As they walked up the porch steps, she saw the property through new eyes. This was going to be Jed’s home. She knew how much that meant to him, and sharing this moment with him felt bigger than just about anything.
“It’s not very big,” he said as they stepped inside.
She took in the hardwood floors and the hooks on the wall to their right where she could picture Jed’s jacket hanging above his boots. “Big only matters with regard to one thing.”
“Is that so?” He drew her into his arms with a lustful look in his eyes.
“Get your mind out of the gutter. I was talking about your heart.”
He laughed. “Sure you were.”
He told her about Biggs’s brother, Axel, who had built and lived in the house, and how he’d let the Dark Knights stay there after he’d moved to the house Bear now lived in. There was a woodstove in the corner of the living room, and just beyond, a staircase was nestled against the wall. She imagined rough bikers’ hands wearing down the wood railings. The risers were painted white, like the walls. The scuffed steps matched the wooden moldings throughout the first floor. There was a powder room on the opposite side of the hall to the stairs, and through an arched doorway was a nice-sized kitchen and dining room overlooking a tree-lined backyard. The counters and cabinets weren’t fancy or plentiful, but there was a sweetness, a wholesomeness, to the simplicity of each room.
Upstairs were three small bedrooms and a full bathroom. As they gazed out at the yard through the master bedroom window, Jed said, “The guys are going to help me fix it up. I need to replace the windows in the dining room, there’s some plumbing that needs to be done, and the flue needs to be repointed.”
“That sound expensive.”
He took her hand as they walked downstairs and said, “One of the Dark Knights is a plumber, another is a stonemason, and Bear’s going to help me with the windows. I’m thinking about having Ricardo and Marco help me with the painting. If you don’t mind, I was thinking about asking Hail if he wanted to help. With any luck, you guys will spend a lot of time here, and I want him to feel safe. What better way than to help make it a home?”
“Moon,” she said as his arms circled her again. “I think he’d love that as much as he loves you.”
“That’s music to my ears, Little Red.” He locked up the house, and as they climbed into the truck he said, “Mind if we stop by my apartment real quick? I met with the therapist after work, so Quincy picked up a few books for me. I just want to swing by and get them.”
“That’s fine. Scotty’s just hanging out, so we don’t have to rush.”
On the short drive to his apartment, he told her about what the therapist had said, and she agreed that Hail was doing too well to put him into therapy over one comment. “He hasn’t said anything else about it, but it’s good to know there’s someone nearby to help if he runs into trouble.”
When they arrived at his apartment, they ascended the metal staircase on the side of the building. Josie stopped on the landing at the top of the steps and turned around. Jed was on the step below, bringing their faces closer together. She wound her arms around his neck and said, “I just want you to know how much it means to me that you spoke to the therapist for Hail and asked Quincy to get you books. I know we have a lot of baggage. What I don’t know is how that baggage will play out as Hail gets older. He was so young when Brian died. I worry that he’ll forget how good a father he was, and at the same time I kind of wish he would forget that his daddy died. But I don’t want you to feel like any of that is your problem.”
“Don’t you get it, Little Red?” he said seriously. “Anything that affects you and Hail affects me.”
He pressed his lips to hers, and when he deepened the kiss, she pulled him closer. She loved this man so much, she needed to be naked and in his arms again. He stepped onto the landing, and her back met the door with a thud.
He leaned back, breathing hard. “You okay?”
She nodded, pulling his mouth back to her hers, and pushed her hands beneath his shirt. She didn’t know why she was insatiable when it came to Jed, but she knew she would never get enough of him. He whipped her shirt over her head, holding it in his fist as he fumbled with his keys. His mouth captured hers as he pushed the door open and they stumbled inside, their mouths fused. He kicked the door closed without breaking their connection and lifted her into his arms. Her legs circled his waist as they kissed, and he backed her up against the wall.
“Dude…?”
They both stilled at the sound of Quincy’s voice.
