by Freya Barker
“She didn’t say a thing.”
“She didn’t want to upset you. She knows there are some tender spots you have about those events and doesn’t want to be the one rubbing them.”
I do not want to do this again. I don’t want to open that barely scabbed over wound. I’m terrified.
Gus pulls me in his arms and I gratefully rest my head on his strong shoulder while he rubs my back.
“You’ll be alright, girl. You’re tough, but if things get too hard to handle, I know someone you can talk to. She’s good too.”
I lean back to look him in the eyes and he sees my question so he answers, “Yes, Arlene. I’ve gotten some help. I had a lot of shit to come to terms with, especially after what my brother put everyone through. I haven’t just seen her in the past, but I see her still, and I’m damn glad I do.”
“Okay.”
“Okay – what?”
“Okay, I’ll go see her. Can you text me the number?”
“Sure thing, girl.” With that, he kisses me on the forehead and heads back up the ramp to go inside.
I pull myself up in the cab, start my grumpy old truck and head for the diner.
I loved hearing every hitched breath out of Arlene’s mouth yesterday when I would purposely pass by her, just to touch her. It’s obvious that the kiss from the night before has left an impression with her as well. I’ve never been good with words, but I let my body do the talking for me. I’m a patient man; I’ve had to learn to be that way, and building the tension between us seems like a good thing to do. There are things she’s holding back and truth be told, I haven’t been open and honest with her, either. Knowingly omitting information is as good as lying, but the events from two months ago set me back some on that front. She seems even more resistant to accepting help and protection than she was before and I’m afraid if I come clean, she’ll send me packing and there will be no way for me to make sure she’s alright. Slow and easy will hopefully do the trick, but I’ll be damned if I let up. If need be, I’ll throw her over my shoulder.
Arlene is late this morning so when the phone rings a little after 8am, I step behind the counter to answer it. Beth’s got her hands full pouring coffees for the breakfast crowd.
“Arlene’s Diner.”
Nothing.
“Hello? Arlene’s Diner.” When I hear a distinct click on the other end of the line, I hang up. Beth walks up to the counter and hands me the empty coffee pots.
“Was that another hang up?”
“Yeah, why? Has that happened before?”
“A few times with me in the last week or so, but they hang up quickly when I answer, but not when Arlene answers. I can hear her going off on whoever is calling. I don’t think she gets much response, but they sure seem to like listening to her talk.”
Doesn’t sound to me like some random wrong number or prank call. I really don’t like the idea of Arlene aggravating whoever it is on the phone. Looks like she and I need to have a talk about this.
I’m just emptying my recycle bucket in the compost bin I started behind the diner when I hear the familiar rattle of Arlene’s truck behind me. Waiting for her by the backdoor, I watch her as she hops down from the cab, genuinely smiling. She is gorgeous when she smiles. I’m a little stunned at the transformation and a nagging thought pops up that she almost looks like she had a really good night. That better not be fucking true. A scowl settles on my face the closer she gets to me with her long legs in the black cargo pants and her poncho wrapped around her body to keep the cold out with the sting of winter on its way. She stops right in front of me and tilts her still smiling face to the side.
“What’s with the scowl, Cookie?”
“What did you just call me?” I’m sure I misheard her, that is until I look at her face and see her mouth lifted in a big smirk as her eyes dance with mischief.
“Cookie. Like they used to call the cook on the cattle drives, Cookie? It suits you.”
All vocabulary has abandoned me. I am left glaring at her and she is very noticeably unimpressed. Even the growl that escapes me just makes her smile bigger.
“What the heck’s gotten into you?” I want to know.
“It’s a good day. A day for new beginnings.”
Well hell. I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not.
“Come in the kitchen where it’s warm and tell me about those new beginnings.”
“Alright.”
She precedes me into the kitchen where she pulls the poncho over her head, leaving her short blond hair sticking up all over the place with static, and she doesn’t seem to notice or care. She never seems to care much about her appearance and I find her even hotter for it with her gorgeous freckled skin, those penetrating green eyes and impossibly long legs. She’s stunning, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.
“I’ve had a very productive morning. Had some help problem solving and a brilliant man encouraged me to take a leap, so I did.”
That does it. I grab her by her hips and back her into the door of the walk-in freezer, where I put my hands on either side of her face, leaning right into her space.
“Who had his hands on you, Arlene.” I bite out, barely able to keep my volume down. Her eyes are big as saucers and her mouth is hanging open.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to know who had his hands on you so I can wring his neck.”
“You. Are. Insane.” Every word she spits out is emphasized by the stab of her finger in my chest. That shit hurts.
“Don’t want anyone’s hands on you but mine, babe.” I growl out between clenched teeth.
“Ha!” She scoffs. “Good luck with that, Cookie.” And with a firm knuckle to my sternum that has me flinching, she manages to squirm out from under my arms and into her office, but she doesn’t quite manage to close the door before my boot slams in the opening and I force it open, only to shut and lock it behind me. Without a word I pull her in to my body and slam my mouth on hers. Yes, I’m finally claiming what is mine, so so much for slow and easy, but the woman makes me nuts even now as she makes noises of protest that are turning to those mewling sounds again. She drives me fucking insane. I can’t get enough of her taste as I leave her lips to explore along her jaw line and down her neck, sucking and biting. I’m feeling completely out of control when she pushes me back and from eyes that are heavy-lidded with anger and need, she glares at me.
