Under My Skin (Shady Falls Series Book 2)

by Shelly Davis

  “Perfect,” Toni said, nodding her head. “Let’s go. I wanna know what your mom and my dad think they have goin’ on so I can torture my dad.” She seemed entirely too excited about whatever was happening.

  “If they have been dating, will you be okay with that?” I asked cautiously. I wasn’t aware of her dad dating anyone since her mother died.

  “It’s been years, Mia. How could I not be? He may have been dating, but if he’s as serious about your mom as I think, then it’s a good thing. They’ve both been alone for way too long.” She paused then asked, “Would it be okay with you?”

  “Hell, of course! Your dad’s awesome.”

  She smiled. “Good, then let’s go.”

  ***

  Dottie Hanson stood from her spot and smiled at everyone. “I just wanted to let y’all know, I had little to do with this dinner. My extremely talented son made almost everything. He even kicked me outta the kitchen for messin’ with the turkey.”

  Everyone laughed and continued with their conversations through dinner. By the time dessert finally came around, my nerves were completely on edge. So many times I wanted to talk to Jake, but I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t bring myself to have that conversation with him, especially with our families around.

  The food and conversation were great. Most of the day, I sat with my mom and Toni. We talked about everything we could think of, but just across the table, and right in my line of sight Jake sat. He mostly talked, but every now and again I caught his eye. I wished I knew what he was thinking. It would make it so much easier to talk to him if I could just read his mind and know if there was any real possibility for us. Then maybe I could stop my self-deprecation and finally be myself again.

  At the end of the table, Mike Rizzo stood. One of the largest men I’d ever met, Mike was also one of the best. He took my mother’s hand in his and pulled her to stand with him. “Rosie and I have an announcement to make. Most of you probably don’t know, but we’ve been seein’ each other for a while now.” He looked between Toni and me as he spoke. “Toni, Mia, we’re real sorry we haven’t told you.” He smiled a humble smile. Keeping his eyes on us, he continued. “Girls, Rosie and I are gettin’ married.”

  Jumping from our seats at the same time, Toni went to her dad and hugged him while I wrapped my arms around my mom. The rest of the table erupted in clapping and cheers for the new couple.

  “Are y’all okay with this?” my mom asked looking between Toni and me.

  “I couldn’t be happier for you,” Toni said hugging my mom.

  “Me either,” I smiled, agreeing. Mike wrapped his large arms around all three of us and squeezed.

  “My girls,” he said with a smile.

  Talk about a small Christmas wedding started immediately after. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged all around. Everyone was so happy and before anyone departed a plan was set for a December twentieth wedding.

  All the while I observed Jake. He talked to our friends and family, but I also noticed him watching me. I felt bad for running out on him, again. I felt bad for not talking to him. I just hoped one day I’d find some bravery in my cowardice.

  ***

  Two days later I was amazed that I actually was leaving our house to go to the gym. Toni had convinced me that I needed to get back on my routine and stop avoiding Jake. That included going to the gym to work out. So instead of moving more furniture or working at the bar over my holiday break, I found myself driving to the gym to meet my extraordinarily pushy friend. My mind wandered, racing with all of the possibilities today could hold. What would he say? Could I finally get some nerve and just be honest with him? It was time to stop worrying and start living again. I was done with the self-doubt.

  I ran through every possible interaction I could dream up since Toni left with the order to meet her at the gym. I worked out possible conversations and arguments in my head. I planned what I’d say, what he could say; how I could convince him, how I could make him love me. I imagined him seeing me, coming to me and wrapping me in his arms and kissing me crazy. I daydreamed about him dragging me to his private room and making love to me because he couldn’t keep his hands off me anymore. I visualized arguments, anger, and sadness. I envisioned hugs, smiles, and love. Any possible reaction was conjured up in my mind, at least I hoped. The better prepared I was, the easier it would be to handle whatever came.

  One thing I felt good about was finally telling him the truth. Jen and Steve were right about one thing, telling Jake the truth, and letting him know I never wanted to betray him was worth it.

  My ringing phone jarred me out of my melancholy thoughts. Reaching over, I grabbed the phone, answering without even looking.

