by Bonnie Dee
“Yeah, but not everybody’s mistakes land them in a coma or get them fired. I’m done doing stupid things. I want to work at the store and maybe take an online class. I can do more with my life than what I’ve been doing.”
“Glad to hear you say that, son. You know, I don’t expect you to stick with the hardware business for the rest of your life. It’s just a jumping-off point. There’s no shame in a little nepotism to get you started in the work place.” Dad smiled and changed the subject.
I was happy to talk about the Reds and batting averages. Baseball was an easy topic, and I’d done enough soul-searching for one day. But later that night, lying sleepless in bed, I yearned for Anna. My head might be ready to move on, but my heart wasn’t.
Chapter Twenty-four
“I think this single-stage snowblower will be fine, Mr. Hamm. Anything more would be overkill.” I smiled at the indecisive customer and shifted my weight off my left hip, which was killing me from being on my feet most of the day.
The man examined the machine’s pretty basic components as if they were complicated before he finally nodded. “Okay. You’ve sold me. And thanks for being honest. Some salesmen would push the more expensive blowers.”
“I want you to have the right machine for the job, not raid your wallet.”
Another happy customer walked out of Reitmiller’s and I collapsed onto the stool behind the counter. I looked around the quiet store at the shelves of hardware, electronics, lightbulbs, tools, and more. There was a certain smell that always pervaded the store, a hint of metal and oil probably from the bins of loose nails, nuts, and bolts. It smelled familiar, comfortable, and a lot better than the sharp tang of cleaning fluids every night. The hardware store wasn’t such a bad place to work. It was a beginning.
Since there was a lull in the trickle of customers, I turned my attention to the laptop on the counter. I was looking through the want ads for entry positions in landscaping or pet grooming. Those were fields I thought I might be qualified for. I liked being outdoors, but didn’t know if I was capable of long hours of shoveling wood chips and wrestling bushes into the ground. Working at a dog-wash place sounded better. Or a dog day care like where Anna had taken Baby.
Anna.
Don’t go there, I reminded myself. Since I’d decided to stop wallowing in self-pity, part of my pact with myself was to keep from dwelling on Anna and reconstructing every moment we’d spent together. That part of my life was over. I had to put those memories behind me.
I turned my attention to the computer screen and was so caught up in slowly reading through the ads that I barely heard the chime when someone entered the store. I didn’t look up until I sensed a person standing on the other side of the counter. Shock nearly stopped my heart when I saw who it was.
“Hi, Jason.”
Anna was unearthly beautiful with her hair lit from the window behind her, making a gold halo around her head as if she were some angel come down from heaven. I couldn’t manage a response, just sat there with words stuck in my dry mouth.
“How are you?” She glanced around the store. “So this is your dad’s store?”
“How did you know where to find me?” I finally managed.
“Took a little searching, since I couldn’t call you, but I figured you were at your parents’ house. Your mom sent me over here.”
“Sorry about the phone. I broke it. But you were trying to call me?”
“Of course. You just disappeared.”
“But I thought… You told me to go.”
“Because you showed up at my work. I didn’t mean I never wanted to see you again.”
I didn’t point out that she hadn’t come after me. Not that day or for at least a few days more. Even as I’d packed boxes of my stuff and helped my folks haul them down to the truck, I’d prayed she would stop by. But it was clear she was done with me.
Or maybe not.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said. My shock at having Anna suddenly appear zapped all intelligent thought.
“I’ve missed you.” She moved closer to the counter, and the light shifted to illuminate her face. Those eyes. God, I’d thought I’d never look into them again, and now they struck me mute. What could I possibly say besides “I’m sorry” yet again?
“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you sooner,” Anna continued. “I was really angry about you hooking up with someone, but that wasn’t all that kept me from contacting you.”
A customer came through the door, interrupting our conversation.
“Jason, good to see you working here.” The man came over and joined us at the counter. “I know your dad’s glad of the help.”
“Good to be here,” I answered automatically, willing the guy to get a clue and leave us to our private conversation. “Can I help you find something?”
“Naw.” He jerked a thumb toward one of the aisles. “I know what I need. Just wanted to stop and say ‘hi.’ You don’t remember me, do you?”
“No. Sorry.” I tapped my head and shrugged.
“You used to date my daughter, Chrissy. I’m Don Atkins.”
I winced, wondering if he knew I’d gotten his daughter knocked up. Not likely or he wouldn’t be so polite. “Chrissy and I talked not too long ago. Sounds like she’s doing well.”
Atkins glanced at Anna, then back at me. “Well, it looks like you’re dealing with a customer here. I just wanted to say hello and tell you how sorry I was to hear about your accident.”
“Thanks, Mr. Atkins,” I answered, tired of the same refrain from nearly every person who came into the store. They all knew me, but I didn’t remember most of them.
I watched Chrissy’s dad walk away, and not a single memory of him came to mind. I turned my attention back to Anna.
“Small town,” she said, lowering her voice. “I can understand why you wanted to move away. It must be hard to know everybody has memories of your past except you.”
“You have no idea. Anyway, what were you saying?”
