Set the Night on Fire

by Laura Trentham

  The blonde approached once the tow truck was out of sight. “I’m hungry, Ella. I thought we were going to eat.”

  The woman was pretty enough if you liked the type, but she didn’t interest Mack beyond the fact Ella seemed reluctant to introduce them. Who was she? One easy way to find out. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Mack Abbott. Nice to meet you.”

  She returned his shake and gave him a glance through her lashes that he classified as flirty. Although, he might have been mistaken, considering how far out of practice he was with the concept.

  “Megan Boudreaux.”

  He startled. A sister? Ella had only mentioned her lost brother. But, Boudreaux was her married name. Sister-in-law, then?

  Ella’s smile was more like gritted teeth. “Megan is Trevor’s current wife.”

  Mack sent Ella a “what the hell” look, and she returned an “I know it’s weird” shrug and shake of her head.

  Megan touched his forearm. “We’re headed to a restaurant Ella couldn’t stop raving about. Would you like to join us?”

  Ella thumbed over her shoulder. “We’re headed to Rufus’s.”

  He’d actually been headed there himself when he’d run across Marigold with car trouble. “You mind if I join you?” He directed the question toward Ella.

  Megan brushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she leaned into him. “Not at all. In fact, I insist.”

  Ella rolled her eyes over Megan’s head and gestured down the sidewalk, leading the way. He sidestepped away from Megan, but she aligned herself closer to him than was necessary. Every time he moved away, she closed the distance until his shoulder skimmed the brick wall.

  How in the world had Ella ended up entertaining her d-bag ex’s current wife? The story was sure to be a doozy. As soon as he could manage it, he’d get her alone. He found himself looking forward to it.

  Megan filled the silence with chatter about the shopping she and Ella had done on the other side of the river. She showed him a dress she bought from Sutton’s boutique. He glanced at it but didn’t say anything. Mainly because he wasn’t interested in dresses. Or Megan. His attention was on Ella.

  Her long-legged stride rocked her hips on each step like she was on a catwalk. Was it natural or deliberate? Either way it was like watching a metronome. Mesmerizing and sexy as hell.

  “By the way, your pants are filthy, Ella.” Megan opened the door to Rufus’s and trotted inside on her heels like a temperamental racehorse.

  Ella brushed over the back of her jeans then pushed her hair behind one ear and twisted to see. She’d managed to transfer some of the grime from her pants to her neck. “Better?”

  “Your neck’s dirty now.”

  She rubbed but missed the streak entirely.

  “Here, let me help.” He wrapped his hand around her nape and rubbed his thumb over the dirt until it was gone. She relaxed into his touch, her face tilting up. He kept stroking as if his brain had misfired. Her skin was soft and flawless.

  Her tongue dabbed along her lower lip, and she drew it between her teeth before slowly letting it go, leaving her lip plumped and red. One tug would have their bodies close and her lips in striking distance. He’d suck her bottom lip between his teeth and make her moan. Make her beg. His body leapt with awareness. He dropped his hand as if she was literally too hot for him to handle.

  Even though they were no longer physically touching, their gazes held. She looked away first and left him to blink himself out of the trance. It felt like an hour had transpired, but inside, Megan was still studying the menu.

  “I guess you’re wondering what’s up.” Ella gestured her head toward Megan, but didn’t look in her direction.

  “I can’t deny I’m curious. Are you two plotting your ex’s demise together?”

  “Ha! I wish.” Ella’s still-reddened lips tipped in a small smile, but they promptly thinned into a tension-filled line. “Actually, I wish I could stay out of it. I thought I’d left Trevor behind for good.”

  “What does he want from you?” He stuck his clenched hands into his front pockets to hide his agitation from her. Trevor deserved to get dumped in the swamps for many reasons, but what ate at Mack was the power he still held over Ella.

  “He wants me to convince Megan to take him back.”

  “Is that why she’s here? Is that what you’re doing hanging out with her?”

