by Hadley Quinn
The sound of his car made his skin tingle. All he and Teague could do was grin like total fucking morons at each other as they accelerated north on the 101.
“The timing sounds perfect,” Teague finally said as they entered Ventura.
It did, which is why Jay hadn’t said anything. Just listening to the fact that they got it right in the garage was completely gratifying.
“Time to open her up a little more?” Jay asked him with a big smile.
“Definitely. Let’s head to my house to show Camryn, too. She’ll love seeing it finished.”
“Yeah, so will Mel,” Jay couldn’t help but add as he made a turn to get back onto the highway.
He hadn’t see her for almost a week, and even though they texted each other almost every day, they’d both been pretty busy and had kept it simple. Well, at least that’s what Jay was telling himself. He knew it was a fucked up move on his part to just head out that day at the pool like he had, but she’d seemed indifferent to it and hadn’t brought it up since. Jay had pretty much buried himself with work in his garage as a means to distract himself from it all. No fucking way he was going to let anything interfere with getting his car done.
“Melanie’s not at the house,” Teague answered as Jay hit the gas for the on-ramp.
“She working?” Jay asked haphazardly as he merged onto the highway.
“Uh, no, she’s actually at Jack’s for the weekend.”
Jay nearly missed the next gear but managed to recover as he pressed on the gas harder. She was at Jack’s for the weekend? Doing what? And why the fuck would she stay the weekend with him if they were only friends?
“You may want to watch your speed through here,” Teague warned him. “I already saw one cop on our way north.”
“Yep,” Jay replied, not even caring. She was at Jack’s? Why the hell was she staying with him?
Well it could be worse. If Teague had mentioned Jordan’s name, Jay might have driven his goddamn car off the road.
“I told you man,” Teague said, shaking his head.
Jay glanced at him with confusion. “Told me what?”
Teague stared at him for several seconds. “Uh, you see a few colors behind you that you might want to pull over for?”
Jay had no idea what the hell he was talking about until he looked in the mirror. “Ah, fuck. Seriously?”
“I told you they were out,” Teague shook his head and chuckled. “That’s the same motherfucker that was stalking exit 65. He must’ve switched to southbound.”
Jay downshifted and pulled off the highway. He really hated the wait between a cop pulling you over and approaching the car for the first time, but he and Teague sat in silence. The only thing Jay could think about was what Melanie was doing with Jack at that very moment.
“License and registration,” the officer stated as the approached the driver’s side. He leaned to the side to peer into the open window. “Nice car, but do you know the speed through here?”
“Yeah,” Jay answered honestly, handing over his license as he read the cop’s name. Donaldson. Ahh fuck! What were the odds of that? Jay took a silent breath of air, hoping he could just get the ticket issued and be on his way. “Uh, and we just finished rebuilding this; I don’t have insurance on it yet. Just had to see if it would run first.”
The officer glanced at him again but it seemed like he was holding back a smile. “Looked like it was running just fine.”
“Yes sir, it was,” Jay chuckled. “Damn near perfect, I’d say.”
Again the cop hid another smile but finally glanced down at Jay’s driver’s license. A frown appeared as he eyed both Jay and Teague again, but Jay knew exactly what was coming next.
“Thought you boys looked familiar,” he stated dryly.
“That was, like, six years ago, sir,” Jay told him.
“So it’s ‘sir’ now, huh?” Donaldson chuckled sarcastically. “I think I remember it being ‘stupid motherfucker’ at some point.”
“Oh Jesus,” Teague muttered once he must have realized who had pulled them over.
“Look,” Jays sighed. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re not dumbass teenagers anymore and learned our lesson that night. I apologize for what happened and—”
“No, I don’t really think you know what happened that night,” Donaldson cut in gruffly as he leaned onto the car to look them both over. “You stupid asses damn near lost me my job. Do you know what it’s like to have your reputation pissed on because two little shithead teenagers knew they could hide behind their family name?”
