Jerith was wearing jeans, white high-top tennis shoes, and a faded denim shirt. His long blond hair flowed loose. He looked tanned, healthy, and casual all at the same time. Nicolette was surprised to find that she thought he looked pretty great. She really wasn’t into men with long hair, but on him, it looked sexy and rebellious.
“So, what’s on our agenda this morning, Ms. Harris?”
“Oh, all kinds of interesting things for a worldly man such as yourself.”
“Like?”
“Like floors to clean, laundry to do, a yard to weed, hedges to trim…” She looked straight at him. “You ready to run yet?”
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “How ’bout I work on the yard stuff?”
“Are you serious?”
“Why not? I grew up in the suburbs of Trenton, New Jersey. I know how to do yard work, you know?”
“Yes, but you’re a guitarist, Jerith. What if you cut your hand or something?”
Jerith shook his head, grinning. “You are a mother, aren’t you? I’m a big boy, Nick. I think I can handle it.”
She looked at him for a long moment. It was obvious she still didn’t like the idea. Finally she shrugged, sighing. “Okay, fine. You want to do yard work, you got it.”
She showed him the backyard, looking back at him quizzically. “Still time to back out,” she said, gesturing to the overgrown shrubbery.
“Not a chance.” Jerith grinned as he lifted the hedge trimmers. He’d opted for the manual trimmers, saying that he had a little bit of paranoia about electricity and things that cut as a combination.
He spent the next two hours happily trimming away. Nicolette looked outside often, watching to see if he looked tired or ready to stop. He didn’t; he actually looked happy doing what he was doing. Nicolette wondered if he missed simple things like yard work.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she walked outside bearing iced tea. She noted that his hair was now pulled back in a loose ponytail. She wondered idly where the hair tie had come from, but she imagined that with hair like his, he probably had one around on a regular basis. She handed him the tea, and he took it gratefully. He drank it down, emptying the glass quickly. She grinned at him and handed him her glass as well. Jerith grinned too, but drank only some of her tea, then handed it back.
“Give up yet?” she asked.
“Nope,” he replied easily.
“You’re having fun, aren’t you?”
“Yep.” He was grinning as if he’d been caught. “I don’t get to do this kind of stuff anymore unless I go home. My dad’s always telling me that the yard never looks good anymore, ’cause I’m not there to do it. He won’t let me hire him a gardener.”
“Hire me one then,” Nicolette said, laughing.
Jerith shook his head. “I’d rather come and do it for you.”
“I see,” she said, nodding. “You just want to get your hands on my hibiscus, is that it?”
“That among other things.”
“Where’ve I heard that one before?” she said, grinning. He just laughed easily.
She went back into the house a few minutes later. Jerith went back to work on the yard. He finished after another hour and a half. He even dragged the limbs out to the street, where he’d seen other such piles when he drove up.
Nicolette found him standing at the sink in the kitchen, splashing water on his face. “Hot out there, huh?”
“Hot enough,” he replied as she handed him a dish towel to dry off.
She looked at his face closely. “And you’re starting to get red.”
“It’s from the heat, Mom. I don’t burn.”
“White boy like you?” she said skeptically. “I don’t believe it.”
“It’s true. My mom’s like one-third Munsee Indian, and I guess I got her color genes, because I never burn and I tan real quick.”
“Indian, huh? What else don’t I know about you?”
“Swedish and German too,” he said, smiling at her. “And lots you don’t know yet.”
Nicolette gave him an “Oh really” look, then gestured to herself. “Irish-American, and more you’ll never even come close to.” Her look said “Touché” as she grinned impishly up at him.
“Oh, I don’t know about that, pretty girl,” he said, reaching out to grab her around the waist playfully. This time she didn’t tense right away; she looked up at him, laughing.
“You wanna bet?” she said, steadying herself with her hands on the counter behind him.
“How much?” He tilted his head, trying to decide if she was making a point of not touching him, but not willing to let her go just yet.