“You done pissing all over me?”
I immediately drop my arms, step back and look away. Fuck me. Talk about a bucket of ice water.
“I… “ I start, but that’s about as far as I get as I’m about to turn and walk out the door when her voice stops me.
“Don’t you walk out, Seb. I have words for you.”
Shit!. I stop in my tracks but don’t turn back to face her fully.
“If you had given me even a moment to explain before your ass went all Neanderthal on me, I could’ve told you that Emma and Gus were happy to see me this morning.”
My eyes flash to her face. One of her eyebrows is waging war with her hairline and one side of her mouth is twitching. Brat.
“Emma is going to help set up a support group for Julie, for babysitting and things like that and Gus, well, Gus was helpful in other ways.” That elicits a growl from me.
“Oh chill out. I’ll tell you, but only because you are being ridiculous. He gave me the number for a therapist and I actually called and set up an appointment.” She suddenly doesn’t seem to want to meet my eyes so I walk up to her and lift her chin so she has no choice.
“I,m proud of you and so fucking glad you decided to do it.” Resting my forehead against hers, I know I’m not done yet. “Sorry I lost it. I promised myself to take it slow with you and when I thought someone else might have gotten the jump on me… well, you see what that did to me.”
Arlene’s hands slide up over my chest and come to rest on either side of my face.
“Seb. You’re an idiot.”
&n
bsp; I can’t help it. I bust out laughing. She’s got me there.
“And I love it when you laugh. You don’t do it enough. Stop being such a grouchy ass, ok?”
I have a smirk on my face when I answer.
“I will if you will.”
CHAPTER FIVE
So that was kind of hot. I couldn’t believe I had the strength to push him back. Oh I’m strong enough, I’m not talking about muscle. I’m talking about will power. Those lips and that mouth are nothing to turn your nose up at, not to mention those strong arms trapping me. WOW! But I promised myself never to let a man walk over me again and even if that man has the ability to melt the panties right off my ass, come hell or high water, I will not let him control me. I will set him straight and then he can proceed to divest me of my panties.
I don’t know what he wants from me or what it is I’m doing. All I know is that I am sick of being miserable and I want to make it stop. I want this for me, which is why, even though it terrifies me, I am also excited about seeing a therapist. It signifies a cleansing of sorts. Even the interview with the prosecutor, which I’m sure I’ll get a call about soon, is a sort of closure for me and if the man who has been the lead in every one of my fantasies is making the moves on me, I am inclined to let him, even if he’s not really my type. Oh hell. Who am I lying to. I may look and act like a stiff middle aged spinster, but I have always had a soft spot for the proverbial bad boy. It’s why I hired Seb in the first place. Teasing the wildness in me. I’m so tired of being a victim to circumstance. I just want to let go for once without restraint.
After that steaming kiss in my office, the pace in the diner started picking up so we were busy all afternoon. I was happy to see Julie in on time and actually talked to her about getting some dependable babysitting organized for her little one. Of course that brought on a new waterfall of tears. Shit, I really am no good at dealing with criers. I shoved a box of Kleenex her way, walked out of the office and told her I’d give her a minute. I’m such a coward. The thing is, it always gets me choked up when someone else cries and I’m scared once I start, I won’t ever be able to stop. Saved up those tears for too many fucking years. I’m bound to drown in ‘em.
Beth pops her head in the office.
“We’re about cleaned up out front, Arlene. Julie and I are gonna head out.”
“Alright, girls. See you tomorrow. Oh wait, let me have a quick chat with Julie.”
I find her refilling condiments for tomorrow’s breakfast behind the counter.
“So are you going to be okay for tomorrow?” She looks at me a little confused so I add, “I mean the baby. Is he gonna be taken care of tomorrow, or do you need to bring him in to town, ‘cause we can figure it out here, you know? If it’s a problem, I mean. Call Emma or whatever is all I’m saying.” I’m suddenly rambling when I catch Seb leaning on the far side of the counter with a little smirk on his face, Beth standing right behind him looking at me too. I’m fucking trying to be nice here for once but I don’t need an audience. “Yeah well…” I say to Julie. “Just try and call if there’s a problem, ok? Next week you can sit with Emma and figure all this shit out, but in the meantime I don’t wanna have to worry my ass off about you when you’re late.”
“Sure thing, Arlene. I’ll call, but I’m good for tomorrow. Thanks.”
With a smile she grabs her purse from the drawer under the counter and walks out the backdoor with Beth.
Seb hasn’t moved from his spot and is still looking at me.
“What?” My hands are on my hips and if my chin was sticking up any higher, my head would roll off my back.
“You were nice.” He says with a raised eyebrow.
“So? I can be nice. Just ‘cause I haven’t had a reason to before doesn’t mean I don’t know how.” And I immediately busy myself wiping down the counters… again.