“Hey, that was not our doing,” Jay motioned between him and Teague. He was starting to get pissed off from yet another accusation that he had used his family’s name to his advantage. It was their grandfather that had come down to the police station that night to wreak havoc and push his weight around.
“I remember the mouth on you,” Donaldson smirked at Jay. “That wasn’t ol’ granddaddy’s doing.”
With a sigh, Jay nodded his head. “You’re right, that—”
“And if I remember correctly, you said something about me kissing your ass, right? I told you your shenanigans would catch up to you one day, and you told me that day would never come and I could kiss your ass.”
Jay couldn’t help it. He smiled. No, he laughed. He was such a fucking smartass shit as a seventeen-year-old, but what made him laugh was that not much had changed. Here he was, trying to be respectful to a police officer just so he could drive his car some more, and now all he wanted to do was kick this guy’s ass.
“You think what you did was funny, you little bastard?” Donaldson asked him. “I couldn’t go to work for six months without someone calling me ‘Trojan’ or ‘Magnum.’ You think that shit was just a funny prank?”
“Jay, be smart,” Teague murmured next to him, obviously sensing that he was losing his patience. “Don’t even say a fucking thing.”
Jay remained silent. If the guy would just write him the goddamn ticket, this would be over with.
Finally Donaldson said, “Sit tight, McCallan,” and he left for his patrol car.
“This is such bullshit,” Jay shook his head. “He’s gonna write me up for whatever the fuck he can because of something I did as a teenager.”
“We did as teenagers,” Teague chuckled. “I’ll pay for half of it, man.”
Jay looked at his cousin, who was obviously trying not to bust up laughing. “You dared me to do it, asshole! You should pay for the entire ticket!”
“The entire thing? Oh hell no! I may have dared you, but you’re the idiot that did it! Don’t put this all on me.”
Jay let out a frustrated groan. It was, in fact, his own choice to take Teague up on the stupid dare. He didn’t regret what he did to the cop’s car, which is probably why he felt like he deserved the big fat ticket he was about to get. But to decorate a police car with condoms like he did while Donaldson was inside a coffee shop was fucking priceless.
Well at least it was a memorable night and they had the pictures to prove it…
***
When Jay pulled the Boss into his shop that night, he was totally exhausted. He couldn’t believe how his day could go from amazing to shit in a matter of minutes. And it wasn’t just the whole ticket incident, either. Melanie still hadn’t texted him back and it was bugging the fuck out of him.
Finally he just broke down and ended up calling her. He’d only spoken to her on the phone a couple of times. Normally they just texted, but since she wasn’t responding that way, he’d try a different method.
The call was picked up after only the second ring, but Jay was a little surprised to hear a male’s voice answer. “This is Jack.”
“Jack? Why the fuck are you answering Melanie’s phone?”
“She’s asleep,” he replied. “I only saw that you’ve been texting her so I figured I’d answer so you didn’t worry.”
“You read her damn texts?” Jay knew he was being a dickhead, but he didn’t exa
ctly care.
“No,” Jack sighed. “But her phone is right here on the coffee table and it keeps lighting up with your name on it. Is there something you needed?”
Why the hell is she staying the weekend with you, he wanted to ask. But Jay refused to look like a pathetic, weak ass sap.
“Just seeing how she’s feeling,” he asked, which wasn’t far from the truth. He never asked her often enough, and even though she always said that she was “just fine,” Jay felt like she wasn’t exactly being truthful.
“She was pretty tired tonight, so she went to bed early,” Jack answered him. “I think Jordan’s move has really stressed her out but she won’t talk about it. I was kind of hoping you’d give me some insight on it, if you don’t mind. I know we don’t know each other well, but I care about Melanie. She keeps me in the dark thinking she’s relieving me of a burden, but to be honest, it only makes me worry more. Could you tell me what’s going on?”
Jay was absolutely speechless. He had no fucking clue what Jack was talking about. Jordan’s move? What the hell did that mean?
