by Jessie Cooke
8
Two Years Later
It took Jace a while after he got out of prison, but by the end of that first year, he finally had a job, an old beater of a car that got him there and back, and an apartment where Rosie could spend his days off and the holidays with him. He had planned on applying to the courts for custody of her, but he didn’t have to. When he went to tell the Colonel his plans, the old man simply said:
“Just give me the papers and I’ll sign them.” When Jace took them to court to finalize and make them legal, the family court officer looked at the visiting logs for the place where Rosie was and saw that the Colonel had only been there three times. Those three times he was compelled to go by the staff, to sign paperwork that was necessary to keep Rosie in the facility. The court officer expressed concerns about Jace’s felonies and time in jail and prison but by that time it had been almost a year and Jace already had a job working at a nice restaurant, an apartment, and hadn’t been in any trouble since. He was granted temporary custody for ninety days with the stipulation that Rosie stay in her facility at least until the situation was fully evaluated by professionals. The Colonel was willing to continue to pay for her care, so that wasn’t a problem. Jace’s apartment was only a few blocks away and he could visit her any time he wanted. After the ninety days he was granted full physical custody and could have taken her out of the facility…but she was happy there and he knew they could offer her much more of what she needed on a day-to-day basis than he could. She loved coming to his new place for visits, but she also loved going back to the facility and seeing her friends and “family,” as she called the staff.
It had been almost a year to the day since Jace gained custody of his sister, and things were going great…and then Carly, Myrna’s bitch of a sister, blew back into town. Jace didn’t even know who she was at first when he opened his front door and she was standing there, perfectly coiffed, manicured, and smelling of expensive perfume. “I thought you weren’t going to answer the door.”
“Thought about it,” Jace said. “What are you selling?”
The look on her face was absolute indignation. “Selling? Seriously? You don’t recognize me?”
“No…should I?”
“I’m your sister’s Aunt Carly…Myrna’s sister? Or have you completely forgotten about her?”
Suddenly Jace remembered her. The last time he’d actually seen her had been not long after the accident, when she came to town and gave his father power of attorney so she didn’t have to be responsible for her sister’s care. It made him like her even less than he already did. She never called or asked about Rosie, and if she did come into town in between then and now, she never stopped in to visit her niece. So, the question was, what did she want? Or maybe the bigger question was, did he want to know? “What can I do for you?”
“Let me in, first of all. What’s going on in there that you can’t let me in?”
Jace frowned at her and she said, “You know, if you keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles, and God knows it won’t help your looks.”
“Carly, I’m not usually one to cuss at a lady, but if it’ll hurry this along, can you just tell me what the fuck you want?” Jace didn’t want to let her inside because Rosie was there visiting. His sister was still wary of strangers, and aunt or not, Carly was a stranger.
“Well! You’re as nasty as he is, aren’t you? The apple didn’t fall far from that tree.”
“You’re talking about the old man now, I assume? Whatever problem you have with him, you’ll need to take up with him. I don’t talk to him about anything but Rosie’s care.”
“Well, you need to make an exception in this case. I know you and my sister weren’t close, but she’s Rosie’s mother. Have you seen her lately? She’s the most pathetic creature on earth. You have to talk to that crazy man. Tell him he has to let her go. Now.”
Jace snorted. “He wouldn’t listen to me if I told him to step out of the way of a train, Carly. Besides, you gave him power of attorney. If you think he’s not doing her justice with it, then take him to court and get it back.”
“That could take years, and a ton of money that I don’t have.” Jace looked her over, his eyes landing on the bag hanging over her arm that even he knew was extravagant. “I’m not rich, Jace. I make fifty thousand dollars a year. Yes, I dress nice, but I’m a buyer for Barney’s and I get fantastic discounts. So don’t make assumptions. I gave up my rights back then because I was devastated and scared to death I’d make the wrong decision. I actually believed that your father loved her enough to do the right thing…but he’s not. I don’t know why he’s keeping her alive, but it’s gone way past right or wrong and it’s just plain cruel.”
