“Throw in the cardboard box and the lamp and you might have a deal,” Jackson drawled. David gave a small, relieved chuckle.
“Do you want me to leave this?” Jackson held up the key. “I could return it to your mom.”
“No, keep it until the job is done. I’ve got another one, and this way you can set your own hours.”
Jackson nodded. “Thanks. Sometimes I have to take off unexpectedly, and that helps.”
Jackson’s mom’s condition came to mind. “Sure.”
They separated at the porch steps, and David allowed himself the luxury of watching Jackson climb them before he walked around the house, unlocking and climbing into his cold car. Shuddering, because no matter how many layers he wore the leather seats were always cold, he switched on the heater. He backed down the driveway and braked at the street for a passing car, glancing absently at the back of Jackson’s truck. There were two bumper stickers on the heavy black bumper. One was a small rainbow heart, and the other was black-and-white and featured a line drawing of an irritated Jesus next to block script that read, “OMG, I said I hate figs.”
David laughed out loud, and his smile lingered almost all the way to work.
CHAPTER FIVE
BY THE time David was back in his car and headed up the hill toward home, he was exhausted. Mondays were always hard, and this one was no exception. In fact, it was probably worse than normal.
When he entered the office that morning, his assistant, Michael, had met him at the door, an irritated scowl on his face.
David met Michael Crane two years before when he came in for a job interview, and now David didn’t know what he’d do without him. Michael knew his schedule better than David did, and he ran interference when there were clients who had worn his patience down to a nub. An attractive young guy, he tended toward oversized sweaters, bulky scarves, and skinny jeans, but the look fit his slender frame. He gelled his dark hair into a modified fauxhawk, and he wore clunky black glasses that did nothing to detract from his fine, regular features. Michael was also his friend, and the thundercloud currently furrowing his brow didn’t bode well.
“What’s wrong?”
Michael took David’s messenger bag, hanging it over his own shoulder, shaking his head slightly, and gesturing toward a small group of women who stood nearby. David understood, leading the way to his office. Once the door was closed behind them, he turned to Michael.
“What?” David unwound the scarf from around his throat, hanging it on a coatrack inside the door.
Michael hung the bag next to his scarf. “Trevor was here earlier.”
David paused in the act of pulling off his gloves. “When?”
“He was here when I got here at seven thirty.” Michael looked meaningfully toward David’s desk. “In here. He was going through your desk.”
David’s eyes widened. There was nothing personal in his desk, and the current contracts were in a locked file cabinet, but Trevor had no business being in his office at all. David crossed to the desk, checking the surface carefully. He wasn’t really concerned about business; he never left anything on his desk, and he cleared it off completely when he left each day. Still, his heart pounded at the base of his throat and he felt somehow violated.
“I told him to get out or I’d call security.”
David looked up at his assistant, who was standing in front of the desk with his arms crossed, his lips pinched.
“What did he say?”
Michael angled his head. “Not much. He asked me for your new address, and I told him no. He then told me to fuck off.”
David’s heart sank. “I’m sorry, Michael.”
Michael gave him an irritated look. “Don’t you apologize for that asshole, David. You didn’t do anything wrong. I did make sure security was aware of the breach, and they promised it wouldn’t happen again.” Michael’s look was direct. “David, I know you don’t want to, but you need to hire a lawyer. I think you should also consider reporting this to the police.” David frowned, sitting heavily in the chair.
“Do you think that’s necessary?”
“I think he doesn’t understand boundaries at all. He was in your office. Where you work. That isn’t okay.”
David sighed, letting his head fall back. “No, it isn’t. Let me make sure nothing is missing. And I’ll think about it.”
Michael didn’t seem satisfied with that, but he didn’t nag. He gave David his messages and left the office, but David knew that wasn’t the end of it with Michael either. He’d be asking again.
David leaned on his desk and stared at the closed door. He hated the idea that Trevor had been in his office without his knowing, but did he really want to report him to the police?
Later that morning he did what he hadn’t wanted and hired an attorney. After interviewing two on the phone and nearly gagging at the two hundred and fifty dollar an hour price tag, he gave the name of Trevor’s lawyer to Karen Ridgeway, his new attorney-at-law. After he filled her in on what was going on, she told him she knew the other lawyer and that she’d make a polite phone call before she got out the brass knuckles. She also suggested that David consider a restraining order, but the decision was ultimately up to him. He hung up, liking her more by the moment.
By the time he walked out of the door of his office building, he was exhausted. Driving through rush hour traffic on the surface streets leading to his neighborhood, he wondered if Jackson would still be at the house. Not only would the sight of the man in his shirtsleeves lift David’s mood because he was lovely to look at, the one thing he truly missed was having someone to go home to. Having Jackson there wasn’t like coming home to someone who loved him, but it was better than an empty house. Maybe he’d get a dog, perhaps a corgi like that cute one two doors down. The homeowners’ association at the condo complex had forbidden dogs, saying they made a mess on the property. Now that he owned a house, he could have a dog if he wanted one. The idea made him smile, and it widened when he pulled onto his street and saw Jackson’s truck still parked out front.
