Jasper’s: Takoda Outreach Center #1

by Cee, Sammi

  Concerned by his reaction, I asked, “Do you have someone to stay with?”

  The cool, cocky expression he’d worn the first time I met him appeared and he planted his hands on his own hips. “As a matter of fact I do.”

  “Who?” I challenged.

  “Friends.”

  “Then where were these friends last night?” He masked the flash of concern in his startling green eyes quickly, but not fast enough. “You don’t know, do you?”

  “No.” It was the harshest tone I’d ever heard from him. “But I’m sure they found a cot at one of the shelters.”

  “Then why don’t—“

  He cut me off. “You may not understand this, Mr. High Roller”—he held up his hands, gesturing around to make sure I understood how he felt about the sheer magnitude of my house—“but when you live like we do, you stick together. You don’t leave each other just because something better comes along for a night or two. That’s a shit thing to do, and I’m a better friend than that.”

  I held up my hands in a placating, no harm gesture. “Okay, I get that, but if they found somewhere for last night, and you have somewhere for tonight, I don’t understand the difference.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t.” Jasper turned and disappeared. I shook my head in frustration, letting him go since I knew he’d be back. I still hadn’t given him his clothes.

  * * *

  “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay at my house tonight?” I asked Jasper as I drove toward a church downtown that he said he might be able to find his friends at.

  “No. Thank you, but really, you can quit asking. My friends need me.”

  As much as I knew I was pissing him off, I couldn’t help myself. He had eventually come back downstairs to get his clothes, and I’d only agreed to give them to him if he let me drive him where he needed to go. He’d sighed, letting me know in no uncertain terms how much I was putting him out, but then he’d glanced into my backyard. I think seeing across the pool and waterfall combo and realizing just how much property the house itself sat on made him rethink his whole I’ll walk wherever I need to go speech that he’d been repeating over and over.

  He’d been asleep last night and hadn’t known that I’d driven us into one of the more exclusive areas of town. Out beyond the back of my property line was the pond that sat on the back end of the most revered golf course in town. The church he wanted to be dropped off at was at least forty minutes away. “Okay, your friends need you. I get that. But you’re my friend.” He snorted, giving me the side-eye. “Okay, well, I hope we’re going to be friends. I’m the cook and your my sous-chef, so eventually we’ll have to kinda be friendly, right?” Hopefully, he noticed the casual way I’d addressed myself and it would earn me a little favor with him.

  This time he gave more of a grunt and shrugged. “I guess.”

  “Well, your friends with Fisher and the other guys, right? And a lot of the volunteers, too?”

  “Sure, I guess, but they don’t really know me.” It was my turn to make a noncommittal noise. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, the edge of a laugh in his voice.

  “Just that it’s obvious you’re not letting anyone really get to know you since not one single person had a clue where to go look for you. Honestly, Jasper, last night was a shit night. And it was supposed to be cold, but not all that wintery-mix crap. You saw my house. Unless your friends are thieving—“

  “They’re not.”

  “We may only be getting to know each other, but I already know you well enough to know that they’re not if you care about them so much. I bet they’re great people.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the soft smile that tilted up the corners of his mouth. “No, Miss Emma, Archie, and PJ are great—really great.”

  The revelation that he may have a person out there who waited for him each night felt like a weight on my chest, suffocating me. Assuming he wouldn't call a girl he was dating Miss, as casually as possible, I asked teasingly, “Which one’s your boyfriend, huh? Archie or PJ?”

  “Ew.” Jasper’s mouth puckered up like he’d sucked on a lemon. “They’re both kids.” He sucked in a breath. “I mean...compared to me they’re both kids, like my little brothers. I’d need someone older.” He paused, then mumbled, “Not that I’m saying… you know…” He trailed off and turned toward the window.

  I didn’t call him on being weird, but plunged ahead. “So since the weather is still gonna be below freezing, why don’t you grab your friends and all of you can come back to the house with me?”