She leaned on the counter and stared at a stack of sales flyers by the register. “I did try to call or text you, but your phone wasn’t working. So many times I thought I’d try to see you at work or go over to your place for a face-to-face meeting, but honestly, I was doing some soul-searching. I was trying to decide if I could live without you. It seemed easier go back to being single.” She looked up at me from under her brows and smiled. “I decided I didn’t want to.”
God, that smile, those eyes, that honey-streaked brown hair tumbling around her face, every damn thing about her set me vibrating like a high-tension wire. I came out from behind the counter.
“I don’t want to live without you either, Anna, I’m so sorry about Lisa and about generally being an ass. I swear, if you take me back, I’ll be better. No blowing off dates, ignoring your texts, showing up at your work and embarrassing you, or hooking up with some girl I don’t even care about.”
She put her hands on my waist, slid them around me, and the warm pressure against my lower back set my heart clamoring. “You damn well better not.”
I wrapped my arms around her and leaned down to steal a kiss from those gorgeous lips I’d never expected to taste again. I closed my eyes, completely forgetting where we were for several glorious moments. But then the door chimed as a new customer entered, and I was forced to pull away. I let my hands drop from around Anna and replaced my moonstruck smile with a more professional expression as I turned to greet the customer.
“Hello, Jason. It’s Mrs. Tandy. Remember me?” the elderly woman greeted me.
“Yes, Mrs. Tandy. I remember you. Blue paint, right?” She’d been in a couple of days earlier, but I couldn’t blame her for thinking I might have forgotten her. “You need another quart?”
“Yes, please.” She handed me the empty can so I could match the color.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Anna and went to the paint center. My brain was reeling as I thought about what Anna’s reappearance in my lif
e meant. Of course I was thrilled, but now that I’d moved out of the city, how would we be able to see each other? Pickens was probably forty minutes from where Anna lived. Hardly long distance, but inconvenient for having a relationship when one of the people in it couldn’t drive.
I forced myself to pay attention to the job at hand before I mixed the wrong shade of blue for Mrs. Tandy. Slowing down and carefully checking every step of the process calmed and focused me so that by the time I’d finished filling the order, my thoughts had stopped zigzagging like crazy.
Chet, a retired friend of my dad’s, was ringing up Mr. Atkins’s purchase at the cash register when we returned to the front of the store. Anna stood off to one side, looking at a display of LED flashlights.
I set Mrs. Tandy’s paint can on the counter and wished her luck with her project, then went over to Anna.
She smiled at me. “Guess now I’m the one interrupting you at work. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I’m glad you came.”
“I should have called you at home instead of just showing up, but I was so…I don’t know, nervous or excited or something, I didn’t just want to call your parents’ house to find out if you were there. I guess maybe I was afraid you wouldn’t take my call. I needed to see you in person.”
I laughed at the irony of it all—me moping around thinking we were through and having no idea that Anna was worried I might be too pissed off to take her call. What a stupid, pointless lack of communication. “I swear to God, I will always take your calls from now on—just as soon as I get another cell phone.”
I took her arm and guided her to the small house-wares section in a far corner of the store. I enveloped her in my arms and kissed her hard and deep, pressing her back against a shelving unit. My cock sprang up between us, the bulge nudging her hip. I wouldn’t at all have minded seizing the opportunity for a quickie in the break room. But this was my dad’s store, and I was trying to reestablish a reputation for responsibility. Semipublic sex with a chance for Chet to walk in on us probably wasn’t the way to earn trust. I forced myself to step away from Anna.
She smoothed her hair into place and wiped the remnants of kisses from her red lips. “So, what now, sensai? Any wisdom to guide us into the next phase of our relationship?”
“I’ve heard ‘communication is key.’ Maybe we should work on that.” I smiled but shook my head. “Honestly, I don’t know what happens next. I’m here, and you’re all the way across the city. I can’t drive. I don’t know how we’re going to date.”
“Hey, at least we’re on the same shift now, and my place isn’t that far from here. It’s worth the drive, to me.” She straightened her rumpled blouse. “I think we should dial it back to a few dates a week and see what happens.”
“Sounds good to me.” I reached out and picked off a price sticker that clung to her sleeve. “How about dancing some night? I wouldn’t mind going back to that place we went on our first date.”
“The Jukebox Joint. Sure. But only if you’re really feeling up to it. Baby and I are perfectly happy to spend a quiet evening at home with you.”
God, that sounded good. I would’ve been happy to walk off the job right then and there and fulfill that dream.
“I want to go on a real date with you, and I’m ready to learn to dance,” I assured her.
Chapter Twenty-five
“So, you’re that girl?” Katie stared at me with the same dark eyes that her brother and father had. “And you’re a lawyer?”
“Yes, I am.” I squirmed a little at her intense scrutiny.
“Lawyers make a lot of money, right? Maybe that’s what I should do.”
“Do you like helping people solve their problems? That’s a big part of what we do.”
“You mean finding loopholes for rich businessmen and criminals. That’s what lawyers do on TV shows.”
“Sometimes our clients might not be ethically right, but the law is written to be fair and impartial to everyone.”
“And lawyers twist it to win the case. I watch The Good Wife.”
