The Hookup

by Kristen Ashley

  Johnny felt his insides growing deathly still.

  “Your dad is wealthy?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “Your dad is wealthy.” He said it as a statement that time.

  “We had a huge house when we were young. That was the only time, until we grew up and moved out, Addie and I had our own rooms. Sometimes we only had a one bedroom place and Mom slept on the couch.”

  He couldn’t process that last part.

  Not right then.

  He had to stay on target.

  “Your dad’s got money.” He was growling now.

  “Y-yes,” she stammered, suddenly standing rock solid and staring at him, not like he’d grown two heads, but was a rattler about to strike.

  And he was.

  He did this taking two strides to her, tearing the plate out of her hand and hurling it underarm into his sink where it exploded, pieces of crockery, strips of bacon and bits of egg flying.

  Ranger, who had been sitting beside Izzy while she ate, got to his feet, backed up two steps and barked.

  “Johnny,” she whispered.

  He spun back to her.

  “You had plastic sandals,” he ground out.

  “Sorry?” she asked quietly.

  “In those photos in your stable. You with your mom. You were wearing cheap plastic sandals.”

  She shook her head. “I . . . I don’t remember.”

  “You were,” he confirmed.

  “Okay,” she said conciliatorily.

  “He was fucking rich and you had cheap plastic sandals?” he demanded to know.

  “We . . . we were better off without him.”

  There was a translation to that and Johnny translated it.

  “She couldn’t go for child support because if she did, he’d fuck with her,” he declared.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Try to take you or at least get time with you just to screw with her, not that he cared dick about you, since he proved that being absent from your life and not even being a big enough man to send her some cash. And she couldn’t let that happen,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “He ever hurt you?” he asked.

  “No, Johnny. No. Not me. Not Addie. Just Mom,” she assured him.

  “But she was worried it’d come to that.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe. We didn’t talk much about him. We just—”

  “Kept on keeping on,” he clipped, finishing for her.

  “Yes,” she said softly.

  “And now you got an issue with me having money,” he stated.

  “It’s . . . I’ll admit, it’s a shock.”

  “You looked ready to bolt, Iz.”

  “My, well . . . Kent is also . . . he’s, well—”

  Her creepy ex Kent was rich too.

  “Jesus, shit,” he hissed.

  “They’re not you,” she told him hurriedly. “I should have put it together. You know, that you were, um . . . comfortable. With all that’s been happening I didn’t put it together so it was just a shock.”

  He saw the fear in her eyes and he bit out, “I’d never hurt you, Eliza.”

  “You threw a plate in the sink,” she said quietly.

  “Because a man makes two beautiful daughters, he works until he fucking bleeds to make sure they don’t have to wear cheap plastic sandals. And if he can’t make that happen, he’s still there to clean their scraped knees, take pictures of them when they go to prom and walk them down the aisle to their future husband. But even when that happens, he doesn’t let them go. He never lets them go. You and your mother and your sister have eaten shit all your life because first, he’s an asshole abuser and second, he didn’t sort his shit out when you took off on him. He let you go.”

  “Yes,” she agreed, the uncertain light in her eyes changing to something else entirely.

  Johnny couldn’t process that either.

  “And you’ve been making do ever since.”

  She made no reply.

  She didn’t have to.

  He’d made the decision two days ago this shit ended.

  Now he’d let her in on that.

  “Your sister is gonna take the damn money from me, Eliza,” he informed her. “And like I told you, she’s gonna move into one of my properties when a tenant moves out. They’re nice places. The tenants don’t go often. But she’s not ready for that yet. Though when one goes, she’s got a home, she’s safe, her son is safe, and you aren’t gonna tell her I’m discounting the rent.”

  That light in her eyes had fully changed to that something else entirely.

  But still, she replied, “It’d be me that wouldn’t want you in a bind with that, Johnny, and I’d know.”

  “I own them outright, Iz, so anything I make off them works.”

  “We’ll talk to her tonight,” she said quickly, probably just to appease him.

  He was glad she was in to do that.

  But he didn’t feel very appeased.

  “You should find him,” he replied.

  Her brows went up. “Who? Dad?”

  He didn’t answer that question.

  He announced, “You should find him. You should walk up to his house in that dress and knock on the door, and when he answers, you should tell him who you are. And you should tell him since he wasn’t around to take pictures of you when you went to the prom, he isn’t walking you down the aisle. He isn’t seeing his grandchildren. He’s gonna die knowing the woman who gave him his daughters and the precious babies he made lived their lives happier without him in them.”

  “Johnny, honey, it was a long time ago and we were happier without him,” she soothed.

  “Did you get what happened when I was inside you last night?”

  She stared up at him.

  “Did you get it, Izzy?” he pushed.

  “I think so,” she whispered.

  “That’s the guy I am. Yours. Simple. That’s it. And you’re mine. Mine, Iz. And we take care of each other. And we look after those in our hearts and lives. So the Forrester Girls Club has a new member, baby. And he’s got a dick.”

  The tension in her shoulders ebbed, her lips twitched but she asked, “Can I request no future throwing of plates?”

