by J. M. Madden
“I don’t kn-know what your po-po-position is at the bar, but you may think about trying to change things there. Do what Chad said, and manage.”
Ember realized she could change some things. Dad used to work during the day, then he would head home in the afternoon to relieve her. Why couldn’t she do the same thing? One of the assistant managers immediately came to mind who could be her alternate. Deena always asked for more responsibility. Options started tumbling around her brain.
“Thanks, Zeke. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that, especially now.”
“T-too close to the problem.”
“I guess so. Well,” she sighed, “I should let you get back to sleep. We’ve both got big days tomorrow, and I need to get packing.” “Okay, Ember. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Night, Zeke.”
She pulled the phone away but hesitated to hit the disconnect button. The line clicked and the screen went blank without her doing anything, so she stuffed it into her pocket. Thoughts of Zeke lying in bed, sheet tangled around his hips, teased her. Even while she’d been crying in his arms, she’d been very aware of the power wrapped around her. Nobody had ever held her like that before. She wanted to feel it again.
*****
Zeke closed his eyes, replaying every word of their conversation in his mind. Ember’s sweet voice tickled against his insides, making him wish for more. Whether she realized it or not, she had hooked him good.
He’d gotten used to sly whispers about his looks. He couldn’t say it didn’t still hurt sometimes, but after a couple of years he’d built up some armor. Ember was the first woman to look at him like he wasn’t a freak. Like he was still a man who could be depended upon. And he had to admit, it felt good coming to her rescue. She needed help, and they were going to help her.
After they got her moved, he’d just have to play it by ear. Maybe he’d get up the gumption to actually ask her out.
The thought made him smile as he drifted back to sleep.
*****
Ember put her management plan into action immediately. She called Deena at home and asked her about covering her shifts for a few days, until she resolved some personal issues. Deena jumped at the chance, promising that everything would run smoothly. Ember made her pledge that if anything came up, she was to call.
If anything happened to Frog Dog while her dad was gone, her ass would be grass.
Deena’s enthusiasm and calm-headedness reassured Ember immediately. She promised to call in and talk to the young business major at the close of shift.
Then Ember went to work. Mrs. Miller was happy to take Drew, so she had some kid-free time to get things in order. Maybe she could get a head-start on the next day.
For the first hour she packed she cried. She had moved five years ago, when she found out she was pregnant—her son had grown up here—and she’d left her mark on it. From the rugs on the floors to the colors on the walls, she had tried to make the house as much of a home as she could for Drew. And for her father. She’d seen the loneliness in his eyes after Mom died, and Ember had tried to ease his sorrow, in little small ways like her mother had.
She wrapped and packed for hours. Till the tips of her fingers were sore from running across newsprint so much. Her back ached from hauling boxes and she had a headache from banging pans together.
At three o’clock she went and retrieved Drew. He blinked his big brown eyes at her and curled into her arms as she carried him to the car, tired from playing all day. Ember’s throat tightened with love as she buckled him in, pressing a kiss to his dark hair. He was worth whatever she needed to do to keep him safe.
When she finally allowed herself to fall into bed later on that night, she groaned with exhaustion, slipping away almost immediately.
*****
It took Ember a long minute to realize the doorbell was ringing. She sat up in bed and looked to the right for her alarm clock. But it wasn’t there. She lurched out of bed and grabbed her cell phone off the dresser. Eight forty-eight.
Shit!
That had to be Zeke at the door.
Shit, shit, shit!!!
She hadn’t taken Drew to preschool. Wait, it was Sunday.
Her life was so seriously going to hell in a hand-basket.
She shoved her arms and legs into the only things she could find, the dirty sweatshirt and jeans from the night before. Her bra was nowhere to be found, and she didn’t have time to look for it.
The doorbell rang for a second time.
Bolting out of the bedroom, she arrived just in time to hear Drew ask Zeke, “What happened to your face?”