  “Mia?” Grant’s whiny voice came through the speaker. The piercing sound was like a jackhammer to the eardrum. I hadn’t heard from him for a while, and I didn’t want to talk to him. Especially now that I had my heart set on getting back into Jake’s life. Friendship or love, I just wanted to think about Jake; the memory of his smell, his arms wrapped around me, and his hands grasping me, pulling me into him.

  I hoped Grant had finally gotten the hint since Mike threatened him to leave me alone. Clearly, Grant hadn’t taken him seriously. It was going to be nice to have a protective father figure around. Especially since it was Mike.

  “Mia, don’t hang up. I’m glad you answered.”

  “What do you want, Grant? I’m busy,” I huffed out. I didn’t want to talk to him, and I definitely didn’t want him to know that I wasn’t home.

  “No you aren’t, baby. I know you aren’t home, and I know you aren’t busy. You’re just driving.”

  “Grant?” I asked, now scared to death. “Are … Are you followin’ me? Why are you followin’ me?”

  Frantically I looked in all my mirrors, trying to see him. I needed to see him, to know where he was so he couldn’t surprise me. There were cars in my mirror, but they were so far off, I couldn’t be sure if one of them was him or not. Where the hell is he?

  “I’m not following you, Mia. I’m just making sure you’re safe. Wouldn’t want something bad to happen to you. You know it’s my job to protect you, Mia. You’re my girl.”

  “No I’m not, Grant. I’m not your girl. I’m not your anything. I want you to leave me alone, and I want you to leave my mom alone. You had no right to ambush her like that. Just leave us alone.”

  I pulled the phone from my ear and pressed the end call button. I needed to get somewhere safe, fast.

  My phone rang repeatedly but I refused to answer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a car pull alongside me at the light. Grant sat there, scowling and shouting. I could barely hear him through the glass, but I heard enough.

  “Stop bein’ a bitch, Mia. We aren’t done here. Now pull over. We need to talk.”

  I wasn’t pulling over, and I wasn’t talking to him. I’d had enough. I immediately whipped my car around and drove down a side street that led directly back to the bar.

  Pulling in front, I didn’t wait to see if Grant was still behind me. I ran into the bar and slammed the door behind me.

  “Mia?” Bobby said, surprised.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. I stared out the door and waited. Grant’s ridiculous red BMW moved slowly up the street.

  “Who the hell is that?” Bobby said, startling me. He stood next to me, and watched Grant’s car turn around a block up the hill and come back down.

  “It’s Grant,” I explained. “He was followin’ me. He called me. He said he’s been watchin’ me, keepin’ me safe. There were a few times I thought I saw his car, but I didn’t think he’d follow me. I just thought he was in town. I’m sorry.”

  “Mia, it’s not your fault. Did you tell your momma or Mike about this? How about Jake or Cade?”

  “No, I haven’t told anyone. I didn’t want to worry anyone, especially if I was wrong.”

  “Honey, if that man is followin’ you around, you ain’t safe. You never know what someone like that is gonna
do. I’m gonna talk to a couple of my friends who are cops and see what you can do. But you need to be careful. Let your friends know; I’ll talk to Mike and your momma.”

  “No, they have enough goin’ on. I’ll figure it out.”

  “Mia, I’m not keepin’ this from Mike or Rosie. They need to know that someone is threatenin’ you. He may not have actually threatened you yet, but he might.”

  “All right. I’ll tell them,” I relented. “I’ll tell them all.”

  I spent the rest of the day explaining the situation to my mom and Mike while talking with Bobby’s cop friend. Apparently there was little I could do about him following me around, at least until he did something. My mother spent the rest of the day with me. She and Mike were supposed to go back to Shady Falls, but they decided to stay until Mike and Bobby talked to the police and figured out how to keep Grant away.

  The thing was, unless I figured out how the hell to get Grant out of my life for good, he’d never leave me alone. The biggest problem for me was, I had no idea if Grant was dangerous or not.

