Victory

by Bernadette Marie

  “I understand that, but I’m a woman in the twenty-first century who is doing things only a few women have ever done. So why am I living under the roof of a woman who thinks that I live to sin, and a man who uses me as a shtick for his business? Jake, he doesn’t even think I’m truly qualified. You wouldn’t believe how he talks to me.”

  He reached for her hand this time. “Something tells me I would believe it.” He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “We got saddled with two sets of unique parents didn’t we?”

  She laughed at that. “That’s a very nice way to put it.”

  Smiling, he eased back, took a pull from his drink. “So did you find a place to live?”

  Missy pulled a piece of pepperoni off her slice of pizza and popped it into her mouth. “No. I don’t know what I’m looking for. Just something else.”

  A crease formed between his brows before he finished his beer. “Ready for another?” he asked as she stood.

  She looked at her half drank beer. “I’m a little behind ya.”

  “I’ll bring you another anyway. I’m not worried about you driving home. I’m figuring on you staying.”

  “Is that an invitation?”

  His eyes seemed distant as he nodded and walked away. She wasn’t quite sure how to read that, but he had invited.

  Missy picked up her beer and drank down the half that remained. She’d let it swim in her head for a bit. Everything in her life was confusing, at the moment. There was no reason she should be able to read Walker either, she thought.

  Jake walked through his kitchen, took a few laps around the island before he remembered why he’d gone inside. He was toying with the thought of her living with him, but he wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. This thing they had going on was brand new. They’d only slept together one time, though he was hopeful that would change tonight, but the fact remained.

  Never in his life had he wanted to share his private space with someone else. As each of his cousins or sisters married, he didn’t fill his mind with fantasies of doing the same someday.

  He shook off that thought. He still wasn’t thinking of that.

  This relationship with Missy should be hot and fast. He figured they both knew that. Right now, it was in that sizzle stage. The hormones were to blame for that.

  They’d spent years at each other’s throats. Just because in a moment of weakness when she’d crashed her car, he told Bud he loved her, that didn’t mean it was all true. He’d never loved a woman before. Not even enough to tell one. And here he was considering that maybe one should move in. And not just any woman. Missy Sheridan.

  Scrubbing his hands over his face, he went for the beers that were still on the counter. Though still cold, he figured he’d buy himself a moment, put them in the fridge, and get two more from the fridge in the TV room.

  When he walked back through the kitchen with the two beers, Missy stood at the island setting down the pizza box.

  “I had decided you had second thoughts,” she said. Her face held the same disappointment as her voice, and he didn’t like it.

  “Just thought I’d put the beer you brought into the fridge and get colder ones.”

  Her eyes lightened a bit. “Good idea.”

  “So I DVR’d The Sting the other night,” he said, and watched as the light returned to her eyes.

  “You’re a classics guy?”

  “You absolutely can’t go wrong with a Redford/Newman movie.”

  An easy laugh escaped her. “You’re right,” she said moving to him.

  She rested her hands on his chest. The scent of her shampoo filled his nose and danced with his senses. Yeah, he could share his shower every day, he thought.

  “I packed a bag, hoping you’d invite me to stay.” She eased her arms around his neck as he stood with a beer in each hand. “I’m glad we’re done hating each other.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “Me too.”

  He’d expected her to kiss him, but she rose and took his bottom lip between her teeth, giving it a little tug. Then she nipped it with a kiss.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get my bag.”

  He watched as she walked out of the house, and then he took a long and thoughtful breath.

  Taking assessment of his body, he realized that with that momentary contact, his entire body had lit on fire. He was absolutely in love with the woman.

  Setting the beers on the counter, he pressed his fingers to his eyes and took a moment to gather himself.

  He’d let it just be sex for a while. She’d visit with an overnight bag, and they’d have a sexual relationship. If they could handle that, then maybe they could explore their feelings a little more. Yeah, they’d do that.

  Down the road, he’d tell her he loved her, if that was in fact what he was feeling. Maybe he was just confused with all the sexual feelings stirring inside of him. Of course, he was. He was a man. Crap like that nearly short circuited a man.

  If they could draw out the relationship, then they could talk about her moving in. If she happened to find a place in the meantime, then that was fine too, he convinced himself. There was no need to rush this.

  By the time she’d come back into the house, he’d composed himself. “You can put the bag in the bedroom, and I’ll meet you in the TV room.”

  She agreed with a nod and did just as he’d suggested.

  This time when they sat on the couch, they sat together. They’d both kicked their feet up on the table, and Jake wrapped an arm around Missy, pulling her close.

  It was comfortable and easy. With her snuggled in close to him, he stroked an easy hand over her hair, and down her arm. She moaned softly.

  Yeah, it was a good thing he’d recorded the movie, he decided as she turned her head and he couldn’t help but take her mouth. At the moment, they both had other needs, and he was going to see to them he thought as he eased her back on the couch, covering her body with his.

  Whether this thing they had going turned into anything or not, he was sure as hell going to make it so that she’d never forget him.

