Just Practicing (Hearts for Ransom Book 2)

by Georgia Evans

  She looked at him, her eyes troubled. “I’m not sure if that’s what I want, Bo. I mean…”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not a flippin’ yoyo. Either we sleep together like a real husband and wife, or we go on with our act in front of everybody else and be friends behind closed doors. That’s just the way it is.” Bo was blunt.

  Jan’s gaze went past him. “I guess I’ll have to go with the second option, then.”

  “Fine.” He tried to smile, but failed miserably. “We’re good friends. But we need to get past this and be in love for Seth and your mom by the time this plane lands. Can you do that?”

  She slowly nodded. “I’ll do anything for Seth. You know that.”

  “You bet I do,” he muttered under his breath.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Nothing. I was just talking to myself.” This time his grin was real. “I bet Seth will be full of stories since he got to go to World of Wonders with the guys yesterday.”

  “I’m sorry you had to miss that. It’s nice that all twelve of the boys and their big brothers could get together again. How long is Kaleb visiting his aunt?”

  “Just a few more days.” Bo had gotten his information when he called Logan from the airport in Canada. He needed to talk to somebody since he was getting the silent treatment from Jan.

  “Maybe we can work it out so Seth can spend some more time with him while he’s here,” she suggested.

  “I’ll see what I can do. Maybe his aunt will let him come to practice tomorrow night.” At least their conversation seemed normal—like old times.

  “That’s a good idea.” Worry creased her brows. “Are you ready to go back to work tomorrow?”

  “Sure. Are you?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She smiled at him. “Back to dodging Leonard’s hands and making sure Mildred doesn’t bop somebody with her cane.”

  “She was the one who was about to do that at our reception?”

  “I didn’t see her, but if she realized Gertrude was there, she probably went after her. Lance is about the only person who can talk her out of her angry spells when she remembers Gertrude broke her arm.”

  “Wait a minute,” Bo said. “You’ve got women breakin’ each other’s arms?”

  Jan laughed and explained what happened between the two women.

  “I guess your job never gets boring,” he observed, chuckling at her story.

  “Far from it.” She looked lost in thought. “I know I’m not supposed to have a favorite, but Raymond is so sweet. Ornery, but sweet. He cheats at pinochle so bad. He tells his partner which cards he needs passed to him in the most outrageous ways.”

  “Like how?” he asked.

  “He might say something like he borrowed a spade from his neighbor, and he felt like a king when he used it.”

  “Oh, so he needs the king of spades.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Don’t the other guys get mad at him?” Bo found himself interested in Jan’s job.

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure whether Samuel and Albert know if he’s cheating, or they just don’t care. And Leonard, my bottom pincher, is always Raymond’s partner in crime.”

  Bo chuckled. “You’ve got yourself a lively bunch.”

  “First and second shifts take turns escorting the residents out into the community each week. Lance and I take all seven of them out every other week. Raymond is a lot of fun when we go.”

  “Does he try to start card games?”

  “No. He’s a very friendly man. He’s had a conversations with a mannequin more than once. And heaven help the person who’s foolish enough to ask how he is. They’ll hear about his gallstones and ingrown toenail—any ailment he’s ever suffered from.” She smiled softly.

  “And your bottom pincher? How is he when you’re in public?”

  “Probably like you’d expect. One time there was a male mannequin bent over with one leg propped on a shelf. Leonard decided its backside was fair goosing territory.” Her eyes twinkled with amusement. “The only problem was, when he goosed the mannequin, it jumped up and turned around. His name tag read ‘manager’. I’ve never seen Lance move so fast in my life, and he’s usually on his toes pretty quickly with Mildred.”

  Bo had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. “How did Lance react when he found out we were getting married? Does he know the truth?”

  Jan looked guilty. “I didn’t tell him the truth, but he knows me, Bo. We’ve spent at least forty hours a week together for almost two years. I doubt if I fooled him.”

