Angie, solid and rough around the edges, and anywhere from thirty to fifty, started first. “My brother threatens to beat me if I don’t give him money. I always give him what I have in my wallet, so I don’t know if he’ll follow through, but I want to be prepared just in case.”
Unfortunately he’d heard stories similar to Angie’s. “How about you, Rosa?”
“Wow, Angie. That sucks,” said the tall woman who had to be in her late forties. “My mother got mugged when we were in New York last spring. I stood there like a moron not knowing what to do. The bastard got away with Mother’s purse, her cell, credit cards and high blood pressure prescription. I want to be ready if anything like that ever happens again.”
“I’m glad you two didn’t get hurt. You’ll learn some simple skills to defend yourself, but if you’re ever threatened with a weapon, it’s best to back down and not try to ward off the attacker.”
“Grizzly bastard didn’t show us any weapon, but I’m gonna get a license to carry before I’ll go to New York again.”
Jake patiently listened to Denise and Cindy’s story before looking to the beauty to his right. “And what brings you here today, Rachael?”
“I, uh, my sister Lucy wanted me to come. I’m not sure how I feel about being here,” Rachael said quietly, her eyes focused on the floor in the center of their circle.
Not wanting to push, Jake asked, “What do you hope to get out of this course?”
“I’d like to be more…confident. And independent.”
“And I’m assuming your sister is here so she can learn how to take a man down.”
“Something like that.” A smile slipped from Rachael’s full lips and he had the incredible urge to drag her to him and devour her mouth, knowing she’d taste like sweetness and innocence. Again, she elicited warm and cozy feelings in him. And Jake was anything but warm and cozy. It must have been her scent. Sugar and vanilla. No wonder he thought about his mother’s cookies.
He had to be careful with this one. She fit the profile of a victim of abuse and he didn’t need to get tangled in that mess. Jake preferred to keep his sex life separate from his self-defense class. Jake Morgan was six hundred kinds of messed up and the last thing any of these women needed was to get tangled up in his baggage.
It was too personal. Too close to home. And he knew he’d lose his cool and end up in jail again if he learned about the bastards who drove the women to his class. He didn’t ask for their personal stories and he’d never shared his. Save that for the shrinks.
Better to focus on the physical.
And hell if he didn’t want to get physical with sweet and shy Rachael.
***
Rachael
“That was not what I expected.” Lucy sipped her coffee while Rachael picked at her blueberry muffin.
“What were you expecting?”
“I thought we’d get to punch something. Maybe learn the best technique to knee a guy in the balls. Poke some eyeballs. Something like that.” Rachael laughed at her sister’s bluntness. “But for your sake, I’m glad the class had a stoic start. Too much handholding and Kumbaya singing for me. Right up your ally, though. And Jake Morgan. Holy shit. He wants you. Bad.”
“I thought the class was nice. I would have been freaked out if we had to actually hit something today.”
“Instead you got hit on.”
“Do you want a refill?” Rachael stood with her coffee cup.
“You suck at avoidance. I’m the master. Sit. Tell me about Jake.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” But she sat anyway.
“Did he ask you out?”
“No!”
“Will you say yes when he does?”
“He didn’t and he won’t. I’m taking this class to learn how to protect myself, not to hook up.”
“That’s not what you told him, and here I thought you were Miss Honesty.” Lucy stole a piece of Rachael’s muffin and tossed it in her mouth.
“How do you know what I told him?”
“I have ears, girlfriend. Confidence and independence. Sure, I believe you want those things too, but you also want to protect yourself from assholes like Dylan. Why couldn’t you tell Jake that?”
Rachael shrugged, but she knew why. Only weak idiots would let themselves get into a relationship like she had. After her childhood, after everything Doreen and Keith Riley taught her and brought her up to be, she failed. Miserably.
Sipping her coffee to wash the muffin that got stuck in her dry throat, she berated herself once again for being so powerless. No, Rachael Riley was not powerless, but Dylan White had fed her enough lies and abuse over the years that she had believed it, and was only now starting to see the truth.
