“I’m fine,” she lied, because her ego, or what was left of it, had taken a serious hit in there.
He nodded, staring down at his shoes as if searching for something more to say. But what was there left to say? He’d already apologized for something that wasn’t his fault, and she’d said everything she had to say. Nothing either of them could do would change the situation.
Searching the parking lot, she saw Cam and his parents heading their way. Time to clear out.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, I really do, but I need to go.” She opened her door to get in.
“Are you living out of your car?” Jarret’s observant crystal blue eyes inspected her interior, noting the garbage bags filled with clothes, shoes scattered on the floorboards, and trash from this morning’s breakfast.
Pausing with one foot in the door, she sighed. “That’s really none of your business.”
“It is if you’re carrying my niece or nephew.”
“Oh, please. Don’t try to pretend like you’re interested in any of my problems,” Raine snapped. “If your own brother couldn’t care less, then why should you?”
“Like I said, I’m not my family. I’m not my brother. Look, come with me. We’ll talk to my parents. I’ll talk to my parents,” he amended when she gave him a stern frown. “Camron might not want to step up to the plate, but our parents will give you that check. If you need money, take it.”
Dropping into her seat, Raine closed her eyes, seeing the snooty look his mother gave her, her nose turned in the air as she fingered the pearls around her neck. Yeah, she was sure they’d be eager to help her out, just not the way she wanted them to. “I’m sure you mean well, but you saw the way they treated me back there. I’m not asking them for anything. And I never said I needed it,” she added. “I really need to go now.”
“Where are you going?”
That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? Since she didn’t know how to answer without confirming or denying her plight, she stuck her keys in the ignition and twisted until the engine purred to life. “Maybe I’ll see you around, Jarret.”
“Wait.” Grabbing her door, Jarret prevented her from closing it. “If you ever need a place to stay, or someone to talk to, whatever, you know where I live.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Raine returned. Jarret seemed like a nice guy. Too bad she hadn’t met him first.
“Listen, do you need any money? For food or… a hotel…” He glanced into the backseat again, the muscles in his jaw popping.
She watched as he pulled out his wallet and began thumbing through a wad of cash. Just like his father. Embarrassment flooded her cheeks anew and she turned the emotion into anger. “I don’t want your money.”
“Come on,” he said, pushing it at her. It was tempting, but Raine shook her head adamantly. “Take it. I want you to have it.”
Her empty stomach growled at her, which only heightened her anger—at herself, at the unfairness of the world, at Jarret’s unexpected kindness. “So you can sleep better tonight?” she snarled, ignoring the stunned look on his face. “No, thanks. I won’t be your charity case.”
“Raine, wait. That’s not what I meant.”
Desperation digging its claws in deep, Raine knew she had to get out of there before she did something stupid, like accepting his offer. Slamming her door, she glared into her rearview mirror as she backed out of her parking spot and left him standing there. She only looked back once, but it was enough to know that she would never forget the vision of Jarret Moss standing there, wallet in one hand, cash in the other, watching her with the deepest look of pity in his eyes she’d ever seen.
SIX
“Everything looks great, Raine. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ll see you back in a month.” Dr. Sheridan patted her on the shoulder and left the room.
Stripping out of the oversized paper gown, Raine dressed, scheduled her next appointment, and jumped in her car. The blurry black and white photograph demanded every ounce of her attention as she traveled across town, hardly able to recall if the lights she’d passed through had been green or not.
It was really happening.
She couldn’t believe it. Out of all the shitty things that had happened to her over the last few months, this was what it all came down to. Her baby.
Suddenly, all the struggles, all the heartache, the worry, the depression was worth it. For a brief moment in time, Raine felt happy again.
Pulling into the Walmart parking lot¸ she took out her wallet and counted her cash—twenty-seven dollars and thirty-eight cents. Government assistance didn’t help much. She still hardly made ends meet, but she was surviving. If she was careful, she could get enough ingredients to have spaghetti dinner tonight and the rest of the week, and still have enough left over to put gas in the car.
It would be tight, but it was workable.
At five months pregnant, entering the supermarket was dangerous for her mental health. Raine focused on the aisle she needed and not on all the delicious food that made her mouth water. Even a simple bag of apples was out of her budget. Being poor sucked, but she’d been getting a lot of practice.
She still didn’t know how this would all work once she added a baby to the mix, but she’d cross that bridge another time.
Two boxes of dried noodles, four cans of the cheapest sauce she could find, a can of peaches because she’d been craving them like crazy, and a gallon of milk later, Raine was standing in the express lane, carefully keeping her eyes away from the shelves of candy. She wanted chocolate so bad her palms itched.
Chocolate wasn’t in the budget.
But she hadn’t had any for so long.
You can’t afford it.
The lady in front of her smiled at her as if she knew she were waging an internal battle.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Raine performed a quick tally of the items in her basket, and decided that sixty-eighty cents was doable. Grabbing a caramel filled candy bar, she tossed it on the belt along with her other items, feeling at once guilty and relieved.