  “Are you nuts?” His voice rang loud and shrill.

  “No. Why?”

  “Caleb.” He shook his head, then said, “Look, I appreciate it. I do. But you can’t just walk around inviting people to stay with you.”

  “I wouldn’t.” He snorted, so I said, “Seriously, I wouldn’t. I just want to make sure you’re okay, and if you can’t leave your friends, I get it, but there’s plenty of space, so why not?”

  When he didn’t answer, I risked a glance at him at the next stop light. He stared at me, jaw unhinged and hanging open.

  “What?” I asked.

  A phone rang with a different tone than mine. It was the first time I’d ever seen him with a phone and they had said last night he didn’t have one. Another piece of vital information that he’d omitted. Jasper answered, immediately saying he was in the car with a friend. His side of the conversation consisted of grunts, groans, and a couple of thank you’s before he hung up. “Why are you smiling like that?” he asked, sounding crabbier than ever.

  “You called me your friend, and you know what that means.”

  I’d heard him laugh in my days at the soup kitchen, but the giggle that I inspired strengthened my resolve. I needed Jasper in my life and I really thought he could use me in his. He didn’t respond, but I left him alone for now. The time was approaching four pm, and between the phone call that hadn’t sounded like it went that great, and the anxious way his eyes scanned the side streets and the road ahead of us, I knew his whole focus had shifted back to his friends.

  We were still a quarter of a mile away from the church when he expelled a long, relieved breath and asked me to pull over. I did as he asked, noticing a small woman wobbling her way down the street up ahead with two figures on either side of her; one smaller with a knit red and black winter hat and one about her size with a grey and teal one.

  Once Jasper opened the door and got out with his trusty backpack over his shoulder, I said, “Hey, why don’t you double check with your friends and make sure they’re not willing to come back to my house?” He opened his mouth, a big, fat no hovering on his lips, so I put up my hand to stop him. “Please, just ask. I have more soup, or if they want anything else to eat, we can stop and get the ingredients. If you four keep walking, I’ll drive away. Just check with them, though, okay?”

  Jasper’s eyes searched mine. I kept my gaze steadily on him until he gave a slight nod of his head, mumbling, “Thanks,” then he jogged down the street to catch up with them.

  The minute the door closed I deflated in my seat. There was no way I’d sleep tonight, or any other night, if he turned and walked away from me. It was obvious from how far back he had me pull over that he didn’t want me meeting them, but I didn’t think I’d be able to just pull away like it was no big deal. It wasn’t even just the weather that concerned me. It was Jasper himself, his pretty black hair and stunning emerald eyes. The lithe body with the tightest, most perfect butt cheeks that begged to be rubbed, or grabbed, or if a guy was lucky, smacked during a moment of passion.

  But it was also how protective he was. I’d caught glimpses of it in the short time I’d known him at work, but with these people, I knew he’d do anything for them. It was in the softness of his smile and the glow in his eyes when he thought about them. It was in the concern etched into his brow when he wasn’t sure where they were.

  My anxiety increased ten-fold as I watched
the scene unfolding between Jasper and the woman. The youngest of the two boys moved around to hide behind the older, taller one, but Jasper and the woman were going at it. He was gesturing with both arms, swinging them wide and pointing to the boys. She kept shaking her head, but her arms were crossed around her belly, and her stance brooked no argument. They kept on, Jasper intense and her almost serene. Even from here it was obvious that she wasn’t moved by his dramatic display. Then, she pointed in his face and stepped close, her mouth moving rapid fire. Jasper sagged and collapsed onto her, wrapping his arms tightly around her body while she patted his back. The two boys moved in between them and what I saw before me was the group hug of a family, not just close friends.