  They both glanced inside. Megan squinted in their direction and gestured them in.

  “Not exactly.” Ella made a move toward the door, but Mack put a hand on the glass and pushed while Ella pulled. He won.

  “I sense trouble.”

  “Maybe. But it’s my trouble.” She arched her brows. “If you don’t mind, I’m hungry.”

  They engaged in a staring contest. This time he was the first to blink and stepped away. She entered and joined Megan at the counter.

  The three of them ordered, with Megan insisting on paying with a black American Express. The only free table was in the middle of the restaurant. Mack exchanged nods with several acquaintances. This little outing would be sure to get back to his brothers.

  He remained silent during the bulk of the conversation mostly because he had little to add to a discussion of shoes and interior design.

  Megan leaned over the table and touched his forearm, her long blood-red nails rasping against his skin. “Tell me all about your business. Is car restoration a big moneymaker?”

  He pulled his arms back and crossed them over his chest. “We don’t do it for the money. We do it because we love the work.”

  Megan’s smile was bemused. “I can’t imagine Ella working in a car garage. You should have seen her when she ruled Jackson society.” Megan took a draw on her tea, leaving a lipstick stain on the straw.

  “I didn’t rule anything in Mississippi, not even my life.” Ella’s bitterness was like unsweetened lemonade.

  Even Megan seemed affected by the change of mood. “I always admired you. Thought you were super sophisticated and together.”

  A huffing noise that faintly resembled a laugh erupted from Ella. “Is that why you started up something with Trevor? Because you wanted what I had?”

  Megan looked stricken. “No. That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, Ella.”

  Ella rolled her eyes. “Actually, I should thank you for freeing me from the shackles of man and marriage. I had been looking for a way out long before you showed up.”

  Pain did a poor job hiding underneath her biting sarcasm. What had her ex done to her? Not just physically, but to her psyche?

  “Not all guys are like him.” It wasn’t the first time he’d started an argument with her, but his need to change her mind was overwhelming his reserve. Her blanket dismissal of men needled him.

  “Really? In my experience, they are. Ever since I was sixteen, men have been sniffing around and offering me the world if I’ll let them use me. I learned that eventually you tarnish, and men like Trevor toss you over for someone shinier.”

  Megan made a sound that might have been a sob. She rose and quickstepped out of the restaurant. Ella closed her eyes, sighed, and ran both hands through her hair, resting her elbows on the table. “I’m a total bitch, aren’t I?”

  “It’s part of your charm.” He forced a lightness he didn’t feel into his voice.

  A chuckle accompanied the flash of her smile, but she didn’t respond.

  “Ella.” He waited until she peeked up at him. “What is Megan doing here?”

  “She left Trevor and needs a place to hide out until she figures things out.”

  “Has he threatened her?”

  “I don’t know. Her parents are pushing for a reconciliation. According to Megan, Trevor’s made some poor real estate investments and needs her trust money.”

  “Does she want a divorce?”

  Ella’s gaze darted off to the side. “I don’t know if she wants a divorce or a break.”

  His brief encounter with Trevor had put him on edge. The man had an
unpredictable violent streak. The fact Ella had dealt with him for years and was now putting herself in danger for Megan harshened his attitude and his tone. “I don’t like this. Tell Megan to go home.”

  “Back to him? And then what?” She turned her dark blue eyes on him, and the vehemence and strength was like a punch. “If someone doesn’t help her, then she’ll never get away.”

  “Who helped you?”

  “No one. I had no one to help me.” She popped to standing so fast, her chair tipped over. Ignoring it, she grabbed the shopping bags and pushed out the door.

  Mack righted the chair, cleared off their table, and followed her, but Ella was already over the footbridge and across the river with Megan doing her best to keep up.

  He smoothed a hand over his beard and watched them until they disappeared into her little blue convertible. Problem was he couldn’t keep watch on her all the time, and troubles circled like buzzards.