  Chapter Twenty

  When he’d awakened, she was still in his bed. As he showered, she’d made breakfast, and he found she was quite skilled in the omelet department, even though she said she couldn’t cook.

  With a cup of coffee in his hand, and only a few hours of sleep, he kissed Missy goodbye in his own kitchen, and headed to work. And crap, it was comfortable.

  Bud was under the hood of his own pickup truck when Jake strolled into work. Bud offered a grunt in exchange for Jake’s warm greeting as he headed to his office and closed the door.

  Pulling an old spiral notebook out of his desk drawer, he began to make a list of things he needed to attend to. Why he felt the need to be even the slightest bit organized, he didn’t know. But he didn’t want to miss a step today.

  He needed to head out to Lydia’s and take her a check. It wasn’t first place, but she’d get her money back, and some. It would offer him an opportunity to also check up on his sister. If her motivation stayed intact, then Lydia would be telling him all about Audrey’s new salon going in at the Bridal Mecca.

  He was going to call his brother and arrange to have lunch when he was in town. Since Todd worked out at the Walker Ranch, it didn’t make sense for either of them to drive forty-five minutes one way for a sandwich at the deli. They’d make plans. Todd wasn’t an impromptu kind of guy.

  Jake made a note to look through his closet and assess his suits. He’d need one for his aunt’s ball. Then again, maybe he should stop in and see Bethany and ask her if he should rent a tux. He could rent one from his sister Pearl at the bridal store.

  While he was stopping to talk to Bethany, he’d pick up some flowers for Missy too. That would throw her for a loop, he thought.

  Jake reclined back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head.

  They’d talked about plans for the evening. It had been easy conversation over breakf
ast.

  They agreed that she’d come back for the night, and they’d make dinner together.

  His stomach tightened. This was one of the key factors in a full-on relationship, where sex was only the bonus and not the drive. He felt as if he could start counting the minutes until he was with her.

  He’d gone and lost it for sure.

  Reality came back to him when Bud burst into his office, a lit cigarette in his fingers. He plopped down in the chair in front of Jake’s desk, and kicked his feet up.

  “Savannah is in four weeks. You racing?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Jake sat up and leaned in on his desk with his forearms.

  “You got your head in the clouds.”

  Jake chuckled. “And weren’t you the one to tell me to go after it in the first place.”

  Bud took a drag from his cigarette. “I didn’t think you were going to go get all sappy and fall in love. Love messes everything up,” he said.

  “How would you know?”

  Bud coughed and narrowed his eyes at him. “You think I’ve never been in love?”

  “Never heard you talk about it.”

  He took another drag from the cigarette. “You don’t know everything, kid. But if you’re going to race, you need sponsorship. Stout Farm is happy with their decision, so I don’t see them coming back for you.”

  “You talked to them?”

  “Most certainly did.”

  Jake wasn’t sure why it surprised him, but it did. “I’ll manage.”

  “You gonna ask Lydia again?”

  Jake shrugged. “Maybe. She’s a smart business woman. If she thinks it’s worth it, she’ll do it.”

  Bud leaned in and rested his arms on the desk, mimicking Jake’s position.

  “Sheridan is putting his son in the race. What the hell is that about?”

  Jake eased back. “She told me he was going to. She’ll still have that cast on by race day. Maybe it’s temporary.”

  “Not once they catch on to you shacking up with her.”

  Jake resisted the urge to smile. “If she wants to race, she doesn’t have to do it under her father’s power. She’s one hell of a racer. Someone will want her.”

  Bud stood. “Her father’s one hard S.O.B. Watch your back.”

  “My father’s one hard S.O.B. I’ve been watching my back since I was ten. It’ll all work out,” Jake promised.

  “For your sake I hope so.”

  Bud stood and walked out of the office. When he’d disappeared, Jake eased back. He looked at the list he’d been writing out. His visit with Lydia was about to take a turn. If he was going to race in Savannah, he’d need a sponsor.

  Jake decided to head out and straight over to Lydia’s. He parked out front of the shop and watched as his sister Pearl turned around the sign on her bridal store to say open. He’d stop in for a minute and say hello.

  Laughing to himself as he climbed out of his truck, he wondered why having some sexy, talented, amazing woman in his life made him want to be social with his family. They were tight as families went. Perhaps not as tight as his cousins all were, but considering that between him and his four siblings they had three different mothers and a father who had been anything but attentive, he thought they did decent at being a family.

  When he opened the door, the store smelled of fresh linen candles and coffee. That signified that she had a bride coming in to shop. She had great attention to detail when it meant sales.

  The bell on the back of the door chimed as it closed, and Sunshine, Pearl’s associate, came from the fitting area.

  “Well, good morning, Jake. I didn’t expect to see you.”

  He looked her over and smiled. “Sunshine, I didn’t know you were having a baby.”

  She rubbed her well swollen stomach and beamed a smile. “Only ten more weeks to go. It’s so exciting. My Uncle Phillip is building us a crib, by hand. He’s amazing with woodworking.”

  Jake had to register that for a moment. He forgot that Officer Phillip Smythe was her uncle. He’d forgotten he was a handy woodworker too. “That sounds wonderful.”

