A Daddy for Jacoby

by Christyne Butler

  “It was an ornament for the tree and you’ve been collecting that series for years,” Gina said. “I think Mom would be understanding…and helpful.”

  Giselle rolled her eyes. “Mom and I had ‘the talk’ back when I was in junior high, and it’s been a while since she was a teenager. Besides, you said I could come to you about anything, remember?”

  Yes, she’d said those exact words. “Okay. So tell me again what you’re really asking?”

  “How will I know when I’m ready? How did you know? I mean, you aren’t still a virgin, right?”

  Gina studied her sister’s serious gaze. She saw curiosity and also a genuine need for help with comprehending the crazy world of adulthood she was moving into. “No, but it was only last summer I was with someone for the first time.”

  “At King’s College in London?”

  Memories from last year flooded back, more bittersweet than painful, but a tender wound still lingered. Her mother had told her things would get better when she held Gina in her arms, not asking questions while Gina cried. She’d told her in time the hurt would fade and then she’d be able to deal with whatever had brought her home to Destiny.

  She’d been right, but still, Gina found herself coming to terms with the way her first love affair had ended. “I met Geoffrey my first week of classes, and he literally swept me off my feet. He looked like Jude Law, right down to the accent and he was even smarter than me.… I was in heaven.”

  Giselle released a small sigh. “He sounds wonderful. So you two hadn’t dated long before you…you know.”

  “No, we didn’t. It was a whirlwind romance, if you want the cliché term. He pulled me out of my shell and showed me a whole new world full of fun and laughter and…passion.” Gina pulled one of the other pillows into her lap and held it tight. “You’ve got to remember, I didn’t date much in high school or college—much meaning not at all. Most of my classmates were at least three years older than me. Studying was my number-one concern. I know now that I used studying as a way to hide, concentrating on the books instead of meeting people.”

  Gina paused, her chest tight with the remembered joy and heartache Geoffrey had brought into her life. “When I went to England I was hoping to change that. Geoffrey seemed to be everything I was looking for.”

  More than what she was looking for, it turned out, and not in a good way.

  “But you left here in June and your fellowship was supposed to last a year. You surprised us by coming home last December. So that’s over now? Your relationship with Geoffrey?”

  Gina nodded. What she’d had with the charming, British associate professor was more than over. How could it be anything different considering he’d been in no position to start a relationship in the first place?

  “So have you met anyone since you’ve been back?” Giselle asked. “Other than Justin Dillon, I mean.”

  Her sister’s words caused Gina’s throat to squeeze closed. It took a hard swallow and a gulp of air before she could speak. “Wh-what makes you say that?”

  “Well, everyone knows you spent the night at his place a few months ago. It’s not like you two are even close to being in a relationship. So, what was that? A walk on the wild side?”

  Gina held back a groan. How was she going to explain that night? Maybe by telling the truth?

  Her cell phone chimed, interrupting her thoughts. She reached for it. Unfamiliar number. Maybe it was someone from work looking to trade a shift. “Ah, let me get this and we’ll finish… Hello?”

  “Gina?”

  Her breath caught, and again she lost the ability to speak. It was as if thinking about the man had caused him to dial her number. And how had he gotten her number?

  “It’s Justin.”

  As if she didn’t recognize the unhurried, seductive timbre of his voice. She nodded and then realized what she did. “Ah, hi…hello.”

  “Look, I hate to do this, but I wonder if you’d—” He broke off and heaved a deep sigh. A sigh so sexy that Gina’s toes curled.

  “Would you mind coming out to the cabin?”

  Would she mind— Her gaze flicked to the clock radio on her bedside table. It was nearly eleven o’clock. “Now?”

  “I know it’s late, but— Dammit!” The frustration in his voice was clear, and she pictured him tunneling his fingers through his hair as he paced. Justin struck her as a pacing kind of guy.

  “Gina…” He paused for a moment. “I need your help.”

  A long silence filled the air.

  “Hello? You still there?”

  She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Justin was asking for help. From her.