Her own face burning in humiliation at her son’s rude question, she pulled Drew around to face her. “You need to apologize to Zeke. That was not nice at all.”
Zeke chuckled and knelt down beside them. “It’s okay. I much prefer the actual cu-curiosity of a child.”
He looked the boy in the eye. “Hi Drew. I’m Zeke. My face got hu-hurt when I was a Marine and trying to help some people. Did your mom ever tell you the Humpty D-d-dumpty story?” he waited for the child to nod. “Well, I’m kind of like Humpty, only the wall fell on me, and broke me.”
Drew’s dark eyes widened dramatically, and he looked at Zeke with new respect. “Really?”
The big man nodded. “It did. Then they c-couldn’t put me back together j-j-just right.”
Her son cocked his head to the side as he did when he was really mulling something over. Then he reached out a little finger and traced one of the scars on Zeke’s cheek and down through his beard. “Does it hurt?”
Again that shuttered look crossed the big man’s expression. “No, it doesn’t hurt. Not now.”
Curiosity satisfied, Drew turned to her, wrapping his arms around her neck. Ember ran her fingers up his sides and lifted him high. “We slept in today, didn’t we?”
He shook his head, dark eyes shining with humor. “You slept in.”
“Yes,” she sighed. “I did. Can you be a super good boy for Mommy today? We’re going to start moving boxes over to the new apartment.”
He started to nod, but frowned when she mentioned the new place. “What if Santa can’t find me when I move?”
“Uh, well, I think he’ll know.”
He blinked at her. “I already sent out my letter, though. He thinks I live here.”
“He-he’s got G-g-PS.”
Drew looked at Zeke. “What?”
The big man waved a hand. “Oh, yeah. He’s got GPS. He follows the signal from your mom’s phone.”
Drew frowned, looking between the two of them. She nodded and tried to look like Zeke knew what he was talking about. Eventually, a broad smile spread her little man’s mouth. “Okay.”
He wiggled to be let down. As soon as his feet touched the carpet, he was gone. Ember could hear cartoons on in the living room.
She smiled up at Zeke. “Thank you. You kind of saved my bacon there. I didn’t know what to say.”
He winked at her. “When I was his age the mo-mo-most…mo-most…” Waving his hand in frustration, he grimaced and stopped to take a deep breath.
Color suffused his cheeks, and her heart ached for him. But she waited patiently.
“It’s sp-special,” he finished. “S-sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry about anything. Please. It doesn’t bother me.” She tried to reassure him with a smile, but he just frowned all the harder and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.
“B-bothers m-me.” He shook his head, obviously exasperated, and looked away from her. Hair fell over his eyes, and he didn’t bother to brush it away.
She dared to reach out and touch his elbow. The muscles of his arm were clenched tight and his massive hands were fisted in his pockets. “I don’t know anything about your injuries,” she said softly, “but it sounds like it gets worse when you get frustrated, right?”
He didn’t have to say anything. She knew.
“Well, there’s no judgment here.” She stepped
back to give him breathing room. “Coffee?”
With a tight nod he followed her to the kitchen.
Drew had made himself at home in the kitchen while she’d been sleeping. Cereal was strewn everywhere, and a chair was pushed up to the open door of the fridge. She couldn’t help but laugh as she put the jug of milk away and replaced the chair at the table. “That’s what I get for sleeping in.”
She glanced at him enough to see the glint of a smile, then started assembling the coffee.
“I have just about everything packed I’m going to take. I think.” She leaned her butt back against the counter top. “A week ago I never would have imagined I’d be in this position.”
“You’re doing the right thing, though. S-sounds like your father n-n-needs help.”
Ember kept telling herself that, but it didn’t make it any easier.
“Unfortunately,” he continued, “the court may file a restraining order between you. Has your…l-l-” he waved a hand, “said?”
“My lawyer? No, he hasn’t.”
The thought of not being able to see her father at all made her sick to her stomach. It would kill him not to see his grandson. For the millionth time she prayed she was doing the right thing.
