“Enough Daylin. I am not staying at your house, not matter how much you try to convince me. Besides, I am admittedly stubborn as hell. If you don’t shut up about me living with you, maybe I will leave Welton.”
He gave her a pout. “C’mon Jess, I was just teasing. Let’s look at this shithole. At least this place is better than Lucy’s apartment building. Now that place is a dump.”
Jess followed him to a door marked office. There was an older woman behind the desk. She looked up when they entered.
“Hello. How can I help you?”
“Do you have any apartments for rent?”
The woman nodded. “It’s a little small for two though.”
“It’s just me. Do you have a lease period? I’m not sure how long I’m planning on being here.”
Daylin made another face at her, but she ignored him. The woman laughed. “No lease honey. Month to month. Rent is $500. We pay the electricity and you pay us. Deposit is equal to the rent. No dogs. You want a cat, that’s a $250 deposit.”
“Okay. Can we take a look?”
“Sure.” The woman pulled out a key ring. They followed her out of the office after she’d put a sign up on the door that said ‘back in five minutes.’
The apartment was on the first floor in the corner. It was small and dusty, but Jess had lived in worse. Daylin was making all kinds of faces behind her back, but she figured that once it was furnished it would suit her just fine until she could figure out her destination after Welton now that she knew what had happened to her father. She held back a sigh as she thought of her father.
“I’ll take it,” she said to the woman.
“Great. There’s an application back in the office. Nothing complicated, just need to have your information on file. Just make sure your rent’s paid on time and try to give us some notice when you get ready to leave.”
“Sure.”
Jess and Daylin followed the woman back to the office. Jess filled out the application and then had to go out to her car to get her money, which she kept in a lock box in her trunk. Daylin made a face at her.
“Why do you have that much cash on hand? Have you never heard of a checking account?”
“Come on Daylin, it’s not like with what’s gone on in the banking industry lately that I’m the only person in the world without a bank account.”
“Yeah I guess so. I just want you to be safe Jess. It doesn’t seem safe for a woman as beautiful as you to be carrying around so much cash.”
“I’ve been perfectly safe for six years Daylin. Nothing has changed now.”
Daylin pressed her against the side of the car. “Hasn’t it?”
He gave her a kiss that left her wanting more, but she wasn’t going to admit that to him. She pulled away and shook her head at him. “The only thing that has changed in my life is that my search for my father ended in a way I didn’t want it to.”
“You’re cold woman. Admit that you want me half as much as I want you and I’ll be happy.”
Jess rolled her eyes. “I want you Daylin, but that’s just my body telling me that it enjoys sex after not having it for seven years and doing it with somebody who actually knows what they’re doing.”
“Very cold. It’s not wrong to care Jess.”
“I’m not having this discussion with you Daylin.”
She turned and stalked to the office, wondering if it was even a good idea to pay to move into the apartment. She wasn’t sure how long she was going to be able to stand being around Daylin without cracking, without admitting just how much she wanted him.
When she returned from taking care of business in the office, Daylin was leaning against his car, a sour expression on his face. She felt a little bad, so she crossed to him and gave him a quick kiss. He seemed to soften a little.
“Do you know where the cemetery is?”
“Sure. Oh, is your dad buried here?”
“Yeah. Can we go there please?”
Daylin squeezed her hand. “Sure babe. Follow me.”
He gave her a kiss and then released her after a brief hug. She didn’t like to admit to herself how right it felt to be in his arms. She didn’t want to take the comfort he was offering either, though she felt she desperately needed it at the moment.
The drive to the cemetery was short. Jess took a deep breath and let it out after she’d gotten out of the car. Daylin pulled her into his arms and held her. She pulled away from him a minute later, not really wanting to but knowing that it was better for both of them. They wandered the well-tended rows, checking out the names on the stones. She had to remind herself that she was looking for Craig Sheffield and not Forrest Brewster. She wished she'd brought flowers.
They found him after about five minutes. For Jess it was all too soon. The stone was a pretty polished marble. When she looked at her father's birth date she realized she'd never known that her father had been five years older than her mother. Ned was actually a few years younger than her mother. Two, maybe three. She could never remember, and didn't really care.
Her eyes blurred with tears as she looked at her father's final resting place. "Oh Daddy." She felt Daylin's arms tighten around her. "I'm so sorry. I should have tried harder to find you. Why didn't Mom tell me?"
Then she was sobbing and Daylin was murmuring softly in her ear “It's okay baby."
"No it's not." She wiped her eyes. "My mother should have told me. What right did she have to keep him from me?"
"Honey, I’m sure she's sorry. I'm sure she would have done things differently if she would have known. A lot of things."
She shook her head. "She loves Ned and they've got two kids now. I can't tell her what he did. It's not fair to her."
"She should know Jess."
"Like I should have known that my father didn't leave me because he didn't love me right?"
"We all make mistakes love. Believe me, I know."
"Let's go Daylin."
She turned back to the gravestone. "I love you Daddy. Wherever you are."