  “Will he still…want to be with you?”

  “When?” she asked. “Now, or after our marriage ends in five years?”

  “Either, I guess.” He really didn’t like to hear any references to their marriage ending before it had barely begun.

  “He won’t go after a married woman, no matter what, and I’m sure he’ll have found someone during the next five years.” She looked thoughtful. “He’s a good man.”

  Bo had that feeling in his stomach again, and he didn’t like it. “If we hadn’t gotten married, would you have married him to keep Seth?”

  She didn’t make eye contact with him. “It’s a moot point, isn’t it? We’re married.”

  He didn’t like her answer at all. And he wasn’t completely sure why.

  “My best friend, Ace, really likes to go to clubs,” Raymond told Leonard, who smiled conspiratorially at his card playing partner.

  “I had a club once,” Albert commented. “I used to hit little white balls into holes. I think I called it pool.”

  “Clubs are for swinging, and pools are for swimming,” Samuel solemnly told him.

  “Dr. Phil has been on ninety-seven times already, and there’s only been nine commercials!” Mildred was telling a dozing Claudia.

  Gertrude was sitting by the window, smiling and crocheting the pretty pink sweater for Jan’s baby girl.

  They had all been having such a good morning that Lance insisted Jan take her lunch while they were eating, and she had just gotten back in time to help get them situated in the rec room.

  “How’s everything going?” Lance asked as he returned from his break.

  “They’re all busy,” she told him. “Dr. Phil is nearly at the one-hundred mark. Claudia’s impressed. Can you tell?”

  Lance looked over at the two women and chuckled.

  “That’s good, Jan, but I meant how’s everything going for you—your married life?”

  “I couldn’t be happier.” She forced a bright smile. The truth of the matter was they had fallen into a daily routine she imagined was rote for couples who had been married for several years, but for some reason wasn’t satisfying her. Something was missing, and she knew what it was. They should never have had sex. It was like they opened something, and now it couldn’t be closed anymore.

  “Are you trying to convince me you’re happy, or are you trying to talk yourself into believing it?”

  “I’m married to a wonderful man, and we have the best son anybody could ask for. We live in a brand new house in the country with a backyard big enough that Bo and Seth have set up a ball diamond to practice on. What more could I want?”

  “Love,” Lance suggested.

  “Who says Bo and I aren’t in love?” she demanded.

  Lance sadly shook his head. “I’ve known you too long, Jan. It’s not even just that you’re not in love. You’re not making each other happy like a husband and wife should.”

  She’d heard enough. “My love life is none of your business.”

  “I wish it was,” he told her. “I wish it was.”

  “It’s not.” Maybe she needed to talk to the man whose business it was.

  “So, how’s married life?” Mason asked Bo between hammering shingles.

  “Fine.” Bo was never going to discuss any part of his marriage with Mason.

  Mason looked at Bo, a speculative gleam in his eyes. “You don’t look like a man who’s gettin’ a
ny.”

  “Shut up, Wright.” Bo pounded a little too hard. He yanked up the ruined shingle and grabbed another one to replace it.

  “Frustrated, are we?” Mason was in prime form and didn’t know when to shut up. “Why don’t you come with me tonight? We’ll go to Trimble’s and get you some action.”

  “I mean it, Mason,” Bo warned. “Shut your mouth.”

  “You might be foolin’ all these other guys, but I know the only reason you married Jan was so you two could keep Seth.” Bo was about ready to wipe the smug look off his “friend’s” face. “Just come with me and get some tail. Jan won’t know the difference, and probably wouldn’t care if she did.”

  Bo put his hammer in his belt and slid over to the ladder. “You bite,” he told Mason before climbing to the ground.

  As he backed off the ladder, he glanced back up at Mason, ready to tell him where to go. Only Mason didn’t look right. There was an expression on his face Bo had never seen before. If Wright hadn’t already made him so mad, he might just feel inclined to make sure he was okay. As it was, if he went back up there, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep from slugging him. He felt his temper flare again.