“He won’t listen to me.”
“Please try.” She batted her long, fake eyelashes at him. He rolled his eyes and said:
“Fine. I’ll go talk to him Monday…”
“No! Go talk to him now. He’s there at the hospital and her doctors are there. My plane leaves tomorrow afternoon. Please, go talk to him now.”
“I can’t just leave now, Carly.”
“Why not?” Jace looked over his shoulder and she said, “My niece is here? You weren’t going to let me see her?”
“When was the last time you even tried to see her? She doesn’t even know who you are.”
She frowned, almost a pout, really. “This whole situation has just been horrible. You have no idea. Please, Rosie is my only family left. Let me at least see her.”
Jace sighed and stepped back, opening the door wider. As she stepped inside and looked around, her face pinched up with a distasteful look. Jace glared at her again and said, “Not a word about my place. You remember, I’m doing you a favor here.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” she said. Jace rolled his eyes and said:
“Have a seat. I’ll get Rosie. She’s in her room.”
Carly looked at the couch like she was afraid it had bugs, but finally perched herself on the edge of it. Jace had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that this was a bad idea…but, maybe if he let her see Rosie for a few minutes, she’d go away and leave them alone. Jace felt horrible about Myrna, but he’d been honest with Carly…he would be the last person on earth that the Colonel would ever listen to.
Rosie was sitting on her bed, Indian style, having a tea party with her dolls. Jace stopped in the doorway and looked at her. When she was little, she looked so much like him. Other than the dark eyes and hair now, she’d outgrown the resemblance, and he was glad. She’d gotten her mother’s smooth skin and full lips, and she had a much smaller nose than his. She was beautiful, inside and out, and sometimes Jace felt like his heart would burst when he looked at her. He knew Carly and Myrna didn’t have that kind of relationship, but they were sisters and unless Carly was heartless, what was happening to her sister had to affect her. That was why Jace agreed to let her see Rosie, more than anything else. He would never be able to stand it, if his sister was withering away and someone kept him from the only whole part of her left. That was what Rosie was, the last living part of Myrna.
“Hey, Rosie, there’s someone here to see you.”
“No.” She didn’t like visitors. Visitors disrupted her routine and she loved her routine.
“It’s your Aunt Carly.”
She shook her head and her black hair flew back and forth. “No.”
“Rosie,” Jace said, going closer to the bed. “She just wants to see you for a minute. You don’t have to stop what you’re doing. Can she come see you in here?”
Rosie made a face but said, “K.”
“Okay, I’ll tell her just a few minutes.”
“K.”
Jace bent down and kissed her forehead. He went back out and told Carly, “She doesn’t want to come out, but you can go look at her as long as you don’t disturb her tea party.” Carly cocked an eyebrow but thankfully didn’t say anything. She followed Jace down the hall and Jace stepped into the room first. Rosie
looked up at him but he heard Carly gasp and Rosie’s eyes moved to her.
“Rosie…you look so much like her.” Jace knew “her” meant Myrna, but he was sure Rosie didn’t. Rosie never even talked about her mother, and Jace was sure she’d forgotten her…until now.
“Mama?”
Carly looked up at Jace. Jace could feel her stare, but he was looking at his sister. Carly did look a lot like Myrna, but this whole time, Jace hadn’t heard Rosie mention her mother at all. He hadn’t taken her to see Myrna because he was afraid it would upset her, that she wouldn’t understand what was going on. Suddenly he felt guilty about that. Maybe this whole time Rosie had been missing her mother, and he’d kept her away. “No, Rosie, this is your Aunt Carly.”
“Mama.” Rosie said. Jace finally looked at Carly. She was looking at him like she didn’t know what to say.
“Tell her who you are,” he said softly.