“Uh huh…” Comes from behind me before I feel his arms sliding around my waist.
“I like you nice.” He mumbles with his face buried in my neck, which has my body on high alert and aching.
“Don’t get used to it.” I manage, but I can’t resist leaning back a little, feeling his hard chest against my back. One big hand slides up under my work shirt and his rough fingers skim my stomach. My instant reaction is to suck it in, but he catches me.
“So soft. It’s nice.”
Just the feeling of a man’s hands on me; this man’s hands on me causes me to moan. It’s been so long since I’ve felt anything other than anger from a man’s hand. There is no anger in Seb’s touch, just a teasing gentleness that makes my wild side flare up and take notice.
When I feel his callused fingertips brush the underside of my breast then slip under my bra, my breath hitches in anticipation. Damn I want his hands everywhere on me; his mouth. My nipples are so tight it’s almost painful, and when his touch finally finds them I can’t hold back anymore.
“Seb…” Reaching behind me I pull his head down and attack his mouth; my tongue eagerly finding entrance and tasting his while my hands tangle in his hair. I can feel his resistance waning and a greedy whimper escapes me.
He breaks the kiss to look at me with eyes that are almost as black as midnight. He turns and lifts me up on the counter, initiating himself between my legs, pulling at my knees so that my wet and aching center is lined up with his mouthwatering erection. Instinctively I wrap my legs around him, pressing him closer to my core as both of his hands find their way under my shirt and work at releasing my bra. He shoves it out of the way along with my shirt and latches on to my breast while plumping the other with his hand. At this point, I have lost all reason.
“So fucking tasty,” is all I can hear before he switches to the other side.
Eager to touch him, my hands trace his arms, shoulders and with my fingers, I start pulling up his shirt, needing to touch his skin… The phone rings.
“Fuck!” Seb swears as he leans his head to my sternum, all movements stilled by the insistent ringing. He pulls my shirt down and in a daze, I reach over to grab the receiver off the hook.
“A- … Arlene’s Diner.” I manage to get out.
“You think you can get away with that? You’re nothing but a fucking whore! I swear, I’ll teach you…”
That damn woman almost had me lose all control again. God, the taste herald touch of her alone had me so damn close to coming in my fucking jeans. I’m trying to catch my breath and bite down on my frustration when I glance up to see all the blood drain from Arlene’s face. What the fuck? I snatch the phone from her hand.
“Hello? Who is this?” But there is no response except the distinct click of the phone being hung up on the other end.
I turn to Arlene, who is still sitting on the counter looking as if she’s just seen a ghost. I put down the phone and grab her hands, willing her to look at me.
“Who was that?”
She shakes her head and suddenly hops off the counter, rushing from window to window, dropping the half lowered blinds all the way down.
“What the hell, Arlene? What’s going on?”
“He can see us.” She hisses back at me.
“Who? Talk to me, dammit!”
I have to follow her into her office where she stands with her back against the wall facing the door.
“Arlene? Babe, tell me.”
“A man. He… he… he said I couldn’t get away with that and he would teach me. He called me whore.”
“Away with what?” I’m scrambling to try and make sense of things.
“Kissing you! He saw us, I know he did.”
She starts to tremble all over and I walk over to wrap her in my arms.
“I can’t breathe, Seb…” Hyperventilating and shaking from head to toe, all I can think of is a panic attack so I force her down in her chair and go on my knees in front of her.
“Look at me. We’re gonna breathe together, ok? Keep your eyes on me. In through the nose, out through mouth.” I have her face in my hands and force her to look at m
e while I breathe with her. I have no fucking clue what I’m doing but when her breathing deepens and some of her color returns, I figure it’s is working.
I get up to grab her a drink when she stops me.
“Where are you going?”
“Just grabbing you something to drink. Be right back.” When she nods I quickly fill a glass of water in the kitchen and bring it to her.
After gulping down half of it, she rubs her hands over her face and says, “I don’t know who it was, but it felt like he could see us. I have no idea what this is about?”
“Think this might have something to do with those hang-ups you’ve been getting?”
“How…? “
“Did I know? We’ve intercepted a bunch here at the diner, Beth and I. Figured that you might have had some at home, too.”
Resigned, she nods.
“Yes, I’ve been getting those calls for a while, but I honestly thought they were prank calls or something. This is the first time anyone’s ever said anything.”
“Still should’ve mentioned something. Call the sheriff… tell Gus. For fuck’s sake, tell me.”
“So you could do what exactly, Seb? Answer my phone every time it rings? Get real, will ya? I’ve been managing to take care of myself for years now without any outside help, thank you very much. I don’t need you to tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing!”
Well, I’ve clearly pushed a button but I’m not sit back and let her think she can do everything on her own.”
“It’s not about telling you what to do. It’s about actually trusting people enough to let them in − to let them support and help you when you need it. You are not Super Woman, Arlene.”
“I just told you, I don’t need anyone!”
That’s it. I am not gonna spend energy arguing with this exasperating woman. Grabbing the phone off her desk I dial the sheriff’s number.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re going to report this and don’t bother arguing.”