  Bo stomped down the path to the site manager’s trailer and walked on into Logan’s office.

  “I need to work with somebody besides Wright,” he told Logan.

  Logan looked up from the plans he was working on. “What’s the problem?”

  “The man doesn’t know when to shut his mouth. That’s what the problem is,” Bo said, disgust in every word. “He’s out there, tryin’ to get me to go to Trimble’s with him tonight to get a piece of action. It doesn’t faze him at all that I’m a married man.”

  “Why don’t you have a seat and cool off for a few minutes?” Logan asked in a calm voice.

  Bo plopped onto the chair in front of Logan’s desk. “I know what Jan and I have isn’t a normal marriage, but I took those vows, Logan, and I aim to keep them as long as she’s my wife. I’m not gonna screw around on the side. That would be disrespectful to her.”

  Logan looked at him curiously. “Did something happen between you two?”

  He needed to talk, and if there was anybody Bo could trust, the man in front of him was the right person.

  “We slept together in Niagara Falls—once,” Bo admitted. “It was…it was the best I’ve ever had…in my whole flippin’ life! Then she tells me it only happened ‘cause we were up there. When we got home we couldn’t be together anymore. We had to go back to our real lives where we’re only married so we can keep Seth.”

  “Wow.” Logan spoke softly. “I take it you’re not happy with this arrangement.”

  “No, I’m not happy!” Bo pulled his hard hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. “She and I share a bedroom. I sleep on a cot every night while she’s a few feet away from me on…our bed. I don’t understand why we can’t… satisfy each other, Logan. She enjoyed what happened between us every bit as much as I did.”

  Logan was shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure you’re telling this to the wrong person. Have you laid it all on the line like this for Jan?”

  “No.” Bo had never felt like the time was right.

  “Leave Seth with Patsy and take Jan out. Tell her how you feel. You two owe it to yourselves to give this a shot. You have Seth in common, and you’re obviously compatible. You never know what might come out of being married.” Logan looked solemnly at Bo.

  Bo mulled Logan’s words over. “I’ll call Patsy this evening and make arrangements for tomorrow night. We never have plans for Saturday evenings. Maybe I’ll even seduce my wife.”

  Logan grinned at him. “Good.” He gestured toward Bo’s hat. “Before you do that, get your hind end out there and help Coop with the siding. Mason can sit his sorry Trimble’s lovin’ butt on the roof by himself for the rest of the day.” Evidently, Logan hadn’t quite forgiven Mason for trying to get him to cheat on Emily any more than she had.

  “Thanks for the advice.” Bo put his hat on and walked out of the trailer, a much more relaxed man. He had a plan.

  Jan heard Bo’s truck pull into the driveway, and butterflies took flight in her stomach. She needed to calm down. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her plans for the evening.

  She nervously straightened her hair as she listened to Bo kicking off his work boots in the mud room.

  “Something smells good,” he said as he walked into the kitchen.

  Showtime. “I fixed you a T-bone and a couple of baked potatoes. Dinner will be ready when you get out of the shower.”

  Bo looked around the room, his eyes clouded with confusion. “It’s awful quiet. Is Seth out back on the diamond?”

  She shook her head. “He’s spending the night with Mom. They’re going bowling.”

  “Bowling? Your mom?” Bo’s brows raised even higher. “Won’t she ruin her nails?”

  “I don’t think she worries about her nails when it comes to having fun with her grandson.” She looked at the clock. “If you don’t want a leather steak, you’d better get in the shower.”

  “Are you dressed up for something? Should I wear something special?”

  It wouldn’t matter what he wore if her plans worked out. “No. I’m just wearing one of the outfits I bought at Rivets. You’ve probably never seen it before. Now get.”

  He grinned and saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.” He turned and walked into their bedroom, and she heard the shower in their bathroom start a few minutes later.

