by Anne Conley
Before Jason could reply, a pounding at the door grabbed his attention. Groaning with exhaustion, he opened it to Les, who looked like he was ready to fight bears.
“Hey man, now really isn’t—” Les’ fist hitting his eye socket interrupted him, and he went to his knees immediately. “What the fuck, man?” His hand went to his eye as he stood, glaring at Les, who still fumed.
“You have no idea who you’re messing with here, asshole. Renae is one of the nicest, most generous women I know. She’s been through hell already, and she doesn’t deserve to have someone like you come along and treat her like trash.” Les was breathing heavily, fists clenched, ready to throw another punch.
Aw shit. Renae… Images of her sitting at the restaurant, alone, flooded him with guilt. Jason held up a hand, weakly. “I was arrested. Don’t hit me again.” He gestured to the couch and grabbed a chair from the kitchen. “I forgot all about Renae…” Now he felt like double shit. On a stick. Dipped in liquid shit. Left in the sun to dry. He looked at Les, who sat on the edge of the couch, ready to hit him again. Glancing over at Jodie, he saw the mischievous glint in his eyes that said he was enjoying this immensely. Looking back at Les, he asked, “Is she mad?”
“No, she’s not mad, you asshole. She’s telling herself she deserved it. Which pisses me off.” Les growled the words. Jason knew Les had a thing for Renae, but as far as he could tell, it was unrequited, which probably was why this pissed him off so much. Les probably saw himself as the type of guy who would never do that to a woman. Well, so did Jason. Although the idea that she was thinking she deserved it sat in his belly alongside the jail oatmeal he’d eaten this morning like a boulder.
“Jason was arrested for beating the snot out of the guy who was supposed to be taking care of our dad but was instead high in the kitchen while dad was stuck in a bathtub full of freezing water.” Jodie stood and leaned forward, hand extended. “I’m Jodie, by the way, Jason’s brother.” Sitting again, he continued. “I should say, while that was entertaining as hell, I’m sure thoughts of Renae and their date were eclipsed by the whole jail thing.”
“You’re the lawyer?” Les asked, visibly relaxing, eyeing the suit Jodie still wore.
Jodie nodded.
“Is Joe all right?”
Jodie nodded again. “Yeah, he’s tired, and sleeping right now.”
Les looked back at Jason, chagrin written all over his face. “I’m sorry, man. I’m glad you kicked his ass, and I’m sorry you spent the night in jail. But you gotta call Renae and explain what happened. She really thinks that you did this on purpose and she deserved it.” He gritted out the last part, and Jason saw how much Les cared for Renae, which added to the shitty feeling in his gut.
Jason ran his hands through his hair with frustration. He’d wanted last night to be amazing. He’d wanted to romance her, make her feel special, open up to him. She’d barely said yes. Now he had to start over.
“I’ll call her. I need to go to the shop and shower.” He looked to Jodie. “What were you saying about the storefront?”
“Ah shit.” Les muttered. “I’ll clean it up. I’m sorry, I was a little drunk last night.”
Jodie turned on his lawyer voice. “That’s vandalism. Hefty fines if we decide to press charges.”
“I’ll go right now and clean it up. You won’t even see it if you give me an hour or so, man.”
As Les stood, Jason asked, “What is this, fucking high school?”
Les shrugged. “Renae’s special.” He left without another word.
Jason and Jodie watched him leave, and Jason finally managed, “It’s not saying much, but that’s the only friend I’ve made in this stinking town.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
Jodie spread his hands in a gesture of supplication. “Well, Elaine and the girls are coming up to stay at my hotel room this weekend. I’ve rearranged my schedule for the week, found somebody to cover my court appearances. You’ve got me the entire week. Use me where you see fit, I’m at your disposal.”
Tears of gratitude stung Jason’s eyes as he looked over at his brother. He didn’t want to admit to how overwhelmed he’d felt trying to get the shop back in order with his dad going nuts. Now that his dad wasn’t totally nuts, just being abused by someone Jason himself had hired, the guilt on top of the stress was about to break him.