He took her hand and led her back towards the cars. She pushed the button on her remote to unlock her door. He insisted on opening it for her.
“So where to now babe? Do you want me to help you find furniture for that dump you insisted on moving into?”
Jess sighed. “It’s not that bad Daylin. And there is no way I am moving in with you when I just met you. That is so not a good idea.”
“It could be if you let it be. I can change for you Jess. I already feel like we could have something special together if you’d just let us. Take a chance Jess. You won’t regret it.”
She shook her head at him. “We’ll take it as it comes Daylin, but I’m not going to rush into anything when I have no idea how long I’m going to be here. Is there a thrift store or something where I can buy furniture? And is there anywhere around here where I could get a job? Somewhere it won’t be too big of a deal if I end up leaving in a couple months?”
“How many times are you going to break my heart Jess? Please don’t talk about leaving like it’s inevitable. It doesn’t have to be.”
She gave him what felt like a weak smile. “Sure Daylin. You know where I can buy furniture right? Can we get out of here?”
“Yeah. I’ll buy you brand new furniture.”
“No. Used is just fine for me.”
He made another face at her but nodded. “There’s a thrift store. We are going to buy you a cell phone though. You need some way to stay in touch.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. Let’s go.”
He tried to kiss her again, but she pushed him away. “Later.”
He grinned and winked at her before he went back to his car. She followed him to the thrift store and was lucky enough to find a bed that was in good condition, and a loveseat, and picked up a small table for the kitchen, a coffee table and a small bookshelf. Daylin wanted to buy her a TV, but she refused, saying she'd never turn it on.
The furniture wouldn't be delivered until the next day whic
h Daylin didn't like, but she had a backup plan in her trunk, an air mattress that was pretty comfortable and had gotten her through many a night waiting for furniture.
They stopped at a discount store where Daylin insisted on buying her the fanciest prepaid cell phone he could find because she refused to get one with any kind of contract. She broke down and bought an inexpensive laptop and a prepaid broadband modem but wouldn't let Daylin pay for it.
While they were waiting for the guy that worked in the electronics section to get her laptop out of the back because the display model was all they had out front, she caught Daylin looking at jewelry.
"Don't even think about it," she said.
"I have to have some kind of claim to you don't I?"
"That sounded very Neanderthal Daylin. I'm not going to know what to do with one man in my life, let alone more than one."
"Okay." She could see he was trying not to look pleased.
When everything was rang up and they were back outside in the parking lot Daylin said, trying to look nonchalant "Do you think you'd mind some company tonight?"
"Don't you have to work in the morning?"
He grinned. "I told them I'm working from home today and tomorrow. My boss doesn't mind. I've made him a hell of a lot of money in the last four years."
"Well. I wouldn't mind if you cooked me dinner."
"Oh. Shit. I guess it would be helpful if we bought you some groceries huh?"
"Yeah, I suppose so."
They could see the grocery store from where they were.
Daylin took forever in the grocery store, buying things that she never bought because she rarely made real meals and didn't eat breakfast. The total came to over three hundred dollars. He didn't blink. She sighed as she let him pay. That was more than she normally spent on groceries in a month.
When they got back to the apartment, it was near dark. He insisted on making several trips out to the car instead of letting her carry anything he considered too heavy for her. She couldn't imagine what he would be like if by some miracle she ever let him talk her into having his child.
He made them a dinner of pork chops, potatoes and corn, laughing at her mismatched pots and pans.
They ate sitting on the living room floor. He told her that he couldn't imagine living without a TV set.
She laughed and told him that she couldn't imagine living with one.
He relented and let her do the dishes, setting up her stereo system so they'd have some noise.
They made love on the living room floor, the soft scent of jazz playing in the background.
When it had gotten late, he said "Are you sure that thing will hold both of us?" He made a face at her air mattress.
"It's fine Daylin. People sleep on these things all the time. I've had this thing for a couple years now. It's pretty comfortable. More comfortable than some of the real beds I've had."
"If you say so.” When they had both lay down and she was in what had become her favorite position, curled up against him with her head tucked underneath his chin he said "I could get used to this."
"I told you it was comfortable.”
"I wasn't talking about the bed.”
"Yeah." She let it go at that. Unfortunately for her, so could she.
Chapter 6
Her sleep was uneasy that night. She had dreams that she couldn't remember, only that she knew weren't good. She tossed and turned so much that she was afraid she was going to wake Daylin up.
But he was still up before her. She could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen and hear the sizzle of bacon cooking.
"Morning sleepy head," he said, giving her a grin after she had used the restroom and wandered out to the living room.
"Morning." She lit a cigarette.
"You smoke too much.”
"Yeah, I suppose I do.”
"So why don't you quit?"
"I don't want to. It comforts me."
"Comforts you that you're going to give yourself lung cancer? Have you not heard the wonderful nicknames that your little friends there have? Coffin nails, cancer sticks?"
"I like the smell. It keeps me calm."
