“So how many kids will be living here?” I motion back to the house that I can no longer see.
“There’s fifteen of us right now. There will be sixteen soon, when Becky gets taken away from her mom again. Her mom is just like mine, and she’s had Becky back for almost a month now. The moms never make it more than six weeks. By seven weeks, they’re dropping us off back at the center and then peeling out to go find their hook ups. It’s the basic cycle.”
It’s hardly basic, and the fact that she’s so nonchalant about it makes my stomach turn. All that I can think about is changing the subject, because I can’t hear any more of this without getting actually ill.
“Are you excited to move into the house? It looks like it’s going to be beautiful.”
“Yes.” Her smile meets her eyes. “It’s going to be so much better than where we live right now. The only bad part is that we have to move schools. I’m not looking forward to that, but Miss Amy said that our new school will be much better. It won’t be so scary at times. I’m not really scared at school, but some of the other kids are. Our school can be pretty violent. Plus, Miss Amy said that we should be moved in by Christmas. She’s going to get us a real tree this year, because we can finally have one. AJ said that he’ll even take us to cut one down ourselves, because we’ve never gotten to do that. Miss Amy just rents our current place, and they don’t allow real trees, or Christmas lights of any kind. So, this year, she said that our whole house will be filled with lights and decorations. I’m excited for that. Plus, now that AJ is involved with us, we’ll probably get a bunch of presents.” Her smile widens. “AJ is filthy rich.”
We turn around on the trail and begin to head back towards the house. I have no idea what time it is, since I left my phone back in the barn, but the clouds have now covered the sun and the temperature has dropped even further. I’m guessing it must be early afternoon. I’ve always loved fall, and loved the cooler temperatures, but it seems a little early in the year for it to be getting dark so soon.
“It isn’t supposed to rain, is it?” Emily glances up at the sky. “I really hope not, because Jasper hates the rain. Not as much as he hates the thunder and lightning, though. The last time it stormed, I almost lost him because…”
Boom!
The clap of thunder is so loud and takes me by such surprise that I jump. Before my feet even land back on the ground, the sky completely opens up, and rain pours out of the sky.
“Oh, oh no! We’ve got to get back!” I turn around to look at Emily, when another clap of thunder bellows in the sky. Jasper looks like a deer caught in the headlights, and before I can do anything about it, he lurches forward, causing Emily to fall and be drug behind him as he darts back towards the river.
“Emily!” I let go of all of my leashes and begin to sprint after her. “Emily, let go of the leash!”
Jasper continues to book towards the bridge, as Emily is able to scramble to her feet, tugging desperately at the leash.
“I can’t get it. It’s stuck.” Her voice wavers.
“I’m coming, Emily, I’m coming!” And I am, at least, I’m running with all of my might. But I’ve never exactly been a fast runner, and the flats that I chose to wear today have proven to be a bad choice. As I run, I lose a shoe, leaving me with one barefoot slipping and sliding down the slippery terrain. As we turn a corner, I see Jasper try to leap onto the bridge, but it’s raining so hard, that everything is slick and slippery. His paws slide, and I watch in horror as both Jasper and Emily fall into the river.
She screams loudly for help, and I don’t even hesitate. I jump into the cold water, hardly letting my brain acknowledge just how freaking cold it is, and swim as fast as I can towards the young girl who is splashing frantically, trying to stay afloat. I’m able to slide my arm around her, pulling her into me, but the river current is fast, and it continues to push us downstream. I don’t even realize that I’m also calling out for help, until I see a figure in my periphery, and hear the sound of his splash as he dives into the river.
My eyes adjust to the man in front of me, and as recognition sets in, my heart plummets in my chest. No fucking way.
“Grab ahold of me!” He’s shouting orders at me, forcing me to snap out of the fog in my head enough to reach for his hand.
I reach out, keeping one hand tightly around Emily and let him pull us both to the side of the river, and onto a log.
“AJ.” Emily cries. “Jasper is still in the water. He can’t swim.”
He glances over us quickly. “Are you good?”
“Yes.” I nod. “I’ve got her.” I shimmy across the log, keeping my arm tightly on Emily until both of our feet are on the grass. I watch anxiously as AJ, aka Adrian fucking Malone, jumps out of the water and runs along the rivers edge, until he spots the poor dog caught in a tree jam. He jumps into the water with ease and swims through the current, pulling Jasper out just as the other dogs left in the woods come running across the bridge, barking loudly at me for leaving them in the first place. I’m shaking from head to toe as the cold air whips against my soaking wet skin, watching in awe as the man who got me into this whole mess to begin with climbs out of the water, holding a wet, shivering dog.
“Jasper.” Emily cries, running towards Adrian and the dog, and pulling him into an embrace. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry!”
“Em.” Adrian reaches down and tips her chin up towards him. “Are you ok, doll?”
She nods.
“Good. Go inside and get Miss Amy and have her help you get dried off and into some dry clothes. Do you have dry clothes?” She nods again. Must be nice.
