Lone Star Burn_Love On Tap

by Judy Kentrus

  She walked around a little more, and opened a door to a small room that was clean but for the folded blanket on the floor in a corner. Next to it were two small stainless steel bowls. One contained water and the other appeared to hold dried cat food. A sign on the wall made out of construction paper read “Tiger’s Place.” One of the boards to the outside had been shorn off to create a small opening for the animal to come in and out. Jennie was about to leave when a young brown and gray cat scooted in through the small opening and headed for the bowl of water.

  “Well hello, Tiger. Now I know where you get your name.” The cat’s tail and two back legs were ringed with black stripes. After it finished drinking, it walked toward Jennie and brushed against the bottom of her jeans. “So you’re the friendly type.” She put a hand under its soft belly and determined Tiger was a boy and a little older than a kitten. The cat purred when she brushed her cheek against its head, and she smiled into his golden eyes.

  “Gotta go, Tiger,” she said, and placed him on the blanket.

  She was standing at the counter next to the sink when Gray and Mathew came home. Gray was carrying a pizza box. Jennie offered a big smile in welcome, but the smile on the ten-year-old’s face dimmed. He could have been Gray’s clone. His black hair was short and neat, but the gray eyes were the same. Both were dressed in jeans and red tshirts. From the amount of junk food he ate, Mathew was on the thin side.

  “Hi,” she said when they walked into the kitchen. “Where’s all the fish?”

  “We only catch and release,” Gray said with a soft smile. He was disappointed he hadn’t gotten to see her in his shorts and shirt. “How was your day?”

  Gray set the box on the table and opened the refrigerator. He paused to take in the clean and practically empty interior, before taking out three cans of Coke. “Guess you met Vanessa, my housekeeper. She isn’t generally here on the weekends.”

  “No. I’ve been alone all day.” She leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her breasts.

  His brow crinkled in a frown. “Who cleaned up the kitchen?”

  “The cleaning fairy showed up, waved a magic wand, and said ‘abracadabra’ and the mess was gone.”

  She ignored Gray’s annoyed frown and held out her hand to Mathew. “Hi. I’m Jennie.” She was hoping to get a smile out of the young boy when she made her little joke, but his face was filled with distrust.

  “Matt, this is my friend Jennie, the lady I told you about.”

  “Hi,” he said, avoiding direct eye contact.

  “I hope you like pizza,” Gray said, setting out paper plates and a big stack of napkins on the clean table. Normally the mess didn’t bother him, but… “We eat takeout on the weekends.”

  “I love pizza.” She didn’t have to be a mind-reader to feel the “I don’t like you” vibes coming from Mathew. He felt threatened by her presence, and she needed to do something to reassure him she was not going to become a permanent part of his uncle’s life.

  She sat on the opposite side of the table, helped herself to a slice of pepperoni pizza, and sipped soda from the can. “I took a little walk around today and met Tiger.”

  The moment she mentioned the cat, Mathew stiffened and avoided looking at either adult.

  “Who?” Gray asked.

  “Tiger, the cat.”

  “We don’t have a cat. Mathew is in school all week and has afterschool activities. I’m working all the time, so we can’t take care of a pet. Our neighbors on either side raise horses, so the animal must belong to one of them. Sometimes the horses come to the fence so Matt can pet them.”

  The pleading look on Matt’s face was a clear indication Gray didn’t know about Tiger. Something told her not to reveal the child’s secret. She shrugged a shoulder and winked at him. “It probably belongs to your neighbor.”

  He gave her sheepish smile, drank more Coke, and boldly announced, “Uncle, did you know horses fart?”

  “What!”

  “You know, fart, like people. My friends do it in school on purpose to see who can make the loudest noise. I was standing at the fence this morning patting Lightning and he farted.”

  Gray’s eyes darted to Jennie; he expected to see shock and outrage at his nephew’s crass statement while they were eating dinner. Laughter danced in her eyes and she covered her smile with a paper napkin. His first instinct had been to laugh, but that, too, would have been inappropriate. He summoned a serious look on his face and nodded in acknowledgement.

