Audacious

by Beth Williamson

  “You think so? It’s only about three thousand square feet.” His expression told her he believed what he said. A very telling opinion.

  “Did you grow up in a mansion?” She knew he had money, of course.

  “I grew up in a big house, but I wouldn’t call it a mansion.” He looked away and glanced out the window. “Your car is older than me.”

  She had her own things that were uncomfortable to discuss so she didn’t push him. “Probably just about, but it still runs. Can’t afford a new one.”

  “That’s just a rental. I dropped the Bentley at the body shop for repairs.” He spoke as though renting a car was nothing. Ronnie had never even ridden in a rental car.

  “You’ll let us know how much then?” She was sick thinking about the cost to repair that fancy car.

  “Sure thing.”

  Ace came blasting back into the room and landed on the blanket with a thump. He dug into the pizza with all the energy of a ten-year-old. As he reached for a bottle of soda, he stopped in mid-grab.

  “Can I have one, Mama?”

  She very rarely let him have soda. It wasn’t good for anyone, especially not a growing boy. But he’d been so respectful about asking and this felt like a special occasion.

  “Half. It’s late to be chugging down caffeine and sugar on a school night. I’ll have the other half.”

  “I was kind of hoping you’d want a beer,” Jack murmured.

  She didn’t reply, but the low timbre of his voice vibrated through her. It’d been a long time since she’d had liquor with any man present. And it would be more time until she felt comfortable with this man, even if she liked him more than she should.

  Ronnie sat on the blanket and helped herself to pizza with Jack close behind her. It was a relaxing, uncomplicated meal. She didn’t know she needed something like this until she was experiencing it. It was also nice not to have to do dishes. The one rule she had in her home was they always ate supper together every night and took turns doing dishes.

  Tonight, she could simply be there. It was a unique experience, and she found herself enjoying it, much to her surprise. They chatted about the house and Jack’s plans as they ate. The cold soda washed down the salty pizza, and by the time they were done, Ronnie had unknotted her gut from its perpetual Gordian state.

  “If you want to work on the dresses, Ronnie, Ace and I can finish the downstairs windows.” Jack got to his feet and offered his hand to help her up.

  Feeling foolish, she allowed him to pull her up. She found herself wanting to blush, which surprised her. “Sure, I brought some of my delicate laundry soap. Does the faucet in the kitchen work?”

  “Yes, but the hot water is not quite hot. The water heater needs to be replaced. Plumber is coming on Wednesday.”

  She glanced at the remnants of their picnic. “What about this mess?”

  Jack waved his hand. “I’ll clean it up later. Besides, that cold pizza will probably be breakfast.” He smiled and her mouth curled into a grin of its own accord. “Do you need any help?”

  “No, I think I’m good.”

  There had been a time in her life where she didn’t realize that people offered to help other people. After her father had passed away when she was very small, there was no one who protected her or gave her a leg up in any way. She did everything she could for Ace, and he was a giving kid.

  But a man who offered to help her because he was a gentleman? A rarity in her twenty-six years. It proved Jack was dangerous to her heart.

  But oh, how she wanted that danger. Just a bit longer.

  *

  While Ronnie was in the kitchen humming off-key while she washed the dresses, Jack and Ace tackled cleaning the rest of the windows. It was dirty, messy work but they talked as they worked. Jack found himself liking the kid more and more.

  “So, you taught yourself how to use a skateboard with YouTube videos?” Jack squeezed out the rag in the water bucket.

  “Sure. That’s how I learn a lot of things.” Ace shrugged. “We don’t have a computer at home so I go the library.”

  “What about using a tablet or a smart phone instead?” It was out of his mouth before he considered what he said.

  Ace gave him the side eye. “We use a flip phone, and Mom and me share it.”

  Of course they did. It was obvious that this little family had no money except what they needed to live. There was likely nothing to buy extras like tablets or computers. Jack felt like an asshole for asking.