He pulled into the driveway behind two sawhorses with a sheet of plywood across them, and some sort of large saw clamped to the top. Jackson was bent over the makeshift table, goggles protecting his eyes as he used the noisy saw, sawdust in his hair and a pencil gripped between his teeth. Was it odd that he envied the pencil? He got out of the car. Jackson looked up, and the loud whine of the saw abruptly faded. He took the pencil from between his lips and shoved the goggles up into his hair.
“Hey.” David’s spirits lifted at the sight of him. His jacket was gone, and today he was wearing a fitted gray Henley. There were some impressive muscles on display beneath the snug fabric, and David was glad his own bulky jacket hid the fact he didn’t have an equal build to display. He was an interior decorator who spent long hours on his job and maybe one day a month at the gym, and it showed. He didn’t have any extra weight on his slender frame—in fact, Beth was probably right, he was too thin—but he knew his muscle tone wasn’t terribly impressive. What had always worked for David had been his boyishness. There wasn’t one thing about Jackson Henry that was boyish.
“Hey.” Jackson smiled and a lot of David’s fatigue melted. “I’ve got something to show you.”
Jackson’s grin was infectious and David grinned back.
Jackson led him into his house. They stepped over scrap drywall, and Jackson gestured toward the gunmetal-gray power panel on the wall. David looked at it, then looked back at Jackson, clearly not getting it. Jackson’s grin widened and he flipped a switch on the wall to his right. Not until the overhead light shut off did David understand. Then Jackson flipped the switch again, flooding the small service porch with light.
“Oh my God,” David breathed. “You fixed it!”
“It is my job.” Jackson gave him a wry grin. “I rewired it, replaced the fuses with breakers. Come here, there’s something else.” He walked through the kitchen and into the hall, and he paused. “What do you feel?�
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David looked around, his brow slightly furrowed. The temperature inside the house was pleasant, not varying on arctic the way it had been the last two times he’d been inside, and he realized what Jackson was getting at. “The heater!”
“It was that the power was out. Like I told you, the thermostat wouldn’t function without the electricity being on. There’s nothing wrong with the heater.”
Relief made David’s knees weak. He’d been so afraid he was going to have to replace the whole unit, and a little bit of Internet research the night before into pricing had left him in a cold sweat. “Jackson, I could kiss you.”
Jackson looked startled. It was only when he stiffened that David realized what he’d said.
“Oh. I’m sorry. That was….” His voice trailed off and he wished he could disappear in a puff of smoke.
“Flattering.” Jackson gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry about it.” David felt abruptly breathless. “And did you want me to include your garage door in my bid? Because you might want a place to park that cute little car before the snow flies.”
Effortlessly, Jackson smoothed over the awkwardness.
David’s desire to kiss him grew even more.
NOW THAT his lights were back on, it was warm in the house and the refrigerator was cold, another fear put to rest on the “not having to replace a major appliance” front, David prepared to make a run to the grocery store. He asked Jackson if he wanted anything. Jackson shook his head and thanked him.
He was surprised when he returned and Jackson’s truck was still there. It looked like he was finishing up for the night, though. The heavy saw was gone from the makeshift work center in the driveway, and the scrap wood and drywall were gone from the lawn. David popped his trunk as he got out of the car, and Jackson came out through the back door, shrugging into his jacket.
“You work some long hours, man,” David said, taking three plastic bags out of his trunk. “You make me feel like a slacker.”
“Anyone who leaves his house at seven forty-five and doesn’t get home until after six is hardly a slacker,” Jackson said. “And I usually take a couple of hours for lunch in the middle of the day, so it balances out. I wanted to let you know I’m picking up the water heater tomorrow. I’ll install it and haul the old one to the dump for you.”
“Do you need more money?” David asked.
“No, I’m good.” Jackson slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. “I checked out the roof today, and from what I can see, it’s only that one spot that looks bad. I also spoke with a friend who’s a plumber about your pipe, and he can’t get out here for about another week. Would you like me to try to line someone else up?”
“Is there a problem with me using the shower?”
Jackson gave him a wry look. “Not as long as you don’t have sewage backing up over your toes.”
“Ew.” David shuddered. “Maybe I should shower at Mom’s.”
“Might be a good idea, as long as she’s so close.”
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but it wasn’t that inconvenient. David shut the trunk and held up one of the bags. “You sure I can’t buy you a Coke?”
“No, I need to get home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
David watched him go until he disappeared, admiring the shifting muscles of Jackson’s ass. Yeah, that view was never going to get old.
CHAPTER SIX
DAVID MOVED his car to his mom’s and didn’t go by his house the next morning. He felt like a bit of an idiot for blurting the “I could kiss you” comment and he didn’t want Jackson to think he was some mad queen, stalking him. Jackson’s truck was already in the driveway, the sound of the saw whining as he drove by.
Tuesday was another of those days when his job seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. The suppliers were flaky, and even though the most recent recession seemed to be behind them, the purse strings at corporations were being held as tight. They wanted four hundred-room hotels decorated and furnished, but they didn’t want to pay for it. His position had become as much about finessing the clients as it was about supervising decor for their spaces. At least when you did someone’s house you could see their pleasure at the end. There was very little positive feedback involved in what he did anymore, and it made him tired. Really, really tired.