“First tell me what she told you so I’m not breaking her trust,” Jay told him. “Then maybe I’ll fill you in.”
“She only told me that Jordan was moving closer to L.A. –To be closer to her and the baby. I got the impression that he moved recently, but she keeps telling me it’s nothing to worry about, that they have things worked out, and that she really doesn’t want to talk about it. I have no idea if I really should drop it or push some more.”
Jay realized his jaw was hurting because he was grinding his teeth. He couldn’t believe that Melanie hadn’t told him any of this. He couldn’t decide between hanging up the phone to track down that son of a bitch ex of hers or continue pressing Jack for more information.
He definitely wasn’t going to admit that he didn’t know a damn thing about any of it.
“Well I think if she wants to tell you, she will,” Jay finally said. “I mean what are you really going to do about it if she does tell you?” he inquired. He knew it was a shitty thing to ask, but he really did want to know. Why the fuck was the guy in her life if he wasn’t going to take care of her? Stand up for her? Rip Jordan a new asshole if he needed to?
“It would be nice to know what is going on first,” Jack countered. “That’s how most adults should face a problem, you know? I’m not all about beating the shit out of people and then asking questions later. That’s more your style.”
Oh. Game on.
“That is my style sometimes,” Jay agreed with a smile. “Because usually people need the shit knocked out of them the first time in order to take you seriously. Had I fucking known—”
He stopped himself short. He was about to admit that he didn’t know Jordan had moved closer to Melanie. If he had known… Fuck, there was no telling what kind of trouble he would be in right now.
“Jordan isn’t about talking and working out feelings,” Jay redirected the conversation. “The only thing that gets through to him is someone’s fist.”
“That is not the environment that Melanie needs to be in,” Jack sighed. “And I wish you would stop putting her in that position. I understand you care about her and want to protect her, but think about the baby. Do you really want that kind of physical contention going on when she has a child? Jesus Christ, Jay, stop acting like a goddamn brute and put Melanie first for once.”
A brute? Did the guy just use the word brute?
“I do put Melanie first,” Jay growled through the phone. “Why the fuck else would I risk my ass being thrown in jail if it isn’t for her?”
Jack didn’t respond right away, which caused Jay’s question to echo in his own head a few times. But hell, he didn’t need this. Why the hell was he talking to Jack?
“Just tell her I called,” he said and hung up.
He tossed the phone on his bed, and even though it was only nine o’clock, he wanted to crash for the night. Problem was, he was wound up way too tight thinking about Melanie and Jordan and Jack and Melanie… He needed to forget about it all for a night.
Tyse was out with Kellie and some of her friends, and even though Jay felt guilty for not checking in with his sister, he just couldn’t bother with it this time. He tried to keep tabs on everyone, but sometimes it just spun him in fucking circles. At least Camryn was with Kellie tonight too, so that gave him some peace of mind.
Jay headed for the kitchen and opened the pantry door. Tonight called for some hard liquor, and after finding what he was looking for, he headed for his bedroom to get wasted in private.
Chapter Seventeen
“But you’re sure he hasn’t choked on his own vomit or anything, right?” Melanie asked as she headed for the hall.
“I’m sure,” Tyse smiled patiently. “He was just completely and utterly passed out in his room, but definitely breathing. And no vomit.”
She didn’t care if Tyse felt she was being over concerned. Jack told her about his conversation with Jay when she woke up that morning, and then she wasn’t able to get a hold of him when she returned his call. The last thing she wanted to worry about was where Jay was.
When she entered his room, she could literally smell alcohol in the air. There were various bottles on the nightstand and floor, and Jay was sprawled across the bed in just his boxer briefs. He was on his stomach with his face turned sideways, and Melanie felt for his breath against her hand.
With a sigh she began picking up the bottles, but then thought against it. Instead of disposing of them, she lined the mix of beer bottles and hard liquor along his nightstand.