  “Then I’m doubly impressed. You’re a smart kid, Ace.” Jack went to work on the top of the window while the boy did the bottom. The kid was covered in dirt and water but he didn’t seem to mind. They were on the last window and it was nearly eight p.m., which meant it was time to wrap it up.

  “I learn lots of things that way. Mama knows lots of stuff but not everything.”

  Jack would agree with that in the short time he’d known Ronnie. The kid got his smarts from her. “No dad, uncles, cousins, grandpas to help with manly stuff?”

  “Nah. Never knew my daddy. No cousins, ’cause Mama’s sister lives far away and has no kids. I have a grandma, but she’s weird. She comes over a couple times a year and tells Mama everything she done wrong.” Ace wiped a dirty hand across his equally dirty face, his brown eyes serious as he looked up at Jack. “She’s not a nice person.”

  The urge to protect these two made his gut clench. Ronnie seemed to be completely alone in the world. It wasn’t his business or his concern, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to go berserker over anyone who threatened them. Or fix their problems with the one thing he had—money.

  Both of them were really bad ideas, but they danced around in the back of his mind like evil demons. Daring him to do something.

  “Tell you what, bud, if you want to borrow my laptop, you can do it anytime.”

  “Thanks, but we don’t have Internet at home, so I’ll stick with the library.”

  “Oh, right.” Why the hell was Jack such an idiot? He needed to think before words came out of his mouth.

  “I Googled your car. Is it really called the Flying Spur?” Excitement rang through the boy’s voice. “Sometimes the librarian lets me print stuff, but not this time. I wanted to hang a picture on my wall. Did you really spend two hundred grand for it?”

  Jack was embarrassed to admit to the cost. It was an extravagance he’d made for himself more than a year ago, before his parents passed away. They hadn’t noticed the car or the money he’d spent. Now it was a symbol for him of all that he’d had but didn’t want. Truthfully, he should sell it after it was repaired and buy a truck.

  “Yeah but it was my parents’ money. They had a lot of it.”

  “Are they dead?” His little face was serious and sympathetic.

  “Yeah, they are.” Jack found the familiar sharp pain when talking about his parents wasn’t as sharp. Perhaps being around real people, ones who didn’t know him, was healing the wounds.

  “That sucks. Did you cry?” This kid was really too smart for his own good.

  “Kind of. I wasn’t close with them.” He didn’t want to go into the various reasons for his unhappy childhood. People, even ten-year-olds, didn’t want to hear about poor little rich boys. There was little sympathy to be had, rightfully so.

  “You mad that I banged up your car?” Ace was looking down as he asked the question.

  “Nah. It was an accident. I appreciate the help here, though.”

  “It’s kinda fun. And I got pizza and soda on a school night. Woo!” With a grin, Ace carried the bucket out the front door to dump it.

  “Where’s Ace?” Ronnie walked in from the kitchen, her clothes damp, her hands on the small of her back. The pose pushed out those amazing tits and his gaze locked onto them. The nipples rose to the occasion, inviting him for a taste.

  “Uh, he’ll be right back.” Jack licked his lips, and Ronnie tutted at him.

  “You’re not very subtle, you know.”

  �
�Subtlety is overrated.”

  “True enough.” She chuffed a laugh.

  Ace walked back in swinging the bright blue bucket. “Mama, we finished the windows.”

  “And it looks like you saved all the dirt for your own shower. Ick, you are nasty, child.” She made a face at her son.

  “There’s just as many windows upstairs.” Jack grinned. “But the sun will stream in here tomorrow morning and everything will look better.”

  “Or dirtier,” Ace offered.

  “Or worse,” Ronnie chimed in.

  “Good thing I have positive thinkers helping me.” It was Jack’s turn to make a face.

  “I strung a line across the back of the kitchen and hung the eight dresses I finished. I found some old hangers in one of the rooms upstairs to use. I scrubbed the dresses best I could.” She looked at Ace. “Do you have a towel we can use for him to sit in on the way home?”

  “Sure, come with me.” He headed toward the kitchen where he’d stocked the pile of towels he’d bought at the store.

