He was in.
“She isn’t afraid of me,” Billy simply said.
Then he cleared the pool table.
Ten
Billy was waiting for them at school on Monday morning, his huge truck parked next to her spot. Jenny could see the extra cup of tea in his hand as she parked.
Was it wrong to be so thrilled that he’d brought her tea? Boy, she hoped not.
“Morning, kid.” Billy nodded to the back of the truck. “Got some boxes for you today.”
Seth grumbled. But he did so quietly, loading up his arms and trudging to the shop.
Jenny wasn’t sure what would happen next. The last time she’d seen Billy, he’d kissed her, hard. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want him to do it again, but she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the whole sneaking-around vibe. The problem with sneaking around was that, sooner or later, you got caught. She’d only been caught once and had spent years proving she was a responsible person. She had no desire to repeat the experience.
“Need to talk to you,” Billy said in a tone of voice that made it pretty clear that he wasn’t about to ravish her in a school parking lot. The sky was pinking overhead, giving him a warm, almost cuddly look.
“Oh?” She took her tea, not bothering to keep her touch on his fingertips light. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed the part of his cheek that wasn’t covered with facial hair. “Everything okay?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, which made her nervous. Then his gaze darted behind her, and she heard Seth’s plodding footsteps. “Yeah. About that…event we were discussing.”
Was this biker code for date? “Yes?”
His words rushed out of him. “My brother wants to have a high-priced bachelor auction when we sell the bike. The funds would go to the school. So our event would have to wait until after the auction.” His mouth snapped shut, and she saw him pull back.
Jenny felt herself blinking as she tried to process what he’d said. Bachelor. Auction.
“Bobby wants to sell you?”
Of all the ridiculous things she’d ever heard…the only thing that topped it was Billy agreeing to do it.
“Wasn’t my idea.”
That was a cop-out defense and they both knew it. Her event—her date—was going to take a backseat to some other woman buying him? “But you’re going along with it.”
They were silent as Seth came and went with the last box.
“Josey wants some of the kids—and your girls—to be there. I want you to come.”
“Josey knows about this? But I talked to her a couple of days ago.”
This explained why that woman had been so vague about additional funding for the school. She’d been holding out. Jenny was going to have words with her cousin.
Billy leaned forward. “It wasn’t her fault.” His voice was pitched low, even though Seth wasn’t near. “I wanted you to hear about it from me.”
There was something sexy about the way he said that. When had she gotten to the point where a man taking responsibility had become a turn-on?
“When?” It was cruel to ask her to watch someone else get him before she did.
“Three weeks.”
Three whole weeks felt like a very long time to her. By then, the bike would be finished and she wouldn’t see Billy first thing in the morning and last thing before she went home. But those three weeks would be like now—trying to have a conversation around Seth, without anyone recording it. Stolen hints of a relationship.
On the other hand, what was three weeks but another drop in the bucket? She found herself doing some quick math. She hadn’t had a relationship since Seth had been three, when he’d started calling the last guy Jenny had been with “Daddy.” Which had, predictably, freaked out the poor guy and sent him running for the hills. That had been the point when Jenny had realized her attempt to remain a typical teenager with a normal social life was hurting her son. That had been the point where she’d stopped dating.
She’d been eighteen then. Eleven years was a long time without sex. Far too long. What was three more weeks?
Then, like a bolt out of the blue, an idea struck Jenny. He was asking her to come to the auction, after all. Why not make the most of it? She had a little money saved up from back when the state had been paying the bills. True, she’d been hoping to save that for Seth’s college, but she’d already been considering dipping into that to fund TAPS for a few more months. If she used that money to buy Billy, that was practically the same thing, right? The money would still go toward the program. And she’d have a chance to get Billy all to herself before their date.