Carly cleared her throat and said, “It’s good to see you, Rosie. You’re such a pretty girl, like your mother. Your mom is my sister. I’m your aunt. I guess you weren’t really around me much to remember me…” Rosie was patting her bed. Jace knew that meant she wanted Carly to sit next to her, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her that. He suddenly wasn’t sure this was a good idea. If she truly thought Carly was her mother, it might traumatize her all over again when Carly left.
“Mama, sit. Tea.”
“Rosie…” Jace tried.
“Mama! Sit!” Carly looked frightened almost, but she went over and sat on the bed next to Rosie. Rosie didn’t like to be touched. If she felt affection toward someone, she did the touching. She would lay her head on Jace’s shoulder and that was her version of a hug. As soon as Carly sat down, Rosie laid her head against the other woman’s shoulder. Carly looked up at Jace, wide-eyed.
“She’s hugging you,” he said, and as Carly brought her arm up he said, “No. Don’t touch her. She doesn’t like that. Just let her hug you.” Carly sat stiff as a board then and let Rosie “hug” her. Rosie left her head against her aunt’s chest for a long time, and then she sat up and said:
“Tea?”
Carly smiled at her. It was the first sign Jace had ever seen that the woman felt anything for her niece. “Sure, thank you.”
Rosie picked up her teapot and filled one of the delicate little cups with the iced tea Jace had made for her. Carly picked it up and Rosie looked up at her brother and said, “Tea?”
“No thank you, Rosie. I’ll leave you and Aunt Carly alone for a while to enjoy your tea party, okay?”
“K. Jace?”
“Yeah, baby?”
Rosie laid her head against Carly again and said, “Mama.”
Jace sighed and left the room. Once again he’d tried to do the right thing and he had a feeling it was going to bite him in the butt.
9
Jace was sitting in the living room, listening to the sounds of the “tea” party down the hall. It made him happy that Rosie sounded happy…but he was worried about what was going to happen when Carly left. Carly surprised him by staying in the room for a much longer time than he expected her too, and she even seemed to be trying to make conversation with her niece. Maybe there was a heart beating in her chest after all. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the couch and he was almost asleep when he heard her coming down the hallway. He opened them quickly and she said:
“Rosie laid down on the bed with her doll and told me good night.”
Jace smiled. Rosie kept her own schedule. Sometimes she slept all day and other times all night. Sometimes she fell asleep at three in the afternoon and got up at three in the morning. Her therapist said a lot of autistic kids had trouble sleeping or kept strange hours and it was nothing to worry about. So when she was with Jace, he let her tell him when she was ready to sleep and when she was ready to get up. “She’ll be down for a while then. I guess you can stop by and see her next time you come to town, if you want…” Carly came toward him while he was talking. She sat next to him on the couch and before he finished, she had put her hand on his leg. Jace froze. He was almost as finicky about being touched as Rosie was, especially by someone he didn’t necessarily trust. Carly seemed oblivious to how uncomfortable she was making him.
“I do want to see her again,” she said. “But Jace…please, think about this…if it was your sister lying in that hospital, suffering, wasting away, wouldn’t you want someone to do something?”
“Of course. It’s not that I don’t want to help you, Carly. It’s that I honestly can’t. He hates me.” She squeezed his leg and moved her body closer to his. What the hell is she doing?
“You’ve done a great job with her, you know? Myrna would be so proud of how far she’s come…and you.”
“Thanks,” he said. Then Carly did something even more strange. She laid her head against his chest and snuggled down into the crook of his arm. He could smell the coconut oil in her hair and against his will, his body began to respond. He would see Ginger, or if she was busy, one of the other girls as often as he could…but he didn’t always have money to pay for a prostitute, and he didn’t have time to go out and try to find a woman who could look past his unattractiveness…so he was horny, most of the time. He didn’t like Carly, but he couldn’t deny that she was a beautiful woman and she was sliding her hand up and down his thigh while her silky, fragrant hair was in his face. She was seducing him, but why? What did she think she was going to accomplish? “Carly?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing sinister, Jace. This just feels good, doesn’t it? My emotions have been all over the place the past few days. I just need to be held for a few minutes, is that okay?” Jace didn’t really know enough about women to know for sure if she was manipulating him, or just being honest. He wished that she would just go away. He was horny as hell, and he was afraid if she took it any further, he’d do something he would regret later.
