by Girard, Dara
JD shrugged. “I can do it. I’ll foster him for you.”
“You?” she said, stunned. “You’ve never even owned goldfish.”
“True, but my Gran used to own animals and I’d help out anytime I came to visit. You know that. That’s how we first met, when her German shepherd broke its leg. She also had a horse, a rabbit and a few chickens.”
“Yes, I remember.” Treena grinned. “I also remember I had the biggest crush on you and you never even noticed me.”
“I noticed you.”
“You did?”
“But William noticed you first.”
Treena dramatically rolled her eyes. “It would have been nice if you’d at least put up a fight.”
“I would have lost anyway.”
Treena laughed. “Maybe.”
“So it’s settled. I’ll foster Baxter.”
Treena hesitated. “I’m not sure you’d—”
“I’m here for a few weeks and I could get him used to a home environment. Then when I leave I’ll drop him back here.”
“He’s going to take a lot of patience.”
“That’s something I have in spades.”
“He might get attached to you.”
“He won’t.”
“You sound sure.”
“I am. People or things just don’t get attached to me and I don’t get attached to them.”
Treena studied JD for a moment then picked up the puppy and handed it to him. “I heard she brought you in.”
“She?”
“Yes, the woman renting your grandmother’s place.”
“Oh, right, Monica.”
“What’s her story? The moment I saw her in the waiting lounge I nearly fainted. She’s like a ghost. People rarely see her outside the farmhouse. She keeps it neat but you never see her mowing the lawn or trimming the bushes. Some think she does it at night because of her eyes. And she hardly comes into town. When she does, she doesn’t talk to anyone. Just keeps to herself. How did you get her to come out here?”
“I used my charm.”
“I’m sorry I asked.”
“No you’re not. You know I have a way with women.”
Treena patted JD playfully on the cheek. “Which means you know about as much about her as I do.”
“I plan to find out more. I’ve never seen a woman handle a rifle the way she did.”
“A rifle?”
JD briefly told Treena about the incident in the woods. Treena gave a low whistle. “She killed one of Drent’s dogs? She is brave.”
“She’s a lot more than that.”
Treena stared at him and widened her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in her.”
“I’ve always liked a mystery.”
“Dressed like a sack of potatoes?” Treena said with a sniff. “She’s more skittish than that dog. She’s definitely not your type.”
“True. But that doesn’t mean I’m not curious.”
Treena opened the door and shook her head. “You always were addicted to trouble.”
“Challenges,” JD corrected.
“Remember when you climbed Mrs. Vanooth’s huge oak tree to rescue her cat, and it scratched you and you lost your balance and fell?”
“I remember.”
“You broke your wrist and two ribs.”
“I’m older now.”
“Maybe,” she said, patting JD on the back. “But this one has bigger claws.”
Monica frowned when she saw JD with the puppy. “What’s wrong with him?”
“They need him to be fostered, so I volunteered.”
“To do what?”
“Foster him.” When she continued to look blank he added, “I’m taking him home.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Why would I be kidding you?”
Monica waved her hands in a helpless gesture, searching for words. “It’s just…you don’t seem the type to have the patience.”
“Then you don’t know me very well. I can be very patient if something matters to me. This little guy needs a break, and the first thing I need to do is pick up a few things.”
They went to the general store next door, which allowed pets, and bought a fluffy dog bed, a water and food dish and wet and dry dog food.
JD looked up and saw Treena’s husband come out from the back and waved at him. “Hey, Hostie,” he said, using William’s last name, “I just came from seeing Treena. You’re a lucky man.”
William sent him a bored look. He was a lean man with a trim beard. “I know,” he replied in a flat voice.
JD lowered his voice. “She told me that things have been a little slow. I’d like to talk—”
“I don’t need to talk,” William interrupted as he moved away. “Business is fine.”
JD looked around the almost empty store. Except for himself, Monica and Baxter, there were only two other customers, yet outside the sidewalk bustled with people. “But it sounds like it could always be better. I could—”
“You could mind your own business. You haven’t changed. You and your family always thinking you know more and are better than everyone else just ’cause you had a second home and could leave whenever you liked.”
“That’s not—”
“Why the hell are you back here? Everyone wants to know. Your grandmother’s place had been sitting nearly empty for years being maintained by the Wooley brothers until she suddenly decides to move out and rent it out for no reason,” he said, nodding at Monica. “Everyone knows the Rozans are never hard up for money.”
“Listen—”
“What do you want here?”
“Nothing. I just thought—”
“Whatever you’re searching for isn’t here.” He turned away. “So go somewhere else.”
“I just wanted to help out a friend.”
William spun around and glared at him. “You don’t have any friends here. You’ve never been one of us, and you don’t belong.” William’s voice rose, gaining the attention of the clerk at the cash register and the two other customers. “Stop sweet-talking my wife and stay out of my business. I don’t care if you throw around your money, but keep your advice to yourself.” He stormed away.