When he got home that evening, Jackson’s truck was still there. Butterflies fluttering in his stomach, David climbed out of the car and trudged across the lawn, pausing to look around the neighborhood. The slight breeze that picked up every evening carried the scent of wood smoke from someone’s fireplace tonight, and streetlamps cast mottled shadows on the asphalt. He shivered with unease. It might have been a leftover from Trevor breaking into his office, but he didn’t know. Rubbing at the uncomfortable gooseflesh that rose on his arms, David started to head into the house when a rapid clicking sound neared him. Moments later a stubby-legged little dog with a big happy grin and ears like a bat ran toward him through the shadows.
David crouched down, sinking his fingers into the corgi’s thick, soft fur. “What are you doing out here, buddy, huh?” The little dog licked his hand and gave him another doggy grin, and David chuckled. “God, you’re really so adorable.” He scratched under the corgi’s chin, and the pudgy dog rolled over onto his back, his square miniature feet with their white socks in the air. David’s chuckle evolved into laughter and he happily scratched the furry belly. “What are you doing over here? I’m sure someone has to be missing you.”
As the words left his mouth, the porch light two doors down came on and the front door opened.
“Oh, you’re in trouble now.” The little dog didn’t seem to care. He nudged David’s hand with his nose and licked his wrist.
“Bootsy?” his female neighbor called, and David grimaced.
“Bootsy? Good God, no wonder you’re running away from home.” He looked toward his neighbor’s house. “He’s here,” he called. She stepped out onto the porch, crossing her arms, and he stood up, patting his leg as he walked toward her. Bootsy rolled to his feet and followed, tongue lolling out of his smiling mouth, panting merrily. The neighbor watched him approach, her dog on his heels.
“Thank you for bringing him home. He’s been restless and whining all evening.” She looked down at the little dog. “Walking the streets now, are you?”
David laughed. “Well, he made a nice little welcoming committee for me just now. I’ve had a lousy day, and he’s a cutie.”
“He’s also a bit of an attention whore.”
“I noticed that.” The dog sat next to David’s feet and leaned against his calf, looking up at him.
David felt the woman’s eyes on him. She was studying him and David began to feel awkward beneath her gaze.
Finally she uncrossed her arms and came down the steps. “You’re Beverley’s son, aren’t you?” She stared at him.
“That’s me.” His tone was bright, but he felt a crawling sensation between his shoulder blades. He thought he knew where this was headed.
Oh, here it comes. Beverley’s “queer” son.
At the condo there had been several gay couples, but he was pretty sure he was the only one here in middle-class suburbia. His caution was instinctive. She hesitated another moment, then held out her hand. David stared at it.
“Hi, I’m Jordyn.”
“David,” he replied.
Her tentative smile allowed the tension to drain from his shoulders, relief flooding in to take its place. He supposed his adolescent scars stayed with him and made him wary. He took the offered hand.
“It really is very nice to meet you,” Jordyn said after giving his hand a squeeze. “Once you’re settled, we’d love to have you over for dinner. You and your mom.”
“Thank you. I know she’d enjoy that.” Boots—David couldn’t think of the poor dog as Bootsy—let out a hearty sigh and David laughed. He bent and scratched his head. “I’m sorry, are we ignoring you?”
Jordyn watched them with an indulge
nt smile. “Told you. Total whore.”
“Well, if you ever need anyone to dog-sit, let me know.”
“I may take you up on that.”
Growing stronger, the breeze ruffled David’s hair and he saw Jordyn shiver. “You should go in. It’s getting really cold.”
“It is. Come on, Bootsy.”
Boots got up and went to her, and David liked to think it was reluctantly. They climbed the steps and she opened the door for him. With a wiggle of his little butt, Boots trotted inside, and she glanced back at David. “Welcome back to the neighborhood, David.”
“Thanks.”
He felt pleasure well in his chest, and he walked back to his own house. It was funny how a few friendly words could undo the knots his day had tied in his shoulders. He was also considering trying to find an adult dog at the local shelter, although he’d really love to get a little corgi. He’d have to mull it over; he worked too many hours for him to have time for a puppy. He started up his steps, noticing his porch light was gleaming, something he’d missed when he pulled in the driveway. The sight lifted his spirits. He was tired but not as emotionally drained as he’d been before, and he unlocked his front door. The only light inside seemed to be coming from the service porch at the back of the house, and David flicked on the lamp next to the recliner in passing.
Once inside he went straight to the kitchen. Noise came from the back and he glanced through the window over the sink. The light was on in the garage and the top of Jackson’s head was visible through the dirty window in the garage side door. He glanced at his watch. Seven forty-five. Jackson was certainly working late. For a moment he considered going out and saying hello, but David still felt a little weird about the whole I-could-kiss-you thing. He grabbed a Diet Coke from the refrigerator before returning to the living room to flop into the ugly recliner.
He popped the top and took a drink, savoring the fizz and the taste, easing into the back of the chair and closing his eyes.
David, Renewed Page 5