  “I didn’t know that about horses or your friends, but that isn’t an appropriate topic to discuss at the table.”

  Gray forced himself to concentrate on eating and not on Jennie. She was wearing the damn perfume, and his mind kept drifting to her visit that morning. He’d debated letting her know he was aware she was a peeping Barbie.

  When they finished eating, Gray helped her clean up and told Mathew to take his shower. He was about to ask Jennie if she would like coffee when his cell phone rang.

  “Excuse me, I have to take this. It’s my housekeeper.”

  When he returned to the kitchen, the expression on his face said the phone call had not been pleasant. “What’s wrong?” Jennie asked.

  “The news is good and bad. That was Vanessa’s husband. She went into premature labor, but delivered a healthy baby boy. The bad part is I won’t have a housekeeper for the next two weeks.”

  “She’s been working that far into her pregnancy?”

  “She was going to stop two weeks from now and already made arrangements for her cousin to take over, but she can’t start for two weeks. This really leaves me in a bind. I certainly can’t start making phone calls at seven o’clock on a Sunday night.”

  Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing to happen, Jennie thought. Helping him out would be the perfect opportunity to assess the home situation. Who was she kidding? It would give her that much more time to spend with Grayson.

  “I have no strict schedule, so how about I give you a hand?”

  Gray felt like he’d just been given the ultimate gift, plus he’d be able to spend more time with Jennie, but his second sense warned, you know nothing about this woman. Can she be trusted? He decided to go with his gut. “You would do that? What about your schedule?”

  “I’m playing tourist and my time is my own. I’ll still call tomorrow to find out about getting a replacement truck. I can order clothes and get one-day shipping to your address. Actually, it’s a win-win situation.”

  “I’d be willing to pay you for your time.”

  “Now you’re being insulting.”

  “I’ll cover the cost of your rental truck for your entire trip.”

  “Is everything about the bottom line for you? Haven’t you ever done something to help out a friend?” Jennie laughed to herself. This was a perfect example of her sister-in-law Cindi Pearl’s personal motto: do a good deed for a friend in need. She thought about the junk food and sloppy mess she’d encountered that morning.

  “I’ll help you out under certain conditions, and I’ll expect a few things from you.”

  Gray needed to touch her, and caressed the back of her hand with the tip of his finger. In his mind he was using that finger to enlighten his senses to the shape and feel of one of her girls. Stop torturing yourself. “Tell me.”

  Jennie ignored the “I want to eat you up” look in his eye. Lust could wait. “I’ll need a schedule for you and Mathew, and I want food in this house so I can cook a decent meal. Say goodbye to pizza for the next two weeks. I’ll expect you to pick up after yourselves. Since I’m going to be here for Mathew’s birthday, I want you to ask him what kind of party he’d like to have.”

  “A birthday party?”

  “Haven’t you ever given him one? How did you celebrate his birthday in other years?”

  “I told him he could have whatever he wanted for a present and we ordered it online. He understands I’m his uncle and we’re buds. I can’t always be here. That’s why I have a housekeep
er.”

  Jennie was appalled. “Tell me you at least had a birthday cake for him.”

  Gray honestly didn’t know. “I think he had one. It’s only a damn cake.”

  Outrage filled her eyes. “That damn cake is very important in a child’s life!”

  “What more do you want? I see him off to school, go into the office, work with my brewmaster, and do paperwork. We don’t open until four, but I own and oversee fifteen other microbreweries. I spend a part of my day at the brewery in Fort Mavis, planning the commercial launch for my new beer. Vanessa is here when Matt comes home from school. She helps him with his homework and makes his dinner. Depending on the day, I come home around eight. We hang out until he goes to bed. On Friday and Saturday nights, Marsha is here and stays till I get home. We’re closed on Sundays, so I’m home all day.”

  Jennie was outraged by his callous attitude. “Grayson, there is something seriously wrong with this situation. Do you ever take the time to sit down and actually talk to him? Find out what’s going on in his young life?”