  When they turned and kept going toward the church, leaving Jasper staring after them until they entered its doors behind a line of other people, I fought the urge to fist-pump the air. By the downward curve of his shoulders, I knew he wasn’t happy to be left behind. If I ever met that woman—Miss Emma, he’d said—I was going to hug the stuffing right out of her and make her dinner as if it was her last meal, and the sky would be the limit. Jasper finally turned back in my direction, stared at the Mercedes, then watched his feet as he slowly trudged back toward me.

  He opened the door and I asked, “What happened? Aren’t they coming with us?”

  His lips thinned and he blinked rapidly. “No.”

  “Are you okay with that?” I asked, trying to be supportive even though he was right where I’d hoped he would be.

  “No, but we made an agreement.”

  “Do you want me to go—“

  He waved a hand to shut me up and leaned his forehead against the window. “It’s okay, Caleb. Let’s just go back to your house. I promised Miss Emma that… Well, I promised Miss Emma that I’d stay warm and safe and dry, so… You’re going to feed me, right?”

  His voice was thick with unshed emotion, so instead of arguing with him, I pulled into the nearest parking lot and turned around to head home. I’d left Rizziono’s to get a life of my own, to be able to party and date and hang out with friends. Maybe what I’d really needed was more than that; maybe I’d needed to pull my head out of my ass and wake up to the world around me, the one that didn’t pay five hundred dollars a head for a New Year’s Eve night out. Maybe I needed to see with my own two eyes those who didn’t know where they’d get their next meal or lay their head at night. Maybe life held more than I’d even known and this was my chance to be a part of that.

  Chapter Ten

  Jasper

  It didn’t take me long to find Caleb once I finally got up from the nap I’d taken right after breakfast my second morning in his home. He stood at the stove in the kitchen with his back to the archway in a pair of navy blue track pants with a white t-shirt. Apparently, the more casual Caleb dressed, the more appealing I found him. It was hard to tell in the chef coat or apron, but the man obviously worked out. His arm bent at the elbow as he quickly stirred something in the pan in front of him, and the muscles in his back flexed in a way that made me want to run my hands up and down his spine to feel the strength under his clothes. Since he hadn’t sensed me yet, I let my gaze travel down to his succulent ass. The sudden urge to walk over and poke one of those plump cheeks and find out if it was as firm as it looked made me choke back a shocked gasp, it had been a long time since I’d actually had to restrain myself from doing what I allowed in my nighttime fantasies.

  Somehow I must have alerted him to my presence because he glanced over his shoulder with a smile before going back to his task. “Hey, how did you sleep?”

  “Good,” I answered self-consciously, mortified that he’d basically caught me ogling him. “I can’t believe I slept so much today.”

  He grinned at me over his shoulder again, shrugging. “No shame in that. I dare say you needed it.”

  Pride made me want to argue with him, but the fact I’d pretty much done nothing but sleep since we got back from finding Miss Emma, Archie, and PJ kept my mouth closed. “Yeah, I guess I was more tired than I realized.” Then I didn’t know what possessed me, but I continued, “Exhausted really. We’d found somewhere to hunker down since the weather turned, but it’s not the same as sleeping in a bed where you’ve been invited, you know?”

  Caleb’s body startled and he spun around with eyes wide. “I...I don’t really know, no. Would you like to talk about it?”

  Shrugging, I said, “I guess. There isn’t really too much to say.” I sat down in the seat closest to me, and Caleb turned off the stove, grabbed a couple bottles of water out of the refrigerator, came over, and sat next to me, handing me one. “Thanks.” My mouth was suddenly dry, so I took a sip, and said, “I’m lucky though, you know? I have Miss Emma and the boys. We look out for each other, but still… You never know if you’re really safe or if you’ll really have shelter. Take the other night for example, I thought I had somewhere to go. I really only left the kitchen early to check on the others, but when I got to…” I shook my head. “Well, it doesn’t really matter where I went, just suffice it to say our accommodations weren’t available.”

  “Where are your friends staying now, then? Do you know?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “What are their names? Miss Emma, Archie, and I think you said PJ, right? Do you know where they are? Should we go get them? I know they didn’t come with us the other day, but maybe if you try again.”

