I opened my mouth to alert her that we were there when I heard the words coming through the speakers. Instead of saying hello, I heard myself blurting out in surprise, “Is that Fifty Shades of Grey you’re listening to?”
“Ahh!” Rachel squealed and jumped in the air, her arms waving wildly, splattering brown gravy from the end of the wooden spoon she was holding all over the backsplash of the stove. She whirled around, wielding the spoon in a defensive stance, her eyes wide and wild.
I placed my hand over my mouth to hold in the laughter I felt bubbling up inside me. Not only from the fact that, after hearing the recording for a few seconds longer, I knew for certain that it was in fact Fifty Shades, but also because Rachel was currently crouched like The Karate Kid ready to take on an intruder and she just looked so cute.
As recognition dawned on Rachel’s round face, her lips pursed before she shifted and pressed the stop button on the CD player. Then she turned back around, squaring her shoulders a little huffily. “Well, if you recognize it, I guess you’ve read it, missy,” she said, standing up straight and imbuing the words with a quiet sense of defiant dignity.
“She makes a good point,” Jace offered quietly from beside me.
I felt myself blushing and feeling a little bit busted as Rachel put down her spoon and rushed over to give me a big hug. She held me tight and I lost myself in the comfort and warmth of her maternal embrace.
“Oh, my girl. It’s so good to see you, lamb. Even if you did scare the living daylights out of me.”
While still wrapped in Rachel’s bear hug, I made introductions. “Rachel, this is Jace. Jace, this is Rachel.”
Rachel released her hold, stepped back, and looked Jace up and down appraisingly, an approving smile gracing her face. “Well, young man, you certainly seem to be a very strapping fellow. I trust you’re taking care of our Cat?”
Jace slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. “I’m certainly doing my best, ma’am.”
Okay, I won’t lie—the whole “ma’am” thing kind of made me swoon. I hadn’t known that I was such a sucker for chivalrous good manners. But it was working for me. Big time. In fact, Jace’s whole opening my door, had been one of the first times that I realized I was starting to develop feelings of trust towards him. Not feelings of lust, mind you—those had been firmly entrenched long before Jace had opened that first car door for me—but it was that moment when I started to believe that I could rely on him, that he would take good care of me.
“Hey, hey, hey there!” Don’s voice came from behind me, booming out his customary greeting that had always reminded me of Fat Albert. “There’s my girl! How in the Sam Hill did you manage to get here so fast, young lady? You better not have been speeding.”
“No, sir. I wasn’t even driving,” I explained as, once again, I found myself enveloped in another all-consuming hug, this one from Don.
I felt the scratchiness of his stubble against my forehead and smelled the freshly cut grass on the front of his overalls. I breathed in deeply, wanting to commit this moment to memory, to freeze it in time. Everything good about home was encapsulated in these two people, and I wanted to enjoy every second I was able to spend with them during the few days Jace and I were going to be here.
Thinking about Jace reminded me that I hadn’t introduced him to Don. I turned to face him. “Jace drove. Jace, this is Don, Rachel’s husband.”
Jace extended his hand to shake Don’s and gave him a small, solemn nod. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
After the quick greeting Don stepped back, impressed. “That’s a firm handshake, son. I’ve always said that you can take the measure of a man by the sturdiness of his shoes and the firmness of his grip.”
Immediately, all of our eyes darted to Jace’s shoes, including Jace’s. He was wearing steel-toed work boots today. We were in good shape. When I looked up and met Jace’s gaze, we shared a smile.
Rachel shook her head affectionately. “Now, you know I love you, lamb, but I’ve got to shoo you out of my kitchen now. I’m in the middle of making supper, and you know how I feel about distractions.”
“I can help,” I offered, not wanting to leave the safety of the kitchen and face the house full of memories that awaited me through the swinging kitchen door. “I wanted to catch up.”
“Oh, we will, we will,” Rachel assured me. Then, perhaps sensing my hesitation, she suggested, “But right now, why don’t you take your young man out back and have a lovely romantic stroll on the beach? How’s that, lamb?”