“I’m not sure I’m the right person to help you, Carly…with any of this.” That hand on his thigh slid up toward his chest and his stomach did a somersault when she reached his chest. He was wearing a t-shirt, but even so, his skin heated up as she ran her hand all over it.
“Why not?” she said, in a breathy, sexy voice. She tipped her head back and looked up into his eyes. “I can see the loneliness in your eyes, Jace. I’ve been lonely too. Why can’t we help each other, just for tonight?” He started to speak, to protest again, when she lifted her head and stopped his words with her mouth. Her lips were full and warm and before he could react, her tongue was in his mouth. Jace had only ever kissed the prostitutes, Ginger mostly. Ginger’s kisses were hot…but Carly’s were sexy in a whole different way. Something about the taboo of who she was and even the fact that he didn’t like her, but he was enjoying the way she smelled and tasted and the way she was touching him…that all made it more exciting somehow. She broke the kiss and pulled back and looked at his face. “Let’s help each other tonight, Jace. Please?”
Jace was already as hard as a rock. His mind was screaming, “No!” but his body was saying the exact opposite. His brain was even trying to make a pros and cons list. For the life of him, however, the only reason he could come up with on the pro side of having sex with this woman was that for a little while, he wouldn’t be horny. The con side of the list was a mile long…but he ignored it, blocking it out completely when he felt her hand slide back down, and come to rest on the bulge in his pants.
He gasped and Carly smiled and said, “You have no idea how good it will feel.” While she was talking, she was unzipping his pants. Jace’s brain was still screaming at him to stop her, but even that voice shut up when she slid her small hand down into his jeans and wrapped it around his cock.
“Oh fuck,” he whispered, and that made Carly smile more brightly.
“I always wondered if this was as big as you,” she whispered. “And it is.” He felt his cock twitch against her warm palm and he could hear a swoo
shing noise in his ears, like all the blood was rushing to the organ she was holding in her hand. She gave him a little squeeze and then let go and stood up in front of him, straddling his legs. She held her hand out to him and said, “Let’s take this to your bedroom.”
Jace was on autopilot as they walked from the living room to his bedroom in slow motion. Once there, Carly shocked him again by putting her hands on the waist of his jeans and pushing them down to the bottoms of his thighs. He stood there, still almost fully clothed but with his cock completely exposed. She took it back into her hand and she seemed to be inspecting it as it writhed like a snake in her hand. Suddenly she began to stroke, up and down in a slow, but sexy, mesmerizing rhythm. Jace closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe this was happening. But damn it felt good to have a soft, female hand touching him when all that had touched him lately was his own. Carly was pumping harder and faster and Jace groaned and his body shook…and then suddenly he felt her slide her hand all the way off his cock and blow a warm breath against the wet tip of it. He opened his eyes to find her on her knees in front of him. The shock was so severe at that point he couldn’t even speak. He could hardly breathe.
Carly smiled up at him while she licked the tip and then slowly, she ran her tongue down the underside of the shaft. Jace let out an almost animal-like moan and that was even before she looked up at him once more, opened her full lips, and engulfed the head of his cock. She began to take him into her mouth, using her tongue to feed it in, until his cock was at the back of her throat. Jace was afraid he was going to explode…and then, only making matters worse, she began to suck. She only gave it a few sucks, though, and then she stopped and let his cock slowly slide all the way out. He shuddered and Carly smiled up at him. When she had his full attention, she pulled her blouse off over her head. He could feel his eyes widen as he looked down into her bra, but she only made matters worse…or better? He wasn’t sure. He still had no clue what he was doing. He only knew that she was one sexy woman and she was on her knees in front of him, now unsnapping her bra.