  Wow, okay, this side of Caleb was even more attractive than his body. I’d thought he’d only offered for them to stay so he could get me back here, but… Huh. “No, Miss Emma adamantly insisted I take you up on your kind offer, but vehemently declined on their behalf.”

  Calab’s brow screwed up adorably and he crossed his arms across his chest. “What’s wrong with my house? Why isn’t it good enough?” He jerked his upper body back in horror. “Did they not feel safe to come back here?”

  I sputtered at the absurd statement. “Are you serious right now? First of all, Miss Emma would’ve put me in a headlock and dragged me away if she thought I was in any danger.”

  “So you do feel safe here, then?” he asked with a small hopeful smile that sent my pulse skyrocketing at having this successful, good looking man acting like my opinion of him really mattered.

  “Of course I do, dummy,” I said, realizing as I said it that I really did or no one, not even Miss Emma, would’ve been able to get me to come back here.

  Then let’s not forget how hard I slept in a virtual stranger’s house. Since the day I’d had to flee Saul’s, my natural instincts had kept me alert and I woke easily. I’d been dead to the world each time I lay my head down here. Okay, now wasn’t the time to unpack that, so to put the attention back on him, I said, “I can’t believe you’re upset that my three homeless friends didn’t invade your house with me. You’re...not what I expected.”

  He grimaced, his shoulders curving down and it hurt my heart. I hadn’t meant that as an insult at all.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I came across as a real jerk, huh? I guess, until the other night, I just didn’t get it. I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t get what exactly? You did apply to work at a soup kitchen, didn’t you? You had to have some idea that people needed…” I trailed off as he lowered his eyes and shook his head. Color me curious. “Caleb, why did you leave your prestigious job and come to the soup kitchen?”

  He deflated into himself even more. “I feel like an ass saying this after all the people I saw with nowhere to go the other night, but I wanted to escape my parents, maybe even my life.”

  Laughter sputtered unbidden from my mouth, and I held up a hand as Caleb’s body language went from defeated to defensive. “I’m sorry, don’t get mad.” After I got myself under control, I continued, ”The weather sucked, so I’m sure you weren’t hanging out asking people their life stories, but some of the people out there that you’re feeling so badly about, believe it or not, they chose to live on the streets.”
<
br />   “What? That makes no sense.”

  I shrugged. “It did to them, though. We all have to make our own decisions in life and to each his own.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Jasper, are you shitting me right now?”

  I giggled. “I swear I’m not. Believe me, I was a little shocked at first, too, but…we don’t know anyone else’s life. Like, you’re saying you took a job at a soup kitchen to escape your life. That’s all you have to say as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need to know anymore than that.”

  Caleb’s shoulders rolled forward, the guilt etched in his face. “But that’s so selfish.”

  “Says who?” I hopped up from my seat. “I know we don’t have to go back in and work until tomorrow, but would it be okay if we head over tonight to see everyone? Or were you making something? Did you need to finish that?” I gestured toward the pan he’d abandoned on the stove.

  He glanced over and chuckled. “No, I think it’s safe to say that’s trash now. I was making a sauce, but it’ll be ruined now.”

  “Crap. I’m sorry. I distracted you.” Worst. Houseguest. Ever.

  He smiled softly though. “Nope. Talking to you was way more important than that, and just so you know, if you ever want to tell me your story, I’ll listen. You don’t have to, but, if you want.” He rose from his chair.

  “Oh, okay.” Unsure why a part of me was even considering his offer, I mustered up a smile of my own.

  Caleb reached over with his fist and tapped me under the chin. “Yeah, let’s get out of here and go on over before they open the doors. I’m sure Avi and Fisher will be happy to see for themselves that you’re still alive. Plus, so far I’ve stayed back in the kitchen except to switch out serving trays. I think I’d like to wander around a little bit. Maybe you can introduce me to some of the patrons.”