She could make this work. She owned one dress that could blend in with high society—her bridesmaid’s dress from Josey’s wedding. It was a slinky, sleeveless pewter-gray gown with a cluster of rhinestones in the middle of her cleavage and a slit up the back—far sexier and fancier than anything else she had ever owned. And what’s more, it had looked good on her. It had taken three trips to a tailor but combined with the heels, she’d looked surprisingly long and lean and, well, glamorous. More glamorous than she ever had before.
And where else would she wear such a fabulous dress? Certainly not to school, and not to the grocery store. No. The only other place in the world—or at least in South Dakota—where she could possibly wear this dress was to a charity bachelor’s auction. And if she was going to go, she darned well wasn’t going to sit around and watch someone else take Billy home. She wasn’t going down without a fight.
He must have taken her silence wrong. “I’m on the clock, Jenny. If I don’t get this bike done before the auction, I’m in a world of hurt. But I’m working on a way to see you before the auction. If we get the bike done, I’ll be able to take some time off and we can do something. Just…be patient with me.”
“I can’t wait forever.”
He gaped at her in surprise, which made her feel even more powerful. Yes, she wanted him and yes, she wasn’t exactly in high demand right now. But she wasn’t going to throw herself at a man, no matter how good his kisses were.
When he leaned forward this time, she responded in kind. So he was richer, bigger and infinitely more dangerous. They were still equals in this dance. Because that’s what it was—a slow, exquisite dance of promise and hope.
“I promise you this, Jenny.” She could hear the amusement in his voice, as if he liked it when she challenged him. But then his tone deepened, and heated goose bumps ran roughshod down her back as the scruff on his cheek rubbed against hers. His breath was warm on her ear, almost as if he’d touched her with his hand.
“Yes?” Her voice wavered, but she wasn’t done dancing with him. Not by a long shot.
A deep, rumbling noise sprang out of his chest. If he’d been a big cat, it would have been a purr. As it was, it was something else—something much more sensual. Something that told her he’d keep his promise.
“I’ll make it worth the wait.”
*
The weeks until the auction passed at what felt like a snail’s pace to Jenny. Every time Billy touched her, time slowed down. Which happened every day.
She brought him tea on the mornings he rode his bike. When he drove his truck, he had tea waiting for her. Their hands touched under the pretense of caffeinated beverages. In the afternoon, she’d head out to the shop after her TAPS meeting. Billy held to his word—when Jenny was in the shop, the hottest thing that happened was a few smoldering looks.
It was driving her insane. True, light touches and hot looks were far more interaction with the opposite sex than she’d had in a long time, but each day added to a frustration that became more and more physically painful. She tried to ignore the pressure. She’d done so without much problem for years now, so she didn’t understand why it was harder this time. The motorcycle they’d be auctioning off took shape. One afternoon, wheels appeared on the bike. The next, handlebars and a seat. Finally, eight days before the Saturday night auction, the bike was finished, ex
cept for the paint.
When Jenny walked into the shop that Friday afternoon, Billy was on the phone with Seth hovering near him. When the boy saw her, he jumped up. “So, I got an A on that history test,” he began, brandishing the paper. “Ms. Dunne says I’m getting an A this quarter.”
“That’s great, honey.” And it was. But this sudden volunteering of information had her on high alert. She looked at Billy, who met her gaze with—was that a wink?
“And I think I aced that math test today,” Seth went on as Billy continued to talk into his cell phone. It was the first time she’d seen him use one. “And Ms. Dunne says I pulled my science grade up to a B.”
“Did she, now? That’s great.” Those were, hands down, the best grades Seth had gotten in a long time. Jenny paused to look at the bike.
“How do you paint it?” she asked, circling the silver-and-black thing. It was beautiful, in a way that she found slightly scary. After all, Seth had helped build it. Was it road worthy?
“And I already finished that book report that’s due for English next Wednesday.”
Jenny focused on her son. “Is that so? Okay, spill it. What’s up?”
But Seth didn’t say anything. He looked at her as though she were sentencing him to certain death.
