by Anne Conley
All too soon, they arrived at his dad’s apartment, and Jason shut off the engine. He removed his helmet, and the absence of Renae’s arms around him as she removed her helmet was crushing.
“We’re going to do that again soon.” When he got off the bike and saw the gleam of excitement in her eyes and flushed cheeks, he vowed to do it as often as possible.
“What kind of bike did your brother have?” Jason asked as he led her to the door.
“An old Triumph he and my dad restored when he was in high school. He actually still has it. I just don’t get to ride it anymore.”
“Nice,” Jason murmured appreciatively as he held the door open for her, admiring her backside as she went in first.
“Hey, Mr. O’Niel!” She greeted Joe as she entered. He was in the kitchen stirring something on the stove. “Whatcha got cookin’?”
Jason noticed her Texas twang was more pronounced as she spoke to his dad and admired it. It sounded warm and friendly, not at all uneducated or redneck, just down home and comfortable. He wondered if she even realized she did it.
Joe turned to see who was speaking to him and dropped the whisk he was using into the pot. “Well, I was making chili, but it’s not quite turning out right. What are you doing here?” His eyes went to Jason, and turned knowing. “I told you, didn’t I?” He winked.
“Yeah, Dad. You did. But you neglected to mention she was smoking hot. Thanks.” He moved past his dad to the stove to see he was using the whisk on hamburger meat, ineffectively. “Let me work on this chili for you. Would you do me a favor and tell Renae what I was doing Sunday night?” He shooed his dad to his recliner and gestured for Renae to sit on the couch and listen before going back to finish the pot of chili Joe was wanting.
He kept an ear on the living room where he could hear Joe’s version of the events.
Joe sat up and preened at the attention, clearing his throat to tell his tale. “That sumbitch…” he paused as he looked a little chagrined, “excuse me, didn’t want to help me shower, so he stuck me in a bath tub. I can’t get out of a bathtub, and I told him so, but he didn’t listen. Sumbitch,” another pause, “excuse me. Jason came in, like he always does to check on me, and found me in that icy water, freezing my ass off,” another pause, “excuse me. He beat the shit out that sumbitch and called the ambulance for me, since I almost caught pneumonia. When the ambulance came, the police took Jason away until the next morning when Jodie could come down here and straighten everything out. So Jason spent the night in jail, sticking up for his helpless old man.” The note of pride in Joe’s voice was evident all the way to the kitchen.
“Wow. Are you okay? Did they take you to the hospital?” Validation swelled in Jason’s chest at her tone of contrition.
“Yeah, and left me there to poke at me all night long.”
“So, is that how Jason got his black eye?” Jason’s eye was actually looking better now. The black had faded to a greenish blue.
“Naw…I don’t know how he got that. But I’ll tell you how he got that scar down his face.”
Jason groaned as he saw Renae lean forward, anticipating another juicy story.
“He’d just got his first motorcycle,” he pronounced it ‘motor-sickle’ which always made Jason smile, “… and was out joy-riding, probably trying to impress some skirt.” He chuckled at his own little joke, and Jason craned his neck to see Renae’s reaction. She smiled, encouraging him to continue. “Anyway, he took a turn too fast and laid down the ‘sickle’ scaring me to death. His mama almost wouldn’t let him come back for visits after that one…”
“I’d imagine. It’s a wonder he wasn’t hurt worse.” Jason watched as she looked over at him, mouth squeezed tight, and a slight flush to her cheeks. Jesus. He wanted to know what she was thinking.
After the quick glance his way, she turned her attention back to Joe. “What are you going to do now? Do you guys have somebody else lined up?”
A grumble was his answer, and Jason knew exactly what he meant by it. Joe didn’t think he needed a caretaker. He was probably grumbling about ‘got-damn baby sitters’ to Renae, and Jason smiled to himself.