“Stay here with dad while I go home and shower and change? I’ll bring the updated financials back with me along with my laptop so you can see what all I’ve done with the shop. Later, I’ll take you by to see it.”
“Sounds good.” Jodie reclined the chair he was in and closed his eyes.
Jason felt a sense of relief flood through him. First he needed a shower, and then he’d call Renae. He wasn’t sure if he even had time for this thing with her, but he didn’t want to think last night was her fault. Hopefully, he could explain. If not, he’d try again to get her out of his mind.
Chapter 16
After being so out of breath after her sprint at Jessie’s farm, Renae made an appointment at the closest gym on Monday with a personal trainer. She figured she needed a personal workout consultation so she could know what to do when she worked out to get in better shape. She had no idea where to begin. So she was getting help. If she hit it off with the trainer, she would get a membership and start working out. That would keep her in good shape throughout her pregnancy as well as give her something to do with herself. At least until she had the baby. Then she was sure she would have plenty to do.
She made the appointment for after work and went straight there from the bank. She’d been anticipating the blip in her schedule and had a change of clothes in her van to work out in. When she got there, the lady at the front desk told her where to change and instructed her to wait for her trainer, Sabrina.
At the name Sabrina, a chill swept up Renae’s back. Surely it wasn’t the same Sabrina. What would the odds be? Of course, in a town the size of Serendipity, they ran into each other from time to time, but if the Sabrina was her personal trainer, she would have to find another trainer. Or gym.
Renae had changed into her gym shorts, sports bra and tank top, and was tying her shoes in the weight room when a familiar voice poured across her skin.
“Why don’t you ever return my calls? I’ve been trying to reach you all day.” Of course. Jason was standing right behind her. He’d called her a lot today, as well as Les, for some reason. And she’d ignored all of the calls. She didn’t feel like reliving her inadequacies as a woman any more.
Renae turned and shrugged. “I didn’t see the point. If you’re not going to show up for a date, why should I call you back?” It was petty, him standing her up because she’d left after that night, even if she did deserve it. If that was the kind of father he would be, she didn’t really want to involve him anyway. She felt bad about her snap judgment but not too badly. She really needed her comfort level to be in a better place before she talked to Jason. She knew it was wrong on so many levels, but she couldn’t just tell him. Certainly not here, and she wasn’t going to agree to go out with him again. She’d managed to put herself through enough drama for now.
“Look…Something came up. With Dad. I’ll explain to you, I promise.” He looked around the room, his eyes falling pointedly on some of the other people working out, before turning his crystalline gaze back to Renae. She noticed one of them was blackened but refused to succumb to his gaze again. So she looked down.
Mistake.
Seeing more of his skin in his workout clothes only reminded her of seeing his spectacular form in all its glory.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do this. I’ll call you later though. We need to talk about something.” Face hot, she turned to leave, and bumped into Sabrina.
Of course.
It was the Sabrina.
“Hey, Renae. I saw that we’ll be working together, and I’m really excited about helping you become a new you.” Her perky voice didn’t hold an
y of the shame Renae thought it should, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Sabrina even remembered what happened. Didn’t she feel uncomfortable with this situation?
Memories flooded Renae, pushing memories of the night of Jason to the side knotting in her stomach. Memories of the car after the crash, the light pole falling on the driver’s side, the passenger side left intact, where Sabrina could just stumble out, every bit as drunk as Cody had been. Where Kelly’s father had been killed instantly, his mistress had survived. And she stood right in front of Renae, eager to become her personal trainer. With Renae’s current… whatever… standing right behind her.
Renae was in hell.
“I’ve got to go. Sabrina, this isn’t going to happen.” She all but ran to the locker room for her things. When she came out, Jason was waiting.
“Hey. I’m not done.”
“I am. I’ll call you.” Renae swiped at the tears of frustration at what her life had become before bolting out the front door to her van.
