Jo wrapped both her arms around his neck and melted into his embrace. She loved how he felt. The magical moment was broken when someone yelled out, “get a room!”
Jo buried her face into Wes’ chest totally embarrassed. “I’m sorry Jo. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
Jo smiled up at him. “Hey I was kissing you back remember?” She playfully swatted at his shoulder.
Wes opened the door for Jo and helped her inside. When he got inside he turned on the car and turned towards her.
“So my Jo, do you like ice cream?”
“Seriously? If it were a man I’d marry it!” She said enthusiastically. Wes chuckled.
“Well prepare yourself, I happen to know a place that makes it home made daily.”
“Oh yum! Get driving mister.”
Wes laughed and they took off. The drive took twenty minutes as they wound their way around the enormous lake. Wes pulled off the main road and followed a smaller road until he came to a cross street. On one of the corner lots sat a food truck. A big sign by the road read Home Made Ice Cream. Wes helped Jo out of the car and they walked hand in hand to the truck.
“Hey Wesley.” An old grizzled man said from the truck’s large open window greeted him. “Betsy come see what the wind blew in.”
An elderly woman appeared in the window. “Well, well, Wesley, it’s about time you showed up. Don’t ch-ya like ice cream any more?’ She laughed
Wes held up his hands surrendering. “You know I love ice cream Betsy. I’ve been a little busy.”
“Who’s your friend?’ The man asked.
“Betsy and Tom I’d like to introduce my friend Jo Ross. Jo meet Betsy and Tom Scoops.” Jo looked at him and he laughed. “I kid you not.”
“Please to meet you.” Jo said.
“So Betsy what’s the scoop of the day?”
“Peach.” She announced proudly.
“Do you like peach Jo?”
“If it’s ice cream I like it!” She said happily.
They each got a cone and then after paying, sat on the rustic picnic bench nearby.
Betsy and Tom came down from the truck and sat with them. They chatted about business. Tom told Wes he wanted to retire, but his Betsy liked keeping busy. A car pulled in and they excused themselves to serve them.
“How did you find this place?” Jo asked.
“One day, after I had just come back from over seas I was just driving around. I pulled in and after I tasted the ice cream I came back every day for two weeks. It kind of helped pull me back to being myself. It’s hard to explain.”
“I can’t imagine all you’ve seen Wes.”
“Not all good stuff, but I’m all right, a nightmare here and there. It helped that Andy and Jace came home right around the same time.”
“Are you all from around here?”
“I am. I grew up on the other side of this lake. Jace is from Texas and Andy from Colorado. When I had the idea for the business they moved out here to start it up with me. We lived together in a small apartment until we started to make some money. You should have seen that place.”
Wes smiled thinking back on the little walk up they had crowded into. Jo reached up to affectionately feather her hand through Wes’ hair. Wes smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her peach ice cream sweetened lips.
“Ewwww.’ A little voice said forcing them apart.
They looked over to see a little boy with chocolate ice cream rimming his mouth, staring at them.
“Hey don’t knock it till you try it my man.” Wes told him with a chuckle.
Jo giggled and Wes kissed her again before helping her to stand. It was a beautiful night and Wes folded the roof of the car back. Jo reached in her purse and found an elastic band so she could tie her hair back. They took their time driving back to Jo’s.
Wes hated for the night to end but he had early shift tomorrow and Ginger was driving his team batty. When he pulled up to Jo’s place he parked in her spot and walked her to her door. He quickly scrutinized the area but he didn’t see Nick’s car or the other dark sedan.
“Please don’t ask me in Jo. I’m a weak man when it comes to you and I have to be at work ridiculously early tomorrow.” Jo giggled.
“Okay, but just so you know…”
“Don’t say it.” He groaned.
“I was going to say, you will never know.” She teased.
Wes pulled her into his arms and gave her a scorching hot good night kiss that left Jo breathless.
“Thank you for going to dinner with me.” He said after pulling back but still holding her body tightly against him.
“Thank you for taking me. I really had a good time, Wes.” Her neck was tilted back so she could look up into his eyes.
Jo unlocked her front door and reached inside to turn on the outside light and one in her living room. Wes had one hand on the doorframe, and one on her hip. He had no desire to break contact with her until the last possible second.
“One more kiss Jo?”
Jo nodded and then put her hand against his chest to stop him from getting closer. Wes cocked his head confused. Jo pressed against his chest, guiding him backwards until he had to take the one step down onto her walkway. Jo then stepped to the edge of the porch. With Wes now standing on her walkway and her six inches taller, she was only a few inches from his lips. Wes gave her a huge smile and pulled her to him. Jo wrapped her arms around his neck and sank both her hands into his thick hair. They both groaned with the intimate contact. The kiss was sensual, unhurried, and intense.
Wes finally broke the kiss, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. “Jo.” He said huskily placing his forehead on hers.
“I know. You have to go.” She said for him. Wes nodded. “Thanks again Wes. I had fun.”
“Me too, Jo.”
Jo stood in her doorway and watched Wes walk back to his car. Before he got in he turned back to her.
“Go inside Jo, lock up.”