Rachel gave her husband a “look” and Don hustled us quickly out the back door, his cheerful voice booming, “All right, now, youngins. Let’s leave the master to her creation. You kids go and have a nice stroll on the beach. I’m gonna get your bags taken up to your room. Jace, you’ll be bunking with Cat. It’s just…safer that way. But no funny business, ya hear. Now, go on with ya. Get.”
When the door shut, a chill ran down my spine and my stomach began to churn again. Their behavior was so strange. Never before had I gotten the feeling that they were trying to get rid of me. So why now? Was it because of Jace? Did they not think it was appropriate for me to bring a guy home?
I leaned forward, practically pressing my ear to the door. I could hear their hushed voices, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“Everything okay?” Jace’s worried tone snapped me out of my eavesdropping. He began rubbing his hand up and down my back in a comforting motion, which made the disturbing sense of foreboding that had settled on me disappear completely.
I turned around and, looking up into his aqua blue gaze, answered him honestly, “Yes, it is.”
Chapter 3
Jace
I took a deep breath in through my nose, inhaling the sharp and salty smell of the ocean and enjoying the sound of the pounding surf and the gritty sensation of the sand under my feet as we walked along the beach behind Cat’s insanely huge home.
This whole scene had already been so much more…real than I had expected. Yes, I knew how protective I felt about Cat, but seeing her here, the vulnerability, the uncertainty, the fear… It made me want to hurt anyone and everyone who had contributed to her pain. The darkness inside of me that, up until now, Cat had made practically nonexistent felt stronger and more present than it ever had in my life. I tried to assure myself that I would keep it pushed down, hidden, that I wouldn’t let it make me do something I couldn’t take back. Not again. But, deep down, I wasn’t convinced.
I felt Cat’s gaze shift up towards me. When my eyes met hers, I saw her grin pensively.
“Penny for your thoughts,” she said.
I shrugged dismissively, wanting avoid the question, mainly because I didn’t want to scare her. She was dealing with enough without laying my shit on her, too. At some point, I needed to talk to her. Tell her everything. But, today was not that day. I continued walking, hoping that she would just let it go, drop it.
But she stopped. So I stopped.
“Jace?” Her voice trembled and if felt like a knife through my heart.
Fuck. I didn’t want her to worry; that was the last thing I wanted. But I also didn’t want to lie to her and the truth was not something she needed to hear. Well, the whole truth, at least.
Staring down at my brown-eyed girl, I knew she needed more than just an answer to her unspoken question, she needed reassurance. So that’s what I gave her, the best way I knew how. Not with a lie, but not with the entire truth. “I’m just tired, baby. I feel like it was a lifetime ago since I came down to open the bar instead of just a little more than twenty-four hours ago. So much has happened. First, the call that my crazy ex tried to kill herself, we rush to the hospital, and as soon as we deal with that crisis, we’re hit with another one when we come back and find out that your Mom had an accident. We drive all night, not even stopping for a decent meal and… I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to do it. I want to be here, with you. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Bu
t it’s just been a hell of a long day.”
Cat nodded thoughtfully. Then she wrapped her arms around my waist and lifted up on her toes, snuggling her head into the nook where my shoulder ends and my neck begins. After releasing her arms from around me I felt her soft hair move against my skin as we walked and she pressed her soft curves against me, her body melding to mine.
Just like that, in a split second, all was right with the world. It all zoomed into pinpoint focus, and all the bullshit—my past, the darkness—all just fell away. Dissolved. It was suddenly so clear what I needed to focus on, to center myself, so that I would never feel those things.
Cat. Cat was my light, the only thing that mattered.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
Shit. Those should have been the first words out of my mouth. I’d never been in a real relationship before, had a real girlfriend. The closest thing had been Natalya and we were just teenagers when we’d gone out. Even then, it had been a lot more of a “friends with benefits” deal. I had cared about her, but it was nothing compared to what I felt for Cat. Other than that, my experiences, although extensive, had all been casual, to say the least. If one of the girls I’d hooked up with seemed upset or sad, that was usually my cue to go. Get the hell out of there before things got real.
