“Decision’s been made.” Sydney turned to leave when one of his hands grabbed her arm and dug his skinny fingers into her flesh.
“You're messing with the wrong guy.”
Ouch, ouch, ouch! She flinched, there was no getting out of this as his fingers forced her to turn around.
Chapter Nine
THE SECOND THAT bastard put his hand on Abby, Jake was crossing the room. But when he touched Sydney, Jake saw red.
His thick hand gripped the shoulder of the man that thought he could lay a finger on Sydney and he had to do everything not to turn him around and drill him into the ground. He wanted too, oh, how he wanted to, and if the guy wasn’t still gripping Sydney and Abby, he would have.
Jake’s eyes caught those filthy fingers on Sydney’s flawless smooth skin causing his grip to tighten and he was ready to rip the guys arm right off.
“I suggest you take your hands off them.” There was no suggesting about it. This man was out of time and had better remove his hands before Jake removed them for him.
“I suggest you mind your own business.”
Jake’s blood boiled in an anger he hadn’t felt in years. No one, absolutely damn well no one, touched his woman like that. His woman. I wish, Not the time Jake. Focus.
“These two gals are my business.” He sent him a warning stare. “I'm not asking you twice.” He was lucky Jake asked him once.
The douche-bag released Sydney but Jake didn’t release him until Sydney pulled Abby behind him and out of harm’s way.
This man was so damn lucky. Jake was already in a helluva bad mood.
“You okay?” Jake asked. Even if they weren’t in the best of places, this woman meant the world to him and she always would.
Sydney nodded, biting on her bottom lip, pleading with her eyes that he let the man go.
Jake would rather throw a punch but he let go of the guy, for her. As he turned to him he said, “It's about time you and your friends leave.” Jake nodded at the posse. “And you're not welcome back in my bar. Any of you.”
The guy mustered up his pride and called his guys over with a nod of his head. When Jake let his eyes move to Sydney for a second glance, he had to make sure she really was okay, the guy took a cheap shot and threw a punch, hitting Jake right in the jaw.
“Jake!” Sydney cried.
Jake heard Chuck and Devon, who were not far behind, watching and waiting for such a move, rush over. He should have let them take over, that’s what he paid them extra for, but this guy had gone way too far and it wasn’t even about Jake’s pulsing jaw, it was the way he thought he could treat women, Sydney to be more precise.
Jake turned and nailed the unexpected ass right in the same place he’d hit Jake. Only Jake was taller, stronger and had muscle where this guy was short and scrawny. His tattoo’s, dirty clothes, and greasy hair didn’t scare Jake, nor did they add up to much of a man. He’d seen worse. He’d dealt with worse. He had fought way worse...and won.
The guy went flying onto his backside and his posse rushed around to help him up and moved in toward Jake. Jake stood his ground with Chuck and Devon on either side of him. This group of trouble-makers were his last customers. The bar was closed and Jake had been waiting for Sydney to arrive before asking these jerks to leave. The only crowds were the waitresses who knew to keep their distance.
The three of them, boasting muscle, against the six grease monkeys was no competition. They stood their ground. He didn’t want to have to fight six of them...alright it wasn’t the worst thing to happen tonight...but he wasn’t about to back down either.
The prick on the ground stood up, obviously the leader of this group, and high tailed it for the door. His posse followed.
Chuck and Devon walked past Jake to watch them get in their vehicles and leave before locking up.
Jake took a deep breath before turning back to Sydney and really looked at her. There were no marks on her skin. Good. He could breathe soundly again. Then his eyes wanted to look at the rest of her. Her blonde hair was a tousled mess of untamed curls tumbling around the shoulders of a denim dress she wore. Her eyes looked tired, her body looked tired. She looked like she’d been spending her evening the same as him: thinking about them, wanting but not knowing how to fix this between them.
“Oh shit, Jake you're bleeding,” Abby said.