Jason had chopped and added onions to the hamburger meat to sweat before he added the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and the can of tomatoes. He lowered the heat to a simmer and dug around for the corn kits he knew he’d bought. Joe liked cornbread with his chili, so Jason got busy. When the corn bread muffins were in the oven, he went back to the living room.
“Ten minutes ‘till dinner.” He looked at Renae. “Can you stay? Otherwise, I can take you back to your car after the muffins are done.”
“Of course she can stay, can’t you hon?” Joe interrupted Renae’s open mouth, probably telling them she had other obligations. Jason almost kissed his dad right there in front of her.
“I guess I can,” she hedged, smoothing out invisible wrinkles on her jeans.
“Great!” Jason tried to contain his ridiculous joy, but he was glad she was feeling agreeable. Hopefully he was forgiven for their tragic date night, and she’d give him another chance. “What do you want to drink? We’ve got some beer, or I can make some iced tea. I think there’s a jar of instant in the cupboard…”
“Water is fine, thank you.”
He scurried to the kitchen to fix the drinks, chuckling to himself that she was seeing him so domesticated. He didn’t mind showing her this side of him, though. This was who he was, and since he’d moved up to Serendipity to take care of Dad, it had become a bigger part of who he was.
When he had everything ready, Jason brought a tray with three bowls, two beers and a glass of water out to the living room. “Sorry. The kitchen table is too small for us all. It’s just a little bistro table, seats two.”
“This is fine. It looks great!” He watched her lips as she put her spoon to them and blew on it to cool the chili. He inwardly groaned and watched her eat, fascinated.
“So, how’d you find her? I know it wasn’t church, you heathen.” Joe asked, mouth full of cornbread, spitting it out with his words.
Jason swallowed. “Um… I met her at the Gin, that night I was playing with Les, remember?”
“Actually, we met when I nearly hit his motorcycle with my minivan.” Turning to Jason, “Did you forget that?”
He hadn’t. In fact, it was right up there with his favorite days ever. At the time, the wreck had given Jason an adrenaline rush that made him feel more alive than ever. Close calls tended to do that. It was one of the perks of the motorcycle, not that he’d had that many wrecks. But he remembered every single one. In retrospect, he thought the adrenaline rush might have been because he’d met Renae that day even though he hadn’t realized how special she was. He still could kick himself for his treatment of her. He watched her eat, feeling a little weird about it, but unable to look away from her fascinated gaze on his dad. And that mouth.
“No. I didn’t forget.” Jason continued eating.
“So… how do you young people do it these days? Are you going together? Dating?”
Renae choked a little on her mouthful of chili, and Jason wondered what she would say if he wasn’t here. He answered for her, even though Joe was looking at her, not him.
“We’re dating. I’m considering this a date, and we have another date Saturday. So yeah, we’re dating.” The finality he spoke with brooked no arguments, and he watched Renae from the corner of his eyes. She stared at her bowl as if it would grow wings and fly away. Joe gave a satisfied grunt.
They continued chatting and laughing throughout dinner, each one having seconds of the chili. Jason found himself entranced by Renae’s laugh, although he wasn’t able to get her to do it. Joe was the one who made her laugh. When Jason made a joke, she stiffened up, and he wondered what was going on inside her head. Something about him scared her, and he was determined to find out what it was.
After dinner, she stood, announcing it was time for her to leave. He stood with her and led her outside to his bike. H
e couldn’t wait to get her arms wrapped around him again, even if it was only for four blocks. As tempted as he was to do otherwise, he drove straight to the shop and walked her to her van.
“Thanks for coming with me to Dad’s. And listening. I’m really sorry about Sunday.” He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. Her steely gray eyes showed a wealth of emotion, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what was going on behind them. To be a fly in her brain.
“It’s okay. I understand. I wish I had known. I wouldn’t have spent so much energy being mad at you.” She smiled weakly. “It was exhausting.”