Jesus, this kid was tough. Wasn’t she too young to enjoy such an adult show? Shouldn’t she be watching stuff on Nickelodeon?
“Well, if you think you’d like a career in law, I can talk to you sometime about the different types. Oh look, here’s Jason,” I said, eager to escape Katie’s grilling. Damn, maybe the kid would make a good lawyer someday.
Jason slowly came down the stairs, his leg hitching a little with each step. His eyes were on me, waiting for him in the front hallway. He smiled at me, and his whole face lit up. My heart did a double loop before settling back into my chest. Goddamn but I loved his smile, the way his eyes squeezed up and almost disappeared and deep grooves cut on either side of his mouth. I wished disapproving Katie would disappear so I could run to him and pull him into my arms. But the girl was watching us, arms folded. She played sentinel as Jason walked over to me and gave me a more polite kiss and hug than either of us wanted.
“See ya later, KitKat,” he said.
“Okay. Have fun on your date.”
As Jason opened the door for me—such a gentleman—I glanced at Katie, and even though she didn’t make the fingers-pointed-to-eyes motion, she might as well have. I got the explicit vibe of “I’ve got my eye on you.”
“I think your little sister hates me,” I said as we walked down the driveway to my car.
“She’ll get over it. You did dump her big brother, you know,” he teased.
“What? Who dumped who? You disappeared on me, left the city without a trace.” And although I was teasing too, there may have been a bit of passive-aggressive stuff going on in our byplay. Time to put that to rest.
“Wait a second. Before we go anywhere, can I just…” I stopped and pulled Jason close, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him like I wanted to, slow and deep and thorough. “Mm. Maybe we should skip dancing and just go to my place.”
“No way. I’ve been practicing. I’m gonna show you my moves.” Jason walked me to the driver’s side and held the door again, so sweet.
On the drive to the club, we talked about what we’d done that week while we were apart. Taking it slow as we’d promised to do was hard. I missed spending time together—especially bed time. But we’d agreed to go on some actual dates before plunging back into an intense physical relationship. I glanced over at Jason and couldn’t for the life of me remember why, as a bolt of pure desire shot through me.
“Are you ready for this? It’s really noisy,” I warned him outside the club.
“Yeah. I remember. Don’t fuss over me. I’m fine.” He took my hand and twirled me around on the sidewalk till my skirt flared. “See, I told you I’ve been practicing. The trick is to stand like a post and let you do all the flashy stuff.”
I laughed and gave him a thorough kiss and an ass grope before we went inside. We didn’t stop to try to get a table or a drink. Jason dragged me straight onto the dance floor, which was crowded with hardcore jitterbuggers and less skilled dancers all jostling for space. He pulled me into his arms and did a creditable two-step to a fast number. He even spun me around a couple of times and ended the tune with a little dip. Before he pulled me back upright, he pressed a kiss to the hollow of my throat. The kiss ricocheted through me like a bullet, sending pulses of lust to all my pertinent parts.
“Whew,” I breathed as I threw my arms around his neck and he held me close in a slow dance. “You have been practicing.”
“Yeah. With Katie.” He chuckled. “Not that last part.”
I laughed too and clung to him, simply enjoying swaying together. I’d missed his arms around me, the length of his lean body pressed against me. Sharing a dance floor with dozens of other people didn’t stop us from rubbing up against each other. In fact, it encouraged closeness. Around us, couples were dirty dancing in much more suggestive ways.
I tipped my head back to look up into Jason’s eyes. “This is fun. I’m glad you suggested it.”
After another song or two, we peeled apart and left the floor in search of refreshment. The crowd at the bar was three deep, and the waitresses were as impossible to catch as gazelles. I glanced over at Jason’s face, gauging how tired or overwhelmed he might be by the heat and crowd and noise. He caught me studying him.
“Stop it. You don’t have to worry about me. I promise to tell you if I need to get out of here.”
“What if I need to?” I asked, leaning close and teasing his ear with a few kisses. “This is great but I’d rather be alone with you right now. It’s up to you.”
An adorable grin stretched from ear to ear as he took my hand and tugged me toward the door.
When we reached my car, we made out so hot and heavy the windows steamed. At last I dragged myself off him and put the car in gear. I drove home in a haze of lust, nipples tight, panties wet, my pulse thudding between my legs.
In the foyer of my building, Jason caught hold of me and dragged me to him again. The little knobs of the bank of mailboxes dug into my back as he pressed me against the wall. Our mouths crashed together, tongues swirling deep and breath mingling.
“God, I missed this,” he rasped when he pulled away at last. He dipped his head and nuzzled my throat, nipping lightly and making me squirm. I tilted my head back to allow it, and my eyes flickered open to see someone approaching the door from outside.
“Uh, I think we should go up to my apartment now. We’re about to get busted.”
I took Jason’s hand, and we hurried upstairs.
Once inside the apartment, our reunion was interrupted by Baby, who trembled with excitement and left a damp splotch on the floor as she welcomed Jason back into our lives. He lowered himself stiffly down so he could take the dog into his arms. Watching him ruffle her fur and murmur endearments while avoiding her sloppy kisses, I was touched at his affection for her.