Chapter 17
Jason had left her alone. He’d seen her at the gym on Monday when Jodie had told him to do something for himself and take a break from the shop and dad. So he’d gone to try and get his head on straight with the weight machines. It hadn’t worked because after he’d been rebuffed by Renae again, he’d only obsessed about her.
He’d gotten his mind off the shop and his dad, but he couldn’t get her out of his head. He’d told himself he wasn’t going to grovel at her feet, begging for another date, but he wanted to explain about standing her up. She didn’t deserve to think it had been her fault. That’s what she told Les anyway, but to him, she’d said she hadn’t called him back because he hadn’t shown up, like it was retribution or something. He figured if he looked at it from her point of view, he did deserve it. But if she would only let him explain…
It was Thursday. Jodie had put his seal of approval on the changes Jason had made to the shop, telling him it was going to be more profitable, and their dad would love it when he was okay enough to go in. Joe only had two more weeks in the boot before his next doctor’s appointment, and in the meanwhile, Jodie had put himself in charge of finding another caretaker for him. Jason was relieved to not have to deal with the responsibility, and Jodie was having a hard time finding someone to meet their suddenly stringent criteria. Jason felt a little justification in his own initial choice, but the guilt was still there.
Jason was behind the counter on his knees, trying to sort a shipment of FedEx packaging that had come in, beating himself up over obsessing about Renae, when the scent of cinnamon filled his nostrils.
“God dammit. Get out of my head,” he muttered to himself. When he wasn’t thinking about his dad and his stupid mistakes, he was thinking about Renae. And her unwillingness to talk to him.
“What?” Her voice answered him. He rose to his feet instantly and saw her. He watched as her face paled and realization dawned before she turned to leave, but he vaulted the counter to beat her to the door.
Making a human barrier she would have to cross to get to the door, he asked breathlessly, “You didn’t remember I run the place now?” Vaulting countertops was a lot easier to do when he was twenty-two.
“No. I’ve been…distracted.” She was looking at anything but him, her eyes dancing around the shop.
“Don’t leave. Let me take care of that.” He grabbed the box out of her hands and hefted it, carrying it back to the counter. “I get it. You don’t want to go out with me, but don’t make me lose your business.” He grabbed the packing tape from its new place behind the counter. “Where we shipping to?”
“Nacogdoches,” she said softly, looking at her hands twisting on the counter in front of her.
“Any hazardous chemicals? Spillable liquids?”
“No. It’s cookies and pajamas.” His hand with the tape stilled briefly at the image of her baking cookies in an apron with a light dusting of flour in her reddish hair. When he’d finished with the package, he handed her an order slip.
“Fill out the top part, please.” He couldn’t help but lean over the counter a little closer just to get another whiff of the smell emanating from her.
She looked up at him, after writing down the address of a college dorm. “It’s a care package. For my daughter.” She spoke as if she expected him to say something negative about it.
He held his hands up. “Look. I’m in my forties. It’s rare to find someone I’d like to date who doesn’t have kids.”
“Do you?” He looked at her blankly. “Have kids?” She continued.
He shook his head. “Good God, no. No kids here. Never been married.” He took the slip from her. “How we shipping? First class? UPS? FedEx?”
“First class is fine.” She continued twisting her fingers in her hand, and he noticed the pale spot where her wedding ring had been. He’d noticed the first night at the Gin it was gone because the indentation around the finger implied she’d just taken it off. He wondered what made her so nervous around him. Maybe she was a fresh divorcee? New to the dating scene? That would explain a lot.
“So…You don’t date much?” He was prodding. He wanted answers.
She shook her head.
“Just get out of a marriage?” He softened his voice, not sure he wanted to get involved with a woman with that kind of baggage but curious nonetheless.
“Widowed.” She took a deep breath and let it out with her next words. “Sixteen years.”
“Oh.” A different type of baggage.