Which was the exact opposite of what I was doing with Cat. I felt a little out of my depth with what was going on between us. I was just acting on pure, gut instinct which was telling me that I needed to fix whatever was bothering her, make it better, make her happy. Maybe I wasn’t that great at it yet, but I would be. No matter what it took, I wanted to be the man she needed. The man she deserved.
Cat’s large almond eyes glistened in the sun as she let out a loud sigh. “Actually…pretty much exactly the same as you. My head is spinning. I feel like my mind is running on a treadmill I can’t seem to get off of. I’m going to have to let you know how I feel about things after it settles down to a stop. Or at least a slow, carousel-like pace.”
I wasn’t sure if she was doing the same thing I was—not telling the whole truth. I wanted to push her, get to the bottom of what she was feeling, of what was going on in her treadmill mind, but knew that would make me a hypocritical asshole. So, instead, I took her hand and we slowly walked along the beach then, not saying anything, just holding hands and enjoying the salty ocean breeze. Honestly, if it weren’t for the shitty circumstances, it would have been flat-out one of the most romantic things I’d ever experienced.
We strolled along quietly, both consumed with our inner thoughts. When we came upon a small clearing that was surrounded by large rocks, we sat on the sand. After lowering down, I wrapped my arms around Cat’s waist and pulled her to me, between my legs. She molded against me and laid her head back on my chest.
She made a small sound of satisfaction and it made all of the blood in my body start rushing south at the same time love swelled up in my chest like a balloon that was going to pop. How one girl could turn me on and simultaneously soothe my soul was mind boggling to me. But, that’s exactly what Cat did. This girl had the most insane effect on me. On my mind. My body. My heart. She owned me. I held her tight, not ever wanting to let her go.
Staring out at the ocean that looked like God’s version of an infinite pool, I watched the waves break and wash up onto the shore. I watched the sunlight as it danced across the surface of the water, shimmering brightly, like a beautifully choreographed ballet. I listened to the soft sound of seagulls, which mixed perfectly with the sounds of the waves crashing, like a soundtrack of nature.
As Cat’s body slowly relaxed more and more, I saw her chest rise and fall in steady breaths pressing her ample cleavage flush against her pale pink t-shirt, and I knew she’d fallen asleep. I tightened my arms around her, enjoying this moment, this small window of total and complete peace, and lost myself in thought.
Never in my life had I ever imagined that I would feel peace. Damn, even contentment was more than I’d thought was possible. Honestly, between my childhood, the horrors that came from being a ward of the state, and then my time in the Marines—or actually the end of my time in the Marines—I’d just always assumed that there would be a gaping hole deep in my soul that nothing and definitely no one could ever come close to filling.
Until Cat. Her eyes, her smile, her laugh—they’re one hundred percent pure. She had no ulterior motives. No deceit. No selfishness.
The moment I looked in Cat’s big, brown eyes, the constant ache in my chest that I could not ever remember a moment without…lessened. The darkness that I had worried would overtake me completely… dissipated. She made all the hurt, all the pain, all the heavy, dark shadows… disappear.
None of those things could exist in me when she was around. It was like she had a superpower she had absolutely no idea she possessed. A healing light. And there was no way I was going to let anyone diminish it or extinguish it.
Not Natalya. Not her mom. Not anyone.
Every protective fiber in my being, every primal urge, was on high alert when it came to Cat. If anyone came close to hurting her, I saw red. I knew from experience that, when I saw red, my brain shut off and my instincts took over. The problem with that was there were actions that couldn’t be undone.
Sounds of kids roughhousing and playing on the beach echoed loudly in the small alcove we were nestled in. Cat stirred in my arms, the soft hairs on the top of her head brushing against my chin and the enticing scent of flowers and citrus, that was uniquely Cat, drifting up into my nostrils. I closed my eyes as Cat’s sweet ass pressed against the hard-on that had been demanding attention since we sat down here.