The real Rachael. The strong Rachael.
“Okay. I get the privacy crap. I value it myself. So I won’t harp on it. I’m a little pissed at your boyfriend, though, for giving us homework. I didn’t know we’d have to read and study for this course.”
Ignoring the boyfriend remark, Rachael picked up the folder of information. She actually appreciated Jake’s approach. He seemed thorough and studious, not what his appearance screamed.
“Lucy. Rachael. You have to see this. Quick,” Mackenzie, the barista and owner of Coast & Roast, called to them. They jumped out of their seats and jogged to the front door. “It’s like Christmas, an all-expense-paid vacation to Hawaii and Magic Mike all rolled into one.”
Rachael peered down the cobblestone sidewalk toward the town center, where three men in low-slung, worn out jeans and tight T-shirts crowded around a pick-up truck unloading trays of flowers and small plants. They were too far away to see if the heads attached to the strong muscles were actually good looking, but it didn’t seem to matter to Mackenzie and Lucy, who sighed in appreciation.
“What’s going on?” Maggie called from behind them. Since becoming engaged to Rachael and Lucy’s brother, Graham, Maggie had become close friends with Rachael. The first friend she’d had since she left California. “Hey, sweetie. How was the class?” she asked, kissing Rachael’s cheek and keeping her eyes on the three men down the road.
“It was okay.”
“The instructor is jonesing for her,” Lucy said, keeping her gaze on the men as well.
“I’m jonesing for them.” Mackenzie gestured at the landscapers down the road.
“Which one?” Maggie laughed.
“Any.”
“All,” Lucy chimed in.
“We’re making spectacles of ourselves. Let’s go back inside.” Rachael turned away from the working men and retreated back to her coffee.
Maggie’s heels clicked on the hardwood floor behind her. “You’re okay? Really?”
“I think so. I’m not going to say Lucy didn’t scare me. She did. I expected us to be karate-chopping at each other right away, but Jake was really sweet and we actually spent most of the class talking to each other. It was kind of therapeutic.”
Maggie reached out and laid her hand on top of Rachael’s. “I’m happy for you. I see this beautiful, fun-spirited woman hiding inside, and I want her to come out. But I don’t want you to rush into anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“That’s exactly what Jake said. When I first saw him I was really scared. He’s…he looks like he’s done time, or is in a motorcycle gang or something. He’s all muscle and tattoos, but he has a very kind smile and—”
“And she’s jonesing for him too,” Lucy interrupted. “He has this sexy tattoo crawling down his neck that wraps around his biceps. You should see the guy’s body. Orgasm on a stick.”
“Lucy, don’t make her feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay, Maggie. I know Lucy is only teasing. You’d be proud. She totally had my back when we had to separate for our group chats.”
Maggie hugged Lucy—who hated hugs—and said, “And whether you want to admit it or not, you have a huge heart beneath this façade of—”
“Bitchiness,” interrupted Mackenzie.
> “Pot. Kettle.” Lucy stuck her tongue out and Rachael and Maggie laughed.
This is what Rachael had missed. What had been taken away from her. Girlfriends. Laughter. Freedom. A dark shadow fell over her eyes but was quickly erased when Mackenzie dropped a pad of paper on the table in front of her.
“Memorial Day weekend is coming up. Tourists will be flocking. Think you can double my muffin and scone order?”
“No problem.”
While Mackenzie made the best brownies and whoopee pies in the world, she couldn’t make anything else and hired Rachael to fill her shop with baked goods. And she kept a pile of catering cards by the front counter. It wasn’t a huge moneymaker, but it gave Rachael the sense of independence she needed.
“I hope you don’t mind, but Maggie told me about your idea for a Kids in the Kitchen class. Sounds cute.” Mackenzie picked up the empty muffin plate and wiped down the table. “When you have a minute, I’d like to toss an idea by you.”