“Fuck,” Jed ground out, blocking her shirtless body with his chest, and said over his shoulder, “I thought you had study group?”
She peered over his shoulder at Quincy sitting between two pretty girls on the couch. Another girl sat on the floor by the coffee table with a book in her lap.
Quincy arched a brow, amusement dancing in his eyes as he said, “I’m hosting.”
A laugh escaped before Josie could stop it. “Oops.”
“How about you take your study group into the bedroom?” Quincy suggested.
Jed made a growling sound, and with Josie’s chest pressed tightly against him, he carried her into the bedroom.
“Might want to move the books off the bed,” Quincy called after them.
Jed kicked the door closed. “Sorry, babe. We can get the books and go.”
“Like heck we can,” she said as he lowered her feet to the floor. She reached for the button on his jeans and said, “Turn your music on—loud—and get these clothes off.”
They were naked in a matter of seconds, and Josie pushed him down to his back on his bed. She straddled his hips, and as she lowered herself onto his thick shaft, she said, “Time to make my big bad wolf howl at the moon.”
Chapter Eighteen
JOSIE SMOOTHED HER pink T-shirt with FINLAY’S imprinted across the chest over her hips and took one last look at herself in the mirror Saturday morning. Sarah had trimmed her hair to just above her shoulders in a cute blunt cut, and she’d shown her how to use a diffuser to bring out her natural waves. Sarah said she looked edgily feminine. Josie loved her new style, and Jed had gone wild for it. She was helping Finlay at a baby shower today. Finlay wanted to introduce her to the women at the party. She said it was a good way for Josie to network and get more orders for her gingerbread novelties. Josie was nervous but excited.
She turned sideways, checking out her backside in the black slacks Finlay had leant her for the event. She’d gained a little weight over the past few weeks, and her clothes no longer hung off her hips. Brian’s grandmother’s voice whispered through her head. You must be happy. You’ve got nice little curves. She missed Helen, and her assumption had been correct back then, when she’d gained weight in the months after moving in with her and Brian, just as the memories of her words rang true now.
Jed came into the bedroom and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You’ll be the most beautiful woman in the room.”
He kissed her neck, and his scruff tickled her cheek. She turned in his arms, and he pressed his lips to hers. It had been a week since she’d met with the girls to plan Sarah’s baby shower, and almost as long since Jed had given his presentation to the Dark Knights and taken Josie to see his new house. The club had voted and approved the Young Knights program, and between meeting with the Dark Knights’ attorney to get the program underway and cleaning up his new house, Jed had been swamped. That was okay, because Josie had been just as busy. Finlay and Crystal had been showing her how to get her business off the ground, going over licensing and other legalities. Crystal had already started developing a website for Ginger All the Days. They were designing brochures that Josie could hand out to local businesses, and Gemma said that once Josie was ready to make her website public, she’d write an article in the community newsletter. Josie couldn’t be happier, and Hail was elated since she had to bake even more often to take pictures for the brochure. He helped her bake, and he and Je
d were happy to eat the goodies they made. She and Jed had been so busy with work and Hail, and all the exciting changes in their lives, they’d barely slowed down long enough to shop for Hail’s birthday present. Thanks to Scotty, who really did make an excellent babysitter, they were able to pick up presents and decorations for his party. Life was busy, but at the end of each day, Josie landed in Jed’s strong arms, knowing Hail was safe and happy just across the hall and the rest of her family was close by.
“Are you nervous?” Jed asked.
“Yes. I keep telling myself working the event will be no different from working at the ice cream store, but it is different. Finlay’s excited to introduce me around, and I’m glad she is, but I don’t want to embarrass her. What if I say something wrong, or…I don’t know…throw up because I’m so nervous?”
A sexy smile slid across his lips as he said, “Babe, you’re not going to do either. I have faith in you, and so does Finlay. Otherwise she wouldn’t have offered to do this for you. You’re going to be great, and tonight you and I are celebrating.”