Dear Lord, what had he done now? How big of a mess would this be? “Seth…”
As soon as she said it, Seth pointedly looked back at Billy. “You paint it,” he said, answering the wrong question, “by taking it apart. I have specialized equipment at the shop. We have to do it there.”
The tension in the air was something special. “And?”
“And I thought it’d be fun for the kid here to come down to the shop and see how the painting works, since he worked so hard to help me get it done on time.”
She looked at Seth, who had puppy-dog eyes. “Can I, Mom? Please?”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch. But it’s a long drive, so I asked Josey if you two could crash at their place Saturday night.” Heat danced in his eyes, and Jenny felt her cheeks getting warm.
Boy, she hated the feeling that she was supposed to know what was going on and didn’t.
“Us two?”
“Sure. I’d like you to come down.” The casual way he said this didn’t match his eyes at all. She saw nothing but want and need and desire in his gaze. “You can see the shop.”
“And the bikes.” Seth was hopping up and down again. “Billy said we could go look at all his bikes.”
“Josey wants you to call her. You’re supposed to use my phone.” He held it out to her as if this whole thing were no big deal.
And maybe it wasn’t supposed to be. She’d stayed over at Josey and Ben’s modified warehouse mansion before.
But Billy was asking her—them—to come to the shop, to see his bikes. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, but it felt huge.
Then he said, “Why don’t you have a phone?”
She swallowed. The honest answer was that phones were far too expensive. The only slightly less honest, but still truthful answer was that reception on the rez was terrible on the best of days. She decided to hedge her bets. “Never needed one.”
She took the phone, but was at a loss on how to make an actual call. Heck, she wasn’t even sure how to turn the darn thing on. She’d used Josey’s cell a few times, but this was a different one—sleek, silver and very expensive-looking. Billy stood and, without removing it from her hand, tapped until Josey’s number appeared. Josey answered on the first ring. “Well?”
“What’s going on?”
Josey laughed. “What’s going on is that Billy wants to show you what he does when he’s not in the school’s shop.”
“And what is that?”
“I suppose you’ll have to see to find out. Come down for the day,” Josey said.
Seth and Billy were hanging on her every word. They weren’t even pretending to do something else.
“Well?” Josey asked, now sounding worried. “What do you want to do?”
Worst case, Jenny got to sleep in a big, soft bed for the night and eat a meal that someone else cooked and have someone else clean up afterward. Worst case, she got to hang out with her cousin. Worst case, Seth would learn a little more about how to build a bike.
Best case, though, was that she’d get to see what Billy Bolton was like when he wasn’t working. He’d get to see what she was like when she wasn’t being a teacher. He might even get to see her when she wasn’t being a parent, first and foremost. Seth loved Billy’s brother Ben—and he especially loved Ben’s expensive gaming system.
Seth was still silently begging. Jenny locked gazes with Billy. Something in his eyes made her break out in goose bumps again—challenging her. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“What time should we get there?”
Eleven
“Dude, stop. You’re making me dizzy.”
Billy stopped pacing and turned to face Jack Roy, his painter. Normally, he liked Jack. Jack was about ten years older than he was and had worked for Billy’s dad when Billy had been in high school. He smoked, drank, chased skirts and painted anything and everything he could get his hands on. But today, Billy didn’t much care for Jack. The man sat on his stool, his hair slicked back under a red bandanna. His painter’s coveralls were loosely knotted at his waist. The only thing covering his chest was a nearly see-through white tank top and a hemp necklace. He must be good-looking to women, because he was going to be auctioned off along with Billy in one week.
Billy didn’t like it. What if Jenny did? So he grunted at Jack.
Jack laughed. “Seriously? You said this was some kid coming to watch. Why are your panties in a twist?”
“Watch your mouth,” Billy shot out.
Jack looked Billy over. Billy had showered and cleaned up the edges of his beard. Hell, he’d even put on a little aftershave. A fact which did not go unnoticed by Jack.