***
SYDNEY SAW THE blood and was concerned about the cut under his lip, but when he turned and stared at her so intensely, she forgot about all of it and watched those blue eyes, waiting for him to make a move. The five words repeated in her head like a thundering stampede, Sydney, I’m ready to talk.
Jake touched the blood on his mouth and looked at his fingers like he didn't believe it.
Guilt chided Sydney. He had protected them, and ending up with a bleeding cut, and she was too busy waiting for him to say words she knew he wouldn’t.
Sydney pushed aside her desire for Jake and decided to be his friend right now, which was what he needed more.
She sat her sister on a lounger and Abby lay back sprawling across it, her black dress hiking almost to her underwear. Devon and Chuck passed by trying their hardest not to look.
Taking a deep breath, Sydney yanked down the hem.
“You stay here,” she told Abby.
Abby smiled dozily and Sydney was relieved when her eyes shut. Chuck and Devon would still be closing up, the waitresses counting their tips and cleaning up, so no one would let Abby leave without informing Sydney first.
Sydney took Jake’s warm hand in her own, noting it swelled out under her touch. He was going to need to ice it. She needed his hands to run along her arm like they had at the beach, and slide around her waist pulling their bodies together. That wasn’t happening any time soon and the thought made her sad.
She left Jake at the bar to sit on one of the stools.
“I'm fine,” he grumbled, all manly and macho, wiping his lip with the back of his hand.
“Wait here.” Sydney grabbed a frozen bag of vegetables from the walk in cooler for his fine hand and the first aid kit for his fine lip. He was the most stubborn man she’d ever encountered. No one questioned Jake, whether they were right or not and if so risked being thrown into Jake’s big black book of I don’t like you...Sydney was the exception. If you were on his payroll and questioned him, you might as well throw in the apron.
When she climbed onto a bar stool across from him, she couldn’t help notice he’d changed out of his suit and was back in his jeans and black t-shirt which spanned across the width of his chest. His elbows were on the edge of the bar and he was rubbing his forehead.
Sydney glanced around the bar. Everyone was gone. The music was cut and Abby was still passed out, and snoring exactly where Sydney left her.
“I sent them home,” he said as if reading her thoughts without even looking at her. That wasn’t uncommon for the two of them. They had spent so much time together, a lot of instances they were completely in sync with each other.
Sydney opened the first aid kit and took out a cloth to wipe away the blood, but he was turned away from her; still being a stubborn ass.
“Let me see.”
“I'm fine.” She knew he was fine, that wasn’t the point.
“Jake Stow, I swear, turn yourself around so I can look, or so help me I will turn you around myself.” She wasn’t sure exactly how she would manage that, but climbing on top of the bar or even better climbing on his lap would give her access to his face...for the simple act of cleaning the blood away. The throbbing ache between her legs was going a whole other direction with that image.
He turned in a huff with a straight lined mouth and a set of glaring eyes.
She ignored him and took a deep calming breath. She touched his chin, moving it sideways to look at the extent of the damage across his gorgeous smooth skin. Stubble or not this man had it going on.
Her eyes moved to his and in the dim light they looked almost navy. Time stood still between the
m. She wanted to kiss him so badly it hurt. She wanted him to promise her he would never leave her again without having to ask.
“You have a little cut,” she said quickly and put all her attention into continuing to examine the little cut.
“Little.” He rolled his eyes. “Why are you fussing about it if it’s little?”
His hand caught her wrist and the touch instantly made her body aware of how close they were sitting. His legs were much longer than Sydney’s and when he’d turned toward her his knee hid itself under her dress and against her bare center thigh. Even the slightest movement was rubbing desire straight up her thigh to her warmest woman area.
His face softened and he let go of her hand to gently touch her exposed bare knee. Her blood heated. Her breath caught in her throat and her womanhood drummed harder for his fingers to follow her legs right under her dress.
