Jacked - The Complete Series Box Set (A Lumberjack Neighbor Romance)

by Claire Adams

  “I'm all right. You?”

  “Yeah, all good. Here's the filter,” I said, holding it up. “Now, let's get this into your motor, and that old Ford will be running like new again in no time. Well, perhaps not totally like new, but close enough, huh?”

  “Thank you so much,” she said. “Really, I appreciate this.”

  I got my tools, went around to the front of her car, and she popped the hood for me. Eryn came over to watch me as I worked. Above the gasoline and oil smell of the engine, I could smell the scent of her perfume, and it was immensely arousing. I found it hard to concentrate on the task with her so close to me, looking over my shoulder, her long, chestnut hair unbound and brushing against my arm.

  Still, it was an easy enough job, and I was done pretty quickly.

  “All right, it's in. Let's crank that motor and see how she runs. Also, do you mind if I take it around the block a few times? That way I can check if there's anything else here that needs fixing.”

  “You'd do that?”

  “Sure.”

  “All right, let's go,” she said, climbing into the passenger seat as she handed me the keys.

  I started the car, and the motor fired right up. That was a good sign.

  “Hey, you've got a USB music player in here,” I said as I saw the car's stereo. “A little bit of modern technology in this thing, huh?”

  “It was a birthday gift,” she replied. “Turn it on if you want.”

  “All right,” I replied, turning it on as I pulled out onto the road.

  I was very surprised when a Nirvana song started playing.

  “Nirvana? No way, you listen to this?”

  “I like a lot of classic rock.”

  I couldn't help but chuckle. “This is 'classic rock,' huh?”

  “Well, it is like 25 years old, right?”

  I nodded and sighed. “Yeah, true. I remember hearing this on the radio when it came out back when I was in elementary school and thinking it was about the coolest music I'd ever heard. Man, that makes me feel a bit old, to be honest.”

  “You're only, uh, 32, though, right?”

  “Yeah, 33 later this year.”

  “You totally don't look it,” she blurted out abruptly. “I mean, if I were to guess, not knowing your age, I wouldn't put you a day older than 25.”

  Suddenly, she blushed; I didn't think she had meant to be as open with her compliment. Still, I couldn't help but flash her a smile in response.

  “Thank you, Eryn. I may not play pro anymore, but I still train hard every day and eat clean. I’m guessing you do, as well, right?”

  “Yes,” she replied, somewhat uneasily. It appeared she regretted complimenting me, and was now feeling a bit uncomfortable about it. I decided to switch the conversation topic back to music.

  “So, do you like any other 'classic rock' from the ‘90s?” I asked. “Man, I sure do miss those days, being a kid in the ‘90s.”

  “I wish I had grown up then. Things changed after the ‘90s, growing up with Facebook, social media, and YouTube really isn’t all it’s been made out to be. But yeah, I like plenty of classic stuff from the ‘90s. I mean, rock was just so… I dunno, fresh and passionate then, right? Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, The Pixies, Soundgarden, Green Day…”

  I couldn't help but flash her a massive grin. “Damn, Eryn, you know all that stuff?!”

  She returned the smile, seeming happier to chat about this than compliments.

  “Yeah, totally! It's one advantage of living in this age – I can just go on YouTube and find music from pretty much any era, and I also get more recommendations and discover other great stuff from Spotify.”

  “Yeah, I guess I would have loved to have had access to stuff like that when I was growing up. For me, it was the radio and MTV. Back in the days when MTV, ya know, played more music than reality shows and other crap like that.”

  “Ah, that must have been nice.”

  “It was! I feel like music videos were a lot more creative then – in addition to the music being more diverse and interesting, too. I mean, no offense to the kids today, but the stuff that's out there…sheesh, it just seems like they're not really trying very hard.”

  “I totally agree. I'm kinda ashamed of the sort of stuff that my generation is putting out. It's all really just shallow and materialistic.”