Looking up at me with sleepy, heavy-lidded eyes, Cat asked, “Did I fall asleep?”
I nodded as I bent down and lightly kissed her forehead. If I let myself taste her soft, full lips, whether or not there were kids playing down at the beach wouldn’t matter, and I would pull her beneath me, strip her clothes, and bury myself inside her. I would show her just how sexy, just how special, just how loved she was…
“Sorry!” a young voice yelled, cutting through my inappropriate thoughts.
I glanced up to see a small blond-haired, blue-eyed boy who couldn’t be more than six retrieve a kickball that had rolled into the rock alcove, not sparing us a glance.
I nodded at him. “No worries, little man.”
“Christian?” Cat sat up and pushed onto her feet.
Two things occurred to me. One, I immediately missed the warmth of her body against mine, and two, I needed to adjust my pants otherwise this little meet and greet was going to be extremely awkward.
“Cat!” the boy screamed as he dropped the ball and flew into Cat’s arms. “I missed you so much!”
Cat smiled widely as she hugged the boy with equal enthusiasm. “I missed you, too.” After hugging him for a few moments, she looked over at me. “Christian, this is Jace. Jace, this handsome young man is Christian.”
A quick glance down at my lap assured me that my body was back under control; and, I could stand without any evidence of the glaringly obvious effect Cat had on me. So I brushed the sand off my jeans and stood.
“Nice to meet you, Christian.”
The boy remained glued to Cat, not acknowledging me at all. I got it. If I had a choice, that’s where I would stay—in Cat’s arms, ignoring the world.
A voice that sounded small and very far away drifted into the alcove. “Christian, dinnertime!”
“Are you here ’cause your mom’s hurt? Are you coming home?” the boy asked hopefully as he raised his head and stared expectantly up at Cat.
She brushed long blond strands of hair off his forehead as she explained, “I’m just here for a few days and then I go back to college, but I’ll make sure to say goodbye before, okay?”
“Pinkie promise?” he asked.
Cat reached down her hand and hooked her pinky around his. “Pinkie promise.”
I was confused. I thought only girls pinkie-promised.
“Christian!” the voice called louder.
“You better go. Your Grandma’s waiting.”
The minute the words came out of Cat’s mouth, the boy’s face fell like she’d just broken the news to him that Santa Claus wasn’t real.
“Come on,” she said encouragingly. “I’ll race you!”
She took off running, and just like that, in an instant, Christian burst out laughing as he ran after her giggling. The scene made my chest ache. Cat really was magic. Everything she touched, she made better.
Bending over, I picked up the discarded ball and I started after them, dusting the sand off it. They hadn’t made it that far. I found them just around the rocks, standing at the edge of a walkway that led to a house equally as impressive as Cat’s home. An older woman stood out on the porch, a colorful knit shawl draped over her shoulders, her salt-and-pepper hair in tight curls on her head.
“Hi, Mrs. Robbins!” Cat waved in a cheerful greeting.
The woman’s wrinkled face came to life when she saw Cat. “Catherine, it’s so good to see you home! How is your mother, dear?”
“I think she’ll be okay.” Cat’s voice might have sounded normal to anyone else’s ears, but I could clearly hear the tension at the mere mention of her mother.
“Oh good,” the woman said as she lifted her arm and motioned for Christian to come in. “Come on, boy. Let’s get that belly fed.”
“Bye, Cat,” Christian let out a puff of exaggerated breath as he gave a half-hearted wave as his shoulders slumped in defeat and he started up the walkway.
“Bye, Christian.” Cat answered with a forced, upbeat vibe. Still, a hint of sadness bled through, probably for the boy’s reaction to having to leave her.
“Hey, little man,” I called.
Christian warily peered over his shoulder at me.
“Don’t forget this,” I said as I tossed the ball to him.
His hands flew up, and as it hit him in the chest, he wrapped his arms around it. After a split second, his head shot up, his blue eyes wide with shock. “I caught it!”
One Day His (The Someday Series Book 2) Page 2