Naughty & Nice

by J. S. Scott

  Bobby was the youngest of the Sloan boys and Jason was the middle. Seth and Riley had both been in the military when their dad had had his first health scare. Alex, who was two years younger than Jason and two years older than Bobby, had enlisted in the Navy and left town right after graduation. So, when Bobby graduated, after seeing all that Jason had sacrificed not only for Sloan Construction, but also to help their dad with Alex and Bobby when they’d gone through their rebellious high school years, there was no way Bobby could have left him high and dry just because he hated construction work.

  Family meant everything to Bobby. He would do anything, sacrifice anything, for them. Bob Sr. had raised five boys practically on his own. Cheryl, the boys’ mom, had left due to mental health issues when Bobby was only two years old. Then, when Bobby was eight, Cheryl had lost her battle with her disease and overdosed. Bobby knew that his father hadn’t had a choice about working long hours on job sites. He’d started his own company to support his family, and that’s exactly what he’d done—support them. Jason hadn’t really had a choice to give up his dreams and come back to help out, and because of that, Bobby hadn’t felt like he had a choice when it came to working here.

  But now, Bob Sr. was retired. Jason was the President of Sloan Construction, he was married to the love of his life, Katie, and he seemed happy with the business and his position. He had a great V.P. in Eddie Thomas. Jason was fine. His dad was fine.

  “I’ll be around if you have any questions, but Eddie is up to speed on everything,” Bobby said as he handed Jason his expense receipts for the last two weeks.

  Jason took them and nodded in resignation. “You know you always have a place here. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without you these last few years. Thank you.”

  Bobby felt a small knot forming in this throat from the weight of his brother’s sincere words. Jason was an easygoing guy and although, growing up, Bobby had been closest to Alex mainly because they were so close in age, Jason was really the one brother who had stepped up and taken care of things when their mom had died. Jason was the one who had made sure Bobby had done his homework, brushed his teeth, and knew how to throw a ball and hit someone so that they went down on the first punch. Jason might only be four years older than Bobby, but he really had been like a second father to him.

  It was hard for Bobby to express how he felt. Verbal communication had never been his strong suit. But if something needed to be said, he said it. So, even though he wasn’t sure how strong his voice would come out or if it would crack, he said, “I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through my childhood, my teens without you.”

  Jason nodded, and Bobby could see that his words had meant something to his brother. He pulled Bobby into a hug as Alex sniffed and teased, “I feel like such a third wheel in this Taster’s Choice bromance moment.”

  Both Jason and Bobby ignored their brother, who was sitting with his legs propped up on Bobby’s desk. After Jason patted Bobby’s back twice, he pulled back, shaking his head.

  “I just wish I would have known last week at the company Christmas party. It could have doubled as a goodbye party.”

  Bobby stared at his brother with a look that conveyed that a goodbye party would not have been something he wanted.

  “I mean, I’m sure the guys would have wanted to say goodbye. That’s all,” Jason explained.

  “Harper’s Crossing is not that big. I’m sure I’ll see them around.”

  Bobby grabbed the last of his personal items off the desk and looked around the office he’d shared with Jason, and then Eddie, for the last eight years of his life.

  “You sure this is what you want to do?” Jason asked, for probably the twentieth time since breakfast this morning.

  Bobby nodded. This was exactly what he wanted.

  Chapter Three

  “I’m fine. Really.” Sophie held the phone to her ear as she tried to channel her inner Meryl Streep while she pushed the front door open and dropped her purse onto the tiled entryway before she practically tripped over her own feet as she rushed down the hallway towards the bathroom.

  “Amber and Haley said that they have never seen you look so pale. Maybe you should just stop and see your mom before you head out of town.” Katie’s voice sounded strained with worry.

  “No, seriously. I was just tired. That’s all.” Sophie purposely kept her voice calm and steady.

