Where are you going?
“Home. I’ve got to go home,” she murmured.
No. You’re staying right here.
“Why would I do that?”
Because we’re not done.
“What do you mean?” Sass whispered, barely moving her lips.
I need to touch you, Sass. Every inch of you. Taste you, too. Then we’re going to make love again. You got a problem with that?
“No. ” Sass sighed. “No, I don’t.”
…
It was Monday and the shop was closed, thank God. Sass was in no mood to be around people. She’d scratched her proverbial itch but she wasn’t satisfied. Her craving was like a mosquito bite. The more she scratched, the itchier and angrier it became.
So, now what was she supposed to do?
Libby would tell her to go see Jordan. Could her friend be right? Was it that simple?
Maybe it was. What if she found some excuse to go see him and just happened to have that damn Weekender Kit with her? She’d tried everything else but she couldn’t stay away any longer.
So, a few hours later, she sat behind the wheel of Buck’s old ’59 Dodge Fargo, headed to the cabin with her excuse stowed in the truck’s wooden box. However, once she pulled up the gravel drive, she sat in the truck, battling two opposing forces within her.
She shouldn’t be there.
She had to see him.
It was a mistake.
It felt so good.
Finally, Sass got out of the vehicle, determined to get to the bottom of her problem. She unlatched the tailgate and set up her ramp, then, using Buck’s dolly, she loaded the clay chiminea she’d found at a garage sale and hauled it down the ramp and around to the back. Thankfully, Jordan was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he was out on the lake, or maybe he’d gone for a hike. If he had been there, Sass wondered how he would have reacted to her hauling the heavy dolly up the stairs to the deck. Would he be a typical man and intervene like she was some fragile creature totally incapable of any sort of manual labor. If he did that, which he probably would, that would make her mad. Really mad.
But he wasn’t there and he didn’t intervene and Sass handled the dolly with no problem. She was just about to unload it in the corner of the deck when she saw the sketches sitting under a rock. Dusting her hands off on her shorts, she picked up the pile of paper and started flipping. She couldn’t help it. City-boy was good. Really good. He had lots of scenery images, the beach at sunrise, the dock with a shadow of a whooping crane flying overhead, the cabin with light filtering through the trees. They were amazing. Then he’d drawn a series of cars. Not just any cars, but cool, stylistic modern designs. They were beautiful and graceful and powerful-looking and were some of the most amazing drawings Sass had ever seen. She found herself tracing the sleek lines of the images on paper the way she ran her hand along the finished steel product she loved to labor over. With reverence.
Holy hell, City-boy really had talent.
Sass flipped one more page and then dropped it as if it burned her fingers. Her heart plunged and her face reddened as if she’d been caught spying, despite the fact that there was no one present to see her. This image was a portrait of a woman and there was something about it that seemed…too personal. It wasn’t like it was a nude or anything, but the reaction Sass felt while viewing it was as if it was a nude. She had no idea how Jordan had captured it, but there was an intimacy in the portrait that tugged at her heart. The girl stood there, leaning against a doorframe, with one foot propped against it. She was looking at someone, presumably Jordan, with a half smile on her pretty face. As Sass contemplated the drawing, she realized it was the smile that spoke volumes about the relationship. It was as if the two of them shared something—a secret—a really good secret. It was sexual but it was something else, too. Something Sass figured she’d never understand, let alone experience.
Who was she? A girlfriend? An ex-girlfriend? Why had Jordan drawn her? Had he been thinking about her? Was she a woman he was running from? Running to? What?
Well, whoever she was, she was someone who meant something to Jordan and Sass shouldn’t be surprised about that. Of course City-boy would have someone in his life. A guy who looked like him could have his pick of women and there were lots of women in Denver to choose from. So, where did that leave her? As far as she figured, she was either rebound-sex girl or the “other woman.” Neither appealed.
Staring at the girl on the page had Sass stumped. If Jordan was cheating, why would he cheat on this girl?