  “You can but I can’t guarantee that won’t happen because I figure I got a lot more to learn about your dad and Kent, so anything’s game.”

  “Then can I request that if you learn some of this at my house you don’t throw any of my plates?”

  “Do you own a single plate you bought new?” he demanded to know.

  She suddenly looked confused. “I . . . actually I don’t know.”

  “Guess,” he pushed.

  “Probably not,” she said.

  “So no, I can’t promise that either. What I can promise is if I hear more about the shit you’ve eaten and plates go flying, I’ll replace them with the finest china that can be had.”

  That was when her face got soft.

  “I don’t need fine china, Johnny.”

  “Then you’ll get whatever you want and it’ll be goddamned new,” he returned.

  She ignored him and said, “I just need a guy who’s mine who cares enough about me to get angry enough to throw plates.”

  Christ, she was so damned sweet, he wanted to fuck her all the time.

  “Baby,” he growled. “How much trouble will you get in if you’re late to work?”

  Pink hit her cheeks and she answered, “I’m never late.”

  “Right, then grab your purse and let’s roll.”

  “We need to clean—”

  “Spätzchen, we’re rolling.”

  Her brows knit. “You shouldn’t leave that egg—”

  “Eliza,” he bit out.

  Her expression changed.

  “You want me to be open with you?” she asked tartly.

  “Yup. And right now you got about five seconds to do that.”

  “You can be extremely annoyin
g when you’re being pushy. And you calling me ‘Eliza’ when I annoy you further annoys me.”

  “Noted,” he replied. “Now get your purse.”

  She rolled her eyes before she announced, “I need a travel mug of coffee.”

  “I’ll get the mug, you get your purse.”

  She pointed at the island, which was two feet away from where she was standing. “My purse is right there.”

  Johnny looked to the ceiling. “Oh for fuck’s sake.”

  She strutted on those freaking heels to the coffeepot, stating, “If we have children and you curse like that in front of them, it’ll be me throwing plates.”

  He ignored that since they were having children and he wouldn’t curse like that in front of them (at least not the girls, the boys, when they reached a certain age . . . ) and she already knew that (probably).

  Instead, he asked, “Your bag in the bathroom?”

  “Yes,” she answered, grabbing a travel mug.

  “It packed or you leaving it?”

  “It’s packed. But I have to repack it tonight so I need to take it.”

  “Stock up tonight, spätzchen.”

  “Roger that, Ghostrider,” she returned wryly as she splashed cream into the mug.

  Yeah.

  He wanted to fuck her all the time.

  Johnny managed not to tackle her at the coffeepot and he and Ranger went to get her bag.

  Then he and Ranger walked her and her purse and her travel mug to her car.

  He dumped the bag in her back seat.

  That done, he allowed himself some time to make out with her, hot and heavy at her car door.

  Then he and Ranger loaded up in his truck and followed her down the lane from the mill.

  “I’m staying.”

  Suffice it to say Johnny was thrilled his brother was making this statement.

  However, the instant he did, that afternoon after he’d found out Izzy’s dad was not just an epic dick, but an asshole of massive proportions, while they stood in the lone bay of the first Gamble Garage (this the only one having one bay, the others had at least two, some of them four), he thought of Toby sitting at Izzy’s outdoor table looking up at Izzy’s bedroom window.

  So he did not share he was thrilled.

  He felt his brows draw together and he asked, “Why?”

  Toby shrugged.

  Shit.

  “Tobe—”

  “I might not be settling in. I don’t know my plans. I just know I’m staying for a while.”

  “You got trouble somewhere?” Johnny asked.

  “Nope,” Toby answered, and Johnny watched him closely as he did.

  When he saw his brother wasn’t lying, he asked, “Feel like consoling a not-so-suddenly single mom after her husband proved how big of a dipshit he is?”

  Toby’s face changed, a nuance, a nuance only their dad, Margot and Johnny could catch, and he replied, “Nope.”

  Now that was a lie.

  “Hands off, brother,” Johnny declared.

  It was then Toby got pissed. “I’m not going there,” he clipped. “Christ, what kind of ass do you think I am?”

  “I don’t think you’re an ass. I think you’re a player and the way you play has nothing to do with me. Unless it’s Addie.”

  “She’s pretty.”

  “She’s off limits.”

  “I’m just saying she’s pretty.”

  “I know she’s pretty. And I’m just saying she’s off limits.”

  “I’m not gonna go there, Johnny,” he repeated.

  “I know you aren’t.”

  “I wanna get to know Izzy better because I’m thinking that’s the right call about now with where you two seem to be. And with where you two seem to be, I’ll also need to be getting to know her sister, and I don’t need you breathing down my neck or treating me like I’m a complete dick who’s gonna make a play on a woman who collapsed in my arms because her man is a total tool.”

  “If that’s it then great, awesome, I’m thrilled you’re gonna stick around,” Johnny said truthfully.

  “You know, the time I needed an older brother ended about a decade ago,” Toby shared.

  “Tobe, you need to get over that because I’m gonna be your older brother until the day I die, and that’s just the way it is.”

  “Terrific,” Toby muttered, turning his head to stare at the car Johnny had up on a lift.