He laughed, and she flashed a genuine smile that flopped his tummy. He couldn’t remember a woman ever having this effect on him.
“No expectation dinner Saturday?”
She smiled at him and nodded. “I think I would like that.”
His hand traveled from her chin to her neck. “Good.”
Dipping down to taste her lips, Jason found himself lost in Renae. It was supposed to just be a gentle kiss goodbye, but when her soft lips parted for him, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. Her cinnamon smell reminded him of warmth on a winter night and brought to mind fireplaces and pine trees. The little whimper that she let out made him remember the night they’d shared together and all the little noises she’d made as he kissed her and made love to her body.
Suddenly unable to let go, he pressed himself closer, pushing her against the car, and her fingers tangled in his hair, telling him she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Her taste and the warmth of her mouth as she opened up to him overwhelmed his senses. A low sound came from the back of his throat, surprising him with its predator-like intensity.
The control he’d been grasping desperately around her today was about to snap when he felt a small push against his chest. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her, gasping for air.
“I have to tell you something.” She was breathing just as hard as he was, and her flushed cheeks told him she felt the intensity between them, too.
His curiosity piqued, he decided to tease. “Oh yeah?” Grabbing the belt loops of her jeans, he jerked her hips toward him. “Tell me what?”
“I’ll tell you at dinner. The middle of the street’s not the appropriate place.” She looked disturbed as if it was bad news, and a twinge of worry threatened Jason’s good mood.
“That’s the second time you’ve alluded to something to tell me,” he said, twisting a lock of her hair around his finger, unable to not touch her in some way. “We can talk all you want Saturday.” He was trying not to show her just how let down he felt, swallowing his own disappointment. He knew he couldn’t maul her against her van, but Jesus, he wanted to.
She smiled at him, looking relieved. “Okay.” Opening her car door, she slipped in and looked back at him. “Until Saturday.”
Jason watched her drive off until her tail lights disappeared, pondering everything he’d learned about her today. She was the one his dad had been trying to get him to meet. She had a daughter and was a widow. She’d lived in a small town, shielding her daughter from gossip, and not dating, presumably to protect her daughter. She was a ferociously protective mom, he could tell that much. Was that why she was so reticent to date him?
Inside, he finished up the signage for the inside of the shop and started designing the exterior signs he would use. He specialized in logos with his graphic design job, so it was pretty mindless, and he was able to continue thinking about Renae.
Single moms were everywhere especially at his age. Not many women made it to forty without kids. There were some but not many. He wasn’t sure how he felt about dating a woman with a kid, but Renae’s kid wasn’t living at home anymore, so maybe it wouldn’t matter. He’d only really see her around at holidays and stuff.
As a single man, he’d dated women with children before, and inevitably the father of the child made an appearance. On more than one occasion, they got in the way of whatever relationship he was trying to pursue. It had always been a little weird, wondering if the relationship would get to the point where he’d be raising another man’s child. He’d always tried to avoid that kind of situation.
But Renae didn’t have a father in the picture, and that fact made Jason melancholy. He knew he couldn’t take responsibility for others’ actions and lives, but it was sad that Renae had done it all by herself because her husband was a stupid cheating drunk. He knew she wouldn’t want his pity, but she wouldn’t want to know the relief he felt that Kelly’s father wasn’t in the picture at all, either.
But it made understanding how Renae ticked a little easier. If she’d been betrayed by her husband, that would add all kinds of issues to her life. She would probably have insecurity issues due to the betrayal, power issues from being a single parent, and God knew what other sorts of issues he hadn’t even thought of.
There was something about her, though, that made him want to dig deep and find out what issues she had and help her. Because when he saw Renae interact with her friends, and his dad, he saw a warm, caring woman who took care of those around him. He saw a woman who would do anything for her own. She said she hadn’t spoken ill of her asshole husband to her daughter, and that spoke volumes to Jason. She hadn’t dated much when her daughter was in the house, and that told him even more. She was probably inexperienced with men, especially if she’d married young, so she would be gun shy around Jason. And that explained her leaving after their first night together and her unwillingness to call him back. Sort of.