Ah, shit, so much for experimenting with the Weekender Kit. Knowing about the woman in the picture meant she couldn’t get it on with him. It didn’t matter how itchy she was. Maybe a quick swim before she left would help.
Grabbing the suit that still hung on the peg inside the door of the cabin from last week’s swim, Sass started down the steps to the beach.
However, she never quite made it. What she saw on the second to last step made her stop in her tracks and hang her suit over the rail. There was City-boy, though not looking very city now. He wore only a loose pair of shorts that rode low on his hips, revealing his slim waist and broad shoulders. His back was to her and what she saw—the thing that had her immobile and mesmerized—was Jordan standing barefoot in the sand, knees bent, hands taped as he created a thumping rhythm with his fists against a miniature punching bag. While he moved his fists at lightning speed, the muscles in his back performed a kind of magical dance as they flexed and relaxed. Wonder of wonders, City-boy was a boxer!
He was also an artist and he liked fast cars. Damn. Sass hated to admit it, but there was way more to old City-boy than she’d first thought. Watching him now, she realized how little she knew about Jordan. Who exactly was he? Where was his family? What did he really do for a living, besides marketing? And what was that thing tattooed on his left shoulder? As Sass leaned forward to get a better view between the tree branches, she caught the toe of her sneaker on a loose board and tripped, falling the short distance down the two steps to the soft sand of the beach.
Once she’d regained her footing and dusted herself off, she realized that Jordan had stopped his workout and was standing there breathing hard, watching her with his hands on his hips and a smirk about his lips. “Sass, what a pleasant surprise.”
“Hey, Jordan.” In order to save face Sass pretended as if nothing happened, like she hadn’t been spying on him and then tripped down the stairs. So, she walked right up to him and touched the bag suspended from the trees. “What’s this?”
“A speed bag.”
“Huh.” She gave it a little knock with her fist and watched it swing back and forth. Then she gave it another nudge, but this time she only sent the bag swinging askew. Clearly it took skill and grace to keep up the constant rhythm she’d just witnessed. “So, you’re a boxer?”
“Yep.”
Sass took a long hard look at Jordan. His chest glistened with sweat and a couple of droplets beaded around his nipples. His face was flushed, his black eye fading and his beard had gone a day too long without shaving. His muscles bulged from the recent exercise and his breath was still coming quick. Damn! This was no City-boy, this was Sass’s dream guy, hot, hard, and sweaty. She licked her lips and ground her sneaker in the sand. “How long have you been boxing?”
“Seventeen years.”
“And Carlos beat you in a fistfight?”
Jordan’s lips twisted as he gave the bag a hard right hook. “I didn’t exactly fight him.” Then the bag took another beating from Jordan’s left fist.
“Why not?”
Catching the bag with both hands, Jordan said, “He wasn’t worth it. Plus, it wouldn’t have been a fair fight.” He shrugged, but Sass could tell the scuffle still bugged him. “I’ve met guys like him before, and sometimes it’s better to just let him get a punch in to stroke his ego so he can think he has the upper hand.”
“Shit.” Sass took another swing at the bag above her head. “If I were you
, I would have flattened him.” Her small fists started flying as she tried to nail the bag on the rebound but missed.
“I bet you would have.”
“Damn straight.” She kept knocking at the bag.
“Must be tricky, working with him every day.”
Sass glanced in Jordan’s direction and said, “I manage. But, I wouldn’t exactly be crushed if he left.” She tried to give the bag a hard right jab but only caught the corner, which sent her spinning off balance.
He laughed. Once she recovered herself, she gave him a hard right jab in the arm for his insolence. Unfortunately, it just made him laugh harder.
“Stop that!”
“Sorry.” He pretended to cower from her next onslaught of punches. Then he grabbed her wrists and said, “Do you want me to show you?”
“What? How to use the bag?”
“Yeah.”
Sass grinned. “Sure, why not.”