  I was about to comment on how I knew all about shallow and materialistic garbage from my days in Los Angeles, but didn't really want to bring that up, so I held my tongue. By now, though, we'd come back to Eryn's apartment block, so I pulled the car over and switched the motor off.

  “Well, this old girl seems to be all right overall,” I said, patting the dashboard, “but when I was looking at the motor earlier, I did notice a few things that probably don't have too much life left in them. If you want, I can pick you up a few more parts and install them for you.”

  Eryn looked kind of embarrassed when I said this, and a blush reddened her cheeks. “Well, that's very generous of you, but I don't think I can, um, really afford to do much more maintenance now. I’m sure you remember that college students are usually broke,” she laughed.

  “It's fine! I'll buy the stuff.”

  She looked shocked. “But it's just not right; I can't ask you to do that. Not for free. I mean, it’s a big drain on your time, even aside from the money question.”

  “I told you, I have an interest in fixing cars. I enjoy tinkering with motors. And besides, I wouldn't want one of my players to miss a game because her car broke down somewhere.”

  She blushed again, and I couldn't deny she was damned cute when she was embarrassed.

  “Well, I mean, if it really, really isn't any trouble,” she said hesitantly.

  “Trust me, it's not.”

  “All right. Thank you so much for your help this morning, Wade,” she said. “I honestly don't know what I would do without this little car. It may not be much, but it makes my life a lot easier.”

  “No problem,” I assured her.

  I didn't want to press the issue of the further maintenance or appear overeager to see her – even though I was – so I simply said a quick farewell, got into my SUV, and drove off. It felt good to have been able to help her – and to be able to get to know her a bit more. I had been pleasantly surprised to discover that she was way more than just a pretty face and a talented volleyball player. And, I was genuinely pleased to know she and I shared a taste in music. It felt like the age gap wasn’t so great.

  It was there, though. There was well over a decade between us, and it was foolish of me to be thinking like this. I found her incredibly attractive, that much was true. And now that I was learning more about her, the attraction was growing far more intense than it had been over just her looks.

  But the fact remained that not only was there this age difference, but I was her coach, as well. Two fences stood between us, not just one, and it would not be good to continue to think like this. As hard as it was, I needed to try to get her off my mind.

  It was still early in the day and I figured it might be good to get out of town for a while just to clear my head. I took out my phone and gave John a call.

  “Hey, buddy,” I said when he picked up. “You wanna take a drive down to St. George Island, chill on that white sand beach for the afternoon?”

  “Sounds like a plan!” he replied enthusiastically.

  “You wanna leave in say, 40 minutes or so?”

  “I'll be ready, man. See you then.”

  I drove over to a coffee shop and got myself a coffee and a sandwich while I waited for John to get ready. After that, I picked him up, and we drove for around two hours, laughing and reminiscing about our college days and listening to lots of good tunes.

  We got to the beach around one in the afternoon. It was just what I needed to get my mind off things. We set up our chairs and beach umbrella on the sand and prepared to relax.

  After a while, some college-aged kids arrived and set up a volleyball net
some distance down the beach. From the looks of it, most of them were girls and were dressed in skimpy bikinis.

  “Well, well, well,” John said, “have a look at what just arrived! What do you say we go down there and show 'em a thing or two about volleyball, huh? I mean, I'm not a pro like you, but I can still throw down.”

  “Nah, man, let 'em have their game. I'm in the mood to just relax.”

  “I don't just wanna go there for the game, Wade,” John grinned. “I can't see ‘em too close, but it looks like there are some serious hotties there!”

  “Yeah, man, and they're like 12 years younger than you. Let's just chill here.”

  John looked disappointed, but agreed. We sat and sipped our drinks and chatted for a while, but then the wind started picking up. One of the volleyball girls served far too hard, and the ball sailed over their heads and started bounding along the beach, the wind carrying it toward us. Another of the girls sprinted after it, but because of the wind, it just kept on going, seeming to accelerate faster and faster.