Zeke leaned down to look in her eyes. “You are.”
Was she that transparent, that he could see everything on her face? The turmoil she was going through wasn’t normal for her. She’d had a charmed life up to now. Yes, there’d been sorrow and challenges, but she had still had a clear direction of travel. Make the business flourish, raise her child to be a man better than his own father. Now she floundered. She didn’t know what to do about her dad, and she was worried about the future of the business they shared.
Utmost in her mind was protecting her son. Part of that was by moving out of her father’s house. Period.
Zeke was still smiling at her in reassurance and she took a deep breath to stabilize. But it backfired. His subtle, spicy scent flowed into her and she had to draw in a deeper breath. Something dangerous unfurled in her belly and she couldn’t help but respond. Her unbound breasts peaked to attention and her eyes latched onto his mouth. Unable to help herself, she reached up with the tip of a finger and touched the line that slid down through his full lips, tracing it down his bearded chin. He jerked back from her, scowling.
Ember winced at the guarded look she’d put in his eyes and dropped her hand to her side. “I’m sorry, Zeke. I didn’t mean to crowd you.”
He gave a short laugh. “It’s j-just been a while since anybody’s touched me like that,” he admitted softly.
Ember swallowed, feeling awareness spike between them. She dared to lean forward, just a bit. “So, how long has it been since somebody kissed you?”
Desolation swept his rough features and he dropped his head, but not before she’d seen the vulnerability. And the flash of anger. Muscles twitched in his square jaw. Ember felt like an ass. The question had to have sounded incredibly insensitive. “I’m sorry…”
He chopped her off with a hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it.”
Spinning on his heel, he left the kitchen, leaving her aching and feeling guilty. The coffeemaker let out a final gasp and she jumped. Damn it.
All the way down the hallway, she cussed under her breath. Then again when she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair. She wouldn’t have kissed her either looking the way she did. The bruise spread across her jaw and up toward her ear, although most of the swelling had gone down. There was some shading beneath her eye, but it hadn’t been enough to give her an actual shiner. She knew it would be at least another week before she looked normal again.
She heard masculine voices out front and rushed to get ready, scraping her hair into a ponytail. Wondering how she could get rid of that desolate look on his face.
*****
Zeke shook Chad’s hand. “Th-thanks for helping o-out.”
Chad made a face at him, blue eyes twinkling. “Did I have a choice? I don’t remember hearin’ that part. You told me to clean out my truck and be here because the little waitress was in trouble. You’re lucky I know the boss and was able to get time off.”
Laughing, Zeke pounded his buddy on the shoulder. He counted Chad as one of his best friends, and he knew he’d do a lot more than help him move a woman. Hell, the last two reconstructive surgeries Zeke had gone through, Chad’s had been the face he’d woken up to.
When Ember walked into the room Chad’s eyes widened with surprise, then narrowed with anger. “Damn. Zeke said you’d been hit, but he didn’t say how bad.”
Ember brushed her cheek with her hand. “Yeah. It doesn’t really hurt anymore.”
Zeke knew better than that. He’d seen her wince twice this morning already.
“Thank you so much for helping me. If I had a truck I’d do it myself.”
“No problem at all. I think there may be one or two more coming.” Chad waved his scarred left hand. “Can’t do any heavy lifting with this thing, and although he thinks he could probably carry a couch on his own, ole Tiny here will probably need some help.”
Ember laughed at the nickname. “Do they really call you Tiny?”
Zeke shook his head. “Only when they n-n-need their asses k-kicked.” He punched his friend lightly in the shoulder and the other man staggered.
“Get off me, you clown, before I shove a cowboy boot up your ass.” Chad wiggled his leg to show off new boots.
“Oh, m-man. Those are nice.” Zeke was happy for his buddy, because he’d been waiting for them for months.
Chad grinned, all Texas pride, too smug for his own good. “I know.”