  “Y-yes, I’m here. What’s going on?”

  “Jacoby’s— Well, he’s upset and he’s asking for you.”

  Oh, the poor kid. His entire world had been turned upside down in the last forty-eight hours. And no matter the reasons his mother had for doing what she did, Jacoby must be missing her.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she said.

  After promising Giselle she’d keep the topic just between them and to finish their talk later, Gina changed her clothes, gave a quick explanation to her mother and headed out the door. Less than twenty minutes later she was parking her car next to Justin’s truck.

  He held open the screen door as she got to the porch and a sense of déjà vu swept over her as she stepped inside. The cardboard boxes were gone and a variety of books, from oversize hardbound textbooks to paperbacks, filled the shelves which flanked the fireplace. The power tools, scraps of wood and the oversize toolbox she’d barely been able to lift had disappeared, too.

  But those changes paled in comparison to the sight of Justin, wearing a washed-out Destiny High Blue Devils T-shirt and faded jeans, his features etched with worry.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  He pointed to a doorway on the opposite side of the room. “Jacoby’s locked himself in the bathroom. He won’t open the door. Hell, he won’t even talk to me.”

  “Why’d he do that?”

  “I don’t know.” Justin pushed the wayward locks of hair off his forehead with the back of one hand. The worry on his face had quickly morphed into exasperation. “I’ve been trying to get him in bed for over an hour, but he refuses. We spent all day cleaning the place and set up the bed, but he says he wants to sleep out here again.”

  Gina saw the sleeping bags laid out in front of the fire. “Are you planning to sleep out here?”

  “Yeah, my bed’s still missing a mattress.”

  “But you had a bed at your apartment.”

  Justin stilled, his gaze locked with hers, the chocolate brown of his eyes deepening.

  Was he thinking about that night? How she’d tried to make him lie down after she’d followed him upstairs? How he’d insisted if she was going to stick around she should be the one to get some sleep? She’d been afraid he’d had a concussion, but when he’d taken the only chair, she’d had nowhere else to sit but on the rumpled bed. Eventually, she’d crawled beneath the covers to get warm and had indeed fallen asleep.

  “I got rid of that bed when I moved here.”

  She didn’t know what that meant, if it meant anything at all, but she refused to ask him to explain.

  Moving toward the small hallway, she stopped in front of the only closed door. The other two, at opposite ends of the hall, stood open, leading to Jacoby’s and Justin’s bedrooms.

  She knocked gently. “Jacoby? It’s Gina. Are you okay?”

  No reply. She tried again. “Hey, I heard you wanted to see me. Well, here I am. Can you come out?”

  Still nothing. Gina looked over her shoulder at Justin, standing with his shoulder braced against the doorjamb. Then a click sounded and the door slowly opened. Jacoby stood inside, his bear at his side.

  She dropped to her knees to meet his eyes. “Hey, there.”

  “Hey.”

  “So, what’s going on?”

  Jacoby looked over her
shoulder at Justin. “He wants me to go to bed.”

  “It’s late. Everyone should be in bed by now,” Justin said.

  “Aren’t you tired?” Gina asked, drawing the boy’s attention back to her. She dropped her purse to the floor and slipped out of her jacket. “I’m not…tired.”

  “It looks like you two did a lot of work around here this weekend. I bet you were a big help. Can you show me what you two did?”

  Jacoby nodded and stepped forward, but stopped when Justin straightened from the doorway. She handed her stuff to him. “Can you take these for me? And you know what I’d love right now? A cup of hot chocolate. Why don’t you make some for all of us?”

  Understanding dawned in his eyes as Justin took her things. “Sure. Three hot chocolates coming up.”

  After Justin headed back into the kitchen, Gina held out her hand. “Come on, Jacoby. It’s okay.”

  His small fingers clamped on to hers. She rose and followed his lead into the living room. He showed her the bookshelves, and she listened as he explained about the shed outside the kitchen door where the tools were now locked up.

  “Wow, you two worked hard today.” The light from the fireplace danced off the still-unadorned, but freshly washed window panes that filled the two walls of the living room. “You even washed the windows.”