Jo nodded, waved and went inside locking the door behind her. She looked out the front window as Wes drove away. She smiled thinking about the fun time they had had. Jo thought she could seriously fall for the guy. Then she chastised herself, thinking it had been one date; one awesome date, but still she needed to get a grip. Jo didn’t fall for men too often, but when she did, she fell hard and fast.
Wes drove away willing his body to calm. That girl had him feeling like a teenager, all he wanted to do was kiss her. He drove up to his garage and pressed the button to open the door. After he shut down his cars engine he pulled out his phone to text her.
Sweet dreams my Jo
Chapter 12
A Tough Two Weeks
Wes would text Jo as often as he could during the week following their first date. He tried to call her once a day, usually in the early evening when Ginger was napping. Much to his team's chagrin, Ginger often napped from 7:00pm to 11:00pm, so she was fully rested before hitting a club until the wee hours of the morning. Wes was exhausted, and so was his team. He’d lost one of his men on her security detail because of a death in the poor guy's family, and Wes had picked up his shifts while still doing his own.
When he wasn’t on site watching over the wild star, he was busy adjusting his team's schedule to match Ginger's, ever changing hectic agenda, which had become even more challenging since Leena had added two more television interviews and a guest DJ’ing appearance. Wes had to survey all three sites and come up with detailed maps and procedural plan for each place she would be appearing.
Talking to Jo was the best part of his day. She never pumped him for information about what he was doing, but she knew he was tired. She told him that she had accepted another singing engagement at the bar and he told her he would try to stop by to see her.
On Thursday Wes found himself with an hour of free time so he decided he would get some ice cream and surprise Jo at the newspaper. Bag in hand, he walked up to the front desk hoping she wasn’t off chasing a story and asked to see
BJ Ross.
The security guard and the front desk receptionist gave him a funny look and then the receptionist informed him that Ms. Ross did not work at the paper anymore. Wes was floored. She had never once mentioned it. They had texted and talked for hours, had been on a date and not one time had Jo even hinted at the fact that she had left the paper.
Wes turned from the desk walked to a garbage can dumped the ice cream and called Jo.
“Hi” She greeted him happily.
“Hi.” He answered her trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “Guess where I am.” He said.
“Ummm getting ice cream?” She joked.
“Actually I just did that, but no, I’m at the paper, the one you used to work at.” Wes couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He was really upset that she had not told him.
“Ohhhh.” Now she knew why his tone was so snarky.
“Why didn’t you tell me Jo?”
“Oh Wes I just never wanted to bring it up. It’s not a happy memory and I never wanted to wreck our conversations.”
“What happened?” Wes had walked outside and found a bench in the park across the street.
Jo sighed. “Well it’s simple really. They needed to let someone go and I was last hired so first fired.”
“Is that why you are singing?”
“Yes, I’m not in any dire straights financially, please don’t think that. I just want to bring in some extra money.”
“I wish you had told me Jo. I feel like you just kept a huge piece of your life from me, and I thought we were getting to be close, you know.”
“We are Wes, we are getting closer. I love talking to you. But you have been sounding so tired and I would never want to burden you."
Wes grunted. "I would never have thought that Jo."
Jo did not like how under the microscope she felt. She had done nothing wrong. "I have no idea what you are working on, but I sense it’s pretty big." She said hoping to reason with him. Wes remained quiet and Jo sighed, frustrated that he could have secrets but she couldn't.
"Wes, remember the day that we first met?”
“Yes.” Wes said.
“That was my last day at work. That’s why I cried. It really had been a bad day.”
“I can see that now. Can I help in any way?”
“No, see this is what I wanted to avoid. You need to concentrate on your work stuff, not mine.”
Wes was quiet on the other end of the phone and Jo became anxious.
“Wes, please don’t be upset. Let’s move forward.”
He took a second to answer. “I’m not upset with you, I’m just a little thrown. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“I’m sorry Wes. Honestly it was not an intentional omission. Our date last Saturday, and talking and texting with you, has been the best part of my week.”
“I feel the same way. I think I need to see you though.” He said quietly.
“I would love to see you.” She said so enthusiastically that Wes had to smile.
“Okay my Jo I’ll try to stop at the bar tomorrow after my shift okay?”
“That would be nice, but Wes, if you’re too tired, I get it.”
“Jo stop. I need to see you baby.”
She was a sucker when men called her ‘baby,’ but she hated that he sounded so weary and it worried her.
“Okay and Wes?” She paused for effect. “I can’t wait to see you too.”
They ended their call and although Wes felt sad that Jo hadn’t confided in him. He did not think it was anything shifty on her part. He trusted her. In fact he realized that he was giving her a hard time about keeping a secret from him when he was being just as elusive about his own job.
He hadn’t mentioned whom he’d been safe guarding for two reasons. One, it was unprofessional, and he and his team had signed a non-disclosure agreement. Two he did not want Jo to worry that he was spending so much time with the beautiful celebrity. Ginger had a reputation for getting her hooks into men and Wes didn’t want Jo to even thinking that he would look at his client in that way. Unfortunately, Wes had begun to receive some pretty direct signals from Ginger lately. The type of signals that alerted him that she would be more than willing to hook up with him. Wes was not even remotely interested in the shallow thoughtless woman.