Jed was working at the shop until three, and then he was going to pick up Hail from Red, who was babysitting while Josie was at the event. Hail was excited to be going to Jed’s to help with the final touches on the house. He loved their guy time as much as Jed seemed to. But tonight Scotty was babysitting and Jed was taking Josie out to dinner. He wouldn’t tell her where they were going, but he had said it was someplace special. Since she didn’t own fancy clothes, she’d borrowed a little black sweaterdress from Crystal that was so tight and low-cut, she wasn’t sure she’d have the guts to wear it. But she wanted to. She knew Jed would lose his mind over it.
“Now, Moon?” Hail yelled from the other room.
Jed chuckled and called out, “Yeah, buddy. Come on in.”
“What’s going on?” she asked as her boy ran into the bedroom carrying a small box with a gold bow around it.
Hail looked up at Jed, then turned those glittering eyes on Josie and thrust the box into her hand. “Open it, Mama! Me and Moon got them for you.” As she unwrapped the ribbon, Hail said, “Aunt Crystal helped with the Lego.”
“Logo,” Jed said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
She opened the box, and her heart leapt at the sight of business cards for Ginger All the Days, complete with the logo she and Crystal had designed of a gingerbread man and woman holding mittenlike hands and a pink, brown, and, white striped awning across the top of the card. The awning had the company name on it, written in brown, and at the bottom of the card it read, GINGERBREAD NOVELTIES FOR ALL SEASONS. Also listed was a phone number, which she didn’t recognize, the website address, and her name with the word owner beside it. Tears filled her eyes.
“Do you like them, Mama? Do you? Did you see your name?”
She put one arm around Hail, the other around Jed, smiling as she blinked away tears, and said, “I love them, and I love you both so much.”
“Love you, too, Mama!” Hail hollered as he ran from the room, obviously done with their surprise.
“Thank you, Moon. You didn’t have to do this.”
“You’re going to say I didn’t have to do this next thing, either, but you should know by now that I do things because I want to, not because I have to.” He reached into his back pocket and handed her a champagne-colored iPhone. “It’s on my plan, so you don’t have to worry about the bill.”
“Moon! I can’t accept this.”
“Sure you can. You can’t very well use a prepaid phone for your business.” He pressed his lips to hers and said, “Push the button on the side.”
She did, and a picture of the two of them sitting side by side with Hail on Jed’s lap appeared on the screen. Hail was grinning, and Jed and Josie were gazing longingly into each other’s eyes. If that picture didn’t say it all, nothing ever would. Sarah had taken it recently when they had gone to her house for dinner with Scotty.
“I couldn’t love this more,” she said honestly. “Thank you.”
“Let’s see about that. The passcode is Hail’s birthday. Go ahead, put it in.”
She put in the passcode, and as the lock screen disappeared, another picture appeared on the background. Jed had taken the picture of her, Sarah, and Scotty last weekend at Jed’s new house. She and Scotty had been painting and Sarah had stopped by with lunch. Scotty had just put a dab of paint on Josie’s nose and Jed had caught them all laughing.
“You were right. I love it even more.” She went up on her toes and kissed him. “Almost as much as I love you.”
“Say it again,” he said with light in his eyes.
“I love it even more. Almost as much as I love you.”
“Not that, babe. The other part.”
“You were ri—” She playfully swatted him, and he swept her into his arms, kissing the laughter away.
THEY’D GOTTEN LUCKY with another sixty-plus-degree day. Hail had been going back and forth between helping Jed paint the railings on the back porch with Ricardo and Marco and playing with his toys, which were strewn across the backyard. All of the major repairs were done, thanks to some of the guys from the club, like Gutter, a home-repair expert, and the Bando brothers, who worked with concrete and stone and had repointed the fireplace and patched a crack in the foundation. Biggs had brought the paperwork by the shop two days ago, and the house was now Jed’s. He was still getting used to the idea that he was a homeowner.