  Jan went into the dining room and surveyed the table. Bo didn’t like fancy things, so she had used their everyday dishes and regular silverware. The only oddity he might notice was the bottle of wine sitting beside his place setting. She had an explanation ready.

  True to her word, she was just taking the potatoes out of the oven when a freshly showered and shaved Bo walked into the room.

  “I’ll be right back,” she told him. “I just have to run out on the deck and take up the steaks.”

  When she returned with them a few moments later, Bo was sitting on his chair, looking curiously at the wine.

  “Special occasion I don’t know about?”

  She shook her head and stuck to her story. “I just thought it would be nice to have wine with our steaks since Seth is gone for the evening. It’s nice to have something besides iced tea or soda for a change, don’t you think?”

  He readily agreed, a hint of confusion remaining in his eyes.

  They were soon enjoying dinner.

  “Samuel did something different at work today.” Bo seemed to enjoy hearing about the residents of Mercy House.

  “Samuel—he’s the one who takes everything literally, right?” Bo was already smiling.

  Jan nodded. “That’s him.” She scooted forward a little, moving just a hair closer to Bo. “We were planning on taking all of them outside for a walk as soon as Lance returned from his break this afternoon, so I thought I’d have them all lined up and ready to go.” She had explained how they usually walked single file when they went anywhere. It seemed to be the easiest for the residents. “I started with Samuel. I took him over to the side and told him to stand right there until I came back for him. Then I went around to gather the rest of them. When I got back over to Samuel, I asked him to walk to the place where we always start our line. He told me no.”

  “He wouldn’t move?”

  “Not an inch.” She grinned, remembering the old man’s stubborn stance. “He informed me ‘the nice nurse’ had told him to stand right there until she came back for him, and he wasn’t going anywhere with me. He didn’t remember it was me who told him that. Even when Lance got back, Samuel refused to budge. I actually had to go to another department and ask one of the other nurses to tell him it was okay to go.”

  “So, I take it he listened to her,” Bo commented.

  Jan shook her head. “He told her the same thing he told me.” She giggled. “But then I stepped around Lance, and he saw me. ‘There she is!�
�� he hollered. So then when I told him it was time to go, he went right over to the line.”

  Bo chuckled. “Guess he listened to you at least.”

  “Maybe a little too well.” She took a sip of wine. “I’ll be careful when I give him instructions from now on, believe me.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” he observed.

  “How was your day?” she asked. He didn’t look as tired as he had all week.

  He had a strange look on his face for a moment. “Pretty good. I worked on siding with Coop. Nice change from roofing.”

  “You must be good at what you do,” she said.

  “At work or on the diamond?” A teasing light was in his eyes.

  “Everywhere.” She felt herself blush as she realized what she’d said, but she didn’t try to take back her words.

  They chatted about their jobs while they finished eating.

  “Bo, would you mind putting the dishes in the dishwasher? I have something I need to do real quick.” Stage two of her plan.

  He gave her another strange look. “I don’t mind. Dinner was delicious.” He grinned. “Anything for dessert?”

  “Maybe in a while.”

  “Okay.”

  She left him carrying their empty plates to the kitchen while she rushed into the bedroom. Once there, she fixed the bed, then opened the closet and found what she was looking for. After she put it on, she looked at herself in the mirror. Did she have the courage to go through with this? She’d soon find out.

  She was standing in the doorway between the dining room and living room when Bo came back out of the kitchen.

  “Will this do for dessert?” Her voice was shaking.

  He looked at her and froze. Jan was wearing the black see-through negligee Sammi had given her. That was all she was wearing.

  “Oh, yeah.” He was in front of her in seconds, and swept her up in his arms. “I’d rather have this for dessert than anything else in the world.”

  He carried her into the bedroom, where she had left the bedcovers pulled back. His mouth was on hers as he gently laid her on the bed. Then he pulled away.