Their interaction set the tone for the rest of the day.
Brian Claypool, one of the more recent hires, arrived with Ortiz. They didn’t have trucks, but they did have an SUV, and the balance and muscle needed to help move the big items.
Ember ran around like a mad woman, in stark contrast to the military precision the men brought to the situation. Chad was the obvious one in charge, even ordering Ember through a controlled list of objectives. Within an hour, they had the first load of furniture ready to transport.
She called for the boy to get ready to go outside, and he came running. His enthusiasm dimmed when he found out they were going over to the other apartment. “Can I ride with Zeke?” he asked.
Zeke blinked in surprise, curious why the kid wanted to even be near him. Drew smiled up at him with clear-eyed trust, and he couldn’t help but give him a wink.
“Well, I don’t know, honey.” Ember’s big brown eyes looked up at him, and he knew she wouldn’t crowd him if he didn’t want her near.
“You c-can ride with me.”
He regretted the offer almost immediately, but Drew whooped for joy. He jabbered excitedly when he caught sight of the Zeke-sized black truck. Ember transferred Drew’s booster chair from her car to the back seat of his vehicle, shoving a couple of boxes to the side.
Chad grinned at him when he noticed Ember shuffling, and Zeke felt his face heat with embarrassment. Shoving his sunglasses on to keep out the glare of the snowy day, he shook his head.
Excitement ran through him, too. Interaction with people outside his direct group of coworkers was minimal. Interaction with women-almost zero. His speech therapist didn’t count. At the office he did background searches and record checks for the most part, with the occasional overnight stakeout thrown in for variety, and reported to Chad and Duncan. He had very little contact with the outside world.
Which suited him fine. His brain had been scrambled and he couldn’t be depended upon for more important tasks until he’d unscrambled it. But after three years, his progress was slow. He had a feeling he was as good as he was ever going to get.
As he started the truck, he glanced at Ember. Even with the bruise discoloring her face she was beautiful. She had a black winter coat pulled up around her chin, and tan ear muffs over her ears. She smiled at her son as they pulled out of the driveway.
>
“You’ll have your own room just like before, and this spring we’ll decorate it for you.”
The boy didn’t say anything so she turned forward to give Zeke directions to the new apartment. He could tell that her son’s non-response hurt her feelings.
“I have a feeling you’ll f-find kids your age to p-p-play with. You said they have a playground?”
Ember nodded. He glanced at Drew in the rearview mirror. “That would be nice, right?”
The little boy scrunched up his face. “I guess.”
He didn’t seem hopeful, though.
“And I can already tell you like it at Ms. Miller’s, right? It sounds l-like she had several little kids your age.”
Drew didn’t respond.
Zeke sighed. It had been a long time since he’d had to deal with his nieces and nephews, so his rusty conversational skills were deserting him. Not to mention, he was hyperaware of the woman sitting beside him, her vanilla scent curling around him. The slightest move she made he felt. She’d dressed in an oh, so provocative Broncos sweatshirt with cupped her full breasts perfectly, and her jeans looked like they’d been spray painted on her. Watching her bend over to pack items and move boxes had been torture, and kept him agitated all day.
Flurries started to fly as they pulled into the apartment complex Ember had chosen, so they all started to move a little faster. The apartment building itself looked well-kept and safe, so he felt better about moving her into it. Ember stood in the doorway of her new apartment and directed the men where to place things. Within just a few minutes the once empty space was substantially fuller.
Brian talked to Drew as they walked down the hallway, asking him where he wanted his bed when it was put together. Zeke carried Ember’s headboard into the opposite bedroom and started to put together the frame. Even just handling her bed had him semi-aroused. It didn’t help when Ember came in carrying a box for the closet. She dropped it to the floor and arched her back, swinging her arms above her head. Her full breasts pressed against the material of her sweatshirt, and the bare skin of her stomach peeked out. She was unaware he sat just a few feet away from her.