In all the years they'd been friends, never had they so intimately touched, gazed or wanted each other as much as the last twenty four-hours and his desire was written plainly across his face. Jake, who never let anyone see him, was exposing himself to her.
Sydney ignored his hand and wiped the fresh blood from his skin. She was fully aware he was still staring down at her and watching her every move. Moves that before today, before that family day disaster would have been much less strained.
As she touched his skin, she could feel his thumb pressing harder against her skin, not anything painful or remotely close to the jerk who'd gripped her with the intention of hurting her, but in a slow massaging motion that was leaving her skin tingling and wanting more. She thought about shifting so he would release her, or shifting to give him access to continue up her leg.
She sat still.
His jaw was swelled but the cut had stopped bleeding. She was about to put a small bandage over the open wound but his other hand caught her wrist again
“I don't need that.”
She wasn't arguing. “Fine.”
He let her go and she dropped it in the first aid kit. She had done all she could do. She didn't even bother pressing the cold bag against his face or hand but slid it across the counter toward him. He ignored it, his eyes focused on her, his fingers on her leg.
“I should go.” She didn’t want to and said it only because what else would they do.
Sydney didn’t move.
Jake didn’t move.
The intense air between them was increasing her breathing by the second.
His free hand, leaning against the counter’s edge found her arm, slowly tracing more heat with his fingers. Her skin was melting at his touch, her insides were scorching.
“Sydney, that's not a part of my life anymore,” he finally said, so strained it sounded like just the words hurt him. “Why do you feel the need to drag me back there?”
Sydney didn’t even want to talk about any of that right now. Instead her thoughts were contemplating what it would feel like if he lifted her onto the counter and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Meanwhile he was trying to resolve their circumstances. Or was he?
So I understand why you left me. Why couldn't she just tell him the truth? Because I need to know what drove you away before I let you back into my heart. Because when you left the first time I hardly survived.
Too many people had left her. Her mom, Kyle, Henry and Gran had passed only last year. Sydney wasn't able to handle Jake leaving again and she needed to know what made him go in the first place.
His family−that’s why.
Did she want him to say it? If he did, then what would she do? She couldn't stay. How could she when she feared him walking away again for them?
“I have to know what happened.” Not want, if it was a want she would ignore it and kiss him now.
He shook his head. “I can't.”
As much as it hurt she pushed his hand away from her leg.
“Then I can't.” She slid off the stool and headed toward Abby, the reason she'd come in the first place. Any hope that the few short hours he'd realized he wanted to be with her enough to share a struggle in his life was extinguished.
His boots hit the floor louder than normal. “Sydney what do you want from me? I've waited over ten years for you to give me an inch and when you finally do, you cut it right off.”
She spun. “I have waited over ten years for you to give me a reason to give you an inch.”
“My past is not your damn business!”
***
THE MOMENT THE words came out of Jake’s mouth, he regretted them. He especially regretted the hurt across Sydney’s face before she turned, picking up her pace.
“Syd, wait,” he called after her. “I didn't mean it.”
She ignored him.
He kind of meant it. Sometimes knowledge was dangerous and that part of his life was extremely dangerous.
Jake wanted to grab her wrist and make her stop, but from the tense way she walked he knew that would be a mistake. Not the first one he'd made tonight.
“Syd, please.”
She spun her cowboy boots, digging their heels in the plank floors. “What do you want from me!?” she yelled at him.
His eyes glanced at Abby. She was so heavy in sleep she didn’t hear a word. Then he looked back to Sydney.
“I want you Syd. Isn't it obvious? I've always wanted you.”
She laughed. “That's why you left me right? Why you didn’t bother telling me and disappeared for over a year, right? Because you wanted me so badly?”
He wanted to step closer to Sydney and comfort the sadness his departure had left with her. Still, all these years later and she thought he’d wanted to leave her. He hadn’t wanted to leave her. He hadn’t had a choice. He didn’t go about it right, not telling her had been his mistake. But if asked him not to, he would have stayed and his sister would have been in trouble. Adalyn had needed him, or so he thought.