Emily hands the dog back to Adrian, and then runs toward the house. That’s when his eyes shift, and finally connect with mine. Shame and humiliation wash over me, because I know that he recognizes me. I can tell by the look of disgust on his face.
“What in the actual fuck are you doing here? Who let you in? Are you Emily’s mom? Because if so…”
“No!” Great. Now he think’s that I’m an orphans cracked out mother? Dear Lord, kill me now.
“I’m no one’s mother. I’m…I’m…” My teeth are chattering as I try to get my words out, yet instead I’m stammering like a fool. “I’m here for my community service.”
Adrian just grunts, and then shakes his head. He hates me, that much is obvious. And I suppose I deserve that, after the stunt that I pulled at his game.
“Listen, I can explain, ok? I am really sorry for what I did at your game.”
“I don’t give a fuck about what you did at the game. What I care about, is your judgement, and you’ve proven now, twice actually, that you have none. Emily could have been killed! We almost lost an animal, and it’s all your fault!”
My hands fist at my sides, as my body shakes. Partially, it’s from the cold, but the rest is from anger. Because is he seriously blaming this on me right now? How am I supposed to know that the damn dog would take off like that and pull her into the river? Plus, it’s not like I just let her fall in and stood by, watching, waiting to find out if she could swim. I did my best to get to her, and I succeeded. And if this asshat hadn’t shown up, I still would have gotten her out of the water. So basically, he can fuck off.
“I want you off of my property. Now.” His arm flies up, pointing towards the driveway. “And if I catch you anywhere near me again, I will be filing a restraining order.”
6
Adrian
There aren’t many people who are brave enough to get in my face and tell me what to do. At six foot six, my frame is intimidating for most, especially when I’m towering over them. Coach isn’t scared of me, and growing up, before my dad passed away, that is, he never had an issue getting in my face and telling me to act right. My mom is also able to put me right back into my place when I step out of line, and then, there is Amy Jones.
I met her by complete accident. I’d been running through my mind on all of the ways that I could get involved with my community and had spent one Satu
rday afternoon just aimlessly driving around in my car. I’m not sure what I was searching for that day, but as it turns out, my destiny was about to present itself right in front of me.
That destiny happened to be a five year old little boy, who darted out in front of my car while I was driving through the East side of town. I’d figured that would be the place where maybe I could find a way to give back, since most of that part of town is poor, and underserved. Never in a million years did I think that I would have to nearly hit a child to find my purpose. I slammed on my brakes, but it wasn’t going to be enough. I ended up having to crash my car into a parking meter in order to stop in time.
The little boy had taken off, but I’d left my car there, crashed on the side of the road, and followed him. Really, I was just wanting to tell his mom to keep a better eye on her kid, which when Amy answered the door, was exactly what I started to do. My voice was raised, but that was mostly from the adrenaline pumping through my veins over almost having killed the kid. She’d listened to be for about two seconds, before she crossed her arms, and warned me that if I didn’t watch my tone, she was going to let me have it.
The rest is history at this point. I realized that Amy was in fact not the child’s mother, but a woman who ran an orphanage completely by herself. She treated those kids like her own, but there were a lot of kids who needed help, and only one of her. It’s not like she was neglectful of them, but the boy in particular, the one who I almost hit, had only recently been placed in her care, after being removed from his mother, because she was abusive to the kid and hooked on drugs. Still though, the boy had loyalty to her, and didn’t know of any other life. He had darted out that day to try to find his mom.
She invited me inside, and we got to talking. As I had looked around the old building that they were calling a home, I immediately knew that I was there by divine intervention. I was meant to meet her, because I had the funds that she so desperately needed, and I had the heart to want to help. Within a week, I had purchased an old farmhouse on the outskirts of town on the river. The place was in complete disrepair, but with the acreage, the square footage of the house and the river, I knew that it would be the perfect place for these kids to grow up. It tugged at my heart way too much to see those kids calling home an old brick building, with drug dealers standing out on the corner right in front of their house. Fuck all of that.
But while Amy and I have formed a bond, and even though I have a lot of money invested into this, she still runs the show. And she never hesitates to remind me of that.
“So, did you do what I told you to do?” Amy tilts her head back so that her eyes can lock with mine, as she crosses her arms across her chest and stares me down. “Because it’s Wednesday now, and I’m expecting some help to show up here on Saturday.”
“You know, I really think that you’re making a mistake.” I return her glare, not ready to let her push me over on this one. “She has court ordered community service, Amy. Are those really the kind of people that we want around our kids?”
I’m met with a huff and an eyeroll.
“It was for drunk and disorderly, Adrian.” I pause. Amy only calls me Adrian when I’ve pissed her off. The rest of the time, she calls me AJ, the same as the kids do, so that they don’t inadvertently blow my cover. “It’s not like she was running a sex trafficking ring. And besides, the first time I met you, I didn’t know that I wanted you around my kids, but I gave you a chance, and it all turned out to be a good thing. I really like her, and she was really helpful. Plus, she jumped into a freezing cold river after Emily. If she were a shitty person, she wouldn’t have done that. Emily can’t say enough nice things about her, and you know Emily. She doesn’t warm up to anybody.”