  Chapter Ten

  Monday morning, Ella sat in her car outside the garage and stared at the door. She’d left Megan still sleeping in her spare bedroom, no closer to figuring out what to do about or for her. Trevor hadn’t come calling. Yet. There was always a “yet” where Trevor was concerned.

  Trevor hadn’t had too much to drink, yet. Trevor hadn’t lost his temper and lashed out, yet. Trevor hadn’t come home stinking of another woman’s perfume, yet.

  Not all guys are like him. Ella hadn’t been able to banish Mack’s words. What was Mack like? Was he the gruff, infuriating man who could physically dominate her without breaking a sweat? Or did his eyes and touch hint at an innate kindness? And why did both sides of the man thrill her?

  It was confusing and embarrassing and shame inducing. The years of emotional and physical abuse had taken a toll on her. Especially when Trevor had accused her of provoking his behavior with her sharp attitude and tongue.

  As if he could sense her rumination on him, the door to the shop opened and Mack filled the doorway, wiping his hands on a shop towel. He didn’t come pull her out of her car or make any sort of move to acknowledge her at all. Except with his eyes. They cut straight through metal and glass to touch her. He propped a shoulder against the jamb, one boot crossed over the other, and waited.

  As if he exerted his own gravitational pull, she found herself opening the car door and walking straight up to him. “Good morning,” she said softly.

  “Morning. Everything okay?”

  She knew what he really wanted to know. “Trevor didn’t show up on my doorstep.”

  “He will.”

  His simple prediction stoked the ember of fear Megan’s arrival had banked. “Yeah, I know.”

  “I worry about you.”

  “Why? If something happened, then all your problems would be solved.” She kept her head down and tried to brush past him, but he blocked her, his hands on either side of the door.

  “Don’t say that.” His fierce whisper had her looking up at him.

  “Why not? It’s true. You don’t want me here.” It was a fact, and she lifted her chin, daring him to argue with her.

  “You’re not an Abbott, so no, I don’t want you owning part of my garage. But that doesn’t mean I don’t…” His jaw worked before words emerged in a hoarse rush. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “I can take care of myself.” She poked her finger into his chest and pushed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

  Her puny effort to move him only worked because he chose to give way. She swept past him into his office and tensed, waiting for him to follow her for round two, but he didn’t. Sidling close enough to the office door to see the shop floor, she found him talking to Jackson in the corner at the welder. Were they talking about her? She gave a little laugh at her self-centered assumption. No doubt they were discussing their favorite subject—cars.

  She sat at the main computer and began the laborious process of transferring the shop’s financials over to the new system. An hour passed in relative silence and boredom as she checked and double-checked her work. One mistake would wreck the foothold she’d established. She needed her work to be exemplary.

  She stood and stretched, craning her neck to check the shop floor, her gaze drawn to Mack like he was her homing beacon. His hands were braced on the front of Marigold’s car while Jackson and Willa flanked him. All of them stared at the engine compartment; none of them looked happy.

  She chewed her lip while she debated the merits of inserting herself, but considering she was the one who had convinced Marigold to let go of her pride and allow the Abbotts to work on her car, Ella had a stake in the problem.

  She weaved her way to where Mack alternately stared at the engine and paced. She sidled up to Willa. “Grim news?”

  “Transmission is toast.”

  “How much does it cost to replace one?”

  “A couple of thousand if we can find a decent rebuilt one. Upwards four K for a new one.” Willa sighed. “More than Marigold can cover right now, that’s for certain.”

  While sadness had resided in Marigold’s eyes, it was the desperation that had spoken clearly to Ella. Although their circumstances were different, Ella understood the desperation of not having any options.

  “I’ll cover it.” She whispered the words. When only Willa turned to her with wide eyes, Ella cleared her throat and raised her voice. “I’ll cover the cost. That way the garage won’t have to take a loss and neither will Marigold.”

  Mack stopped pacing and pivoted to face her. “Why would you offer to do that for a woman you barely know?”