When Jo hung up with Wes she had mixed emotions. She felt guilty for not telling Wes about not having a job anymore, but she was elated that Wes wanted to see her. He also had called her ‘baby’ and Jo thought that was hot!
She did realize that he had not opened up to her as to why he was so tired. Jo had been spending a lot of time working on her new case. She had staked out the construction site looking for the man that had slipped her the note, but she hadn’t seen him as of yet.
She had been researching terminology used in the business and she had been schooling herself regarding different grades of materials used for specific types of projects. She had discovered many interesting facts. In fact her notes were beginning to take shape and the only thing she was really missing was the lost list of investors.
Jo had tried to log back on to LexisNexis, the corporate provided, computer assisted legal research site, but the paper had canceled her subscription and it was too expensive for her to pick up on her own.
Jo realized that who ever had stolen her hard copy notes had to have access to her cubicle at the paper, but that could be hundreds of people. She hated that Henry topped her list of suspects.
She thought back to when she had told Henry about the new article she was working on. She closed her eyes and tried to picture who else had been in the room with her and Henry, but she just couldn’t remember.
It was Friday and Jo was keeping her fingers crossed hoping Wes would stop by the bar tonight. He had been texting her, but it was not as frequent as before and Jo hoped she hadn’t blown it by not telling him about losing her job. The honest truth was she hated drama and she really had been enjoying Wes' company. She hadn’t meant to keep anything from him. She also recognized that Wes valued honesty and since she did too it only endeared him to her more.
Jo continued to work on her research and had even gone to the town’s hall of records to request the investor list, which she had to pay a fee for. The clerk said they would mail it to her in the next two weeks.
Jo laid out her clothes for the bar that night then went for a run. She didn’t run her usual route; if she saw Wes he would probably think she was stalking him. Wes hadn’t called her last night and it weighed on her heavily. When Jo entered the bar at 9:30pm, Ty greeted her warmly and opened a beer for her. Jill came out to meet her and Jo noticed she was a little cooler than last time.
Glumly Jo thought Jill might have nothing to fear because Wes was probably backing off their fledgling what-ever-they-had relationship anyway.
When the ball games ended Jo started her set and was soon lost in her music. She sang a different set of songs than last time and she told the bar patrons she’d take requests which they loved.
Jo had been looking for Wes when she first started playing, but the last hour she was performing she’d been kept pretty busy with requests. The patrons would write down the song that they wanted her sing, and place the request on the small table next to her. Jo had just finished a Carly Simon Song when a large hand placed a cocktail napkin on her table. When Jo looked up she saw Wes’ green eyes smiling down at her. Her heart fluttered and she tried to maintain her composure. He was so handsome, dressed in a business suit, looking completely irresistible.
Jo picked up his request and a small smile played over her face. She looked back at Wes who sent her a sexy as sin smile before sitting down at a nearby table. The song, luckily, was one she knew; ‘Here Without You’, by 3 Doors Down. The song was a love song and it is about missing someone. Jo started singing the beautiful song and felt all the emotions the lyrics were conveying. She couldn’t help but sing directly to Wes. The patrons at the bar were awestruck and when she finished
the song she had tears sliding down her face. The crowd gave her a standing ovation and Wes reached her in two long strides. The guitar remained a buffer between them as he possessively claimed her lips. The bar exploded into cheering.
It was one of the most romantic moments Jo had ever experienced. Her heart was beating wildly and she became weak kneed, luckily Wes’ strong hands were supporting her.
Jill made herself known. “She still has another fifteen minutes of play time.” She was standing right behind Wes with her hands on her hips and she did not look happy. Her words had the same effect as dousing them with cold water would have.
Jo looked around ridiculously embarrassed and immediately apologized. Wes shot Jill a look then placed a quick kiss on Jo’s forehead, before sitting back down. Jo finished her set and the crowd once again gave her a standing ovation. As the bar slowly resumed its normal activity Wes returned to Jo. He helped her pack her guitar in her case and then he led her to a nearby booth.
Jo slid into the bench seat and instead of Wes sitting opposite her he sat right next to her. He kept his arm draped around her shoulder craving the contact.
“I really have been missing you Jo.” Wes said leaning down whispering into her ear.
Jo looked up at Wes with tears in her eyes. She was emotional and she couldn’t help it. The song he chose, the kiss, this man was becoming special to her and it frightened her.
“Baby what’s the matter?”
Jo wiped an errant tear and decided to come clean. If it scared him off then she’d just have to recover.
“I was afraid you were done with me.”
“What?” Wes looked concerned. “Why?”
“It’s just you haven’t been texting as much and last night you didn’t call. I don’t mean to sound so needy. I’m sorry. I just thought you were trying to distance your…”
Wes grabbed Jo gently and pulled her against him, devouring her in a frantic, passion filled kiss. Jo clung to his large biceps and then she completely forgot where she was and threaded her fingers through his thick dark hair.
One Tough Love Page 7