  She hated that Katie was worried about her. Katie had been like her sister long before they’d technically become sisters-in-law after they had both married a different Sloan boy.

  Sophie had moved to Harper’s Crossing when she was six with her mom, Grace, her dad, Mike, and brother, Nick. They’d moved next door to Katie, who had lived with her mom, Pam, and her Aunt Wendy. Katie and Nick had started ‘going out’ almost immediately and Sophie had been Katie’s shadow. Nick and Katie had been together for practically Sophie’s entire childhood…up until Sophie’s life had changed forever the night her brother was in a car accident, which ultimately led to his death several weeks later.

  That was when her family, as she’d known it, had fallen to pieces. Her mom was a nurse and her dad was a firefighter. They’d always been amazing parents. Sophie used to really believe that she’d had a perfect family. But, when Nick passed away, everything changed. Her parents stopped—just stopped—living. They had become shells of the people Sophie had needed most. For years, there had been no laughter, no joy, no life in their house.

  Sophie had been so lost those years. Her brother was gone. Her parents were, for all intents and purposes, gone, and Katie had left to go to college in California. Therefore, she was gone. If it hadn’t been for her Grandpa J, who had come to live with the Hunters when Sophie was eight, she knew there was a good chance she would’ve rebelled. Acted out. Not because she’d been a bad kid. She’d just been hurting and she hadn’t felt like she’d only lost her brother. She’d felt like she’d lost her parents and her pseudo sister as well. But, thankfully, Grandpa J had been there and he’d made sure Sophie had stayed on the right path while still giving her enough space to grieve and also process the anger, rejection, and loss she’d felt.

  “Are you sure? I can pick you up and take you to go see your—”

  “No,” Sophie interrupted Katie’s offer. “Bobby’s going to be here soon, and honestly, I am feeling so much better. I took a nap and I am as good as new. I’d better let you go. I still have to pack.”

  Sophie hated lying in general, but she especially hated lying to Katie. Katie’s nickname was “Sherlock.” If she caught wind that anything was amiss, she’d sniff it out like a bloodhound on the hunt. Katie’s question had effectively boxed Sophie into a corner because there was no way she was going to go to the hospital to see her mom. If she did, she was sure that the first thing her mom would do was run urine and blood tests, and Sophie was planning on doing her own pee test. Actually, several.

  “Okay…” Katie hesitated for a moment but then continued. “Well, have fun this weekend. You guys are going to be back in time for the party, right?”

  “Yep. We’ll see you Sunday night. Love you! Bye!” Sophie said in a voice as upbeat and perky as she could manage.

  “Love you. Bye.” Katie sounded unsure, but Sophie disconnected before Sherlock reared her deductive, clue-gathering head.

  Setting the phone down on the counter, Sophie noticed the time and panic rushed through her. Five forty-five. Crap. It had taken her so much longer than she’d anticipated to go over to Galena just to buy the tests. She traveled forty miles to go to Clingman pharmacy just so she wouldn’t run into anyone that she knew. What would normally have taken her an hour and a half round trip, tops, had ended up taking her three and half hours due to good ol’ Friday traffic. As much as Sophie loved living in a small town, there were definitely drawbacks, and having to travel three towns over to pick up pregnancy tests was definitely one of them.

  Sophie ripped the cardboard boxes open with much less
care than she normally took to open products. After grabbing the wrapper-encased pee sticks, she tore open the top of each with her teeth and pulled them out. Her hands shook as she pulled her skirt up and her panties that, just a few hours before had been featured in her sext-a-thon, down. Her hands weren’t the only things that were shaking like a leaf either. Her legs felt like they were Jell-O, like all of the muscles in her thighs and calves had decided to take a break and were no longer on the job. Luckily, these tests were definitely of the sit-down variety.

  As she felt the solid, cold porcelain beneath her thighs, she tried to relax and hold the first stick between her legs. Then the next… and finally the last. Luckily, she’d had to pee for the last two hours, so taking three tests was no problem.

