by Lena Hart
“Yeah, well, I figured if he wanted to fight someone, he could fight me.”
She was silent for a moment, before she spoke again. “Danny told me a lot about you and how you used to watch out for him and your mom when he was growing up. The way he talked about you, I thought you were a lot older than you are. Then we met and—”
“You realized everything Danny told you about me was a lie.”
“No, I realized why Danny admires you so much.” She sighed then. “I’m not trying to belittle or embarrass you, Jackson. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Danny has a big heart, and I see where he gets it. You have a lot of heart, too.”
Silence fell between them and Jackson returned his attention to the muted television screen. He turned up the volume, but his focus was far from the news broadcast of the advancing storm.
He was still reeling from her words. He knew how much Danny cared for him and how his brother foolishly held some kind of hero worship for him. But Jackson wasn’t used to hearing such praise from anyone else, much less someone he barely knew.
To have Truth see him in a different light other than what others in town saw him under was a foreign feeling. Aside from his brother, Jackson had never cared what anyone else thought of him. Yet, for whatever reason, he cared what Truth thought.
He cared a lot.
Suddenly, the lights flickered and went off. Jackson waited several heartbeats for it to return. When it didn’t, he cursed then cursed again. With the boarded up windows, it was pitch black inside house. Somewhere at his foot, Little Monster mewled and began climbing up his leg. Jackson scooped her up and placed her down at his side.
“Jackson?” Truth’s voice came out low and hesitant.
“Yeah?”
“I can’t see anything.”
“Me either. Just hang tight. I’ll try to find the flashlight.”
He continued feeling his way around the table for the flashlight or matchbox when he heard a glass tip off the table and crash to the floor.
“Sorry,” Truth muttered.
“That was you?”
“Yes. I was trying to look for the flashlight too. I think it was on my side of the table…”
They continued to search the table in the dark and mentally kicked himself for not having his phone near.
“Got it!”
Truth turned on the flashlight and swung it in his direction. Jackson brought up his arm to shield his eyes from the harsh glare.
“Great. Now how about we look for the candles so we don’t waste the battery.”
She swept the flashlight over the table until they found the candles and matchbox. They lit several of the small candles before switching off the flashlight. The room was lit in a soft, dim glow, enough for them to see each other but not clearly.
Truth tucked her legs beneath her and leaned back against the armrest. “So much for sleeping through the storm.”
“You just need to take your mind off it,” he said, absently running his hand over Little Monster’s back as she huddled at his side.
“How do you expect me to do that?”
How, indeed.
Outside, the rain pelted against the house as the wind continued to whistle and howl around them. He brought his legs up on the couch and propped himself against the armrest behind him.
“You can start by answering this very important question for me.”
“What?”
“Truth. What kind of name is that, seriously?”
She laughed. “It bothers you that much?”
“It’s just a little…weird. I need to know what your parents were thinking.”
“If you must know, my name’s a combination of my two grandmothers. Trudy and Ruth.”
“Hmm, that’s it? That’s the story behind your strange and unusual name?”
She kicked his shin. He grunted then bit back a grin as he rubbed his leg.
“I was just kidding.”
“Yeah, sure,” she muttered.
Suddenly, Truth picked up his wine glass and brought it to her lips. He found something sexy in the way she drank from his glass and this time he couldn’t avert his eyes.
“If you wanted me to tell you a story, all you had to do was ask. I have a great one for you.” She deposited the glass back on the table and settled into her corner of the couch. “It’s a love story about a bartending nursing student who meets a small town, smooth talking saxophone player.”
Jackson tensed. He didn’t want to talk about Danny or listen to the details of their relationship. Instead, he wanted to concentrate on the way her lips glistened from the wine in the dim candlelight, and how enticing she looked when she licked those lips.
He clenched his teeth and got a hold of himself. Maybe a story was just what he needed to remind himself that she belonged to his brother.
With a strained smile, Jackson folded his arms behind his head and nodded. “Okay, let’s hear it.”
Truth shifted as she slowly came awake.
For a moment, she was so disoriented, she didn’t know where she was. When she realized she wasn’t in her bed, she shifted again and nearly went flying to the floor.
With a sharp gasp, she latched on to the nearest thing.
That thing was Jackson.
She lifted her head to find herself lying on top of him. Her breast pressed against his abdomen and his firm chest served as her pillow. To make matters more devastating, his morning erection pushed insistently against her navel.
Shaken by that realization, Truth planted her palms on his chest and pushed off him. Jackson grunted and groaned as she scrambled to the other side of the couch.
The sudden rush of motion made her head spin. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on her temple.
“I knew all that wine was a bad idea.”
His voice was a bit rougher and deeper than usual and she realized she had just forced him awaken too.
“Jackson, what happened?”
“You just jabbed your elbow into my spleen.”
“I mean why are we sleeping out here? Together.”
Her memory of last night was hazy, but she remembered the storm and the power going out. She also remembered one very important point—absolutely nothing had happened between them.