  “Yep.” Jacoby smiled. “I did the ones on the bottom and Justin did the tops. We did every window out here and the ones in the bedrooms, too.”

  “Sounds like you made a good team.”

  “I even got to use his tools,” Jacoby continued. “He showed me how to use a philly-head screwdriver.”

  “Phillips head,” Justin said, joining them with a tray of steaming mugs that he placed on the counter separating the kitchen from the living room. “The hot chocolate needs to cool.”

  “So what did you use the screwdriver on?” Gina asked.

  “We fixed some loose handles in the kitchen,” Jacoby said. “And we put beds together, his and mine.”

  “Oh, I heard you were getting a bed, can I see it?”

  Jacoby didn’t do anything for a long moment, then he nodded and led Gina to the darkened room at one end of the hallway. A night-light shone in one corner.

  “You can see better with the light on.” Justin’s arm brushed hers as he reached inside and flipped the switch.

  An overhead light shone down on a twin-size bed made up with sheets, a pillow and one of the quilts Gina recognized from the living room. A small table sat next to the bed and a three-drawer dresser stood against one wall across from a closet.

  “Wow, nice room. Nice bed, too.” Gina entered. “Can I sit on it? Will it hold me, you think?”

  Jacoby giggled and followed her. “Of course it will.”

  Gina sat and bounced a few times. “Looks like you did a good job, Jacoby. I think this bed could even hold your dad. If he could fit in it.”

  “N-no, he’s too big. You should see his bed. It’s huge.”

  Gina caught Jacoby’s hesitation. Was it because she called Justin his dad? She looked up and found Justin still in the doorway, again with one shoulder braced and arms crossed over his chest. He returned her stare, his face devoid of any emotion.

  She turned her focus back to Jacoby. “Well, he’s a big guy.”

  Jacoby nodded, moving closer to the bed. He rubbed at the soft material of the faded quilt, but his gaze darted around the room, not looking at her or Justin.

  “Hey, I bet that hot chocolate is ready.” Gina looked at Justin again, but he’d already turned and walked away.

  Silence filled the air, and she wondered what to say next. The room was a bit bare, but otherwise it seemed fine. She saw Jacoby’s pillowcase sticking out from beneath the bed. “Would you like to read a story while we drink our hot chocolate?”

  Jacoby shook his head, his eyes focused on the invisible pattern he traced on the quilt.

  “It might help make you sleepy.”

  Her words triggered a yawn the boy couldn’t hide.

  “And this bed feels like a perfect place to have sweet dreams.” She smoothed her hand over the pillow. “Don’t you even want to try it out?”

  Jacoby hesitated and then shook his head.

  “I’ll stay right here with you.”

  He looked unconvinced. “You will?”

  “Sure.” She rose and pulled back the blankets. “Why don’t you and your bear climb up here and see how it feels?”

  Justin returned with the tray full of mugs as Gina tucked the quilt around Jacoby, who leaned on the pillow now propped against the simple wooden headboard.

  “Three hot chocolates,” Justin said, stopping at the side of the bed. He looked from Jacoby to her, one corner of his mouth tilted into a small grin. “I hope you guys like marshmallows.”

  “Marshmallows are perfect.” She ignored the fluttering in her stomach and handed the smallest of the three mugs to Jacoby. “Here you go. Careful, it’s going to be warm.”

  She took one of the remaining mugs and sipped. “Hmm, good. Almost as good as having a bed to sleep in again, huh, Jacoby?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” the boy mumbled, his gaze on the cup in his hands. “I’ve never had one before.”

  Gina’s heart lurched. “Never had one what?”

  Jacoby took a long swallow from the mug before he spoke. “My own bed. Or even my own room.”

  She blinked hard to fight back the sudden stinging in her eyes. The surprise on Justin’s face told her this was the first time he’d heard this. “Aren’t you lucky, then?” Gina kept her voice light. “You get both in one night.”

