by PK Corey
Cal shook his head trying to clear it. He needed a shower, and some coffee and a little sanity wouldn’t hurt either.
Chapter 4
Jenny was awake before her phone chimed. Everything that had happened with Cal, and her intense session with her vibrating buddy before she went to sleep had her mind racing.
“You will not be late for your class tomorrow and don’t think I won’t check,” Cal had said the night before. She was planning to be on time even though she knew he wouldn’t be likely to check. She was showered, dressed and ready to leave when three sorority sisters burst in, obviously expecting her to still be in bed. Squealing and jumping around the room they demanded to know what had happened the night before.
“Like you care,” she rounded on them angrily. “I could have been killed or kidnapped for all any of you knew.”
Olive sneered at her, “We knew you’d be in safe hands.”
Jenny’s eye narrowed, “Did you know it was the sheriff’s house? Did you set me up?”
The three went into gales of laughter, high-fiving one another and Jenny’s anger grew.
“You bitches! You wanted me arrested. You damn near got me shot! How the hell could you sent me into a sheriff’s house? Yes, he did wake up and he had a damn gun on me. You think that’s fucking funny?”
All the girls seemed stunned for a moment before Victoria sneered, “If he caught you, why aren’t you in jail?
“You think I can’t talk my way out of trouble? You don’t know me, do you? I had him eating out of my hand before I left. Hell, he even offered to drive me home. But it was still a shitty thing to do. And I’ll get you bitches back, count on it.”
Olive stopped laughing, “Listen, when you make it into a sorority on mommy’s legacy and money, you have to pay somehow. Nobody gets a free ride. We would never have taken you on your own. You’re just not our type. Personally, I just don’t think your sorority material.”
Jenny let fury overtake her, every hateful comment she’d heard—from what clothes she wore to how she wore her make-up—rushed into her head. She thought of last night’s stupid and dangerous manipulation, and with everything she had she slapped Olive so hard the girl staggered back against the desk.
“Personally, I think you’re a fucking bitch,” she stated with menace. The other girls, Madison and Victoria stepped back in fear. Jenny shook with rage, but she didn’t want to stay. Grabbing her backpack, she stalked out saying, “Get the hell out of my room.”
Jenny saw Cal pull up at three and hurried out to meet him, but the moment she was in the car she felt gripped by unusual shyness.
Cal tried not to stare. Shit, the dream hadn’t lied, this girl was beautiful. All right Sheriff, order your mind to get back on track.
“Got your schedule with you?” he asked.
“Yes,” Jenny answered briefly, wondering why she felt so tongue-tied.
They drove in silence for another few minutes when Cal spoke again. “I see you didn’t have any trouble getting up this morning despite your late night. Professor Wright said you were one of the first in class this morning, and he did seem surprised.”
Jenny stared at him incredulously, “You talked to Professor Wright?”
“I told you I’d be checking to see if you made it to class on time. Didn’t you believe me?”
“No, I mean, not really. Why did you care?” Jenny felt shocked, her ‘friends’ hadn’t even cared if she came home last night and this stranger wanted her to be in class on time. Weird.
“As my personal parolee I want to help you get a fresh start on doing things right. Getting to class on time is a good start. Doing your assignments, improving your grades, learning to be responsible and make good decisions are all part of it all too,” Cal told her and he pulled into his driveway.
Leading her to the front door he turned to her abruptly, “How did you get in last night?”
Jenny dropped her eye, “One of your basement windows was opened a little.”
“I’ll be taking care of that,” he commented as he let her in.
Coming in the front door in daylight Jenny got a good look at Cal’s home for the first time. It wasn’t a large house and it definitely belonged to a man. There was nothing feminine in the whole place, but it still had a warm homey feeling. The hardwood floors gleamed, softened by a braided rug. A huge sofa and a well-used recliner were both aimed at a huge flat screen. The rest of the room was filled with books.
To the left was a small gleaming kitchen with a bar and bar stools. Through the French doors she saw a fenced-in back yard with a large grill near the door.
She was still taking in her surroundings when Cal called her over to a small table. “Let’s see your schedule and then we’ll talk about our arrangement.” Jenny sat and handed him her schedule. Cal studied it intently then said, “You’re only taking fifteen hours. This should be a breeze, and you’re actually failing some of these. Why?”
“I don’t know. Some are just so early I can’t get to class and there’s just too much to do—reading, papers, projects—and they’re all so stupid. It’s just busy work and I don’t like wasting time.”
“Right, you have to save your time and energies for breaking and entering, right?” Cal replied sarcastically. “Your little mission failed last night. So how’s your standing in the sorority’s secret society?”
“I don’t think there is one,” she shot back at him angrily. “They set me up. They knew this was the sheriff’s house. They wanted me arrested, the assholes. I want out of there, but I know there’s no housing available now.”
“If you’re serious about wanting out, I’ll look into housing for you.” Cal noted that while she sounded angry, her eyes looked hurt. “Back to our agreement, while you’re under this ‘parole’ you are going to make it to every class on time. Hear that every class on time. There will be no cutting unless you’re sick enough for me to take you to the doctor. You’re going to have certain hours each day devoted to studying and working on assignments. Your grades will improve. Furthermore,” he continued as Jenny stared at him in disbelief, “you will spend two hours here at least three days a week doing general household chores: laundry, bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, and learning to cook. Failing to live up to these things will result in getting your butt spanked again. Any questions?”