  Her breathing was coming in short, almost painful pants. Sitting in her bathroom, looking at the pale-green walls they’d just painted, the decorative towels that hung on the far side wall with seashell embroidery, Sophie began to feel totally disconnected from this experience. Her head was whirling and time felt as though it were standing still. She had the oddest sensation of feeling like she was about to float away, and at the same time, her limbs were so heavy that she could barely hold herself up.

  After finishing what she needed to do, she snapped the plastic covers back over the tips, placed the tests on the top of each of their respective boxes, which were lined up beside the sink, and set the timer on her phone to count down one hundred and eighty seconds. It was pretty convenient that all of the tests’ times were the same—three minutes and she’d have her answer.

  Taking a deep breath, Sophie tried to slow her racing, pounding heart, but she didn’t have much luck. It felt like the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona in her chest. Her palms tingled as she felt them grow damp with perspiration. Her throat felt drier than the Sahara desert, and she could feel beads of sweat forming at the back of her neck.

  As her eyes darted between the timer and the tests, she heard her inner voice trying to reason with her. There was no way she was pregnant. Since she and Bobby had been together, she’d gotten her birth control shot like clockwork. Her body was probably just tired from all of the travel.

  That had to be it.

  Then another voice piped in, reminding Sophie that she’d never, ever missed a period. Even during stressful times in her life, she’d always been on time. Still, women’s bodies changed. She’d just turned twenty-five. Maybe her body and her hormones were out of whack.

  Just as she was starting to settle down, the alarm on her phone sounded loudly, bouncing off the walls in the small, enclosed space. Turning her head in what felt like slow motion, she let her eyes drift down to the test sticks.

  The first showed two lines. Two lines. The realization that she had no freaking idea what two lines meant struck her like a lightning bolt. Her fingers felt thick and clumsy as she scrambled to pull the instructions out of the box. Her knowledge of pregnancy tests was limited to knowing that she’d needed to pee on the stick. She knew nothing about reading the results. After unfolding the crinkly paper many more times than Sophie really thought was necessary, she skimmed past all of the words and landed straight on the picture showing a stick with one line and a stick with two.

  One line: not pregnant.

  Two lines: pregnant.

  Wait. No. That couldn’t be right. Her stick had two lines.

  Looking back at her stick, she confirmed that, yes, it did indeed have two lines. Then her eyes shot down to the paper she was still holding. Unfortunately, neither the pictures nor the words beneath them had changed in the second it had taken her to confirm that there were, in fact, two lines on her test.

  The next test showed a plus sign and, beside it, a plus icon with the word pregnant, indicating that the t-shape meant she was pregnant. Her eyes moved to the last test, which actually displayed the word ‘pregnant.’

  Her ears were ringing loudly and the pressure in her head increased like a balloon being filled with helium that was going to float away. The backs of Sophie’s eyes filled with moisture. She couldn’t seem to force herself to look away from the paper, her eyes glued to it in disbelief.

  Two lines: pregnant.

  Plus sign: pregnant.

  The word ‘pregnant.’

  When her phone buzzed loudly, she jumped with a start, almost falling off the toilet. Her heart raced as she picked up her phone and saw that it was a text from Bobby. She had no idea how long she would have stayed frozen in that exact position—holding the paper in her hands and staring at it like it was written in a language she couldn’t understand—if Bobby hadn’t interrupted her shock-induced paralysis.

  She stared at her husband’s text for several seconds as she felt herself float back into her consciousness.

  ‘I’ll be home in ten. Remember, no panties.’

  Keywords stood out to her as she tried to piece together what he was saying. Home. Ten. No panties.

  Shit!

  Sophie hadn’t even started packing for their trip. She stood and grabbed the boxes, stuffing the scary pregnancy sticks inside them before tossing them into the trash. She was halfway out of the bathroom when she stopped short. Turning back around, she bent down and retrieved the tests, boxes and all, from the trash. For some reason, throwing them away seemed…wrong.