  “Go stand by the car and wait, please.” Ronnie’s voice drifted in the empty house as she instructed her son.

  Jack went to the pantry area in the back of the kitchen and pulled a towel from the plastic wrapped bundle. It was plain white but it worked for his purposes, which was to clean up the house. He was glad to have one on hand to help the redhead who was quickly overtaking his thoughts.

  She stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching him with an intense stare. “Why?”

  He glanced at the towel. “I bought one of those bulk packs. Figured I’d need—”

  “No, not the towels. Why me?” She crossed her arms and waited. It seemed that this woman had more armor than an armadillo. A nearly impossible nut to crack.

  “I like you. You don’t have any falseness about you. I find I need people who are who they say they are.” There was more to it than that, but that was the primary reason he’d been drawn to her.

  “How do you know I’m not shining you on?”

  “My gut tells me. I trust it.” He stepped toward her with the towel in one hand. When he reached the doorway, he leaned against the casing and looked down toward her freckled countenance. “Besides, you do laundry like a goddess.”

  She smacked his shoulder. “Flatterer.”

  “Is it working?” He kissed her, just a brush of the lips, then lapped at the seam of her mouth until she opened it.

  Light surged through him as he kissed her, their tongues dancing and tangling. His body tightened and eagerly awaited more.

  She broke the kiss and moved back a step, her lips glistening and swollen. “Good night, Jackson.”

  “Will you come by later?”

  “No, I’m not ready for later.” She kissed him once more, fast and hard, pressing her breasts into his chest.

  He groaned. “You’re killing me.”

  With that, she turned and left him standing there with an aching staff, wishing she was ready for later. Ronnie was a drug he was fast becoming addicted to.

  Chapter Five

  Ronnie hadn’t slept well. She’d been too aroused to sleep, which was a foolish issue to have. Who ever heard of that? The kiss she’d shared with Jack played over and over again in her head. She’d gotten herself off twice, but it didn’t ease the ache inside her.

  She needed him.

  That was a galling fact to admit to, but it was the truth. She’d not spent that much time with him, but each moment was a clear memory. They fit together somehow, this rich, slightly crazy man and the poor, mouthy waitress-barista-baker. The universe had an odd sense of humor.

  It was just after eleven and the customers had slowed down. The sweet spot between breakfast and lunch had arrived. She took the time to clean up some of the tables and wipe them down. To be honest with herself, she had been hoping Jack would come by. She didn’t know him, but she liked him. Against the odds, she liked him.

  He seemed like a good man, if a little odd. The fancy car, the rundown house, the fact he was all alone. She was alone, too, but she had Ace. Without him, she would also be completely alone.

  “Ronnie?” Patty called her from behind the counter.

  Shaking off thoughts of the handsome Jack Reilly, Ronnie walked toward the older woman. “What’s up?”

  The older woman frowned and held up the receiver to the phone that sat under the counter. “It’s Ace’s school.”

  Ronnie’s stomach tightened into a knot. She had forgotten the flip phone at home in the tizzy of a nearly sleepless night. She took the receiver and held it up to her ear. Whatever he’d done this time, he was already in trouble because of the car. Now he may be staring at the walls of their apartment for months.

  “Hello?”

  “Ms. Graham. This is Abby Fitzgerald.” The vice principal was a bit stiff, but she was a straight shooter, in Ronnie’s opinion. “Is Ace home sick today?”

  Ronnie’s heart began to pound. “What do you mean?”

  “Someone called the school, a man, and said Alexander was not coming to school. I thought it odd so I checked and Ace wasn’t here. We don’t have another Alexander, so I’ve been trying to reach you, but it kept going to voicemail.” The vice principal sounded concerned, and rightly so.

  Ronnie was terrified. “No, he’s not supposed to be at home and I don’t know what man would have called the school. I gotta go.” She hung up the phone without thanking the other woman.

  The only man she knew recently was Jack. If he did something to Ace, she would use the gun in her purse. Something was terribly wrong.

