. “Well, that’s the first coat. I’ve got to wait for this one to dry before I can apply the next one. Hopefully the heat helps.”
“So what else do you need to get this place open?”
He sensed her hesitation, as if she still wasn’t convinced he was here to help. “Listen, I appreciate your help, but you don’t have to do this.”
“I know, but to be honest, I really don’t have anywhere else to be… Shit.” He felt all the blood leaving his head. “What time is it?”
She checked her phone. “Seven ten.”
“Fuck, she is going to kill me.”
“Who, your wife?”
Her casual question made him grin. “My mother, but smooth.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just assumed it was your wife, because what grown man is afraid of his mother?”