  ***

  “Jake, I’m sorry. I need help. Grant’s followin’ me. He’s tailgatin’ me. I’m near the gym, please, help me,” I whimpered. A week after I ran home to Uncle Bobby when Grant was following me, I found myself being followed again, except this time Grant had be boxed in. Behind me was his distinctive red BMW, and in front was a car I didn’t recognize, until the woman turned her face to the side. A woman I’d seen in pictures on Grant’s social media page sat in front of me. He rode right on my ass while she was barely going to speed limit. They seemed to have tried to make it so I couldn’t go anywhere.

  “Can you pull into the lot?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I can get there.”

  “Come around to the back. I’ll be there waitin’. And don’t worry, I won’t let him hurt you.”

  We drove down the street slowly, Grant right on my ass and that woman was driving slowly so she didn’t get too far ahead. The moment I was finally by the entrance to the gym, I slammed on my brakes and swung my car into the lot. I pulled around to the back of the building; Jake, Gage, and Cade all stood there waiting for me.

  I slammed the shifter into park before I was even completely stopped, causing the car to shudder and sputter. Flinging the door open, I ran across the parking lot just as Grant pulled in behind me. He sat there in his car, staring at me surrounded by my three huge protectors.

  “Come-on, Mia. I just want to talk to you,” he begged as he stepped out of his car. He hovered by his open door.

  I stepped forward, ready to tell him to leave me alone, but Jake stopped me.

  Jake stepped in next to me, muscles tight and bulging, back stiff. He was intimidating in size alone, but standing there next to me, protecting me, he was the most formidable man I’d ever seen. And sexy as hell.

  “She has nothin’ to talk to you about,” Jake rumbled, taking my arm and pulling me into his side.

  “I just want to talk to you, Mia. I messed up. I’m sorry.”

  Baring his teeth, Jake growled his words a slow staccato, “Get the fuck outta my goddamned parking lot and don’t come back. She don’t wanna talk to you.”

  “Mia, please,” Grant begged, completely ignoring Jake and the other two men hovering just behind us.

  Drawing strength from Jake, I stepped forward. Jake’s hand still sat on the small of my back, his touch was gentle and encouraging. “Grant, I told you, I don’t wanna see you or talk to you anymore. Just leave me alone.”

  “You heard her,” Jake snarled. “Now get the hell off my property before I tear you away from that car and make you regret ever followin’ her around. If I ever see you near her again, I’ll make sure you regret it. Understand me?”

  “You can’t threaten me,” Grant yapped. “You can’t do anything about me being around her. She doesn’t belong to you.”

  Jake gently pushed me toward Cade and Gage before he closed the distance between him and Grant. He grabbed Grant by the collar of his shirt, and glared down at the much smaller man. Grant looked terrified as he tried to pull away from a furious Jake.

  “Get off me,” Grant grunted, trying to sound much more in control than he was. “I’ll sue your ass.”

  “Listen here, cocksucker. You’re on my fuckin’ property, threatenin’ a woman. You’ve been asked to leave. I am well within my rights to physically escort your sorry, pathetic ass away from my business and the patron you are tryin’ to harass.” Jake pulled Grant toward him slightly before slamming Grant into the side of the car. Grant grunted. “Fact is, you pathetic piece of shit, you signed a contract when you joined this gym. Within that contract there is a clause statin’ that if you harass any of our patrons, if you physically or verbally abuse any of them in any way, you will be banned from returnin’. If you refuse to leave, you will be physically escorted from the premises. This is me, physically escortin’ you.”

  Jake slammed his fist into Grant’s gut, forcing him to double over in pain. He leaned into Grant’s face and spoke. His deep, rumbling voice didn’t carry across the small expanse of the lot. All I knew was when Jake stood straight again, Grant’s face was ashen.

  “Now, get the fuck outta my goddamned parkin’ lot before I change my mind.” Jake snarled. Grant fell back into his car and peeled out of the parking lot, barely stopping for oncoming traffic.

  Jake turned back toward us, fury in his blue eyes. His chest heaved beneath his tight gray t-shirt. I allowed my gaze to drift down his tattooed and muscled body. Black ink creeped above his collar and beneath the sleeve on his left arm down his bicep. His right arm was covered heavily in colorful and intricate designs. The gray t-shirt clung to every bulging muscle in his stomach and chest. His gym shorts hung low on his narrow hips, highlighting his powerful legs.