After taping up her hands, Jordan constructed a solid platform for her to stand on using cut logs and a square piece of plywood. Once she was standing on it, now at eye level with him, Jordan checked the bag’s placement. “The fat part of the bag needs to be at about your nose.”
“Okay.”
“Now, before you start, keep in mind that you control the bag.”
“Got it.”
“And,” Jordan smirked, “it’s called a speed bag, but we’re going to start slow, you think you can handle that?”
“What?”
“I seem to remember something about you having to do everything fast…”
Sass’s fist connected with the top of his shoulder, making Jordan laugh.
“Very funny, smart ass. Just show me.”
So he did, and it was the best feeling. Now this was a relationship with City-boy she could handle. He was a patient teacher and she was an eager learner. Finally he stood back and just let her go at the bag. It was slow and basic compared to his workout, but Sass loved it.
“That’s it. Listen to the bag. Don’t depend on your eyes. Hear its beat: One, two, three…One, two, three…One, two, three…That’s great.”
For a few moments, Sass got lost in the rhythm and the feeling was euphoric. Next to driving fast cars and sex, this had to be one of the best feelings in the world.
“Shit, Sass, you’re strong.”
Was that admiration she heard in his voice? The split second she took to glance at him was all it took to throw her off her beat and she messed up the next punch, sending the bag flying in the wrong direction. But it was okay, because the way she’d been smacking the bag again and again had worked things out for her. She felt infinitely better. “I’m going to have to get me one of these.”
“You can pick one up at Brawn’s Gym in Sterling. I can take you out there if you like.”
Sass jumped down from the platform and started to unwind the tape from her hands. “Yeah, maybe. Thanks.”
“No problem. You’re a natural.”
She grinned as she started up the steps to the cabin, unwrapping the tape from her hands as she went.
“So, what brings you here anyway?”
“I brought a chiminea.”
“A what?”
Once they stepped out onto the deck Sass pointed to the big clay chimney that still sat on the dolly in the corner of the deck. “I thought you might like to have a fire out here but, with the open-fire ban,” she shrugged, “these things are legal.”
“Hey, thanks.” He walked over and inspected the chimney. He hefted it off the dolly and then turned to stare appreciatively at Sass. “You hauled this thing up here by yourself?”
“Yep.” Sass waiting for his exclamation of shock and his insistence that next time she enlist his help. Not that there was ever going to be a next time. But, instead he just pursed his lips as if impressed but not terribly surprised. For some reason that made Sass feel good.
Her good feeling quickly vanished, however, when Jordan’s gaze turned to the table and to the sketches that were now strewn across it. He carefully gathered them up and slowly turned to her, an inscrutable look in his eye. “You saw my drawings?”
Sass licked her lips and nodded. “They’re good.”
“Thanks.”
His careful study of her made her hurry on. “The landscape ones are nice, but the cars are my favorites. You’re good enough to design, you know . ”
“You think so?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“You don’t think they’re too modern?”
“Nah. I mean, I prefer classics, but there’re a lot of people out there who want custom cars. And these? Wow. What you’ve got here is something really special.” It was true. As much as she was a classic girl, through and through, a part of her wondered what Jordan’s designs would look like for real.
Jordan blinked, regarding her with a curious expression. “Thanks,” he said. “I wish my family felt the same.” He glanced away.
Family. Right. That reminded Sass of the last sketch she’d seen. She nibbled on her thumb and said, “Oh, and that’s a nice picture of your girlfriend, too.”
“My girlfriend?”
“Yeah.” Sass tried extra hard to sound casual. “What’s her name?”
Jordan approached slowly, eyes narrowed, his head tilted to one side. “Are you talking about this sketch?” He held out the picture she’d seen earlier.
She glanced at it and nodded.
“Sass?”
“Mmhmm?” Finally she brought her gaze up to his. The look in his eyes was so damned tender she wanted to barf. Or, kiss him, which was weird.
