by J. H. Croix
Hesitating for a beat before she answered, I saw doubt creeping into her eyes for a second before she shook it off and gave me a tiny nod. I had no idea what she’d been doubting or why, but she didn’t give me a chance to ask.
“Yeah, I grew up here.” With the look that had passed over her features seconds ago, I’d have expected her voice to sound small and uncertain, but it didn’t.
It was strong and sure, lyrical and sweet. As with everything else about her, it intrigued me. “Thought so, but we didn’t hang out together, did we?”
I didn’t throw in the super-lame ‘because I wouldn’t have forgotten a face like yours’ line that the question offered, but if I had, it wouldn’t have been a lie. I couldn’t imagine being able to forget a girl like her.
Marie shook her head slightly, resuming her sweeping. “Nope, we didn’t travel in the same circles, if you know what I mean. I was younger.”
A second broom that someone must’ve forgotten to put away earlier rested at a station near hers. Cleaning up after a long day was second nature to me. I grabbed the broom and started helping her clean up. Surprise flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t comment on it.
“I have a younger brother. You know him? Sonny Lovett? I’m Jeremy, by the way.” I smiled at her. The real smile I rarely offered, if only because most people annoyed the shit out of me. Of late, I’d been cranky enough to admit it, yet right now, I was nudged out of it. “You know, since we haven’t been properly introduced.”
“Marie,” she said, offering me her fist to bump instead of a handshake. Weird, but I took it. “And no, I don’t know Sonny. I know of him, but I’m younger than he is too, so we weren’t friends either.”
I took that to mean I didn’t need to bother asking about my older brothers. As far as my brothers went, she was in the all-clear column. A win for Team Jeremy if I’d had one today.
“How’re the renovations going?” she asked as we continued cleaning up. We were nearly done, and I was trying to figure out how to ask her out without sounding like a presumptuous douche since technically, we were both at work. A very different setting for me from asking a girl out usually.
“We’re ahead of schedule actually,” I replied. I couldn’t hide the tinge of pride that crept into my voice. For my first solo project, I was knocking this one out of the park far as I was concerned. “We won’t be here tomorrow though. I got a call earlier about a problem at another job site that we have to handle. We should be back here by Friday.”
“Anything serious at your other site?” It didn’t sound like she was just making polite conversation. She sounded genuinely interested, which was strange.
“Nah. Nothing we should be able to get done in a day or two. You got any plans for the weekend?”
For the first time since our conversation started, her spine stiffened and her shoulders tensed. She swept a last bit of hair into her scoop and spun away from me to empty it. “No.”
Not the most encouraging reaction I’d gotten to the question, but I was still going to ask. “Can I take you to dinner sometime over the weekend then?”
“No.” She hadn’t taken so much as a split second to consider it, shooting me down faster and more efficiently than I’d ever been shut down before. “I’m sorry, I can’t make it.”
No explanation, nothing. I had to respect the girl for that. She didn’t owe me anything, and she knew it. The way she’d shot me down so swiftly left me feeling she was already taken.
For a beat, I tried to tell myself her blunt rejection didn’t matter. Yet, it bit. Hard. Disappointment scored me. My usual easy come, easy go attitude was nowhere to be found.
I got it though. She should’ve had a boyfriend. She was beautiful, and I could already tell that she had a good heart. That was rare these days. If she had someone else in her life, I hoped that whoever he was, he knew how lucky he was to have found a girl like her.
As I drove home, I couldn’t help but wonder if the white-hot desire I felt simmering between us was all in my mind. Perhaps, it was one-sided. Just me. Shaking those thoughts away, I kept driving. Not for the first time, I was thankful to have Arcadian there to greet me with the thump of his tail.
Chapter Fourteen
Marie
“Bye mommy!” Austin waved after giving me a big hug. “I’ll see you later. Love you.”
After only two weeks of being in his new surroundings, Austin was doing so much better already. The change of scenery had worked wonders for him and after our brief stumble last weekend, I hadn’t seen him look worried or concerned at all.
“Love you too, baby.” My chest swelled with pride as I watched him wait for a friend to cross the road, greet the friend’s mom and then walk in with the friend. She was a little blonde girl with pigtails and a backpack that was almost the size of her. Together they waited for a little boy with skin the color of milk chocolate and a smile as wide as the solar system before they ran toward the play area.
Austin was settling in spectacularly. As I arrived at the salon, I realized that I was as well. Sarah was the only one there this early, getting ready to open up. I gave her a big hug when I entered, and she didn’t hesitate before folding her arms around me. “What’s this for?”
“For being there for me these last couple of weeks,” I told her, smiling as I released her and headed for my station. It was quiet in here this morning. The construction crew had only been around for a few days, but I was already used to the noise coming from the back and their voices echoing into the shop from outside.
Sarah returned my smile, passing me a cloth to help her wipe down all the surfaces. “You’ve been an absolute joy to have around here, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
“Thanks Sarah.”