“Well, this won’t be a fair bet. You’re probably a millionaire or something—I can’t compete,” she said, her demeanor jokingly haughty.
“I’m not quite a millionaire just yet, but we can bet for something like dinner.”
“Dinner, huh?”
“Yeah, can you cook?”
“Yes, so?”
“So, I want you to invite me to dinner.”
“But how will we know if you win the bet?”
“You’ll know,” he said wisely.
“Uh-huh.” She grinned, but he could feel her starting to pull away. He let her go, not wanting to annoy her.
She walked out of the room, telling him she had to finish the laundry and suggesting he relax. He watched her go, his lips tightening a little. He wasn’t used to women being distant with him, nor was he used to being put off. It was an interesting feeling. He wandered into the living room, and after looking around at her pictures and things, he settled on the couch. Eventually he turned on the television and started flipping through channels. That’s when Nicolette found him. He was watching VH1. Paula Cole’s “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” was on.
“I like this one,” Nicolette said, sitting down on the couch near him, but not as close as he would have liked.
“Me too,” he said. “She’s a beautiful lady, nice too.”
Nicolette looked at him in surprise. “I guess you’re going to start name dropping now, huh?”
“Will it do me any good?” he asked, only half joking.
Nicolette caught the tone in his voice and looked at him for a long moment before smiling. “I guess it depends on the names you drop,” she said jokingly.
Jerith looked at her, then shook his head. “Nah, I’d rather get to you on my merit, not theirs.” He smiled to take the sting out of his words, but Nicolette caught the seriousness in his voice. She said nothing, just nodded.
They watched TV for a while in silence.
A Billy and the Kid video came on a little while later, and Jerith rolled his eyes, picking up the remote and pointing it at the TV to change the channel. Nicolette snatched it from his hand and turned it up. It was the video to the song she’d heard the day before. It had actors playing out the words, but it also showed clips of the band. The song was about falling in love, and what a long way down it could be. It talked about hitting bottom and shattering to pieces. One part had a clip of Jerith standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean, his blond hair blowing in the breeze. He was wearing all black. The camera focused on him as he lifted his guitar and tossed over the edge of the cliff. It followed the guitar to the ground, showing it shattering on the rocks below. It cut back to Jerith as he stood watching, then he shook his head and walked away.
Nicolette glanced over at him and found that he was looking at her. She wondered what he was thinking, and if it was about her. She knew she was being difficult with him, but she wasn’t ready to be a notch on anyone’s belt just yet, least of all some rock star’s.
A little while later she went back to her housework. He ended up sitting on the counter in the kitchen as she mopped the floor, because she wouldn’t let him do any more work. She’d noticed that he looked tired, and she didn’t think it was fair that he exhausted himself on her house.
They were in the laundry room two hours later when Ryan came home from school. Jer
ith was leaning against the folding counter as Nicolette put clothes in the washer and then went to fold the clothes she’d taken out of the dryer. They were laughing about something that Jerith had said when Ryan stuck his head into the room. He was surprised to find Jerith there.
“Mr. Michaels! Hi, again,” he said, much more friendly this time. Nicolette watched him closely, having given him a ration the night before about being rude. Ryan had argued with her, telling her he was only trying to look out for her. Nicolette had informed her son that she’d been alive sixteen years longer than him and she could look out for herself. She had also told him that if he ever embarrassed her like that again, he’d become intimately acquainted with the inside of his room, since he’d be in there for a long time. Ryan had obviously taken the hint and decided to be nice.
“Ryan, hi,” Jerith said, smiling. “Ya know, as long as it doesn’t bug your mom too much, you could probably get away with calling me Jerith.”
Ryan’s eyes widened just slightly, regardless of his desire to protect his mother’s virtue—having a big star like Kid Michaels tell him it was okay to call him by not only his first name, but his real name to boot! He looked to his mother, his eyes pleading with her. Nicolette grinned, and nodded. “Maybe you could even call him Kid, since I won’t,” she said, her grin widening to a smile as Jerith started to laugh. They’d discussed that during the day. He’d asked her why she’d gone with Jerith. She’d told him she was too old for a lot of things, but to call him Kid, even though he was older than her by two years, was just too much. He’d laughed at that, telling her again that she didn’t even look old enough to have an eight-year-old, let alone a fifteen-year-old.