“What makes you think I’ll do all that shit!” Jenny exclaimed. “Who died and made you God?”
“And one more thing,” Cal went on as if she hadn’t even spoken, “you need to sign this waiver allowing the college to contact me in case of any academic or behavioral problem you may have. The college guarantees your privacy, so you’ll have to sign it away. This contract is just between you and me. It says I’ll help you pull up your grades and teach you some general life skills. You agree to go to all classes and be on time, do all your assignments as well as taking care of the household chores I assign. It further states that you agree to take whatever discipline I feel is necessary to hold you to this agreement. And I do promise to be fair and reasonable.”
Cal looked into Jenny’s shocked face. “And why do I think you’ll be doing all this?” he continued. “Because you agreed to it last night, that’s why. I trust you are an honest person, despite the way we met originally. This is what you chose over going to jail and I expect you to keep your word.”
Cal sat back and crossed his arms. Jenny continued to stare, somewhere in her mind she wanted to flip him off and storm from the house, to hell with his meddling. But his eyes held her captive and as she stared at him the dream winged its way back into her mind and she squirmed in spite of herself. Without allowing herself to think further she picked up the pen and signed the waiver and the contract.
“Good job,” he told her. “Now let’s get started on the laundry.” Heading to the bedroom he asked her, “Ever done your laundry before?”
“No,” she told him somewhat defensively.
“Seriously? Not even since you’ve
been at school?”
“Our floor at the dorm has maid service.”
“Of course it does,” he said. “Okay laundry’s easy. Biggest thing my mama taught me was to separate the darks and the lights. And that isn’t really critical with my laundry. Not that much fades these days, but if you’re doing your own laundry watch out for reds and purples, especially if they’re new. Get them in with your whites and everything will be pink.”
Jenny found this fountain of domestic information fascinating coming from the most masculine man she’d ever met.
“I’ve got a load of sheets and towels ready to go. Grab them and follow me,” he ordered.
“Yes, sir!” she snapped back at him. Cal ignored her, but liked the sound of it.
Jenny lugged the laundry to the basement behind him. In the laundry room Cal opened the washer. Jenny was quietly grateful realizing she actually had no idea which was the washer and which the dryer. Figuring it out wouldn’t be rocket science, but she didn’t what to be reading the dials in front of Cal, further showing her ignorance.
After showing her where he kept the soap and exactly how the machine worked he told her, “I like my laundry done on Mondays. And always check my pockets, I sometimes forget, so now it’s your job. I won’t always be here to check over your shoulder.”
“What if I screw up? I don’t want to be responsible for turning everything pink,” she told him.
“The county does my uniforms. All you could screw up are sheets and towels, jeans and tee shirts. I’m betting you can manage. Come on let’s start supper.”
Jenny had to admit she was having one of the best afternoons she’d had in a while. Cal put her in charge of salad and she willingly took pointers on dicing tomatoes and peeling cucumbers. Meanwhile Cal got corn and steaks ready for the grill.
“How did you become so domestic?” Jenny ask as the steaks cooked.
“You can thank my sweet mama for that. She insisted that all her children learn to cook and do housework. I remember the first time she told me to peel some potatoes. I was about ten and I quickly informed her that cooking was women’s work. After a few swats with her big wooden spoon I was told that cooking was for anyone who planned on eating in the future and that cleaning and laundry was the job of anyone who didn’t want to live in filth the rest of their lives.”
Cal grinned and continued, “Mom can also drive a tractor and change her own tires. She’s just as determined the girls learn these skills as she was for us boys to cook and clean. Now, I’ll get supper dished up and you go put the wash in the dryer.”
“Soup’s on,” Cal called as Jenny headed back up the stairs.
“Smell’s great!” Jenny told him as she took her seat at the bar. “Ow. What the hell? That stool sucks, where on earth did you get these, Cactus-R-Us? These are awful!”
“What’s wrong with them?” Cal asked.
“Feel it!” Jenny insisted, the sharp spike-like fabric felt like pin-pricks through the thin fabric of her pants.. “What’s it made of? Cactus needles and glass shards?”
“I don’t know,” Cal had laughed. “Some kind of recycled material, maybe plastic bottles or something. They’re not that bad.”
“Well maybe not for your thick hide and jeans, but I’m delicate,” she’d teased.
“So sorry your delicate butt can’t take ordinary cloth, I’ll be sure to have them redone in silk.”
“I’ve told you some about my folks, what about yours?” Cal asked.
“There’s not much to tell. I have parents, we don’t get along. My mother’s a bitch and my father’s her doormat. That’s it,” Jenny told him with little emotion.
“Don’t call your mother a bitch. Not in front of me. You may not get along with her but she’s your mother and deserves respect,” Cal told her sounding seriously pissed.
Jenny returned his stare fully. “You’ve never met her. We’ll have to agree to disagree on the respect thing, but I’ll shut up. You were the one who asked,” she reminded him.