“Don’t you know who this is?”
“No.”
He held it out in front of her, forcing her to look at it again. Softly he whispered in her ear. “Sass, this is you.”
Chapter Twelve
Sass snatched the picture from Jordan’s hands and sat down at the picnic table on the deck, studying it. “No, it’s not.”
“Yes. It is.”
There was no way this was a picture of her. Sure, the hair was the same haphazard, shoulder-length disaster. The nose and chin were vaguely familiar. The eyes had the same slant and, through the parted lips of the half smile, a crooked tooth could be seen. The girl’s limbs were long and slim, like hers. But…Sass cocked her head to the side and looked again. But, it couldn’t be her, could it? This girl was…well…she was an attractive woman, a sexy woman. Was that how Jordan saw her?
Never having had someone draw her before, Sass had no idea how she appeared through someone else’s eyes. It was surreal, though, in her opinion, the drawing didn’t resemble her at all, but… “Can I have it?”
“On one condition.”
“What?”
“You stay for dinner and then pose for me.”
“That’s two conditions.”
Jordan laughed and said, “Okay, on two conditions.”
Sass was feeling light-headed when she looked up at him. “I’m not posing nude.”
His grin was ear to ear. “I didn’t ask you to pose nude…yet.”
Sass punched him, but she smiled, too.
“Hey!”
“It’s your own fault, jackass. You should never have taught me to box because I have no problem using my new skills against you.”
…
Later, as Sass sat across from Jordan eating another dinner he’d prepared, she said, “You know, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble. They make perfectly good spaghetti sauce that comes right out of the jar.”
Jordan shook his head and grinned. “Fresh is best.”
Sass took another bite, enjoying the full flavors. “Okay, what the hell is this?”
“That’s eggplant.”
“Sounds disgusting.”
“How does it taste?”
“Good, but it looks disgusting, too. That’s two strikes against—only one for.” She chewed thoughtfully and then said, “So, you know how to box.”
“Mmhmm.”
“C
ook.”
“Yep.”
Sass took in the cabin. Nothing was out of place, but the place seemed different. It smelled different too. “You clean.”
“Right.”
“And you draw?”
“You got it.”
“What did you do? Go to some finishing school for hoodlums?”
Jordan laughed and wiped his mouth with a paper towel. “No. Basically I had no choice about any of those things.”
“Care to explain?”
“The boxing part? My two older brothers started and if I didn’t, I wouldn’t make it past my tenth birthday.”
Brothers. She shoveled spaghetti into her mouth. What would that have been like? “How about the cooking and cleaning?” she asked once she swallowed.
“That was my mother’s doing. She vowed after having me—the third strapping boy—that she wasn’t going to raise a bunch of Neanderthals. If women could hold down a job and cook and clean and look after the family, so could men.” He shrugged and topped up her wine. “So, we all took turns in the kitchen and we all had our domestic chores.”
“What about the drawing?”
Jordan set down his fork and knife and stared off into space. “Now, that’s something I really have no choice over. I’ve been drawing since I was a little kid. It’s so much a part of me, a compulsion that I can’t control. Not that I want to.”
She got that. It was the same with her and cars. Unlike other young girls who tacked posters of teen idols on their walls, Sass had pinned up posters of ’66 Pontiac GTOs, of ’65 Ford Thunderbirds, and ’Vettes. Lots and lots of Corvettes. Everything from the early sixties to the eighties. Yes, she understood Jordan’s fascination with drawing. “That’s cool.”
Jordan sighed. “I wish my family thought so.”
Sass stopped eating to frown at him. “They must see how good you are.”
Jordan’s face grew somber. “No. My family thinks I’m a screwup.”
“You!” Sass laughed. “Man, if they want to meet a screwup, you should introduce them to me.”
Jordan looked at her funny and Sass realized she must have committed some dating faux pas, inviting herself to meet his family. Not that this was a date. It definitely wasn’t. “I’m just joking around.”
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