Wearing a pink dress so loud you’d be able to see it from space with a leopard print scarf and sky high platforms, Sarah, as eccentric as she was, was already becoming something of a role model for me. She pursed her pink lips as she wiped the reception desk, then walked to the door to survey the place before she flipped the sign on the door to open. We didn’t have any early clients booked, but Sarah insisted we open on time anyway.
Flopping down into the chair at her station once the door was unlocked, she faced me and tucked her legs away underneath her. “So, how’s your little Austin doing at his new school?”
“He’s great. I was just thinking this morning that he’s adapting really well. I was lucky to get him into a place he loves so much.”
“I think he’d love it any place his momma was happy. You’re looking better than you did when you arrived, you know. I think he can see it too.”
“I feel much better. Maybe he can tell. All I know is I’m grateful he’s so happy. He’s even made some friends already.”
“That’s great, sweetheart. When are you going to bring him around so he can make friends with some of us old ladies here, huh?”
I felt a little guilty that I hadn’t introduced Austin to Sarah yet. It wasn’t that I’d been avoiding it intentionally. It’d just seemed to happen that way.
I trusted Sarah enough to let her meet him, and I was suddenly eager for it to happen. “How about I bring him by the shop tomorrow after daycare? I’ll go get him early.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up. “How about you bring him here instead of daycare for the day? I don’t have many clients booked tomorrow. I’d love to watch over him for the day and he’d get to see you work. Bet he’d love that.”
“He would,” I agreed. “I’ll find out from his teacher if it’s okay for me to bring him here tomorrow. It should be fine if he misses the day.”
“Good.” She frowned as she glanced to the back and realized there was no noise coming from that direction. “I wonder what time those boys are starting today. Aren’t they late?”
“Oh! I should’ve told you, Jeremy Lovett told me yesterday that they were ahead and wouldn’t be in today. They have some emergency on another project, but they’ll be back tomorrow.”
&n
bsp; Sarah let the information about the workers slide and immediately honed in on what interested her. “Jeremy Lovett told you? What else did you two talk about?”
“I… uh…” I stammered, my mind spinning back to last night. I still couldn’t quite believe he’d asked me out. I’d forced myself to answer fast and firm. No. It had to be that way. If I’d let myself hesitate, even for a millisecond, I’d have wavered and given into what I wanted. And sweet hell, did I want Jeremy Lovett. That man made the term hot and bothered seem quaint. Once again, I’d walked away from him with my pulse pounding, butterflies fluttering in my belly, and my panties wet.
It’d been a long time since someone had questioned me about my dating life, or lack thereof. I surprised myself by answering honestly. “He asked me out on a date. At least, I think it was a date. I’m not sure. He asked if I had plans for the weekend and then I said no, and then he asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him.”
“You’re rambling dear. Why are you rambling?” Sarah laughed, looking nothing short of delighted as I word-vomited all over her. God, I was a lost cause when it came to dating. I couldn’t even tell a friend about being asked out. How much worse would it be if I actually agreed to a date?
“I don’t know. It’s just… It’s been a while.”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked me over. “Not for lack of men trying, I would imagine. But if you’re going to break this ridiculous dating fast you apparently have going on, there’s no better candidate than Jeremy Lovett. He’s gorgeous, and nice too.”
“I told him no,” I blurted out, feeling heat spread from my chest to my cheeks and to the very tips of my ears.
“Why on god’s green earth would you have done that?” she asked, brow furrowed and confusion clouding her eyes.
“I have too much going on at the moment. No one’s going to want to be brought into the situation that I’m in. Not with a child to factor in, especially not a man like that. It’s like you said, he’s gorgeous and nice. He wouldn’t be interested once he learned the size, or more accurately, the age of my baggage. No man would.”
“Nonsense. Besides, I’m sure Austin could use a man to relate to, to look up to. You never mention his dad, but I’m assuming it’s ‘cause he’s not exactly the ideal candidate for the boy to model himself after. Jeremy, on the other hand…”
“Is not going to be interested. Trust me. I’ve accepted the fact that I’m going to be alone. Well, alone with Austin. And that’s okay with me, honestly.”
Sarah shook her head, sighing as though she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She didn’t have time to tell me about it since the bell above the door jingled, indicating the arrival of a walk-in customer.
As I watched her chat with the woman who’d just walked in, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about our conversation about Jeremy. Or really, from thinking about the man himself. I would never trade Austin for anything in the world, not even for a second. But as much as I hated to admit it, it would’ve been really nice to have someone to be with at night.
Chapter Fifteen
Jeremy
Doc surprised me when I got to the yard on Friday morning, leaning against the old shipping container that we used as my office. Dressed in a pair of faded gray shorts and a shirt I knew he favored for fishing, I didn’t think he was there to work.
I raised my hand when I saw him, giving him a wave. “Morning boss.”
“Mornin’ Jeremy. How’s everything going over here?”
I noticed dark smudges under his eyes as I approached, concern for him rising and tension coiling in my gut. Stopping when I reached him, I paused outside my office and flashed a reassuring smile.
“All good. No problems. Didn’t think we’d be seeing you today.” It was Doc’s company, of course. His offices, his men, his jobs. He had every right to be there, yet he looked uncomfortable and like he was wishing he’d rather be anywhere else.