When she walked past the bed, his hand reached out and brushed her skirt. She paused to look at the hungover smile on his face as he rolled to his back. Good God, she wished the sight of him didn’t make her stomach dance like it did. She wanted to climb up on his body and lick every one of his tattoos.
“Whatcha doing here, pretty girl?” he mumbled as he rubbed both his hands over his face. “Thought you were staying with Jackoff for the weekend.”
Melanie sat on the edge of the bed, and when he looked at her, she looked him straight in the eye. “Checking on you, asshole. You wouldn’t answer my calls, and even when I got a hold of Tyse and he said you were home, I still had to make sure.”
“Why?” he laughed as he sat up. “Ah, holy fuck,” he exhaled, holding his head between his hands.
“Slight headache? Couldn’t be because of that, could it?” she pointed to the nightstand.
Jay glanced at the bottles nicely lined up and smiled. “Yeah, I spent the night with Jack, too.”
She rolled her eyes at the empty bottle of Jack Daniels and started to leave the room.
“Hey babe, where you going?” Jay called.
Just hearing him call her that made her want to kiss him and strangle him at the same time. But she wasn’t sure if she was in the mood for his attitude this morning. When Jack told her that Jay got pissed talking about Jordan, all sorts of images flashed in her head. She’d put off telling Jay that her ex had moved closer to her because she didn’t want him to do something stupid.
“I’m going to lunch with Tyse,” she finally answered.
“What the fuck? Why?” Jay asked, sliding off the bed. He came across the room where she was standing at the door.
“What do you mean why? Because I’m hungry and I asked him. It was a two-and-a-half hour drive from Jack’s and I left pretty much right after I woke up.”
“Just to check on me?” he asked, his tone softening as he leaned against the doorframe.
Melanie looked him in the eyes as her heart started to pound again. This rollercoaster with Jay was wearing her down. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take, and even though she’d told herself she could be patient, it was harder than she thought. All she wanted to do right now was hold him, but the day in the pool house had made him even more standoff-ish. She hadn’t seen him all week, but she could read his resistance perfectly clear through just his texts.
“Yes, to check on you,” she barely replied. She turned to leave the room but he grabbed her hand to stop her.
There was a moment of silence between them but Melanie couldn’t look at him. It killed her inside every time she thought there was progress between them and then…nothing.
“Well, have fun,” he finally said, and he turned for the bathroom and shut the door behind him.
She took a deep breath just to hold back her tears. These damn pregnancy hormones were also a joke.
When Melanie made it to the front room, Tyse was typing on his phone as he headed out the door.
“Hey, I hope you’re not leaving me,” she said.
“I was just texting you,” he smiled at her. “And yeah, I kinda was. I think you two need to spend some time together.”
“Me and Jay? Are you planning on being out a half-brother? Because I pretty much want to kill him right now.”
“Yeah I figured,” Tyse laughed. “Which is why you guys should probably talk it out. He’s been a damn nightmare this week—more so than usual—so I’m assuming since you haven’t been around much, it has to do with you.”
“Don’t even ask,” she scoffed playfully.
“I wasn’t going to. But since you’re here, and that’s most likely what he’s wanted, you might as well take advantage of it.”
“I’m starving, Tyse. I’d rather eat lunch than deal with Jay right now.”
“Well lucky you, there’s a pizza coming in a half-hour. I took the liberty of ordering it, and I’m leaving because I’m not sure I want to be here while the two of you, um, work out your differences.”
“Oh my God,” Melanie rolled her eyes. But then she laughed because Tyse was smiling, and he just left her standing there as he shut the door behind him.
With a sigh she headed for the kitchen in hopes of finding something to tide her over. She finished off a yogurt and a piece of toast by the time she heard Jay’s bedroom door open and shut loudly behind him. He came down the hall looking slightly pissed, even though he looked sexy as hell in jeans, a t-shirt, and wet hair.