  “You got plans while you’re in Matlock or are you gonna fish and charm women and drive Margot insane because you seem entirely immune to having a healthy relationship?”

  Toby looked back to him. “I wanna work with you here, at the garage.”

  Johnny stood solid and stared.

  Toby was good with an engine. He wasn’t better than Johnny because Johnny had always been a gearhead like their father and grandfather.

  Toby could get stuck in and do great work.

  Then Toby could get distracted and take off.

  Johnny didn’t care. He was used to it and his brother was an adult. He got his checks from the garages. He did his thing. He didn’t get into trouble anymore (much). It was his life to live and it wasn’t Johnny’s place to get involved in it.

  Except giving him stick and keeping him away from Addie.

  But he’d love having his brother home, working beside him, like the old days.

  Like before Dad died.

  “You wanna be here, I want you here,” Johnny told him. “Long as you want, forever or a week, I don’t care. But I don’t have to say that. It’s yours the same as mine.”

  “That may be true on paper but it isn’t true in practice, and I’ve been thinking that isn’t right.”

  Johnny again stared.

  A healthy relationship with a woman was not Toby’s thing.

  Responsibility wasn’t either.

  “I need to do my part,” Toby stated. “I don’t wanna be managing any mini-marts. But I can change a belt and switch out plugs.”

  “Then start when you wanna start,” Johnny replied. “But if you’re here, I manage this bay, brother. You wanna take over your own garage, we gotta work you up to that, and by that I mean, you get one when we lose a man who’s managing one. We got great crews in all the garages. That changes, you slide in. But I’ve laid claim to this one, so it’s mine.”

  “I don’t wanna manage anything. I just wanna be rooted for a while.”

  “Outside of thinking you’re not pitching in when you don’t gotta pitch in, anything else bring this on?” Johnny asked.

  “Grams is dead. Gramps is dead. Dad’s dead. And Margot and Dave aren’t gonna be here forever. I’ve seen a lot. Done a lot. Learned a lot. And the biggest thing I learned was that the only place I feel right is in Matlock.”

  “Then it’s really a welcome home,” Johnny said quietly.

  “Yeah,” Toby replied.

  “I’ll talk to Iz about a good night for you to come over for dinner so you can spend more time with her,” Johnny offered.

  Toby grinned. “That’d be great.”

  They stared at each other for long beats.

  Johnny ended it, saying, “Dad would be glad.”

  Toby kept hold on his gaze.

  Then he replied, “Yeah.”

  “Sure,” Addie said.

  It was after dinner at Izzy’s. They were in her living room, a place Johnny wanted to get out of as soon as possible considering spending time with all the white furniture, flower covered pillows and lampshades and the flipping bird cage with a pink roof on her white coffee table was making him concerned he’d actually be able to father a child in the future.

  He’d just got shot down for paying the attorney straight up.

  So he’d pitched the loan.

  And that was Addie’s response.

  Johnny looked from her to Izzy, who was staring at her sister like she’d morphed into someone else, and back to Addie.

  “Great,” he replied. “Give your attorney’s bills to me. I’ll cover t
hem. We’ll keep track. This is done, we’ll sort out a payment plan.”

  “Done,” Addie agreed, giving him a big grin.

  “Are you all right?” Izzy asked Addie.

  Addie’s grin faded and she looked to her sister. “Yeah. Why?”

  “You don’t have a fever?” Izzy inquired.

  Johnny chuckled.

  “Put a sock in it,” Addie ordered.

  “No, really,” Izzy said. “Are you sure you wanna do this?”

  Addie looked to him. “You gonna screw over my sister?”

  “Nope,” Johnny answered.

  Her gaze returned to Iz. “Then sure, I’m sure.” She got up from her place in Iz’s slouchy white loveseat, moved to Johnny, dropped Brooks in his lap, Brooks ignored the beard and yanked on his ear and Addie strolled toward the kitchen, asking, “Anyone want leftover cake?”

  “Yeah,” Johnny called after her.

  “Iz?” she prompted.

  “Okay,” Izzy said.

  Brooks grunted as he pulled himself up to Johnny’s shoulder.

  Johnny spotted him with his hands as he crawled behind Johnny’s neck.

  The kid hit his other shoulder, threw himself over and slid down Johnny’s chest into his lap and giggled.

  Johnny then lifted him up, swung him around and planted him on his shoulders, his pudgy legs dangling on either side of Johnny’s neck.

  He held on to his upper arms.

  Brooks tugged his hair.

  “If we’d have stayed with him, I wouldn’t have met you.”

  Johnny’s attention cut to Izzy to see her face soft, her eyes on her nephew, but he had a feeling that softness wasn’t just for Brooks.

  “What, baby?”

  She dropped her gaze to his. “If he’d gotten it together. If he’d fought for us. If he’d made us stay close, I wouldn’t have met you.”

  “That’s sweet, Iz,” he said quietly. “But that doesn’t erase—”

  While he spoke, her eyes darted up and then back down before she cut him off.

  “Go through it all again if it led me to you.”

  He felt his chest start to burn.

  Brooks tried to hurl himself over Johnny’s head.

  So he flipped Brooks over and planted his behind in Johnny’s lap.