  Gray shoved up from his chair and put much-needed distance between them. “What gives you, a total stranger, the right to come in here and chastise me for the way I take care of my nephew? He’s got a roof over his head, food to eat, he’s never left alone, and can have just about anything he wants. You’re only doing me a favor until his new sitter starts.”

  “What a cold-hearted bastard you are!” Jennie, too, stood up and jammed her hands on her hips. She met him face to face, just like she’d done the night before. “If that’s the way you feel, get someone else to help you out at the last minute. I’ll be out of here tomorrow, but before I do, I’m going to have my say, and I don’t care whether you like it or not. You’ve hired a small army to take care of Mathew! Your refrigerator and pantry are filled with junk food and the electronics in his bedroom support half the toy makers in the known universe!”

  Jennie pointed in the direction of Matt’s bedroom. “Those mechanical things are supposed to reassure him of your love? You give him a day and a maybe a couple of hours in the evening!”

  Gray hated that she was right and had immediately pointed out the inadequacy of his being able to provide the time needed to give Mathew the proper upbringing. He loved that kid, so much. That was why he’d been trying to adopt him. Some of the fire left his voice.

  “What the hell do you expect me to do? I’ve got businesses to run. Don’t even suggest I get married. I mentioned last night I’d never walk down that nightmarish aisle.”

  “I understand you have professional obligations, but you just described a workaholic who hires others to take care of his nephew.” Jennie threw up her arms. She really wanted to yank him by his ponytail to wake up his common sense. “Turn one of your spare bedrooms into an office and work from home. FaceTime with your managers, or whoever is in charge. You’re the damn boss, so they have to be there at your convenience. Mathew should be your priority. I’ll bet you don’t even know his best friend’s name or his favorite basketball team.” It’s no wonder he doesn’t know about Tiger, Jennie said to herself.

  “It’s the Knicks,” Gray said with a triumphant smile. “Score one for me.”

  “That’s because he has a poster on his wall!” Jennie mentally kicked herself in the ass. He’d know she looked in Mathew’s room, too.

  He gave her a roguish smile and leaned in close to whisper, “You should have told me you wanted to see if I told the truth about sleeping naked.” He immediately backed off when he heard Matt returning to the kitchen.

  Jennie wanted to crawl under the table—anything to hide the embarrassing redness to her cheeks—and turned her attention to Mathew. His light brown pajamas reflected his love for Star Wars. A picture of Chewbacca took up the front of the shirt.

  “Matt, Vanessa went to the hospital to have her baby. Jennie has agreed to stay on to take care of you for the next two weeks.”

  “Is that okay with you, Matt?” Jennie asked.

  When the very shy young man flipped his small shoulders in response to her question, Jennie knew she had a rough road ahead communicating with Mathew Wolff. She turned her head and glowered at Gray, giving him a poke in the side with her finger.

  “Ask him.”

  “What?”

  The party, she silently mouthed.

  Gray put an arm around Matt’s shoulder. “I know you have a birthday coming up this weekend and I thought we’d do something different this year. Would you like to have a birthday party?”

  Matt stared up at his uncle, wide-eyed. “You mean, like, inviting friends and stuff?”

  Gray didn’t know the first thing about having a child’s party, but he was about to find out. “Sure, why not. What would you like to do?”

  “Can I have a sleepover, right here in the house?”

  Jennie saw the spark of happiness dance in Matt’s eyes. Grayson had no clue what entertaining a bunch of young boys entailed.

  “Sure. How many kids would you like to have?”

  Matt thought a moment. “I have eight friends that I’d like to invite. Brandon, Kenny, Dave, Jose, Steve, Manuel, Jace, and Jimmy.” His excitement faded all too soon. “It’s too late to ask them if we’re going to have it on Saturday. We need invitations and stuff.”

  “Saturday,” Gray repeated, just realizing that was his busiest night of the week, but the happiness in Matt’s eyes said this party meant a great deal to his nephew. Why had it taken only a few words from Jennie to point out some of the mistakes he’d been making?