“Good afternoon.” The middle-aged cashier greeted her with a pleasant smile as she began scanning her items. “Did you find everything you needed today?”
No. “Yes.” Raine watched the numbers on the screen creep up. Her breathing quickened as she realized she wasn’t going to have enough money for everything. Needing to watch every penny, she allotted fifteen dollars for this trip, and she’d gone over by forty-two cents. To most people, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but, to her, that was forty-two cents less in the gas tank, and she needed every drop to get her to her job and back for the week.
She considered her options: either a can of sauce or the candy would have to go, because she wasn’t about to give up her peaches. She really didn’t want to give up the candy, but she needed to eat and candy wasn’t technically food.
“Umm… I need to put the candy bar back,” she said in a small voice.
The lady gave her a look, as if she just realized what type of person Raine was and the strain of removing an item from her bag was a real chore. Raine lowered her head, on the verge of apologizing, when a familiar voice stopped her.
“I got that.” Raine looked up to find Jarret standing beside her, his wallet already out.
Hell, no. She wasn’t about to let him pay for her food. “You don’t have to do that,” she said urgently, putting her hand up and motioning for the cashier to ignore his money.
“It’s fine. I got it,” he insisted, holding a crisp twenty out.
Raine tore another dollar from her purse and shoved the sixteen dollars at the lady. Screw it, she’d coast the damn car down every hill to save on gas if she had to. “I don’t need you to pay for my stuff.”
Jarret gave her an indulgent smile. “I know. I want to.”
Raine waved her money at the cashier, urging her to take it. “That’s kind of you, but no thanks.”
Gently pushing her arm away, Jarret
handed the cashier his money. Raine fumed as the lady chose his bill over hers, put it in her drawer, and began counting his change. What, suddenly her money wasn’t good enough? Ripping her bag from the spinner, she marched away. Screw him. Screw them all.
Even as upset as she was, she knew it was only because her pride had taken a hit. Raine hadn’t depended on anyone in over four months. She was a nineteen-year-old woman with a kid on the way with barely two dimes to rub together, but she was making it. She didn’t take handouts.
Even so, she couldn’t deny that she was relieved. Jarret paying for her bill meant she had a little extra cash to fall back on. She could buy two dinners, and if she got creative, she might even have enough to make up a little birthday cake to celebrate the one she’d missed.
She was thinking of what kind of frosting she’d put on it, when a hand grasped her arm and spun her around.
Jarret stood over her in all his dark and brooding glory, a fire building in his light eyes.
God, those eyes.
“A thank you would have been nice.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that,” Raine volleyed back. “I told you no, but did you listen? No.” Just like Camron didn’t listen. The perfect reminder that they were cut from the same cloth.
Combing his fingers through his hair, Jarret eyed her cautiously. “I was kidding, Raine. I didn’t pay for any other reason than I wanted to. I’m sorry I upset you.”
Raine looked away, feeling like an ass. “I’m sorry, too. Hormones, you know?” she said, waving at the small bump showing through her too small t-shirt.
“Oh, sure. Blame it on the kid,” Jarret said with a teasing smile. “How’re you doing, by the way? Everything is good I hope.”
“Oh, yeah. We’re doing great,” Raine said, petting her belly lovingly. A thought occurred to her, and she reached inside her purse. “I just went to the doctor this morning.” She handed him the sonogram, hoping the small gesture would help smooth things over.
Jarret studied it, his brows pulling down as he turned it and tipped his head side to side. “Oh, yeah, okay. I see it now.”
By the look on his face, she could tell he didn’t see a thing. Chuckling, she shifted to his side and leaned over his arm. “There he is.” She pointed to the head and limbs proudly. She realized her mistake right away.
“So a boy huh?” Jarret asked, returning the photo. “Camron would love that.”
Raine’s good mood evaporated at the mention of his brother. Tucking the photo back in her purse, she opened her car door and tossed it into the passenger seat. “Look,” she said, her voice hard. “I know he’s your brother, and you probably feel some kind of duty to him, but I’d prefer it if this, today, stayed between you and me. Camron doesn’t want anything to do with this pregnancy, and I’d just as soon not give him any reason to rethink it. He made his choice.”
Jarret’s heavy brows pulled down, crinkling his forehead. “He made his choice? And what if he changes his mind? Do you plan to keep the kid away from his father?”
Raine could sense the deterioration of their conversation moving in quickly and knew she was in for a fight. “I don’t expect you to understand, Jarret. He’s your brother and you don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle, and I can guess what you would say if you did.” The confusion on his face was expected, but Raine had no intention of explaining herself. “He walked away, okay? I don’t owe him anything. Least of all access to my child.”
She moved to get into the car, but Jarret grabbed hold of it, forcing her to remain in place. “That child has a right to know both of his parents. You don’t have the right to keep him from knowing who his father is. If Camron wants to know his kid, you can’t stop him.”