Sighing, he turned to open my office door and motioned me inside. “Me either, to be honest. Came to talk to you.”
My gut churned with dread as I followed him inside. I had no real reason to feel that way, but ‘we need to talk’ rarely ended with a person receiving good news as far as I knew. Once we were inside, I headed over to the mini fridge I kept in there and pulled out two bottles of water, offering one to Doc as he settled into a chair on one side of the table that served as my desk.
Instead of taking my seat, I perched a hip against the table, cracking the top of my water bottle without taking a sip yet. “What’s on your mind?”
Doc opened his water too, but took a long swallow before he lifted his eyes to mine. “I’ve been thinking a lot this week. I’m getting too old for this shit, Jeremy. I’m growing more and more tired of coming in to work, but I feel like I have to be here.”
“Okay.” Lifting my own bottle to my lips, I swallowed a sip of cool water as I waited for him to continue. I’d been hoping these few days off would remind him that he hated sitting with idle hands and put off his thoughts of retirement for another while, but that didn’t seem to be the direction our conversation was headed.
“I’ve been wracking my mind trying to decide what to do, it’s been keeping me up at night.”
That explained the dark circles under his eyes. There was also a weariness in the usually firm set of his shoulders that I was only noticing now that he was slumped into the chair. “Since I can’t seem to stay away completely, I’ve had to come up with a different plan.”
“Okay.” So far, okay was all I seemed to have to offer. My growing apprehension about what he might be about to say, along with the dawning reality of what it might mean was making speech difficult.
Having known me for as long as he had, probably knowing me better than anyone outside of my family and maybe even better than a few of my brothers these days, Doc’s pale eyes reflected that he understood what I was feeling and that he wasn’t going to push me to say more. Instead, he forged ahead.
“For now, though I don’t know for how long, I’m only going to be coming in twice a week. I’m turning the day-to-day operations of the company over to you effective immediately going forward.”
My stomach bottomed out and my throat suddenly felt tight.
Doc had been talking about retirement for months. The fact that he was finally doing it, even if not completely, shouldn’t have come as a shock. And it wasn’t a shock necessarily, I just wasn’t expecting him to actually follow through with it.
I could see he needed rest though. Anyone would’ve been able to see it. Maybe that was what really lay behind this. Maybe if he got some rest, he’d end up staying around for longer. Even if he was only around for two days a week, having him around was better than not having him around at all.
Reluctantly, I nodded and accepted the reins he was handing over, if only partially. “Okay. Yeah. I can handle that.”
My mind was spinning with too many thoughts to offer much else.
Doc blinked like he couldn’t believe I’d agreed, then a slow smile stretched across his face as he rose and stuck his hand out to me. “You’re a good man, Jeremy Lovett.”
His grip was firm when we shook, his expression relieved. I felt like a jerk when I realized the intensity of his relief probably meant that the thought of having this conversation with me had been a part of what had been weighing him down.
The last thing I wanted was to unintentionally add any weight to his worries. I’d do whatever it took to make sure that he could enjoy the time he was away from the office and didn’t have to worry about the company. Forcing a smile, I looked right in his eyes and shook his hand.
I owed him this. “I’m not, but you are Doc. You deserve a little rest.”
He gave me long look at my denial of being a good man. We’d gotten into it a few times about this very topic, but we’d never see eye to eye. I wasn’t good, but I didn’t think I was particularly bad either. That is, if I discounted some of the shit I’d gotten up to with my
brothers and some other stuff. I just... was.
Doc let it go this time, turning to the calendar I had tacked up to the wall. “You get the shit with the Maxwell job cleared up?”
“Just about.” We’d skipped the salon renovations yesterday because someone fucked up the piping on the Maxwell job, but it hadn’t been that hard to fix. If all went as planned, I was confident we’d have it done before the end of the day.
“Good. That’s good. You’re going to have to talk to Sarah about it. Get Maxwell done before you go back to the salon. He was not a happy camper when he called me yesterday.”
“I know. I’m on it. I’ll go speak to Sarah personally.”
“How long before you think you’ll be back on schedule?” His eyes were glued to the calendar, and I could practically see the wheels spinning in his brain as he considered what was already chalked up there for next week.
This was exactly the kind of shit he didn’t want or need to be worried about. It was my responsibility now and once I took responsibility for something, I took it fucking seriously.
“We’ll be back at the salon fulltime by Monday. Guaranteed.”
“Monday?” He raked a hand through his graying hair and turned back to me. “Okay. You go tell Sarah you’ll pick it back up on Monday. Make sure you play nice with her. I’ve known Sarah for just about forever, and I don’t want her to feel like we’re not giving her our best.”
“Consider it done.”
Doc nodded and went over a few more details with me before he left, looking like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders when he left my office a few minutes later. I blew out a deep breath as the door swung shut behind him, draining my bottle of water and chucking it in the trash can across the room without moving away from my desk.
A sharp knock sounded at my door, and George, my foreman on the Maxwell job, stuck his bearded face in the door. “We’re loaded up and ready to go.”