“Ok, but…” I’m about to mention how the drunk and disorderly charge came about in the first place, because that’s the part that’s making me the most uncomfortable. But I can already tell, that Amy isn’t in the mood to hear about it. The only thing that she wants to hear out of my mouth, is that I got her help back.
Amy raises her hand, quickly cutting me off. “There are no buts. You need to find her and make things right, before she gets assigned somewhere else. She was a good fit here, and you scared her off. I demand you fix this, and you best fix it soon, because I fully intend to see Mia here on Saturday.”
With that, she reaches down, and grabs a manila envelope off of a box of paint and slaps it into my hand.
“Here is all of the stuff from her background check. I promise you; she checks out. Her address, work address, and phone number are all in there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a house to get back to, and you have a mess to clean up.”
I’m instantly uncomfortable, walking in through the door that leads to Mia’s salon. I’m even more uncomfortable as a receptionist with chunky purple streaks in her hair looks up at me and raises a well enhanced eyebrow.
“Can I help you?”
No one can help me at this point, I’m afraid. I’m here to apologize for something that I’m not sorry about, to a woman who is probably a touch on the crazy side. Lord help me.
“I’m looking for Mia Jacobsen. Is she here today?”
Her lipstick covered lips curve up into a brilliant smile.
“Well, as a matter of fact, she is. Let me just go into the back and see if she’s free.”
I’m left alone in the waiting room of the salon, with nothing else to do but to look around. The receptionist desk, along with the rest of the furniture is upscale and trendy, but warm. The walls are a soft grey, the furniture is an off white, with silver and green accents everywhere. None of the furniture looks big enough to hold my body, so I remain standing, and let my eyes roam over the framed black and white pictures on the wall.
I instantly spot Mia, although in the picture, her hair is blond, and straight, hanging over her shoulder in a low ponytail. The other women smiling in the picture are all dressed similarly to her, and I have no doubt that this must be her staff. Judging by the atmosphere in here, along with the location of her business, Mia must be pretty successful at what she does, only building to the conundrum of why a beautiful, successful woman would get so hammered that she’d barge onto a football field and end up arrested.
I’m sure I will soon find out about that story though. Thanks a lot, Amy.
I’m not sure how long I’m left standing in the waiting room since I’m not keeping track, but it feels like forever by the time a gorgeous woman with a short blond bob follows the receptionist to the desk, and then Mia finally makes her presence. When she spots me, her entire face falls, but she hold up a finger to me and approaches the blond.
“Tammy would like to be added to the schedule in six weeks.” She tells the purple haired receptionist. At the receptionists look of shock, she continues. “I know I’m booked out for closer to two months, but please do your best to squeeze her in somewhere. This color that we did today needs a lot of upkeep.”
The blond smiles appreciatively, and then begins to speak to the receptionist. That’s when Mia finally moves towards me, with a tight smile on her face.
“What are you doing here?” She hisses, glancing furiously over her shoulder towards her client and purple haired girl. “You have no business showing up like this, at my job.”
“Let’s not forget that the first time I met you, I was at my job.” I return her stare, slightly enjoying how she shifts uncomfortably on her feet.
I’ve never really gotten a good look at this woman. The first time that I met her, really all that I saw was a flash of her face and her red hair, before security hauled her off of the field. Then, the other day at the house, she was soaking wet, and her hair was plastered across her face, mostly covering her features, but not enough for her to go unnoticed. My adrenaline had been pumping too loudly in my head to allow me to focus on anything about her besides her headful of red hair, so honestly, I didn’t realize just how beautiful she is.
I stare down at her, as she looks up nervously at
me, and realize instantly how strikingly green her eyes are. I notice the freckles speckled across her cheeks, and the way that her mouth automatically curves into the forming of a smile. She’s such a mixture of features, that I can’t even decide what my favorite one is. She’s unusual, in every single way. And it’s beautiful.
My glare softens immediately, as she sighs quietly, and tells purple hair to let her next client know that she’s running a few minutes behind. She then rests her hand on my elbow, and leads me down a hallway, ending in a small office. She shuts the door behind her.
“Listen, I really want to apologize.” She starts, inhaling sharply and focusing her eyes on mine. “What happened at your game the other night was embarrassing, and for that, I’m really sorry. But I swear to you, I had no idea that my community service would be working for you. I must seem like an absolute stalker right now, but I promise, I’m not. I don’t even like football that much.”
I’m taken back, as she nibbles on her lower lip, and looks down at the floor.
“Getting arrested was not a shining moment for me, although, it was my first so I guess I can cross it off of my bucket list.”
Rule Play (Saints of Love Book 1) Page 4