Cal waited a minute and asked, “Any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope, I’m it. Both my parents were onlies too. So no siblings, no aunts, no uncles, no cousins and all my grandparents were gone by the time I was two.”
Cal didn’t know what to say as he thought of his large family. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, but he knew every family was different. They talked on through supper and Jenny was a willing if not enthusiastic student in the fine art of kitchen cleaning and dishwasher loading.
“I’ve got to make some calls,” he told her. “Can you bring up the laundry and get it folded?”
“Yes Cal, even I’ve mastered folding towels,” she told him.
Cal grinned, enjoying her use of his name. “Sorry, I wasn’t sure you’d taken the course yet.”
Jenny hurried hoping to pull off her idea before Cal finished on the phone. She zipped through the sheets and towels leaving one out. Using the skills she’d picked up on a cruise, she quickly fashioned the towel into a beautiful swan, which she sat proudly on top of the folded laundry.
Cal laughed out loud as he spotted the swan, “My apologies,” he told her. “I had no idea I was talking to an expert.”
“I thought I was an expert, but I do have one question.” Pulling the fitted sheet from behind the throw pillow she asked, “How in the hell do you fold this thing?”
Cal laughed again, “You can’t even fold a fitted sheet? You’re pitiful!” He waited to see the anger come into her eyes before rolling the sheet into a ball and tossing it back on the couch. “Hell, nobody can fold those things. You just put it on the mattress and it looks fine.”
Jenny walked over and picked up a framed picture from the bookcase. Looking at the crowd, she asked, “Is this your family?” Cal nodded, “I’ve heard of families having big reunions like this where they don’t know if they’re cousins or second cousins or what. How often does a group this size get together?”
Cal looked closely at her to see if she was kidding, “That’s only sixteen people. When we have a reunion sometimes more than a hundred and fifty show up. This picture is only the immediate family: my mom and dad, my brothers and their wives and my nieces and nephews. None of the girls are married yet. But this sister-in-law,” Cal said pointing to a pretty brunette, “is pregnant now so the family’s still growing.
“Geeze, did you all grow up in a shoe or what?”
Cal laughed and put the picture back, “Nope just your basic three-bedroom, one bath ranch.”
Jenny stared in disbelief. Her home had six bedrooms for the three of them and six full baths and two halves and that didn’t include the servant’s quarters. How had nine people shared three bedrooms and one bath?
“Well,” Cal asked, abruptly changing the subject, “what did you think of your first day’s probation?”
“Slightly less horrible than jail I suppose,” she told him with a grin.
“I have to head in to work soon. I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Don’t you wear a uniform?” Jenny asked thinking he’d look hot as hell in one.
“Sometimes. I have the late shift tonight. I’ll change before I go.”
Jenny felt odd as she walked beside Cal to her car. She had planned to spend this afternoon working her way out of her agreement to be his maid, but that suddenly didn’t seem like such a big problem.
As they came to her car Cal gave a low whistle, “Trust you to have a mini cooper. Were they all out of Jaguars and Bentleys the day you went shopping?”
“I’m not nearly as spoiled as you think I am, you know,” Jenny said yanking the door open.
“Yes, you are,” Cal answered quietly, “but it might make this process much more interesting. Now,” he said turning serious, “do you really want to change your housing? I can make a few calls and see if anything's available.”
“Yeah, I really want out.”
“Okay I’ll see what I can do. Remember, no skipping, no coming to class late,” Cal
repeated. Jenny hesitated before getting in; it felt almost like a date, like Cal might kiss her good night. But he quickly stepped back. “Drive safely,” was all he said. Annoyed and disappointed Jenny hopped in and drove away without another word.
Chapter 5
The date-like feeling stayed with Jenny as she rode up in the elevator. A small smile played on her face until she turned the corner and spotted her door. Fucking bitch was written on it in bright red letters.
“You’re about to find out just how true that is. Who the hell did this?” Jenny shouted in the hall before opening her door. Reaching for the light she just had time to realize the switch was covered with tape before a sheet was thrown over her head and she was being punched.
A punch caught her full in the face and she felt her lip split. Another punch landed deep in the pit of her stomach before survival instinct took over. Kicking out savagely she caught one of her attackers in the side of the knee and felt whoever it was go down. With her arms still encumbered by the sheet Jenny slung her head around viciously. She made contact with what felt like someone’s head and she sensed that attacker backing away, too. Now with only one left Jenny began clawing. She managed to pull the sheet from over her head and tore down the hall in pursuit of her final tormenter. Catching up, Jenny managed to leap on the girl’s back and begin punching her in the side of the head. Not feeling complete satisfaction from this line of attack Jenny grabbed a handful of hair and forcefully shoved the girl’s face into the floor.
Olive’s screams brought everyone on the run. Jenny could hear the housemother over the others yelling for her to stop. Giving Olive’s face one more shove into the carpet she did stop. “They attacked me in my room,” she stated flatly.
“You liar!” Madison was up and limping down the hallway. “She got mad and slapped Olive this morning and just now she invited us into her room to work things out and then she attacked us. She kicked me in the knee.”