Her stance changed, and Jason recognized it as the stance of a woman who was about to lay it all on the line to see what would happen. He purposefully blanked his face to absorb whatever she was going to say.
“In fact, that woman, Sabrina, from the gym Monday was his mistress. He was driving her home from a party, where they were both drunk, when he crashed and died. She walked away without a scratch, and he left me alone to raise my daughter.” She put her hands on her hips in a ‘Watcha gonna say now, sucka? pose.
“I see why that was such an awkward exchange now.” This woman had an entire set of luggage she was carrying around with this story. But he wanted more. “You never dated after him?”
She shrugged. “I had a daughter to raise. My priorities were focused elsewhere.” Her eyes pleaded with him to understand.
He glanced down at her left hand on her hip. “So, she’s just moved out, your job as a mom is finished, and your friends got you out for a night on the town? Made you finally take off your wedding ring?” That made sense. And now he knew that she felt the same intensity he felt, and it scared her to death.
She nodded. “My daughter is the most important thing in my life… right now. I never spoke a harmful word about her father to her, I shielded her from the gossip, I raised her to be a smart, independent young woman who got a scholarship to college.” The words flew from her mouth, and she looked surprised at herself.
“See? This is what I like.” Jason gestured between the two of them. “I’d like to hear more about you and your daughter.” He glanced down at the package. “Kelly.” He looked at her again. Yeah, she had baggage, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Go out with me?” He held up his hands. “That’s the last time I’ll ask. I promise.” He crossed his heart with his index finger and said a little prayer she would say yes.
“Tell me why you stood me up, first.”
“I’d rather you heard it from someone else.” With impeccable timing, Jodie strolled through the door, sending the bell tinkling. Jason walked around the counter and held his hand out to Renae. “Come to my dad’s place with me. He’ll explain with much more panache than I ever could.” Jodie raised an eyebrow at him. “Renae, this is my brother Jodie. He came into town to help me out a little with dad.”
He watched as his brother shook hands with Renae, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Pleasure to meet you, Renae.” Turning to Jason, he said, “Have fun, Slugger.”
“Ha-ha.” He grabbed Renae’s hand, not giving her a
chance to say no. “Come on. He’d love to meet you.”
“Are you kidding? I go to church with Mr. O’Niel. He’s been trying to fix me up with one of you for years.”
Jodie interjected. “That would be Jason. I’ve been married for a while. If it’s me, he’s more senile than we think.”
Jason’s mouth was agape. “You’re the lady from church?” To himself he added, “If I’d have known, I’d been going since I got here…” He looked back at Renae to see her smirking. “Sorry, I could have sworn he was trying to fix me up with a sixty-year-old lady from the bridge group.”
“Well, I’m not quite sixty…”
Grabbing her hand and tugging, he pulled a helmet down from a hook on the wall next to hats and coats near the door. “Well, his description of you did not do you justice. I may have to have a talk with him.” He led her to his motorcycle. “I can borrow Jodie’s Tahoe if you’re not comfortable on this…”
She yanked the helmet from his hand. “I haven’t been on one in years, not since my brother still lived at home, but it’s like a bicycle, right?”
He grinned at her and got on the bike, scooting forward so she could straddle behind him. Feeling her pressed against his back felt good. Real good. After starting it, he reached around and grabbed her hands, settling them across his stomach, practically purring at the way her fingers spread and traced the curves of his abdomen.
“You ready?” He called over his shoulder. She squeezed his torso, and he took that as a yes as he accelerated out of his space in front of the shop. She leaned against him, and the press of her breasts against his back sucked all the oxygen out of his helmet and sent all his blood to his groin. He was lightheaded as he navigated the streets out of the downtown area over the few blocks to Joe’s apartment complex. It was obvious she knew how to ride, leaning with him on the curves to make it easier, her front glued to his back the entire time. A sigh of contentment escaped him. He was tempted to just keep going, take her on a scenic drive around the outskirts of town, lay her down by the side of the road, and re-acquaint himself with her body.