  The disappointed expressions on Grayson and Matt’s faces urged Jennie to step up to the plate. “It’s not too late if we work on the invitations this evening. If you have a color printer, we can make them and you can give them out to your friends in school tomorrow.”

  “I have a printer connected to the computer in my room!”

  “Did you have a special theme in mind?” Jennie asked.

  Matt jumped up and down and shouted, “Star Wars!”

  Jennie smiled at the picture on the front of his PJs. “How did I not know that? I can get ideas on Pinterest.” Jennie paused. “I need you to do something for me.”

  “What?” Matt asked with a great deal of skepticism in his voice.

  “Clean your room.”

  “My uncle cleans my room for me. He’s been working a lot and hasn’t been able to pick up the mess.”

  Jennie’s eyes darted to Grayson. “You clean his room?”

  “We have a deal. He doesn’t give me any hassle in the morning when I wake him for school, and I clean his room.”

  “You two are unbelievable! That doesn’t cut it with me, and if I’m going to be the housekeeper for the next two weeks, I’m initiating a whole new game plan.” Jennie held out a hand to Mathew. “Let’s make a deal. You are in bed by nine-thirty with the lights out and I promise not to dump a bucket of cold water on your head in the morning when I wake you up for school.”

  “Would you really do that?” he asked.

  “Yup! My mother did that to my brother and it worked every time. You will also take total responsibility for keeping your room clean.”

  This lady is scary, Matt decided, but shook her hand before he looked up to his uncle. “Will you help me?”

  “Sure, buddy.”

  “While you’re doing that, I’ll put together a couple of invitations and you can choose which one you like.”

  “You go ahead. I’ll be there in a few. I want to talk to Jennie for a moment.”

  Chapter 4

  “I take it you’re staying.”

  “Looks that way. I’m sorry I called you a cold-hearted bastard. I get on my soapbox and the words just come out.”

  “I can be one at times, but you’re helping me out more than you know. I’m sorry I was so nasty, but you opened my eyes. I’m not used to people, especially women, being honest with me and pointing out my inadequacies. I’ve kept it low-key until it’s official, but I’m in the process of adoptin
g Mathew and I’m waiting to get notification of my final home visitation from child services. I’ve been going round and round with the establishment for the past year and I keep hitting roadblocks. When I question Dottie Dimple, his caseworker, she keeps giving me the same old sob story. I have to wait and everything will work out. She’s a nice lady, but I think she’s a little dippy.”

  “I take it he was in the system?”

  “My younger sister Crystal and Todd, Mathew’s father, weren’t married, but they were happy and lived very quietly. Matt was in the car when my sister and her husband were hit head-on. The car seat saved him, thank God. He was put into foster care for a year until they tracked me down.”

  Gray reached for Jennie’s hand and threaded their fingers together. “I love that kid. I may not show it, but he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Tell me what I need to do to make sure this adoption goes through.”

  “Gray, I don’t have all the answers.” Jennie’s voice was filled with understanding. “I’ve never been a mother and my parent clock has just about run out.”

  “Parent clock?”

  “You know. The woman thing: hormones go crazy, mood swings, hot flashes. Menopause. I’m only forty, but you can’t fight Mother Nature.”

  “Ah, now I understand. That’s a shame, because you would have made a great mother.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t want to have a child. I went with a guy for three years and we got engaged. Three months before the wedding, he announced we’d never have children because he had to concentrate on his career. He was a lawyer. I told him to shove the ring up his ass. He’s a card-carrying member of my Men Are Assholes club.”

  “Sounds like a real jerk.”

  “Oh, he is. He married his boss’s daughter and they have three children. I saw him five years ago and he wanted to pick up where we left off. Of course he was still married. I got on my soapbox in the middle of a five-star restaurant and called him a lying, cheating snake and told him he didn’t deserve to be a father.” Jennie shrugged. “After that, I never met anyone who made my heart go pitter-patter. When I think about it, I only wanted to get married because my friends were getting married and had kids.