  If I didn't stop it, it would probably be blown off into the ocean. Reluctantly, I got up and ran out to intercept the ball. As I saw the girl running towards me, I couldn't help but stare. She was wearing the tiniest, skimpiest bikini I'd ever seen – it only covered a few square inches of skin, leaving almost nothing to the imagination, and she had one seriously killer body. As she came closer, I looked up and saw her face, and my eyes widened with surprise as I recognized her.

  “Hi, Wade!” she exclaimed. “What a cool surprise, running into you out here! And, I hope you don't mind me saying so, but good God, you look hot without your shirt on.”

  “Uh…hi, Tammy.”

  Chapter Seven

  Eryn

  I stared at the car keys lying on my dresser.

  I still couldn't quite believe it. After all this time struggling with my car, Coach Vinson — I mean, Wade — had fixed it with pretty much just one part! And yeah, he had told me that it was going to need a bit more work to get it running perfectly, but he didn’t know how stressed I’d been about the car for months. I couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sense of relief.

  Not to mention, that one act of kindness changed the way I saw Wade Vinson. I mean, yes, I still had my suspicions about him. How could I not, considering his reputation and my past experiences with guys like him? After all, good-looking men — especially when they had power, status, and fame — so often acted like total dogs.

  Take my ex, Tim, for example. Now it wasn't as if Tim had had power, status, or fame on his side, but he sure wished he did. What he did have going for him was a really great set of genes, and he had used his good looks to charm the pants off…well, God knows how many women.

  The whole thing was not only sad, but a little disappointing, not only because I'd been cheated on, but also because it was proof that women, as a whole, were just as shallow as we always accused guys of being. They fell for Tim solely because of his looks. Just like they swooned over Wade Vinson.

  And now, I guessed I was feeling a bit guilty about painting Wade with the same brush. It was tough to shake some of the suspicions I had about the type of guy Wade really was, but I couldn't honestly say whether or not it was my gut telling me that or if it was merely the trauma of my old scars. The heart has a way of protecting itself to keep from getting broken again.

  I did, however, need to try to be a bit more rational in my jumping to conclusions. Wade had helped me out of the kindness of his heart, seemingly without any expectations of getting anything in return. While I'd felt some tension between us — the good kind — and a little something in the way he looked at me, he certainly hadn't tried to make any moves or suggest spending any time together outside of volleyball practice.

  I had to admit, he really had been doing a great job as coach so far. He was focused and professional. It was a hell of a lot more than I could say for our former coach.

  I checked the time. Almost noon. I had 15 minutes to get my ass dressed and to Nino's Restaurant where I waitressed part-time. I quickly shimmied into my uniform and said a quick goodbye to Leena, who was chilling and watching Netflix. I imagined she'd be doing just that all day, as she didn't need a part-time job. She got a pretty decent monthly allowance from her parents.

  It was only a 10-minute drive from our place. When I arrived, however, I was surprised to find the parking lot empty and the place closed. What was going on here? I got my phone out and called my manager, Phil.

  “Hello?” he answered in his annoying, nasal voice.

  “Hi Phil, it's Eryn.”

  “Uh, yeah? What's up?”

  “Um, I arrived for my shift and the place is closed. What’s going on?”

  “Oh no, you didn't get my text?”

  “Nope. Everything okay?” I asked.

  “Last night there was an electrical short in the kitchen. There was a fire and most of the kitchen burned down! The place is gonna be closed for at least a week, maybe more while they clean up and get someone to repair and install new kitchen equipment. I'm real sorry. I could've sworn I'd messaged everyone this morning.”

  “Oh, man, okay. Well, at least nobody got hurt in the fire. Let me know when the place is gonna open up again, okay?”

  “I will. Absolutely. Have a good weekend, kiddo.”

  “Thanks, Phil. Bye.”