“She has a minute,” Lucy said.
Rachael appreciated her younger sister’s encouragement, even when she tended to stick her nose in everything. Then again, so did Mackenzie.
“Unfortunately, I have plenty of free time on my hands. What’s your idea?”
Maggie checked the time on her phone and stood. “I hate to run, but I need to get back to the office. Rachael, I think you’ll like what Mackenzie has to say.” She leaned down to give Rachael a hug before air kissing her best friend. “See you tonight, Kenz.”
Mackenzie sat in the chair Maggie had vacated and rested her chin in her hands. “So, you like to cook. And bake. And you’re pretty awesome at it.”
“Thank you.”
“And Mags told me you want to start this cooking class thing.”
Rachael nodded. “I’m thinking of starting off by doing birthday parties for kids. The birthday girl or boy can choose from a simple menu and I’ll prepare some of the ingredients ahead of time, but the children will get to prepare and decorate their own food. Pizzas, sandwiches, soups, cupcakes, cookies. And I can offer adult classes as well, maybe for those with special needs, but…I figured I’d start with children.”
“That’s awesome. You just need the space, right?”
She nodded. “It will take a lot of start up money to find a place and buy the equipment. I don’t have much money, and while I enjoy being with my mom, I’m also anxious to have my own place.”
“Follow me.” Mackenzie got up and nodded toward the front counter.
Rachael furrowed her brow and followed obligingly. They rounded the front and wove their way between the two high school students working the counter, and headed into the kitchen. A space Rachael hadn’t been before.
“It’s not huge. I think there’s potential. God knows I’m not using it. Coast & Roast was a diner back in the day. Turned into a deli before becoming a coffee shop. I bought it almost two years ago and haven’t touched a thing back here. It’s not really my forte. I like coffee and chocolate. The rest is foreign to me.”
The kitchen needed some updating, but there were two ovens, a gas stove, and a large refrigerator on one wall. A long stainless steel worktable in the middle of the room where eight to ten children could work around, and a wall of shelves and cabinets on the opposite wall. Two windows balanced out the back wall.
“This door leads to the back parking lot.” Mackenzie opened the door and the cool sea breeze filled the room. “And there’s a small pantry. I have flour, cocoa powder, and sugar in here. This back staircase leads to my apartment. That’s pretty much it.”
“I didn’t know this space existed.”
“It doesn’t get much use. Which is where you come in. Think it will work for your Kids in the Kitchen business?”
“Are you serious?” Rachael’s eyes lit up and she grinned from ear to ear.
“Yeah. I figured you could use the back door as the entrance. Paint it or stick a sign on it or something. That way the little tykes won’t have to tramp through the shop. The moms can linger out front and drink my coffee and tea and eat my brownies while you teach kids to cook. That work for you?”
Rachael’s heart beat frantically as she opened cabinets and ran her hand across the barren shelves. “Of course it does. But…” She didn’t have much in her savings. A few thousand she had hoped to use as her first month’s rent if she could find an apartment. And a job.
“Of course I’ll need something in return.” Mackenzie hopped up on the stainless steel workspace and swung her feet. “You can bake my muffins and scones and pastries back here and use the space for your classes, but I’ll want a discount on the baked goods.”
Rachael snorted. “Discount?”
“Yeah, you know, kinda bartering for the rent space. I give you this space and you give me a deal.”
“Mackenzie. Are you serious?” Rachael’s jaw dropped and her heart sped up even more.
“I’m not asking you to give away your baked stuff. We can come up with a reasonable percentage, right?”
“Percentage? This space is worth so much more than a few muffins and eclairs. I’m willing to pay for the space.”
“Eclairs? You never mentioned those before. Add those to the Memorial weekend list. What other sugary secrets do you have?” Mackenzie hopped down and closed the back door.
“Wait. You’re serious? You’re going to let me use this space and still pay me for baking for you?”
