by Amy Knupp
“You drew this yourself?” he asked with a smile, knowing she had.
“I used a picture from a magazine.”
“I really like it, Allie.”
Savannah leaned in to view the drawing upside down, and Jake was shocked that Allie hadn’t shown her yet. He remembered that when he’d been Allie’s age, he’d always rushed to show his mom his latest work—until she’d died. Now that he thought about it, that was when he’d stopped drawing altogether.
“It’s wonderful, honey,” Savannah said, but Allie didn’t respond.
Jake spotted the hurt that flickered over Savannah’s face. She met his gaze then and he braced himself.
“Why don’t you go put this on your bulletin board, Allie.” As soon as their daughter skipped off, she moved closer and spoke quietly. “You don’t have to manipulate me. I’ve made up my mind to let you get to know her—as long as I’m around, too.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It’ll make things a lot…friendlier.”
“Right. Just remember that. Stop playing games and we’ll all be fine.”
Her eyes shone with fear and he understood she wasn’t happy about any of this. That suited him, because he wasn’t, either. But he’d take what little she was offering. The one thing he knew about Savannah was that giving over any control to him killed her. His point wasn’t to control. He just wanted to get acquainted with Allie. Being with her mother wouldn’t exactly be a hardship, unless they fought nonstop.
Savannah stared at him a long while, those brown eyes piercing his. “I’ll just be a minute.”
She retreated into what he assumed was the master bedroom. Her sweats hid nothing of her shape and he couldn’t help admiring how nice her curves were. He shook his head, determined not to think of her in the same way he had for years and years. He’d had no chance with her in the past, proved by her almost immediate rejection of him after their one night together, and had even less of one now. The only thing he wanted here, he reminded himself, was to form a relationship with his daughter.
SAVANNAH TOOK the fastest shower of her life, praying that Allie was still hidden away in her room with her sketch pad. Savannah didn’t think Jake would reveal anything critical but she still didn’t want them together without her there.
She dried her hair, then threw on jeans and a black hoodie. Skipping makeup, she found her tennis shoes and slipped them on. She was not going to look good for Jake. The second she was alone with him she was going to wring his neck, as a matter of fact. He’d said he didn’t play games, but that was exactly what he’d done by asking them to dinner when Allie could overhear. Didn’t matter that Savannah had decided to go along with her sisters’ advice. How he’d gone about getting to see Allie was the issue.
Savannah poked her head out of her bedroom to note where everyone was. Both kids lounged on the couch with Jake, watching Batman cartoons, from the sound of it.
“Jake?” She motioned for him to join her.
He followed her into the kitchen, which was walled off from the living room and dining area, so the kids couldn’t see or hear them.
“Where are you planning on eating?”
He shrugged. “Tut’s would work. There aren’t a lot of choices here, right?”
“I don’t want to go where people will recognize us. In Lone Oak, less than a dinner together could start rumors flying.”
“And wouldn’t it be terrible if everyone thought you and I were together?” he said sarcastically.
“No, it would be terrible if anyone ever suspected the real reason you’re with us.”
“You know what, Savannah?”
He advanced on her until they were inches apart and she was backed against the counter. Which didn’t take much in this small space. She could smell him and was annoyed that his scent was so familiar, that it still stirred something deep within her after all these years. Even more annoyed that a part of her had the overpowering desire to have it envelop her.
She shook off the weak moment.
“I didn’t do anything wrong here,” he said. “I’m the one who was kept in the dark and lied to for eleven years.”
“I never lied to you.” She stood her ground even though their closeness was making her lose her concentration.
“You never told me the truth.”
“I’ve told you why.”
“Somehow it’s not making me feel any better.”
“So now it’s all about you, huh?”
He stared at her for a moment and then his lips twitched with the hint of a grin. “I’d almost forgotten what a world-class arguer you are and how much fun arguing with you can be.”
“This is fun?”
“Beats sitting around at book club with a bunch of old women.” Then he did smile, and it made Savannah’s heart catch. She hadn’t seen that genuine Jake smile, the not-trying-to-charm-the-ladies one, since he’d been back. Which was a good thing, because the sparks it sent through her were powerful and dangerous.
“We’ve agreed to dinner, right?” he asked, his eyes penetrating and his body still crowding her, making her want things that she would never take.
“I suppose.”
“Let’s just go with that. Find out if we can get through it without arguing more. For the kids.”
She hesitated briefly, then ducked away from him. “You’re treating?”
“I’ll treat.”
“And we can go where no one will know us?”
She could tell that pained him, but he agreed. She hollered at the kids to get their shoes and jackets on, and practically rushed from the kitchen to escape the close quarters.
“WHAT’S PERSPECTIVE?” Allie asked Jake after she’d finished her pizza and pulled out her pad of paper.
Savannah shoved her last bite of salad into her mouth. She was ready to be done and out of here. When the hostess had led them to this booth, Jake had insisted on sitting next to her. Instead of acting as though it was a big deal, Savannah had gone along with it, but ever since, they’d been inches away from each other, their thighs sometimes touching.