"You're addicted. I like the smell too. Well, not the smell in the air, in your clothes, in your hair, but while they're burning. You shouldn't make excuses Jess. It's your health you're putting on the line."
"I know that. I can read the warnings they make them put on the packs."
"And that doesn't disturb you one bit?"
He came out to the living room and put a plate in front of her that had a huge pile of scrambled eggs, several slices of bacon and toast piled on it.
"I never said cigarettes were healthy. But there are so many products that aren't one bit healthy that aren't labeled the way that cigarettes are. I have to have something Daylin."
He made a face. "Your something is going to put you into an early grave, make you look older than you are. It can even make it harder to get pregnant."
She snorted. "Who the hell said I planned on getting pregnant anytime soon Daylin?"
He sighed. "Nobody, but it's something to think about."
"Lucy got pregnant didn't she?"
"Yeah, yeah. Eat your breakfast."
"What you put on my plate is easily enough for two people. I hardly ever eat breakfast."
"Eat it.”
"Yes Dad.”
"Easy woman, maybe I like to be called Daddy."
"Daylin you are totally and completely disgusting."
He grinned. "You liked it last night. And the night before, and the night before that."
She scowled at him. "Don't remind me."
"I'll show you after you eat your breakfast.”
"No thanks.”
But the very thought made her heart beat fast.
"No thanks?” He'd finished half of the food on his plate which had been piled even higher than hers was. "You wound me Jess."
"A man's ego is a very dangerous thing Daylin. Especially one as hot as you."
"Now I'm hot." He reached out and brushed her hair gently back from her face. "You really do drive me crazy you know.”
"I know.”
He drove her crazier than she wanted to admit too and in more ways than one.
They were silent as they finished eating, both lost in their thoughts. She wondered what he was thinking, and then figured she probably didn't want to know. She finished all of the food on her plate to please Daylin though she was so stuffed she thought that she probably wouldn't need to eat lunch.
He took the plates back to the kitchen and said "So when did they say they'd be delivering your furniture?"
"Around ten I think. Why?"
"I think we can find a way to occupy the time until they get here." He took her hand and led her back to the bedroom.
They had made love, showered and were dressed and sitting on the living room floor playing around with her laptop when there was a knock at the door.
Daylin jumped up and said "I'll get it."
She gave him an amused smile, checking out his butt as he headed to the door. A butt like that could cause a woman to go out of her mind Jess thought. He didn't even need tight jeans. Just his movements were enough. He was definitely starting to make her feel more than a little crazy.
A tall, muscular man stood at the door. "Just wanted to make sure you were home," he said. "We got your furniture. The guys will start bringing it."
"Can I help?" Daylin said.
"Nah," the guy said. "Thanks though."
Soon she had furniture and the apartment was already starting to feel more livable. Even Daylin admitted it didn't look half bad when it was finished.
They sat down on the couch. His arm was around her shoulder, her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
"You sure you won't let me buy you a TV?"
"I don't need one. Besides, anything I want to watch I can watch on the computer."
"Yeah, I guess.” He sighed.
"What?"
"I have to leave you soon babe and I don't want to. Will you let me call you sometime? I don’t want to pressure you into something that you don’t think you’re ready for, but I really like you Jess. I really feel like we could have something.”
“Maybe we can go out Daylin. I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel like a good idea to rush into something.”
“We don’t have to rush. We can take it slow.”
“Yeah right Daylin. How slow can we take things when we’ve already had sex?”
Daylin grinned. “Well, I’ll stop bugging you about moving in with me.”
“Ha ha.”
"I will. I promise. If you decide to look for a job, let me know. I might be able to get you one.”
She sighed. “I’m not going to work for you Daylin. Though I might look for a job. I won’t know what to do with myself without one.”
Daylin winked at her. “I could think of plenty of things to occupy your time.”
Jess shook her head at him. “I’m sure you could. Thanks but no thanks Daylin.”
He kissed her slow and easy, leaving her breathless when he pulled away. He sighed. "I guess I'd better get going. Walk me to my car will you?" He took her hand and squeezed it, looking dejected.
She followed him to the door, shutting it behind them. "You're not going to lock it?"
"I'm just going right outside Daylin.” For someone that had grown up and lived in a small town, he didn't seem very trusting she thought.
"How much cash do you have Jess?"
"You probably don't want to know Daylin." Even with buying the computer and paying the rent and the deposit she still had almost ten grand in cash.
He made a face. "You're probably right about that. Didn't you ever worry that someone would think you were a hooker or a drug dealer with all that cash?"
"Nice Daylin.”
"I didn’t mean it like that and you know it. You're putting yourself at risk almost as much as you are with your smoking having so much cash on hand."
“Sure Daylin.”
“If you need anything call me. I put my number in your phone and I put my e-mail address in your computer so there's no way for you to say that you don't have a way to get a hold of me. Don’t try to forget me Jess. I won’t call you until you call me, but I do expect to hear from you soon." He gave her a cocky grin.
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