“Never mind,” she muttered, rising off the couch. “We just need to get up now and—” She cried out as something sharp pierced her flesh and pain shot up the heel of her foot.
Jackson sprang up. “What’s wrong?”
Truth couldn’t answer him, she was in so much pain. She just cradled her foot on her lap and waited for the pain to subside.
Jackson grabbed the flashlight and brought the light to her foot. A long, thin piece of glass protruded from her foot. The sight of it only intensified her pain and Truth bit down on her lip.
“You must have forgotten about the wine glass you broke last night.”
Truth narrowed her eyes at him, not appreciating his smug tone. “Oh, shut up.”
He laughed. “Now you see why it was safer on the couch.” He swept the light over the floor then rose from the couch. “Here. Hold this.”
Truth took the flashlight he handed her then released a startled gasp when he lifted her into his arms.
“Jackson!”
“Will you relax? The first aid kit is in the kitchen and we need to get there before you start bleeding all over the place.”
She clutched at his shoulders, not used to being held up so high. “You could have told me that.”
“I just did. Now, if you’re done tearing off my shirt, I need you to guide my way.”
Truth released her grip on his shirt and turned the flashlight in front of them. When they walked into the kitchen, Jackson placed her down on the nearest seat.
She propped her foot on the empty seat in front of her. The shooting pain had lessened to a dull throb. She knew the glass would have to be pulled out soon, but she was not looking forward to it.
“Hang tight.”
Jackson we
nt to one of the cabinets and began fishing around it. He pulled out a red first aid kit and grabbed a paper towel roll before he strode back to where she sat. He placed the items on the table then lifted her leg up before slipping into the seat in front of her.
He brought the flashlight closer and began examining her foot. “Does it hurt?”
“Yeah, but not as much as it did before.”
“Well, this is going to really hurt.” He jerked the piece of glass from her foot.
“Ouch!” Truth tried to jerk her foot off his lap, but he held it firm.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “But there wasn’t any way around that.”
“You could have warned me.”
“Hey. Didn’t I say it was gonna hurt?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. He chuckled.
“I’m kidding. Now, settle down before you get blood everywhere.”
He carefully tended to her wound, and to her surprise, she didn’t have to offer him any guidance. He handled her injured foot with tenderness and care. He was as gentle with her, as he was with Little Monster.
“Okay, this is going to sting.”
“Oh, now you tell—” Truth hissed as he applied an antiseptic wipe over the wound.
“Don’t give me that look. This time I warned you.”
Truth gripped the edge of her seat as she waited for the burning pain to pass. She thought of every foul word she had heard from her Bajan grandfather growing up. When Jackson started laughing, she realized she had muttered a few out loud.
“I’m guessing that’s your way of saying ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re the best’.”
“Something like that,” Truth muttered.
He smirked. “Liar.”
She rolled her eyes but bit back a small smile, despite herself. When he finished dressing up her foot, Truth examined his handiwork and nodded.
“This is good work, Nurse Jackson,” she teased. “You may just have a future in medicine, after all.”
He scoffed and began repacking the kit. “No, thanks. The sight of blood makes me queasy.”
“Really? You just tended to my bloody foot without batting an eye.”
“This was different.”
“How so?”
“You needed me.”
An unexpected warmth fluttered in her belly at those simple words. She stared at his bent head and when he lifted his eyes to hers, she smiled.
“Yeah…I guess I did.”
She held his gaze for a long moment. He wasn’t like anyone she had ever met before. Like an iron rose—tough on the surface, yet gentle at his core.
Suddenly, his expression hardened, and he turned his attention to repacking the kit. Truth sighed and slowly drew her leg from his lap, not sure what had changed between them but recognizing that something had.
“Thanks again,” she said quietly as she gingerly got to her feet. “We should probably go see how much damage that Alma did.”
Four
They were lucky.
By the time Hurricane Alma made it inland, she had been downgraded to a tropical storm and fortunately the damages hadn’t been too extensive. Aside from several fallen trees and torn roof shingles, the damage and clean-up around his home was manageable.
He could was certain he could have gotten a bulk of the clean-up done on his own, but Truth was insistent on helping him. He was concerned about her foot. She wanted to help out.
In the end, he grumbled and she ignored him. But despite his protests, they managed to work together and get a lot done.
“Damn it, you little monster!”
At Truth’s sudden shriek, Jackson rushed back to house. He found Truth standing there, thick socks covering her injured foot, as she held up the remnants of her brand name high-top sneakers. He grimaced at the sight of them. Just recently she was telling him how much they were her favorites.
“Where is she?” Truth demanded. “I need to give her a serious tongue lashing.”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure she’s sorry about it,” Jackson said. “She’s a biter, but she’s never destroyed shoes before. Maybe there’s something about your—”
Truth reached down and lifted up a tattered boot. Jackson instantly recognized his work boot and his words trailed off.
“Damn,” Jackson muttered. “Those were new.”