JD watched him go with mixed emotions. He and William had never been close buddies, but they’d always been friendly to each other. Why the sudden change? What had made him so angry? Sure, he hadn’t kept in touch as they’d agreed to as kids, but he’d never had much to say. He sighed. That was it. He’d lost touch. Their broken relationship was his fault, and he didn’t blame William for feeling betrayed.
He’d done it wrong. He couldn’t just walk into another man’s life and tell him what to do. It was like holding up a mirror to his failures. He realized that his harsh approach could work in the city, but not here. And when it came to a man’s pride, one had to tread carefully. He should have listened to Treena.
JD suddenly felt Monica’s gentle touch on his shoulder. “You’re supposed to be relaxing.”
JD shrugged, trying to show a nonchalance he didn’t feel. “He’s right. I don’t have friends. Especially not here. My father—” He abruptly stopped then picked up a squeaky dog toy and put it in the basket. “Let’s go.”
The young woman at the register had big green eyes and purple nail polish, and as she rang up the items she cast curious glances at Monica.
Monica adjusted her glasses. “What is it?”
“I’m just not used to seeing you with anybody. You always come in alone.” She glanced at JD. “Are you two related or something?”
“No.”
JD placed a candy bar on the counter. “We just happen to be living together.”
Monica felt her face grow hot. “That’s not…it’s not…he’s putting it in the wrong context.”
The young girl stared at her blankly.
“He’s staying for the summer.”
She nodded with understanding. “Oh, right.” She smiled at JD in recognition. “You’re Ms. Na
dine’s grandson.”
He returned her smile. “That’s me.”
“I figured it was something like that,” she said, as if she’d finally uncovered the mystery of why the strange pair would be together.
Monica pursed her lips while JD tried hard to stifle back a laugh.
The clerk rang up everything and JD paid. “Thanks, Donna,” he said, reading her name tag.
She beamed. “Come in anytime.” She looked around then leaned forward. “And whatever advice you’ve got for this place, you can tell me. I really need this job, and Mr. Hostie isn’t so bad when you get to know him.”
“I’ll remember that,” JD said then followed Monica out of the store.
“Jealous?” JD teased as they headed toward the car.
“Of who?”
JD was about to reply when Drent Marks came from around the corner and spotted them. “You stupid bitch! You killed my dog,” he said then threw his can of beer at her.
Chapter 4
Monica ducked before the beer can struck her in the face. The near miss only enraged Drent Marks further.
He was a big man, weighing nearly two hundred and eighty pounds, with a large knife tattoo on his neck and one of a daisy on his forearm. He punched his fist into the palm of his other hand. “Do you know how much you’ve cost me?”
JD stepped in front of Monica. “Drent, have you forgotten your medication?”
“Are you trying to be funny?”
“No, I’m trying to give myself a good reason not to beat the crap out of you for assaulting a woman.”
“Get out of my way!”
JD folded his arms. “What’s your problem?”
Drent pointed at Monica with fury. “That ugly little bitch just cost me a fortune!”
“Actually, she saved you from a lawsuit.”
He paused. “A lawsuit? From who?”
“From me.”
Monica stepped from around JD. “I’m not sorry I did it. Not only is it barbaric to use a puppy as bait to train your monsters, but to keep it tied up so that it can’t run is worse than criminal, and I won’t let that happen on my property.”
“It isn’t your property.”
“I’m managing it for Ms. Rozan, and she wasn’t pleased to learn that you’d been using her abandoned shed as a place for your dogfights, which are illegal in the state of Georgia.”
Drent sniffed. “My cousin’s the sheriff.”
“That’s an elected position, right?” JD said in a soft voice. “If he wants to serve for another term, he’ll learn who he needs to please.”
“Rozan, you may be powerful in the big city, but you’d better watch yourself out here.”
“Do I look scared to you?”
Drent mimicked JD’s stance and also folded his arms. “Just give me my property back and we’re even.”
“Your property?”
“Yeah.” He gestured toward Baxter. “That’s mine, too.”
A sharklike grin spread on JD’s face. “Want to fight me for him?”
Drent cracked his knuckles. “You wouldn’t last a second.”
“I’ll last longer than you.”
Drent flashed an ugly smile. “William told me about you. He said—”
“You can flatter me later. Let’s go.” JD handed Baxter over to Monica.
She looked at him, bewildered. She vigorously shook her head. “Oh, no. This is not a good idea. JD, I don’t think—”
“I’ll meet you around the corner in a minute,” JD said to Drent and pointed to an alley near the store.
Drent laughed. “Make it two. I doubt you’ll show up,” he said then left.
JD headed for the car. “Open the trunk for me.”
Monica hurried after him and said in a tense voice, “You don’t need to do this.” She lifted the trunk lid. “He’s not worth it.”
JD dumped the dog food inside then winced.
Monica noticed the reaction and swore. “You’re not even fit to fight, and he’s not going to fight fair.”