Mackenzie shrugged. “It’s just sitting here. No one’s using it. Seems like a waste. I figure your business will draw in more business for me as well. It’s a win-win. I’m not giving anything away and neither are you. Deal?” She stuck out her hand and Rachael looked down at it, mystified.
Tears pooled in her eyes. Her dreams were really coming true. Rachael nodded and grabbed on to Mackenzie’s hand.
“Awe, screw the handshake. You’re practically family.” Mackenzie pulled Rachael in for a hug and patted her back. A few months ago Rachael would have retreated, afraid of the intimacy and close contact, but sessions and friendship with Maggie had helped ease her back to the land of the living. “Mags is like a sister to me, and you’re about to be her sister-in-law, which makes us…”
“Sisters-in-law once removed?”
“Works for me. You’re cool with this?”
Rachael nodded eagerly and wiped her tears. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ve been thinking about this dream for months, trying to figure out how to make it a reality. You’re like…my fairy godmother.”
“Only so much younger and way cuter.”
“Absolutely.”
Chapter Two
Jake
Jake didn’t normally slap on aftershave when going to the gym, but since Rachael would be there clad in spandex and one of her cute T-shirts, he couldn’t resist. Because his Thursday morning class was so large, he asked Erin to help today. It would be the class’s first day with contact and he knew some of them would have a hard time with it. Having another trainer on hand was pivotal, especially a woman.
His years with Julia had helped soften him, teaching him that every situation was unique. He needed to trust his instincts to act and react in the best way for each student. After pulling on his shirt, he pushed open the locker room door and headed to the back of the gym. It took every ounce of willpower not to seek out Rachael. Instead, he jogged to the front of the mats and greeted his class with one of his favorite motivational quotes.
“The goal isn’t to beat your opponent; you simply need to refuse to be beaten.” He waited a moment for it to sink in, then turned on his morning charm. “Good morning. I hope you did your homework.” He skimmed over everyone’s head, doing a count, forcing his eyes to move quickly past the familiar blonde ponytail. “Last week we focused on awareness and today we’re going to work on the psychological preparation. This will help reduce inhibitions in a way that improves the fighting spirit. Hopefully you’ll never have to get physical, but if you do, you need to be mentally prepared as
well.”
“Will we be getting physical with you today?” Lucy asked.
Muffled snickers and giggles echoed through the space. Jake shifted his attention to his left and bit back a laugh. “You read about the fighting strategies. Knowledge is power. Today we’ll work on Rear Attack.” The usual hecklers, the college girls and Lucy, erupted. He ignored them and moved on. “From my experience working in this field, most attacks happen from behind. Today you’ll fight against a padded attacker. The most important thing you can do is be vocal and loud. I want to hear that today. I’ll show you some quick, simple moves before you partner up.” He showed them how to take their feet and strike the knee area. “Anyone want to come up here and try it on me?”
Of course Lucy volunteered; she made a good student. She wasn’t timid and he didn’t feel like he had to walk on eggshells around her.
“What do you do if you’re being choked?” asked Kelly, a young brunette who had been pretty quiet.
“You want to immediately grab up on the forearm here.” He moved Lucy behind him and motioned for her to simulate choking him. “And keep him from choking you and closing off your airway. Then turn your body so it’s perpendicular to your assailant.” Lucy followed along as he demonstrated the moves on her. He looked in her eyes and saw humor, not fear, so he continued. “From here you will grab onto your assailant’s forearms with a firm grip and drop to your knees. By dropping to your knees, he loses his balance and you end up pulling his arm forward. At this point, you can escape.”
Lucy dramatically fell to the mat and the class chuckled. “Can we try that again, but this time you’re the bad guy?”
“Absolutely.” He and Lucy went through the routine a few times before he asked the class to practice with their partners. “And I’d like to introduce Erin. She’s a trained black belt and will help you with your form as well.”
Strawberry Kisses (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 2) Page 2