Truth came down the porch and tossed the ruined shoes in one of the large trash piles they had been assembling.
“You should really start to get her trained or she’s just going to chew you right into the poorhouse when she gets older.”
“Good thing I’m already poor, huh?”
She glared at him. “I’m serious. She’s a little menace now, but it will only get much worse if you continue to let her go unchecked.”
Jackson sighed. “I know, and I’m working on it. She’ll be the best behaved dog in Cedar Bend before you know. In the meantime, remind me to get you a new pair of sneaks.”
She stared down at her socked foot and blew out a long breath. “Don’t worry about it. I probably shouldn’t be wearing sneakers now anyway.”
Jackson followed her gaze. “How’s the foot today?”
“A lot better.”
“Good. Can you grab some of these bags and moved them with the others?”
She beamed up at him and he couldn’t help but return her contagious smile. It was that enchanting.
“What are we smiling about?” he asked.
“Just yesterday you didn’t want any of my help. Now today, I didn’t even have to ask.”
His smile widened, despite himself. “Don’t get carried away. It’s just a few bags of yard waste. I could have handled it.”
“Yet, you still asked me. That’s progress, my friend.” Truth began tying one of the bags closed. She tugged at it to secure the knot. “If you’re not careful, you might start to like it.”
“Like what?”
“Having me around.” With a sly grin, she began dragging the bag behind her.
Jackson watched her until she disappeared around the side of the house. Her words put thoughts in his head that had no business being there. If she only knew just how much he already liked having her around, she wouldn’t joke like that.
He had to remember that Danny would be home soon, and his brother’s presence would be the cold, hard reality check he needed to get his libido in check.
Jackson grabbed the end of his stained undershirt and wiped the sweat from his face and went back to work. He continued his task of cutting the fallen tree limbs into manageable pieces while Truth collected the rest of the lawn bags and gathered them into neat piles in front of the house. Later, he removed all the boards from the windows and Truth opened them to let in some fresh air into the house.
They continued working well into the afternoon, until the yard was cleared. Truth grabbed two bottles of water from the cooler and handed him one. They stood outside on the porch, both sweaty and exhausted, and surveyed their handiwork on the lawn.
“Now that is what I call team work.”
Truth raised her fist out to him. Jackson’s lips quirked, and he bumped it with his. She grinned, her light brown skin flushed to a soft pear wood. Her hair was pulled into a messy pony tail, and the sweat on her neck plastered a few loose stands to her skin. He couldn’t remember seeing a sexier woman.
She settled down on the porch steps, taking in the late afternoon breeze. Jackson followed her down and tilted the bottle of water to his lip to cool his heated thoughts.
Little Monster squeezed in between them then rolled on her back for a belly rub. Truth laughed and obliged her.
“Oh, sweetie, I can never stay mad at you,” she murmured, grinning down at the puppy. “You should really settle on a name for her so she doesn’t develop identity issues.”
Jackson cocked a brow. “Is that really a thing?”
“Sure it is.”
He wasn’t convinced, but shrugged. “Well, what do you have in mind?”
She gla
nced up at him in surprise. “For a name? I don’t know… But it should be something sweet. Like Honey or Cookie.”
“She’s not a dessert.”
“She could be. Just look at that face.”
Truth cooed down at Little Monster who was enjoying every minute of the attention. Jackson watched the two of them and couldn’t help but smile. Both of them had wandered into his life and somehow burrowed their way into his heart.
Except, one of them he couldn’t keep.
“So what else is on the agenda today?” Truth asked.
“I still need to check the roof for any leaks,” he said. “But that can wait until later.”
“If you give me a few minutes to rest my arms, I can go up there with you.”
From the adamant look on her flushed face, she was obviously serious.
“I don’t think so, Wonder Woman. I’m not going to have Danny wring my neck because you decided to break yours trying to do men’s work.”
She narrowed her eyes at him just as he knew she would, and he bit back a smile. He didn’t know why, but he found it sexy when she looked as if she wanted to claw his eyes out.
“You know what, Jackson Matoa?”
He grunted as he took another long swallow of the cold water.
“You’re a hotdog.”
Jackson nearly choked as laughter burst out of him. “Do I even want to know what the hell that even means?”
She laughed too. “It means one of a kind.”
He cocked a brow. “You, Truth Richards, are one pretty little liar.”
“Fine, you want me to call you an American pig, I’ll call you an American pig.”
He gaped at her. He was so stunned, and a little impressed by the insult, that he burst out laughing again. “Are you Bajan babe’s always so feisty?”
He waggled his brows and she rolled her eyes, though he didn’t mistake the smile she tried to suppress. Before she could follow-up with a comeback, her cell phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket and brought it to her ear.
“Hello.” There was a brief pause before she answered again. “Yes, speaking…”
Her brows tugged together in confusion as she turned and stared ahead. “Excuse me, but what is this regarding?”
Suddenly, she whipped back around to face him. He had never seen anyone’s face lose color so fast. Jackson came instantly alert.