“Can I?” Ryan said, looking at Jerith.
Jerith laughed, still not used to people treating him like a star. “I don’t see why not.” He looked pointedly at Nicolette. “You certainly aren’t too old to call me that.”
A little while later, Nicolette said she needed to take a shower. Jerith said he’d hang around and talk to Ryan.
“It’s not going to get much more interesting,” she said.
“Huh?” he said, confused.
“My day, it’s not going to get any more interesting. Next I have the exciting chore of grocery shopping.” She made a face, then looked at him. “Maybe you should go do something more fun.”
“Being with you is fun. Okay?” he said sincerely.
“Yeah, like a trip to the dentist.” But she shrugged and walked down the hall to her bedroom.
Jerith watched her go, shaking his head. She was tough, he’d give her that. He turned and walked back into the kitchen. Ryan was sitting at the table, drinking a Pepsi. Jerith leaned against the counter, his legs crossed at the ankles, looking down at the boy. He noted Ryan’s measured look.
“You don’t like me hanging around your mom, do you?” Jerith said.
“Honestly?” Ryan said. Jerith nodded, and Ryan shook his head. “Not if all you want is a piece of ass.”
Jerith was surprised by the young man’s tone as well as his words. “And if that’s not all I want?”
“Is it?”
“All I want? No.” Jerith clenched his jaw unconsciously. He wasn’t used to being questioned, especially not by a teenager.
It was obvious Ryan didn’t believe him. “Well, let me tell you—if you fuck with her, you don’t just have me to contend with. You’ll have about ten members of a particularly nasty part of the Sac PD, as well as other assorted cops that have a real fondness for my mom to deal with too.”
“I’ll watch my step then,” Jerith said, his blue eyes burning into the younger man’s. “But what’re you gonna do if your mom actually falls for me?”
“Don’t count on it.”
“Oh, but I am,” Jerith said evenly. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you, Ryan, but let’s face it—your mom’s a pretty incredible woman, and not just in the looks department. I want to be around her, and nothing you or your friends at the PD can do or say will change my mind. You got that?” His tone was very serious, and it was Ryan’s turn to be taken aback.
Ryan nodded, his eyes wide. He hadn’t really figured that Jerith was serious about his mother, so he’d thought that if he let Jerith know he was being watched, he’d back off. He realized now that he had been wrong.
Jerith watched him, first seeing the surprise register on the younger man’s face, then the uncertainty in his eyes.
“Ya see, Ryan, I’m gettin’ just enough shit from your mother with her wary looks and her hesitation. I don’t need it from you too, okay?” His tone was softer this time as he tried to appeal to the young man. “I promise you, I have no intention of hurting your mother. But Jesus Christ, just because I have long hair and play a guitar for a living doesn’t mean I fuck everything in a skirt. It’d just be nice to have someone on my side in this town.”
In that minute Ryan gained a new respect for Jerith “Kid” Michaels. The way he saw it, it took a lot of guts to admit that even as a big star, he wasn’t winning Nicolette over easily. Ryan figured he deserved a fair chance at least. He shrugged, his lips curling. “Okay, you win. You have one person on your side. For now.” Despite the emphasis on the last words, Jerith started to grin too.
By the time Nicolette emerged, showered and dressed, she found her son and Jerith laughing and drinking sodas in the kitchen. She eyed them both suspiciously. Ryan glanced up at her. “Mom! Guess what. Kid said he could get us tickets to their show tomorrow night at ARCO.”
“He can, huh?” Nicolette narrowed her eyes at Jerith as if he’d bribed her son—which was basically true.
“Come on, Mom! Those tickets have been sold out since like three hours after they went on sale. Please! I will be so popular at school if I can get tickets to Billy and the Kid now.” He was grinning from ear to ear.