Yep. He had his work cut out for him if he wanted to pursue something with Renae. But he was definitely up to the challenge. He’d tasted her and wanted more. Much more.
Chapter 18
Alyssa was at Renae’s house with Jessie and Kathy helping her get ready. Renae honestly hadn’t wanted it to be this big of a production, but her girlfriends wanted to do this for her, and she was unable to say no.
“When he called to make another reservation, I gave him hell about standing you up last weekend, and he sort of explained what happened. I hate to admit it, but he sounds like a really nice guy even after standing you up.” Kathy was sucking on a piece of hard candy, which made her a little hard to understand. She worked at Jessie and Connor’s restaurant, Estelle’s, as the kitchen manager as well as the catering manager.
Renae almost wished Jason hadn’t made the reservations there since Jessie and Kathy would be there and would be all up in their business. She wasn’t sure she would have any privacy to talk to Jason at all.
Alyssa had been shooting her sideways glances all afternoon, eyeballing her stomach area, and Renae was pretty sure she’d guessed Renae was pregnant. She was too polite to ask outright though, certainly not in front of the others. And Renae wasn’t going to volunteer the information.
In fact, she wasn’t sure she would even tell Jason yet. It was really stressing her out, and she knew unnecessary stress was bad for a pregnancy. She would be pregnant for the next seven months, she wasn’t making any dire decisions regarding the safety of the baby, and she’d just about talked herself into waiting until it was absolutely necessary before she told Jason about it. It wouldn’t change anything with him. He would either stay with her or he wouldn’t. Either way, she couldn’t possibly be any worse off than she had been before. A weight lifted as she made the conscious decision to not tell him yet.
Renae really liked him though. With time passing before she told him, she knew she was likely to get attached to the handsome man, and when she did tell him, he could break her heart. It would be her own damn fault for not using birth control in the first place. This whole mess was her own fault. But she was determined to enjoy herself with him. That seemed to be what he wanted, anyway.
“So, I brought over these two dresses, but they might be a little long on you…” Jessie was holding up a white wrap dress and a blue sweater dress, both form fitting and rather slinky.
“Um, a dress? I think I have something. There’s a pr
etty little black dress in my closet-”
“Um, no.” Alyssa interrupted before she could say anything else. “I’ve seen you wear that dress six times in the past year. You’re wearing something different.” Alyssa was rarely so adamant about something, so Renae couldn’t help but listen.
“Okay. The blue, I think.”
“Try it on,” Kathy said, clicking her Jolly Rancher around her teeth.
Renae stood and went into the bathroom, pulling off her sweat pants and t-shirt to slide the dress down her body. It was really soft against her skin, and the texture was intensely sensual. The color matched Jason’s eyes when he was turned on, and Renae felt her cheeks warm at the thought. It also disguised the small bump on her belly, Renae thought absently as she rubbed it. The bump might just be her imagination. She wasn’t really that far along, but excitement tinged her every decision now, as she made choices about what to eat, wear, and do based on the impending baby.
“Good grief, Jessie. How long are these on you? I didn’t even know you wore that many dresses.” She tried to pull the offending hem down, but it just sprang back up to above her knees. Jessie was almost four inches taller than her, and Renae couldn’t imagine where it fell on her legs.
“I wear them at work. It’s nice to be feminine. It’s like my professional persona. Connor helped me with that.” Jessie slapped at her hand. “Stop that. You’ll stretch it out.”
“Okay, let’s see the underwear.” Kathy continued sucking on her candy around her words.
“What?”
“You heard me. If you’re wearing a matching nude set, you’re changing.”
“I happen to like my underwear just fine. It’s comfortable.” She twisted to see her backside in the full-length mirror. “You can’t see any panty lines.”