  I hung up the call and immediately felt my stress headache trying to creep in. Just when I'd thought things were going better, another problem popped up. So I now had the scholarship issue hanging over my head and I was going to be out of work for at least a week, possibly longer. I really needed this job to pay the bills.

  I knew that in a situation like this, Leena could cover my half of the rent – her parents were loaded and handed out cash to her like it was nothing – but I really didn't want to do that. I didn't like being in debt to anyone, and I preferred to stand on my own two feet without having to ask others for help.

  Still, what choice did I have? It wasn't as if there was anything I could do to make the restaurant reopen any faster.

  I sat in my car for a while, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel as I thought about everything. Well, I may as well make use of this free Saturday, I thought – it wasn't exactly as if I got many of these. I took out my phone and called up Leena.

  “Hey, Eryn, what's up?”

  “Hey, Lee. Guess what. Nino's is closed.”

  “What? Why?”

  “It seems the kitchen burned down last night. Electrical short or something like that.”

  “Oh no! That's crazy!”

  “Yeah. Anyway, it means that I don't have to work today.”

  “All right.”

  “So do you wanna get out of the house, go do something fun? And, obviously, when I say fun, I mean cheap fun, ya know. Outdoorsy stuff. Nothing that's gonna cost me anything because I am temporarily unemployed.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. Hmm, well it's a beautiful sunny day. How about we go work on our tans somewhere?”

  “That sounds like a great idea. Got anywhere in mind?”

  “The beach would be fantastic, don’t ya think?”

  “Good thinking, Lee. Which one?”

  “St. George Island is so chill and gorgeous, and that white sand is really calling out to me at the moment. What do you think? I know it's a bit of a drive, but we'll take my car, and I'll pay for gas.”

  “Ahhh, Lee, come on, you gotta at least let me chip in for gas if you're driving.”

  “No way. Seriously, Eryn, you know my dad gives me like a full tank of gas every week. I've hardly driven anywhere this month. It's his company's money, anyhow, so look at this way – if we don't go, I'm throwing all that free gas away!”

  I chuckled. “All right, all right. I'll be back there in five. Get your bikini and some sunblock ready!”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m already changing.”

  I cut off the call and smiled. Despite the worry about the temporary loss of work, I wa
s going to enjoy my day off. I didn’t get too many days to just chill out and hang with my friends. I put the car into gear and drove off, thinking about the white sand and gentle blue waves of St. George Island.

  *****

  A few hours later, we arrived at the main beach on St. George Island. The drive itself had been fun, with lots of laughing and joking and plenty of good music. Granted, we had to agree to an equal split because our tastes in music were pretty different. While I liked the older stuff, especially music from the ‘90s, she was all about the latest, chart-topping hits. We both liked a bit of each other's music, though, so it worked out.

  The beach itself was as beautiful and tranquil as I’d remembered. There was a group of people our age playing beach volleyball, and some other people sitting and chilling, with a few swimming in the water.

  “Do you think we should go join the people playing volleyball?” Leena asked.

  I loved volleyball, but I trained so hard and practiced so much that I needed a break from it.

  “Nah, not right now,” I replied. “Let's just relax for a while. Besides, maybe they don't want any extra players.”

  “Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, come on, let's pick a spot and set our towels down.”

  We found an open area to claim. I stared out at the waves rolling in. It was a calm day, perfect for swimming.

  “You know what? I think I'm gonna take a dip,” I announced. “You wanna join me?”

  “Not right now,” Leena replied. “I think I'll just soak up some sun for a while.”

  “Okay.”

  “Watch out for sharks,” she joked as I started toward the water.

  I turned back over my shoulder and smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

  I was already plotting my swim path down toward the small pier about a half a mile away when I noticed the people in the water — two guys and two girls. As I started getting closer to them, I noticed that the features of the two girls were pretty familiar. Actually, they were really familiar.

  When I was close enough to make out who it was, I couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise. It was Tammy, Kelly, and…Wade?