“So that’s it?” Nicolette said to her son, but she was watching Jerith. “Bribery will get you everywhere in this house?”
“No,” Ryan said, giving his mother a sour look. “Kid and I had a talk, and I set him straight.” He waggled his eyebrows at Jerith.
“You did?” Nicolette said drily. “Didn’t you and I have a conversation last night about being rude?”
“I wasn’t rude, was I?” Ryan said, looking worried as he glanced at Jerith.
Jerith looked at him for a long moment, letting him sweat just a little bit before he shook his head with an unreadable expression on his face. And Nicolette knew instantly that he was covering for her son, but she knew it was pointless to call them on it. It was obvious Ryan had needed to have that talk with Jerith, for whatever reason, and now that they’d had it, Ryan was happier again. What was most important to Nicolette in the world was her son. And if he was okay with Jerith, then maybe Jerith had more merit than she’d given him credit for.
She was shocked when Jerith agreed readily to accompany them to the grocery store. “Give me a few minutes—I need to get my list together,” she said, sitting down at the kitchen table. “Oh, and it gets worse.” She looked at him with a sardonic quirk to her lips. “My mom’ll be there too.” She was sure that would change his mind.
“Good, I’ll get to meet her. She doesn’t have a problem with long hair too, does she?” Jerith asked with a wry look on his face.
“No. In fact, she’ll probably love you,” Nicolette said, shaking her head.
“Well, that’ll make one member of the family,” Jerith muttered as he walked into the living room, toward the front door. Ryan fell in behind him.
“What?” Nicolette said, sounding very much like a mother.
“Nothing,” Jerith said, playing his part of the recalcitrant child.
Ryan laughed as he followed Jerith outside. “I do that too, pisses her off no end.”
Jerith rolled his eyes. “Oh, that’s just what I need to do.”
“This is the coolest car I’ve ever seen,” Ryan said as he walked over to Jerith’s BMW, which was parked in the driveway. “It’s one of tho
se new Z4s, huh?”
“Yep, fast as hell too,” Jerith said proudly.
“Cost a lot too, I’ll bet,” Ryan said, awed.
Jerith nodded. “Enough.”
Ryan looked at him, grinning. “Could I sit in it?”
“Yeah.”
Ryan was standing on the driver’s side, so he opened that door and sat down carefully. Jerith got in on the passenger’s side. Ryan looked like a kid at Christmas. He looked at all the gauges and the stereo system, always important to teenagers.
“This thing must really rip,” he said, touching the stereo lightly. “Bose, huh? Holy crap, is that one of those MP3 players…” He trailed off as he glowered at Jerith. “So if you marry my mom, can I have your car?”
“I don’t think so,” Jerith said, grinning right back, not expanding on which part he meant. “But…” He drew the keys from his pocket. “You got your license yet?”
“I’m only fourteen and a half,” Ryan said mournfully.
“Permit?” Jerith asked hopefully.
Ryan shook his head pitifully.
Jerith looked out the window for a minute, then back at Ryan. “Ever drive a stick?”
Ryan nodded, almost excitedly.
“Meets my specifications.” Jerith tossed the younger man the keys.
Ryan was sure he was going to die and go to heaven at that moment. “Really?” he said, praying that Jerith wasn’t kidding.
“Do it—quick, before your mom catches us. She’s a cop, you know.”
“Tell me,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes. He put the key in the ignition.
“Clutch in to start it,” Jerith said.
Ryan did as he was told, and the engine roared to life. “Oh my God,” he said, grinning from one ear to the other. “I love this car.”
“Okay, now this one’s German made, so it’s a little weird. It’s an upside down ‘H,’ so reverse is up in the upper-left-hand corner.”
“Okay,” Ryan said as he put the clutch in and shifted. A few minutes later they were touring the neighborhood, with the top down no less. Ryan just about died when one of the girls from school saw him. Not only was he driving an incredibly cool car, but Kid Michaels was sitting in the passenger seat.
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