Raine seethed inside. “I have every right!” she shouted into his face. “Damn you, I have every right. You don’t know what he put me through. You don’t know anything.” Her voice broke, and before she started crying, she swatted his hands away and launched herself into the driver’s seat.
***
Jarret stood in disbelief as he watched this girl crumble before him. She could blame it on the hormones, but he knew better. No one broke down like that unless there was something deeper going on.
He watched as she fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking with the force of her sobs. What the hell was going on with this girl? What did she mean, what Camron put her through? Before he could explore his thoughts further, the engine gave a series of clicks as it struggled to turn over.
Even as Raine battered the wheel with her little fists and unleashed a cry of frustration, Jarret could hardly contain the sick sense of satisfaction of the opportunity that presented itself.
Opening the door, Jarret crouched down. He pulled her hands from her face and gripped her chin, urging her to look at him. The sight of her tear-stained cheeks and red, swollen eyes behind a pair of smeared glasses made his chest ache, and he couldn’t resist. He’d never been able to resist a woman’s tears. Grabbing her by the shoulders, Jarret pulled Raine from the seat and into his arms.
He cradled her against his chest, rocking her gently as he whispered reassurances in her ear. “It’s okay, baby. Everything will be okay.” He didn’t know if he could keep that promise, but at least he had a place to start.
Standing, he brought her with him, her thin frame stretching out until she stood on her feet. Small hiccups made her breaths jerk from her chest as she tried to regain control of herself. Placing her glasses on top of her head, Jarret cupped her face in his hands, assessed the damage, and then cleaned the smudges of black liner from beneath her eyes with his thumbs.
Her brown eyes, golden in the mid-afternoon sunlight, held his. “My car broke,” she croaked.
Chuckling, Jarret embraced her in a firm hug, enjoying the feel of her body pressed against him. “It sounds like the starter.”
“Is that bad?” she asked, her face buried in his chest, muffling her voice.
“Nothing I can’t fix.”
Lifting her head, the pained look in her eyes spoke for her. “I don’t have any money to fix it. I had just enough for gas.” Her chin quivered and Jarret pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“You let me worry about that. For now, get what you need out of the car and I’ll take you home.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she put her glasses back on, spun around, and gathered her things. Once she was ready, Jarret took one look at her flushed face, fresh with emotion, and slung an arm around her shoulders. As he led her toward his SUV, he tried his best to ignore the warmth of her skin burning through his clothes, how right it felt to have her at his side.
Falling for his brother’s ex-girlfriend was wrong on so many levels… but what if he did?
Even as the warning bells rang in his head, urging him to keep his distance, Jarret helped her into the passenger side, and when he spotted that soft, alluring smile on her gracefully pouted lips, he knew he wouldn’t listen.
Was he really considering going for it? Damn him to hell and back, he was.
SEVEN
Raine cringed as they pulled up to her apartment complex. Never before had she been embarrassed by where she lived, too relieved to have an actual roof over her head to worry about what it looked like or where it was located. Anything was better than living in a car, which she’d done for far too long. But sitting next to Jarret, knowing the kind of wealth he came from made her see it through fresh eyes.
Dozens of apartments joined together to form a U-shape of decaying white boxes decorated with dingy grass green shutters. The grass itself was sunburned brown, crispy with death, and littered with broken toys. The low thump of heavy bass could be heard through several closed doors, as well as a domestic squabble she’d long grown used to hearing throughout all hours of the day and night.
From his profile, Raine could see Jarret’s eyes narrowed, his jaw set, and his fingers gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white. “You live here?” His voice was low, holding a dangerous edge.
<
br /> Raine dropped her gaze to her lap. Would the embarrassment never end? “It’s what I can afford,” she said meekly.
Making a huffing sound in the back of his throat, he spared her his commentary, but she heard it all the same. He didn’t approve of her living conditions. Hell, now that she was viewing it through his eyes, she didn’t approve either. But what choice did she have? Government housing didn’t exactly come at a premium.
“Thank you for the ride,” Raine told him, reaching for the door handle.
At that moment, the couple who had been fighting erupted from their apartment. A wiry lady with sunken cheekbones and dark, scraggly hair tumbled to her knees as she tripped over her own feet onto the dried lawn. Behind her, a man in similar condition followed, shouting obscenities. Raine watched in horror as the couple tangled together, trading punches and screaming like lunatics.
Jarret was out of the car before she saw him move and was across the yard just as fast. Ripping the man away from the woman was no effort at all—the guy probably weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet. Raine watched nervously as Jarret shook the man, his face mere inches away from his as he yelled at him. This man, Raine thought as she watched Jarret in action, was something to admire. She got the feeling that he was the kind of guy who stuck up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves. He had heart—and it was beautiful.
Raine’s breath sucked in as the woman who’d fallen to the ground moments before leaped to her feet and launched herself onto Jarret’s back. Dropping her boyfriend… husband… whatever he was, Jarret reached over his shoulder and yanked her off him. The woman flung her arms wildly, trying to hit him, and Jarret held her back easily. Until the other guy decided to even the odds.
Raine Page 5