  When he walked back toward us, I forced my gaze to meet his, looking to him with question in my eyes. “What did you say to him?” I asked.

  A smile lit up his eyes and I realized no matter how amazing his body was, nothing was better than when he smiled.

  “Nothin’. He won’t be back.” He paused for a moment, a beautiful smile graced his handsome face. “If he knows what’s good for him, that is.” He turned looking to Gage. “Make sure Ed and Larry have his plate number and description. I don’t want him around here anymore.”

  “Gotcha, boss,” Gage said, turning and walking back into the gym.

  “We’ll need to keep an eye on that asshole,” Cade mumbled.

  “Yeah. Dude’s a prick, but I don’t think he has a death wish,” Jake said. Then he turned back to me. “You need to be careful, Mia. You need to pay attention to what’s around you when you’re out. If he followed you here, who knows how long he’s been followin’ you around.”

  “He actually followed me to Uncle Bobby’s last week.”

  “Why the hell didn’t we know about this?” Cade asked.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry everyone. Uncle Bobby and Mike talked to a couple cop friends.”

  “We shoulda known about this, Mia. Why didn’t you tell us?” Jake asked.

  I looked down at my hands, I hadn’t even realized I was wringing them together. “I didn’t want everyone to worry about me.”

  They were silent for a few moments and I didn’t look up. When the door to the building slammed closed, my eyes snapped up, meeting Jake’s blue ones. I looked around to find that it was Cade that must have gone back inside. “Mia. It’s our job to worry about our family and friends. You shoulda told us so we could help you.” Relaxing a bit, he gave me a half grin. “You comin’ in for a while? You’re meetin’ Toni, ain’t you?” he asked hesitantly. The formidable man that just protected me from that asshole, wasn’t so daunting anymore. He was much more cautious. “Make sure he’s gone. I’ll follow you home in a bit to make sure you get there safely.”

  “I’m okay, Jake. This was probably a mistake,” I said, suddenly feeling sick. I started to turn toward my car. I wante
d to be there, but it was too soon. The raw and overwhelming desire I felt just a little more than a week ago, was still irresistible and too new. I’d spent years getting over him, avoiding him. What made me think I could do this with him again? “I just wanna go back home.”

  Grasping my elbow, he stopped me. “Mia, stop,” he commanded gently.

  “No, Jake. I gotta go. It was a mistake comin’ here.” I tried to pull my arm away, but his gentle touch held fast. I bowed my head, tears building in my eyes. “Jake, please,” I whispered. “I can’t.”

  “Can’t what, Mia? Can’t talk to me? Can’t look at me? What?” He sighed and I could hear his frustration, his annoyance. I couldn’t look into his eyes. “You can’t keep runnin’ away from me. You gotta to talk to me. You said all that shit, told me about things I’ve been wonderin’ about for years, and then you disappeared. You ran out on me and you haven’t talked to me since. You avoided me at Thanksgiving dinner. You haven’t worked out or come around at all. If you don’t want anything to do with me, fine. Just tell me now and we can go back to avoidin’ each other.”

  “I don’t wanna go back. But I don’t know how to go forward. I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” I whispered.

  “Who said you deserve anything?” he asked, shocking me with how firm and hard his words sounded. Fat tears built in my eyes for probably the millionth time since we kissed. Then he continued, his voice gentler but firm. “Others don’t determine what we choose to forgive, we do. And if I want to forgive and move on, who the hell are you to tell me I can’t? No one deserves forgiveness, Mia, forgiveness is a gift.” Softening his voice even more, he said, “Mia, turn around and talk to me.”

  My heart raced and my body quaked.

  He hadn’t talked to me like this in years. Since we were friends. I’d wanted Jake to be friendlier with me, and I’d wanted him to acknowledge my existence without being forced. Now that he was actually talking to me, I was filled with tons of unanswered questions. Old feelings seeped through the walls I’d built around my heart. It wouldn’t be hard for him to breach the fortress I’d created to keep men out.