JD slammed the lid closed. “Who says I’m going to be fair?”
He started to walk away then spun around and drew her to him. In one swift motion he covered her mouth with his in a quick, mind-numbing kiss. Just as quickly, he pulled away. “For good luck,” he said then disappeared into the alley.
Monica didn’t move at first, trying to gather her warring emotions—longing, annoyance, surprise, desire—then she swore and placed Baxter and some of the other items in the car. She left the window open a third of the way so that he could get air then locked the car, but not before taking out two large dog bones from one of the grocery bags. She gave one to the still-listless puppy and took the other with her as a makeshift weapon—then ran to the alley. The oily smell of diesel fuel reached her first, as well as the stench of days-old trash from overturned trash cans. Several pieces of sharp glass glinted from the sliver of sunlight that managed to seep between the buildings.
Monica focused her eyes and saw JD fighting Drent and two other guys. One of them looked like a teenager taken from a local wrestling team. The other man was smaller but thicker. Just as she’d feared, Drent wasn’t fighting fair. But before she could run to help him, JD drop-kicked the smaller guy, head butted the other then grabbed Drent’s fleshy neck and squeezed until he collapsed to the ground. JD bent over Drent and checked the fallen man’s pulse. He nodded then stumbled back against the wall, and a pirate’s grin spread across his face.
Monica’s gaze swept over the three prone figures then settled on JD, unsure of whether she should be relieved or frightened. She’d known and seen another man who could be just as violent and brutal. The thought of him made her take a step back, and she dropped the bone. She quickly picked it up, but the sound caught JD’s attention. He turned to her and frowned. “You were supposed to stay by the car.”
“I thought you might need my help,” she stammered, not wanting to have his temper directed at her.
JD pushed himself from the wall and walked up to her, as if sensing her unease. “You don’t have to worry. He won’t bother you again.”
She glanced behind him. “We can’t just leave them like this.”
JD gently took her elbow and led her away. “Sure we can. Where’s Baxter?”
“In the car. I made sure he’s got enough air.”
“Good. Let’s go home.”
Monica nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She let her gaze fall and noticed a red stain soaking through his shirt sleeve.
“You’re bleeding again.”
JD glanced down and swore. “At this rate I’m going to run out of shirts.”
Monica reached over to examine the cut, but he stopped her. “Don’t worry about it. I just want to get out of here.” JD softened his tone with a wink. “You can nurse me at home.”
Monica got in the driver’s seat. “You could bleed to death before then.”
“But you’d never let that happen,” he said, fumbling with his seat belt.
Monica took the belt from him and locked it in place.
“See?” JD said. “I’m in good hands.”
She started the ignition. After driving a few blocks, she said in a grim tone, “You enjoyed that, didn’t you? You enjoy fighting.”
JD shook his head. “No, I enjoy winning.”
Monica fell quiet and tapped the steering wheel. “I think you should go.”
He swung around to face her. “You too? Have you been talking to Hostie?”
“No, but he has the right idea. You should go somewhere else.”
“Why?”
Monica threw up her hand in exasperation. “Just look at all the trouble you’ve caused in one day. You’ve gotten yourself stabbed, adopted a dog that’s neurotic—”
“I’m only fostering him.”
Monica continued. “Angered the guy at the one general store in town and antagonized a man whose cousin just happens to be the sheriff and then beat him and his friends unconscious.”
“I tried to come up with a reason not to. You heard me.”
“JD, I want a quiet life, and I know that will be impossible with you around. So I suggest you book a hotel on a nice island somewhere and relax there.”
JD rested his head back. “It won’t work.”
“What?”
He grinned. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“It’s nothing personal.”
JD lowered his voice, reached over and twirled a strand of loose hair around his finger. “Somehow I have a feeling that it is.”
Monica slapped his hand away and tucked the wayward strand back under her head wrap. “What did I tell you about touching me?”
He rested back and stared out the window. “The truth is I don’t want to be anywhere else but here.”
“I thought you said there was nothing here.”
He sent her a significant look. “I was wrong.”
Monica focused on the road. No, she wouldn’t fall for that. He was just trying to distract her from the truth. He had his secrets and so did she. Since he wasn’t going to leave, she’d have to come up with another plan.
He had to get away before anyone could reach him. JD zipped up his carrying case—he didn’t have time to pack anything bigger—then headed for the door. His cell phone rang. He saw the number and answered.
“Where are you?” his associate Cliff Englewood asked in a panic. “The Snyder meeting starts in ten minutes.”
“Fill in for me. I’m taking a break.”
“You can’t do that now! You just put one of the most powerful men in jail and saved another company from ruin. People want to talk to you. You’re news.”
“I don’t care.” He was used to being news.
“Do you know how much this could cost you?”
“Not enough to make me come back right now.” He wanted to get away from the journalists, associates and colleagues who all wanted something from him. People circled him like vultures would a dying man in a desert—if he didn’t leave, he wouldn’t have the energy to fight them all.