He glanced at Ricardo and Marco, painting the railings on the other side of the porch. They were good kids and hard workers. Bullet had hired Ricardo as a part-time dishwasher, and Marco had continued shadowing Jed in the auto shop in the afternoons. Jed was enjoying teaching him the basics. Seeing the difference a little attention and guidance had made in their lives gave Jed hope that the Young Knights program would be beneficial for many young boys. The principal of the high school was a Dark Knight, and he’d already begun putting together a list of students he thought could benefit from the mentoring program. They had a lot of work ahead of them, getting the legal side taken care of and preparing formal documents outlining all aspects of the program, but it was underway—as was Jed’s future.
“Can we sleep here tonight, Moon?” Hail asked as he painted one of the balusters. Josie had packed old clothes and an old jacket for Hail to wear while he painted, which was a good thing. He’d gotten as much paint on himself as he had on the balusters.
“I’m taking your mama out tonight, buddy, and I don’t have any furniture yet. But maybe another day.”
“You could take her out another night.” Hail’s paintbrush swept toward Jed as he spoke. “And we don’t need furniture. We can camp.”
Jed guided Hail’s paintbrush back to the baluster. “Like in a tent? It’s warm now, because of the sun. But the sun will go down soon and then it’ll be too cold to camp.”
“Not in a tent. On your floor, and we can eat pizza, and make a fire in the fireplace, and play with my trucks, and…”
As Hail went on about camping in the living room, Jed wondered how parents let their kids down. He hated knowing he had to burst Hail’s bubble. But he’d made reservations at the best restaurant within a sixty-mile radius, and he didn’t want to let Josie down, either. She’d been working so hard to spread her wings, and she deserved a night out, celebrating her success.
Hail’s birthday party was next Sunday, so he said, “How about if we camp out the weekend after your birthday?” He dipped his paintbrush in the tray and said, “You’re going to be six years old, which means you might be able to stay up later, too.”
Jed turned at the sound of wheels on gravel and saw Bear’s truck in the driveway. Crystal waved from the passenger seat.
“Uncle Bear and Aunt Crystal!” Hail dropped the paintbrush in the can and ran toward the porch steps.
“Little dude, not in the can.” Jed stuck his fingers in the paint, fishing for the paintbrush.
Hail ran back up the porch steps and said, “Oops. Sorry, Moon. I forgot
to put it on the tray.”
“It’s all right. I’ve got it, bud.” He held the paintbrush over the can as thick paint dripped off it.
“I’ll ’member next time.” He turned and ran down the porch steps. “Uncle Bear! I’m painting!”
“Did you get any paint on the porch?” Bear asked.
Hail ran back up the stairs and pointed to the balusters he’d painted. “Yes! See?”
“Looks good to me,” Bear said as he and Crystal climbed the porch steps. “Hey, Ricky, Marco. How are you?”
“Good,” they answered in unison.
“Jed taught me how to do an oil change,” Marco said. “It’s a lot better than washing dishes.”
Ricardo glared at him. “Finlay’s teaching me to cook so your sorry ass doesn’t starve to death. Guess who’ll be doing the dishes at home?”
“Oh man…” Marco shrugged and went back to painting.
“We’re going to camp inside,” Hail announced, and ran down the steps to play with his trucks.
“The place is so different without the overgrown grass,” Crystal said.
Jed set Hail’s paintbrush in the tray and wiped his hands on a rag. “Thanks. It’s really coming together. What are you guys doing here?”
“I bought you curtains as a housewarming present. Guys always forget curtains.” Crystal held up a bag. “Bear has the rods in the truck.”
“You didn’t have to do that. Thanks.”
“No problem. I feel bad that the jacket alterations are taking so long. I ran into some trouble with the collar, but I’ll be done by Saturday. I promise. Are you working Saturday?”
“Yeah, at the bar.”
“Swing by after work to pick it up.”
“Thanks. I will,” he said as he stood up. “I’ll help you put those up.”
“No, man,” Bear said. “I’ve got this. Finish what you’re doing so you don’t end up with little white handprints all over your walls.”
Mad About Moon Page 23