“That had nothing to do with you.”
“It had everything to do with me!”
“I was young and foolish.”
“That's what I get? Blame your age for not picking up a phone and letting me know you were alive. For not telling me you were leaving in the first place. Not a word for over a year. That's not enough, Jake.”
“It's the truth.”
“It's the half truth.”
He groaned. “Why are we doing this?”
The fight fell from her face. “If you have to ask then I don't know why we are doing this.”
What the hell did that mean?
“Night Jake.”
She shook Abby awake enough to walk her out of the bar.
Jake watched her load Abby in the car before climbing in, glancing at the door first. Every part of him wanted to chase her down and make this better, but the only way that would work is if he went back into his past with her and he wasn’t sure if he could do that.
Chapter Ten
SYDNEY FOLLOWED BEHIND Haylee like a sad over-exhausted puppy, dragging luggage that felt like it held the weight of her sorrow. Inside, beyond the smiles and excitement she’d shared all morning with Haylee, she felt like a sad puppy.
Their sandals flipped and flopped across the marble floors through Joan's house...more like Joan’s mansion. It was the home Sydney had raised Haylee in before they’d ventured out on their own into Sydney’s small, but cozy house, where they weren’t pampered with a maid and grounds keeper.
The glass French doors of the main living room, which were larger than Sydney’s entire house, didn’t make a sound as they pushed them open and found Joan waiting on the back porch for them.
Joan was an early riser and smiled widely at them, like she’d gulped down an entire pot of coffee already. Mmm, coffee. That sounded like the solution to kick-start Sydney’s fatigued body, plus a couple hours of well-needed, solid sleep.
Joan stood straightening another one of her gorgeous white outfits detailed in blue nautical theme. Every trip they took on the boat Joan had a new nautical-themed outfit for the first
day of take off.
“There are my two girls!” she said giving each of them a hug. “I'm so excited. It’s going to be a beautiful weekend for us. I have fully stocked the refrigerator and alcohol cabinet.” She winked at Sydney. “But not for you Haylee.” She wrapped her arm around Haylee’s shoulder and kissed the side of her head.
“I know Grandma.”
“I also fully stocked that colored powder you put in your drinks, Haylee.”
“Thanks. Did you get pineapple?”
“Of course. Plus, the big surprise...”
Sydney wasn’t in the mood for any more surprises. Surprise, you didn’t sleep with Jake. Surprise, Jake wants to kiss you. Surprise, not enough to have a simple conversation. Surprise, surprise, surprise!
But a surprise to take her sad mind off Jake sounded good. Then she could stop considering throwing in the towel and running back into his consoling arms. No, stand by your beliefs or he will hurt you again.
Joan’s house wasn't located directly on the lake but rather on the river that split off from the lake called Crystal Cove where boaters could dock their boats for the summer conveniently in their backyard.
They walked to the dock, waiting for the big surprise Joan promised on deck.
Sydney needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. She decided listening to her daughter plan out the order of events since they only had four days to cram it all in was a better plan for today. This vacation, just the three of them was exactly what she needed to clear her mind of Jake and all the drama the two of them had created. He wasn’t going to talk with her, that was clear, so she needed to let him go and stop wanting more from him than he was willing to give her. A sunny, hot gorgeous long Jake-less weekend was the perfect solution.
Sydney felt herself smiling for the first time since she’d dragged her objecting body out of bed for a shower.
They climbed aboard the sixty-six foot princess yacht, which was again bigger than Sydney’s entire house. Below deck were three cabins with attached baths, one for each of them. Teak and white decked the cockpit which was divided into three sections. There were twin sun beds port and starboard, a dining area including a wet bar, storage, an electric barbeque and refrigeration under an electronically operated sunroom. It was extravagant.
Lakeshore Love: The McAdams Sisters (By The Lake Book 3) Page 7