  *

  Jack had just finished mopping the entire first floor and pulled off his shirt to wipe his face. Both smelled pretty bad so it seemed like a good idea. The first floor wasn’t perfect but it was clean. He wanted to get a shower in before he went to the restaurant for lunch. Really, he was going to see Ronnie. The promise of an hour being near her had fed quite a few salacious daydreams as he’d worked his ass off cleaning.

  Tires squealed outside and it sounded like the car stopped in his driveway. He peeked out the now clean but wavy glass window and saw only the rear bumper. Someone was there.

  He walked toward the front door, but before he was halfway there it burst open, and Ronnie came stomping in. Her hair was half in the familiar braid, half in a halo of red frizz. Her face was flushed and sweaty and she wore her work shirt with the drinking beans and black apron around her waist.

  Her mouth was curled into a snarl and her eyes wide with what he could only describe as manic fury. “Where is he?”

  Jack raised both hands. “There’s nobody here but me.”

  She raced passed him and up the stairs, then back down and into the kitchen, then around the entire first floor. He had no idea what was happening but Ronnie seemed to have lost her mind.

  “Ronnie?”

  She walked back into the room in a shuffling step, her palm pressed to her forehead. “He’s not here.”

  Jack heard the emotion in her voice and pulled the folding chair from the wall. He led her to the chair and guided her to sit. “Take a second to catch your breath, honey.”

  After retrieving a bottle of water from the cooler nearby, he squatted beside her and handed her the bottle. She took it with shaking hands and held it to her cheek.

  “You must think I’m a lunatic.”

  He rubbed her knee. “Nah, but if you are, that’s okay, too. Makes things more interesting if I don’t know what to expect.”

  “Jesus.” She took a drink of water and finally met his gaze. He almost walked away.

  Almost.

  Ronnie’s eyes were full of pain, so deep and so ancient, he wasn’t sure if he could handle it. He had his own well of pain he was trying to crawl out of. Handling hers along with his was going to be hard. Really fucking hard.

  Jack dug deep and remembered that he had no one to share his own pain with. How utterly alone he’d been for so long, even before his parents had died. He couldn’t walk
away when someone needed him, even if it meant he would feel his own pain twofold.

  “What happened?” He took her hand in his own, the skin cold as ice.

  “Ace cut school and some man called saying Alexander was going to be absent. He never uses his full name and neither does anyone else. It could’ve been a mistake, or the man might have called the wrong school.” She looked at the ceiling as though something up there was going to give her strength. “I thought the worst of you, and I’m sorry for that.”

  He sympathized with her worry. He’d cut school plenty of times, whether or not his parents knew. Or cared. “Has he skipped school before?”

  “Yeah, but not often. He’s small and the other boys like to goad him into doing stuff he wouldn’t.” She blew out a breath. “He doesn’t need to be as bad as his mother.”

  Sympathy sliced through him. “We can’t pick our parents, honey. We can pick who we want to be despite who they are.”

  “Easier said then done.” She took another drink of water. “I have a reputation, if you remember me mentioning it. He can’t escape my past, but I try to keep him from making bad choices.”

  “From what I see, you’re a good mom, and he’s a good kid. Don’t beat yourself up. I’m a cynic and even I can see you love that boy more than anything. Believe me, he’s a lucky kid.”

  Something in his voice must’ve clued her in to his own issues. She narrowed her gaze. “You didn’t have a good relationship with your parents.”

  “Nope. My parents were so in love with each other they didn’t have much left for me. I know that probably sounds stupid and whiny, but I was never first in their lives.” He cupped her face and looked into her beautiful blue green eyes. “Don’t let your past define you. You’re putting Ace first and showing him you love him every day.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice was thick with emotion.

  Jack patted her knee. “Now, let’s go look for him and make sure he’s okay.”

  She nodded. “He has a couple of usual haunts. I appreciate you helping me.” Ronnie leaned forward and kissed him. Soft, sweet.

  A little part of his heart fell into her freckled hands. Jack was in danger of falling for her.