  Jacoby leaned in close, his small brown eyes locked with hers. “I always wanted my own bed. Usually I’d have to share one with my mamma or sleep on the floor in a smelly, old sleeping bag,” he whispered. “But I didn’t know…”

  His voice faded, and when he didn’t continue, she asked, “Didn’t know what, sweetie?”

  “How scary it would be.”

  Chapter Six

  Justin couldn’t believe it. That’s the reason Jacoby wouldn’t go to sleep?

  He thought the kid would be excited about finally having his own bed and his own room. Growing up, Justin had often craved a room of his own. Then again, there had been times when he’d been like Jacoby, when he’d been glad to know his brother Billy Joe was there in the dark with him.

  But what in the heck were he and Gina going to do now? The night-light wasn’t going to solve this kind of issue.

  He took a sip from his mug, meeting Gina’s eyes over the rim. The lukewarm chocolaty sweetness pooled on his tongue. Powerless to look away from the compassion he saw in those blue depths, he knew calling her had been the right thing to do.

  For Jacoby.

  Gina looked at the boy again. “So, what can we do to make it less scary?”

  “You could spend the night, too.”

  The kid’s words caused the mouthful of chocolate to rush down Justin’s throat. It took a couple of fist thumps to his chest before he could breathe again. He dared a glance at Gina, but her gaze was glued to the marshmallows in her mug.

  “Ah, no, I don’t think that’s possible,” she said.

  “Why not?”

  Yeah, Gina, why not?

  Whoa, where’d that come from?

  As if she could read Justin’s mind, she looked at him, peering beneath long, dark lashes, and that pink blush he’d seen many times before was back on her cheeks.

  Bewitching and innocent, what a combination.

  “I have my own bed at home,” she said softly and then broke the spell by turning back to Jacoby. “And I have my own teddy bear who will wonder where I’ve gotten to.” She smiled and touched the kid’s stuffed bear on its black button nose.

  “You have a teddy bear?” Jacoby asked. “Really?”

  “Really. Now, tell me what you don’t like about the room. Maybe we can do something about it.”

  Jacoby shrugged. “I don’t know.”
r />   Justin pushed away his musings about Gina. He was sure the kid had something in mind, and equally sure he wasn’t about to admit it aloud.

  “Hmmm, I wonder if having curtains on the windows might make it easier to fall asleep,” Gina said, before taking another sip of her hot chocolate.

  Curtains?

  Justin studied the room’s two windows. They looked like all the others in the cabin. Less than a month old, double-paned for better insulation and uncovered. He preferred them that way. After spending seven years never looking out a pane of glass that didn’t include bars or security threads running through it, he needed to see the surrounding woods without obstruction.

  “There’s nothing out there but trees and the lake,” he said.

  “And animals,” Jacoby added softly.

  “It’s going to bother you if a deer or a raccoon sees you in your pajamas?”

  The kid hesitated and then jerked his head in a quick nod. Justin started to roll his eyes, but a stern look from Gina stopped him.

  “The scenery is beautiful, but don’t you have a couple of sheets or drop cloths you could nail over the windows?” she asked.

  Her voice was soft, but Justin didn’t miss the underlying firm tone. He opened his mouth to protest, but all it took was a simple tilt of her head and he caved.

  “Let me see what I can find.”

  Five minutes later he was back with his hammer and two drop cloths. After three quick whacks on the top edge of each window frame, the paint-splattered cloths were in position to block the views to the outside.

  “Better?” he asked.

  “Much better. Thanks,” Gina said.

  Her genuine smile caught him square in the gut. He found himself holding his breath until she turned away and looked back at Jacoby.

  “How’s that?” she asked. “And if you want to let the sun in during the day all you have to do is tie a scrap piece of fabric around the middle.”

  “Okay.”

  “Is there anything else?”

  The boy opened his mouth, but snapped it shut again before he peeked over at Justin.

  Okay, then.

  He flipped the hammer in the air. Catching it easily by the handle after it rotated a few times, he got a swift thrill when the kid’s eyes grew wide. “I’ll just put this back in my toolbox.”