  “Are you here to see Pearl?” she asked as she stepped behind the counter.

  “I was heading over to see Lydia. I thought I’d stop in first and say hi.”

  “Well, good news for you. She’s with Lydia having a cup of coffee at the event center.”

  “I’ll head over there then. You didn’t see my sister Bethany come to work yet, did you?”

  She shook her head. “Didn’t you hear? She and Kent are in Atlanta meeting with some movie execs. They’re making his newest book into a movie, but they’re going to film it here,” she said in an elevated whisper.

  “That’s exciting.”

  “It is. I love his books.”

  “He does good work.”

  Sunshine nodded. “Your sister gave me copies of her children’s books for the baby at my shower. Autographed and everything. She’s one talented lady. I always wonder if she’ll go back into acting.”

  Jake shrugged. “I always assumed she left that behind when she moved here. But you never know.”

  “You never do.”

  “It was nice talking to you. Good luck with the baby.”

  She rubbed her stomach again. Thanks, Jake.”

  He left the bridal boutique, and peeked into the flower shop, even though he knew Bethany wasn’t there. And he smiled when he noticed the For Lease sign had been removed from the one vacant store that was left in the building.

  The scent of coffee filled his nose as he walked into the dark event hall. The light from Lydia’s office shone in the corner and he could hear the two women laughing.

  Once again, he sent her a text so that he wouldn’t scare her. The thought of Lydia coming at him with a shotgun was a real fear.

  I’m coming into your office to see you and my sister. Don’t shoot.

  A few seconds later, he heard the laugher first. “Jake, get in here,” Lydia hollered from her office.

  He walked across the empty dance floor and to the door. Lydia sat on one side of her desk, his sister, dressed professionally and elegantly, sat on the other side. Both women looked up at him and smiled.

  “Well, at least if I do business with you I get to see you more often,” Lydia said as she lifted her coffee mug to her lips. “Coffee?”

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  Pearl reached out and touched his arm. Her many pearl bracelets shifted as she did so. “Todd said you took third in your last race. But he said you were in first. He thought you were going to win.”

  Heat snaked up the back of his neck and he rubbed it away with his free hand. “It’s a race. Crap happens. One driver slowed, causing the other to hit her, she flipped, and won the damn thing. I slowed not to hit her and the other guy came in second.”

  “I’ll never understand racing,” she said shaking her head and withdrawing her hand. “I’d better go. I have a bride at nine-thirty.”

  Pearl stood, picked up her coffee mug, which he now noticed had her store’s name on it. She stopped and kissed him on the cheek. “Do I smell perfume on you?”

  “Maybe it’s yours, as that’s what I smell,” he combatted.

  She shook her head. “Nope, not my scent. Hmmm.” She raised her brows and continued out the door.

  And that, he thought, was a sibling’s right to taunt you forever.

  Jake moved in and took the chair his sister had vacated.

  Lydia leaned her arms on her desk and cradled her coffee between her hands. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  He pulled the check he’d written out of his pocket and laid it on the desk. “I’m returning your money, as promised.” She didn’t move to pick up the check. She kept her eyes level with his.

  “And?”

  He chuckled. “And…Bud talked to Stout Farm and they’re happy with their new decision. Next race is in four weeks, and I don’t have a sponsor.”

  “What I hear you have is a girlfr
iend.”

  Jake ran his tongue over his teeth and eased back in his chair. “Where did you hear that?”

  “I have a vested interest in you now. I keep my ear to the ground,” she said grinning. “I talked to Bud the other day. Missy Sheridan? Really?”

  Because he could feel that heat creep into his cheeks, he only grinned. “Really.”

  “Damn. Nothing like sleeping with the enemy.”

  The comment warranted a jab back. Perhaps some poke at her and Smythe, but he refrained, though it took everything he had to do so.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “I could use sponsorship. It’s not like I’m racing Daytona or anything. But I need a solid partnership. You’re a wise business woman. You’d cut me loose too if you thought it was bad for business.”

  Lydia wrung her hands together, and it reminded him of a mob boss. “You want me to sponsor another race?”

  “Partnership, Lydia. That’s what I’m looking for. I own the car. I need a partner for entry fees and upkeep. We share the purse.”

  “We share the losses too.”

  “Yes, but I’m hoping there are far fewer of them.”

  She nodded slowly. “That’s not why you’re sleeping with the enemy, right?”

  Jake swallowed hard. He was asking her to invest in him, he had to be okay with her wondering. “No, that’s not why. I have some very deep-seated feelings for the enemy.”

  She stood, walked around the desk, and leaned against it in front of him. She crossed her arms in front of her.

  “You’re one lucky son-of-a-bitch, you know that?”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Just so happens that my business partner at the restaurant is an avid race fan. He’s a fan of yours.”

  It was hard not to smile at that. “You don’t say?”

  She shrugged. “He asked me three days ago to talk to you about the sponsorship. He owns four locations, I’m only partner with one. He wants to use you in his advertising, and have you do some personal appearances. That kind of thing.” Her grin had widened into a broad smile.