“Hey, this kid—he wouldn’t happen to have a mother, would he?” Jack threw up his hands. “Man, I’ve seen you go ’round with your old man enough. I got it. Kid and mom are off-limits.”
Billy glared at him. “See to it.” Which only got another laugh out of Jack.
Then, Billy saw the front door of Crazy Horse Choppers open up through the glass partition that separated the showroom from the shop floor. Cass, the receptionist, worked Saturdays and had gotten to be a pretty good saleslady. But otherwise, the place was deserted. The shop shut down at four-thirty on Friday and most everyone hit the bars. Hell, given that it was ten-thirty Saturday morning, half of his crew was probably still at a bar. The other half was sleeping it off.
Except on days like today. Jack had come in as a personal favor. Billy probably shouldn’t kill him. “Be right back.”
Cass was smiling at Jenny when Billy opened the door. Seth was doing that bunny-hop thing he did when he was excited. Billy felt himself grin at the boy. He remembered being that excited, once. Felt like a lifetime ago. “Hey, you found it.”
Jenny’s eyes were wide. Billy couldn’t tell if she was as excited as her son or just plain old nervous.
Man, she looked good—not like a schoolmarm, not even like a mom. Hair flowing down her back, a pretty top and jeans that he knew would make her butt look amazing. She looked like she was far too good for him, but he didn’t care. She looked like a woman—the woman he wanted.
“You gave good directions.”
Cass made a small noise that almost qualified as a snort. Billy shot her a warning look. Between her and Jack, the whole shop would have the lowdown by Monday morning. Next week was going to be hell. And that was all before the auction. He wanted to be furious with Bobby for taking over his life, but then Jenny favored him with one of those small, challenging smiles, and he decided Monday didn’t matter so much. “Come on back.”
He couldn’t help it. They were nowhere near a school and Bobby didn’t film him when he wasn’t at the school. So he put his hand on the sm
all of her back as she passed him and didn’t pull it away once she was through the door.
“Jenny, Seth, this is Jack Roy, my painter.” Jack bowed, the rat fink.
“Nice to meet you,” Jenny said. Then she looked at Billy and he realized he was growling. At Jack.
“Isn’t this cool, Mom? See? Billy took it apart and now we’re going to paint it!”
“Easy, kid. First, suit up.” Jack tossed some coveralls at Seth. Then he looked at Jenny, held up a set of coveralls and waited.
“I’ll just watch,” Jenny said, not getting any closer.
“You’ll have to stay in the waiting room. Too many fumes.”
“Fumes? What about Seth?” Then Jack held up the extra mask. “Oh, okay. Well, then…have fun.”
Billy walked her back to the door. “This will take a few hours. Will you be okay?” Man, he liked that smile on her. Warm and soft and sweet, but with a hint of tart challenge behind it. He liked it even more that she smiled at him and not at Jack. Then she touched his cheek and he almost forgot all about painting.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’m coming over for dinner at Ben’s,” he added. “After we’re done here.”
He knew he couldn’t rush the paint job. He never rushed a bike, because that’s when mistakes happened, and as his brother Ben constantly pointed out, mistakes cost both time and money. But for the first time in a long time, he wanted to get done with the bike as fast as he could. For the first time in a stupid long time, he had plans that didn’t involve welding.
Her fingers traced over the edge of his beard. He knew they had an audience, but he was powerless to do a damn thing about it. He wanted to stand there and look down into her eyes and not give a damn about what anyone else thought. Just him and her and this moment.
Then Jack whistled, Cass laughed and Seth said, “Ready!”
“Tonight,” he said, feeling the pressure of her fingertips against his skin before she pulled away.
“It’s a date” was all she said.
*
Jenny watched the three white-clad figures through the glass wall. As far as she could tell, no actual painting was occurring, but they were wearing masks and doing things, so she chose to assume that all was going well.
Bringing Home the Bachelor Page 9