She wished she could say she wasn’t affected by his nearness, the warmth of him along her side, but she’d be lying. She kept inching away surreptitiously, but there wasn’t a lot of extra space in the booth.
They’d decided it would be best to get out of Lone Oak if they didn’t want to be recognized, and Jake had suggested a pizza place in the nearby university town that his sister swore was the best. So here they were at Luigi’s, in Manhattan, Kansas. Savannah had to agree with his sister’s assessment. They even had goat cheese for Logan, who was allergic to regular cheese.
Her son frowned at Allie’s question. “Can’t we go play foosball again, Jake?”
“Logan, we’re done with foosball for the night,” Savannah said. “Let Jake sit and relax.”
“Relaxing is boring.”
“Sometimes boring is okay,” Jake told him. “I don’t think I can handle getting beaten again tonight.”
That put a smile on her son’s face. She opened her purse and pulled out the small plastic bag of Lego blocks that she always toted around.
“Smart,” Jake said.
“Coping mechanism. Little boys don’t do sitting still very well.”
Allie pushed her tablet toward Jake expectantly. He turned to a blank page and started sketching something, trying to explain what perspective was. He spoke in terms an eleven-year-old could understand, and Savannah remembered he’d taken care of his little sister after their mom had died. He’d always been pretty close-mouthed about it, but keeping things private in a town the size of Lone Oak was hard.
She had to give him credit for being attentive to both her children. He’d played foosball with Logan and paid just as much attention to him as to Allie. That endeared him to Savannah more than she cared to have him endeared.
Between that and the attraction that wouldn’t quit, she would have to be doubly on guard whenever they were together.
As Jak
e finished his sketch, a woman approached their table, someone who’d just come in from the street. She wore black leather pants, a colorful tank top beneath a transparent black shirt, and had multiple earrings and studs in her ears and an emerald stud on the side of her nose.
“Emily,” Jake said, standing and putting his arm around her. “You’re supposed to be working.”
“I’m on break. Called in an order for takeout.”
Jake stood back and motioned to Savannah and the kids, introducing them. “This is my little sister.”
Oh, yes, his sister. Savannah should have remembered her name. She would never admit to the flutter of jealousy she’d felt before realizing who the woman was. Savannah held out a hand to Emily and greeted her.
“I have to grab my food and get back. No one’s there to answer the phone in case it happens to ring for the first time all afternoon.” She rolled her eyes. “Stop by the shop when you’re done if you want.”
“We might do that. See you,” Jake said, and sat back down.
“What kind of shop? A toy shop?” Logan asked.
Jake chuckled. “Nothing quite so interesting. Just tattoos.”
“Cool!”
“You can have one when you’re thirty,” Savannah told her son.
“What kind of tattoos does she make?” Allie inquired, suddenly interested.
“Whatever you want,” Jake said.
“Same rule of thirty applies to you.”
“Do you have any tattoos, Jake?” Allie’s eyes skimmed his arms and neck.
“I have one on my back,” he told her. “Maybe sometime you can have a peek.”
“What’s it like?”
“It’s a design. Kind of tribal.” Jake borrowed her pencil and a napkin and sketched it.
Allie found a blank page in her pad and began drawing something. Logan asked Jake questions about having a sister, apparently thinking having sisters gave them lots in common. While Jake chatted with him and polished off a final piece of pizza, Savannah longed to be back home, safe from the thoughts this man made go through her head.
Several minutes later, Allie held up her notebook. “How do you like it?”
“What is it?” Logan asked.
“A tattoo, dummy.”
“It doesn’t look like anything,” her brother said.
“Tattoos don’t have to be objects,” Jake told him. “Sometimes a design is so neat it doesn’t have to be anything. That’s really cool, Allie.”
“Thank you,” she said, her shyness disappearing.
“I believe you have talent at more than just drawing horses.”
“She does,” Savannah confirmed. “Horses just happen to be the thing right now.”
“At my school art show, I’ll have lots of stuff on display. You could come, Jake. It’s on Thursday.”
“What time does it start?” he asked promptly.
“Six-thirty.”
“Sounds like fun. Maybe I’ll show up.”
Savannah didn’t like the idea. Michael was supposed to be at the art fair, and just thinking about how awkward that would be made her squirm. “It’ll mostly be just family.”
“My teacher said we could invite anybody we want to,” Allie announced.
“Jake probably has things to do, honey. It’s during dinnertime.”
“We’ll see,” he said in a tone that, to Savannah, held the trace of a threat.
She eyed him sideways, shooting a silent warning his way, but all Jake did was smile smugly and announce it was time to go.
“YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO STAY,” Savannah said grudgingly as she walked Jake to the door of her place. He’d waited in the living room while she’d tucked Allie and Logan into bed.
“Oh, I know.”
She stepped out into the hallway with him, then shut the door. “So why did you?”
“Thought I’d apologize.”
“For?”
They descended the concrete stairs to the driveway in silence. His bike was pulled up along the edge.
“Exposing your children to the world of tattoos,” he said with a crooked grin.
“I don’t know if I’m more worried about Logan wanting to get them or Allie wanting to design them. I’ve never seen her so interested in something,” Savannah leaned against the garage door with a wry smile.