  A vibration buzzed against her palm and her eyes shot to her phone. One more text from Bobby had come through.

  ‘I have a surprise for you.’

  Sophie almost laughed as she read the words on the screen. Well, she had quite a surprise of her own for him.

  * * * *

  Bobby pulled up in the driveway and watched the headlights illuminate the garage door as it slowly rose. He clenched and unclenched his fingers around the steering wheel, caught his reflection in the rearview mirror, and did a double take, surprised at what he saw.

  He was smiling.

  It’s not like Bobby wasn’t a happy guy. He absolutely was. Normally, there were just no outward signs of his inner feelings. Honestly, he’d been totally unaware that he was grinning until he’d seen it in his reflection. Now that he relaxed his face, he realized he must have been wearing the unfamiliar expression for quite some time because his cheeks were actually sore.

  After leaving Alex and Jason at Sloan Construction, Bobby had stopped by Elite Protection and nailed things down with Seth. He was surprised at how happy his emotionless, show-no-feelings twin had been. At first, Seth’s classic poker face was not giving anything away as he’d made it clear that Bobby wasn’t going to get any special treatment, that he would receive the same pay rate all the other guys had started at, and if he wanted to move up, he’d have to go through the ranks just like everyone else.

  Seth must have been able to read, by Bobby’s reaction, how relieved he was to hear that. Once Bobby had told him that he wouldn’t have it any other way, Seth had relaxed and actually been somewhat animated as he’d filled Bobby in on exactly what his job would entail, which was basically different from assignment to assignment. But there were some universal expectations that were true across the board.

  When Bobby had started at Sloan Construction, he had been given preferential treatment. Mainly from his dad, but also from Jason, who was serving as V.P. at the time. Looking back now, Bobby realized that it’d probably had less to do with the fact that he was family and more to do with the fact that they’d known they could depend on him. Once Bob Sr. had had his heart issues, some of the crew had left, moving on to perceived greener pastures, thinking that Sloan Construction wouldn’t be able to withstand their leader being out of commission. So Jason had not only been faced with stepping in and trying to run things, but he also had to quickly rebuild their manpower.

  It wasn’t that Bobby hadn’t risen to the opportunity. He had. And he ultimately earned any of the nepotism he’d been afforded the hard way—through backbreaking work. But the thought of having to prove himself, to work his way up in a field he’d always been drawn to, was making Bobby fee
l more alive, more excited, than anything—other than the woman he was currently waiting on—ever had.

  Bobby grabbed his phone and sent Sophie a quick text letting her know that he was here. She’d shot him back a smiley face emoji, which was her way of saying that it was going to be a few minutes. Sophie was a lot of things, but punctual was not one of them.

  For a moment, he contemplated going in and seeing if he could move the process along, but he immediately threw that thought out and remained seated in the SUV for two reasons. First, Sophie hated feeling rushed and he didn’t want to start out their weekend on a bad foot. Second, Bobby knew that, if he went into his house, he’d delay their departure even longer than if he just waited in the car.

  It was difficult for Bobby to keep his hands off Sophie under normal circumstances. Today was not normal. He’d been strung tight all day because of their Snapchat sessions. Not to mention the fact that, over the past few months, with her increased traveling, he’d missed her more than he’d ever known was possible to miss another person. Add both of those factors to the rush he was feeling about no longer being in construction and finally pursuing something he’d always been interested in, and he knew, the second he laid eyes on her, he wouldn’t be able to resist touching her, kissing her, taking every ounce of pent-up arousal and rush of adrenaline he was experiencing and focusing it solely on her.

  And Bobby knew that once would not be enough with her. It wouldn’t even begin to take the edge off his desire for her. It had always been that way with Sophie. Since their first kiss on their very first date, he’d wanted more, like an addict who was always feening for his next hit.