  “Because…” Admitting anything would reveal too much. She forced a lightness she didn’t feel into a smile. “Because I have the money. Might as well put it to good use.”

  Mack narrowed his eyes as if he could arrow past her smile to her heart. “I appreciate that, but the garage could absorb the cost and labor. It’s the fact Marigold will balk against the charity. She’d drive Dave’s work truck before she lets us fix her car.”

  “No, she won’t,” Willa said. “They had to sell Dave’s truck last month to cover medical bills.”

  Jackson muttered a curse and shook his head. Mack sighed, pulled the hair on his chin, and stared at the shop floor.

  Fixing Marigold’s car was only the tip of a bill-stuffed iceberg for her family. Ella remembered what it had been like after Grayson had died in the training accident. Her mom and stepdad had blown through the money from the army settlement in months. The bank had repossessed the two expensive cars they’d bought. The house would have been next if her stepdad hadn’t got a new job with a long-haul tractor-trailer company.

  “Marigold and her family need more help than a rebuilt transmission,” Ella said.

  “That’s all we’ve got to offer. What else can we do?” Willa kicked at the tire, the slump of her shoulders despondent.

  Good question. Ideas whirled around in her head. Marigold wouldn’t like any of them as they skated too close to charity. But what if she could spin it somehow to make Marigold feel like she was doing the garage a favor? And if the pieces came together, her idea could benefit the garage too.

  Ella steepled her hands at her chin and tapped her fingers together.

  “Considering you’re making the universal evil-plan hand gesture, I assume you have an idea?” The thread of amusement in Mack’s voice had her gaze flying to him. The corner of his mouth was ticked up, crinkling the corresponding eye.

  He was handsome when he smiled. He was handsome when he frowned too. He was, without a doubt, the sexiest man she’d ever seen. And, Delmar Fournette was right—she wanted to devour him right here on the shop floor.

  “Are you planning to share with the class?” Mack took a step closer to her.

  For her own sanity, she took a step back. “Not yet. Not until I have time to think it through. Anyway, it would be more of a long-term fix for Marigold’s situation. The car is the immediate problem. What’s the plan?”

  “I say we fix
it and drop it off in the middle of the night with a big bow on top,” Willa said.

  Mack shook his head, a resigned reluctance in his voice. “Yeah. Not sure if it will be a good surprise or bad surprise but I agree.”

  “How about I go talk to Dave?” Jackson asked. “He might be a little less prideful and more sensible than Marigold right now.”

  “Worth a shot,” Mack said.

  Their impromptu meeting broke up, and Ella retreated to the office where the spreadsheets and accounting program took a back seat to the seed of an idea that spread like kudzu in her head.

  “You want to talk it out?” Mack’s voice startled her out of her semi-meditative state. He leaned in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, his masculinity a wall.

  “Not yet. But soon.”

  “Why all the effort to help Marigold?”

  It was basically the same question he posed earlier. He wasn’t going to give up until she gave him an answer. She met his eyes and didn’t flinch. “Because I understand desperation.”

  His arms dropped to his side, and he looked away for a moment before meeting her eyes again. “Are you talking about your marriage?”

  “Partly, but also the way I grew up.”

  She didn’t make a habit of talking about her childhood. She and Trevor had gotten married in front of the cream of Jackson society, and her mother and stepdad had not been invited. She’d told Trevor she and her mother were estranged, and in fact, Trevor had known very little of the way she had grown up. Once she’d caught his wandering eyes, she was eager to leave her old life behind, not realizing yet that she’d only moved from one level of hell to a different one with a better view.

  If anyone could understand, Mack would. Still, they weren’t friends. She wasn’t sure what they were. She swiveled away from him and faced the computer. “I better get my work done before the boss gives me a hard time.”

  Mack didn’t move from the doorway, and it took all of Ella’s self-control not to look over at him again. When he walked away, he left a vacuum.