“How many designs did she do on the way home? Four? Five? And they were decent.”
“Don’t tell her that.” She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Have you visited your dad yet?”
Jake perused her from head to toe, missing nothing. He noticed the fullness of her bottom lip, slightly moist from her tongue. Her sweatshirt hugged her body, making it easy to imagine the curves without the clothing in the way. Her fingers were in the front pockets of her jeans, her elbows resting against the door. Her back was arched, and he could pretend that was to move her body closer to his. His pulse throbbed with the thought, and he stepped toward her, so only a foot separated them.
He was drawn to her like a bee to sweet nectar.
“Well?” she said, and he fought to remember what she’d just asked him.
“My dad. Yeah. I visited him.”
“How’d that go?”
“Wouldn’t really call it a rousing success. It was awkward as hell. He was friendly, acted glad to see me.”
“But you…weren’t.”
Jake shrugged. “I’ve got a lot of years of being pissed at him to get over.”
She nodded and glanced at his lips, which was all Jake needed to make him move closer yet.
“Kiss me and my knee will go up faster than you can apologize.” She smirked when she said it, her hot breath caressing his face and making him yearn even more to kiss her.
He laughed. “Do you get a lot of dates like that?”
“I don’t date.”
She could have easily pushed him away, but she glanced again at his mouth, and in that moment, Jake discerned the truth in her eyes. She wanted him to kiss her. Savannah still wanted him, whether she would allow herself to admit it or not.
For a minute, he let himself get lost in the desire in her eyes, in the heat that pounded through his veins. Then he forced himself to take an excruciating step back and make her consider what she was missing, even though not tasting those lips or sliding his hands across her skin nearly killed him.
He stared at her for a minute longer, then pivoted and got on his bike. “I’ll see you soon. Before I fly out next weekend.”
She was flustered. Bothered. Exactly what he’d aimed for. He grinned to himself, put his helmet on and rode off.
SAVANNAH WATCHED Jake ride down the dark street, and didn’t move for another five minutes after he was out of sight.
Damn him. He made her body want his, crave him, even though her brain knew much better than to even entertain the idea. She was still shaking from the closeness and that look he’d bestowed on her—one that said he’d like to eat her up inch by aching inch.
The wind was cold now but she stayed where she was, willing it to cool her body and erase the painful tightening deep inside. When her fingers were nearly numb, she finally gave up and went back in, although the empty longing had yet to go away.
CHAPTER NINE
MONDAY AT WORK, Savannah spent too much time reflecting on the night before with Jake. She had a stack of papers to read through, but though she didn’t want to think about him, she couldn’t seem to get him out of her mind.
She sat at her desk after Zach went home, feeling guilty that she hadn’t gotten nearly enough done. She’d promised herself she’d check at least two more items off her to-do list before leaving, and she was at last finished. Just one more task to attend to for Allie. The kids were strangely calm and content—Logan with his Game Boy and Allie with her pencils and sketch pad.
Savannah’s obsession with Jake was twofold. There was still the anxiety that lit up like a match to a puddle of gasoline whenever he was with Allie. It was mostly irrational, Savannah r
ealized. She’d figured out he wouldn’t reveal their secret without letting her know first. He would force the issue someday—and probably soon—but his style wasn’t to go behind her back. He’d be up front about it. And Savannah would do everything in her power to convince him to hold off.
Then there was the other half of her obsession—the attraction. The memory of how she’d felt close to him on the driveway last night, and in the booth at the pizza shop. Being near him now brought back how being with him years ago had felt, somehow made the memory fresher and a lot more vivid.
Memories aside, her body still reacted to Jake’s, and it ticked her off.
Savannah shook her head and focused on the task at hand. She grabbed a sheaf of card stock and went to the large paper cutter next to the copy machine. Allie had it in her head that she was going to create her own postcards with tattoo-like designs, and she’d asked Savannah to cut some card stock into fourths.
Savannah lined the thin stack of paper along the straight edge of the heavy-duty cutter, trying to ensure the cards would all be the same size. Just as she was about to pull the blade down, the front door opened.
“Hey,” Jake said.
Savannah’s hand slipped and she caught two of her fingers under the blade. “Ouch!” Pain surged through her, and she saw blood welling before she instinctively grabbed the injured fingers with her other hand. “Don’t sneak up on me!” she cried, shaking with fury at her clumsiness.
“I just walked through the door. No sneaking. Came to drop off some papers for Zach.” Looking concerned, Jake led her to Zach’s empty chair, setting a file folder on his desk as he bent over her. “Let me see.”
Vaguely, Savannah thought that if she let go of her injured fingers, they might fall off. She squeezed harder, and tears filled her eyes.
“Allie? Bring some paper towels,” Jake hollered. “Quick.”
Savannah leaned forward in the chair, feeling light-headed. Her eyes were shut, but she opened one and removed her hand enough to find…blood. Lots of blood.
“Jake.” Her voice wobbled. “Can’t stand it…”
“It’s okay, Savannah. We’ll handle it.”