“Behave, James, or you just might find a lump of coal in your stocking.”
His deep laughter tickled her neck before he straightened. “Fine. I promise to be good. Where to next?” He lifted both their shopping bags in one hand. “With this, and what we bought at the toy store earlier, we can cross Isaac off our list.”
“After I pick up some lotion for Marla, I’m done.” She turned them in the right direction, but James drug his feet.
He stalled out ten feet from the entrance and shook his head. “I can’t go in a girly store.” He nodded at the men crowding the nearby benches. “I’ll wait out here.”
She giggled at his expression. You’d think she’d asked him to walk into a lingerie department. “Body wash and perfume insult your manly ego?”
He leaned down and whispered next to her ear, “My manly ego loves those girly scents against your skin.” He sniffed against her neck and Joni shivered.
She nodded at a drink vendor. “You need something to cool you down.”
“Uh-uh. You shivered. We need some more heat. You want a double mocha?”
“No, I’ll just have a sip of yours.”
He kissed her cheek. “Take your time. I’ll wait near the fountain.”
Joni lingered in the shop. She bought four tubs of body butter for gifts and two for herself. James wasn’t at the fountain, so she entered the bookstore and purchased her dad the latest hardback from his favorite author. When she exited, James walked from the direction of the electronics store. She smiled. He’d been playing monster trucks again.
~~~
The clear tape tangled between his fingers, tearing the paper underneath James’s thumb. Joni giggled as she walked past him and placed another perfectly wrapped gift under the tree.
Rising on his knees, he looped a red ribbon around her and pulled her close. “I admit it. I’m better at opening gifts.” He tied a loose knot at her waist.
The colorful lights on the tree reflected in her eyes. Her hands rested on his shoulders. “Maybe, you should put Isaac’s truck together and leave the gifts to me.”
His knuckle traced the ribbon’s curl near her zipper. “I’m tired of waiting. I want to open a present now.” Her gasp drew his attention to her mouth. He stood. “I’ve been a very good boy this year.” He tasted caramel on her lips. “Isaac’s with Sara until we finish the gifts.”
Dainty fingers toyed with the buttons on his shirt. “James, you know there can’t be any of that kind of unwrapping until…”
Her cheeks turned the color of a conch shell. Would he be a good husband? Or would he turn out like his own father? He pushed those thoughts aside. Lifting her left hand, he pressed kisses on her ring finger. “Until…?”
She rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath. “James, you know.”
He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “When I was a kid, I’d use my pocket knife and slice the tape on my presents.” He tugged on the little ribbon and it fell to the carpet. “After peeking inside, I’d rewrap my gifts and no one ever suspected a thing.”
Her voice was so low he barely heard. “Weren’t you disappointed Christmas morning?”
He grinned as her eyes clouded over. “Uh-uh. Knowing what was inside those packages made me more eager to claim them.”
Long lashes fluttered against her creamy skin. “James.”
He lowered her to the carpet. Gift wrap, bows, and ribbons scattered with a wave of his hand. He relinquished her mouth long enough to pull her sweater over her head. The hem of her silky red camisole was bunched in his fist when his phone rang. He froze. What if Isaac needed him? The ringing persisted. James snatched up the phone. “Yeah!”
Joni’s eyes snapped open and she sat up with her back toward him.
“Hi.” Sara’s cheery voice intruded on his thoughts. “I know you wanted Isaac home tonight, but it’s late and he wants to sleep over. What do you say?”
James grinned into the phone. “Sounds great. I’ll pick him up in the morning.” He ended the call and reached for Joni. His hand landed on her shoulders. The thin straps couldn’t hide their nakedness and his lips followed the path of his hands. He turned her in his arms and dipped his head.
Her phone rang across the room.
James stilled. “Let it ring. It’s probably Sara again.” He kissed the curve of her neck.
The ringing persisted. Joni crawled away and hurried toward her purse. As she answered, his eyes glued to the rise and fall of her chest. The lacy shirt dipped low in the front. He followed her and recaptured her waist as she said goodnight to Isaac. “Hang up, Joni.”
“Is James there with you?” Sara’s voice was loud enough for him to hear.
“Yes.” Joni flinched from his touch.
He caught his shirt, which she threw at him, and growled in protest. “Come back.”
Joni spoke into the phone. “No, he’s fine. Just aggravated with the some assembly required thing.” She waved him toward the door, grabbed her sweater, and disappeared down the hall. The bathroom door shut a few seconds later.
His sister ruined everything. If only she hadn’t called? James stomped outside and let the frigid air cool his heated blood. Isaac’s big truck was in the storage room. It needed to be put together, but first he had to sneak Joni’s gift out of the car.
He shivered in the night air. The keyboard had barely fit. He may never get it out of the trunk. After maneuvering the box a hundred different ways, it was finally freed. His frustration wasn’t helped by either the inflexible cardboard or the stubborn lock on the storage room. By the time he had Joni’s keyboard safely hidden away and Isaac’s truck parts in the living room, James was ready to throw both gifts over the banister.
The bathroom door creaked open.
The ribbon on Joni’s shirt was laced tight and secured in a double knot. Her eyes traveled over him and then shifted to the gift wrap littering the floor. “We can’t do that again. It’s dangerous.”
He released a sigh and got to work assembling the ride-on toy. After she finished wrapping Isaac’s gifts, she helped him with the stickered headlights. She yawned and collected the excess paper. “I’d better get going.”
James glanced at his watch. After midnight. “Stay. I worry about you driving this late.”
Her condescending frown made him laugh. She disappeared into the kitchen with the trash and came back empty-handed.
He opened his arms. “I’m serious.” Hugging her close, he rested his cheek against her head. “You can sleep in Isaac’s room. There will be a locked door between us.”
She lifted her eyes and gave an exaggerated gasp. “I can’t believe you’d lock me out.”
“Never.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I love holding you while you sleep.” She lifted a questioning brow. “The night we met.” Memories assailed him and he gulped a steadying breath. “The night in front of Kappa House.” His lips brushed hers. “Stay.”
She stepped out of his arms. Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. “It’s not the same now and you know it.” She shrugged into her coat and reached for her purse.
Frustration welled up inside him. He refrained from beating his head against the wall and followed her to the door. “I’m walking you downstairs.” He shoved his arms in his jacket. “Call me when you get home.” He stepped into his shoes and clasped her hand. “I love you.”
She leaned up and kissed him. “Stop pouting.”
“What?” The cold sliced through him as she opened the door. “I’m not pouting.” He shut it behind them and they walked side by side down the stairs. “I’m concerned.”
At her car, she giggled and kissed him again. “I promise to drive the speed limit, stop for every yellow light, and I’ll be on the lookout for wacko drivers.”
He knelt in the open door as the seat inched slowly forward. “Be careful.” She started the engine and turned on the heater. He cherished her smile and leaned into the hand caressing his whiskers. He turned and kisse
d her palm. “Don’t forget to call me. As soon as you get home. If you get sleepy, call before then. I’ll keep you awake.”
“I promise.” She shivered and he leaned in for one more kiss.
Two hours later, he paced the floor as he listened to her voicemail greeting once again. He left another message and willed his pulse to slow. She was probably sleeping peacefully and forgot to call. He reached for the TV remote. His generic ringtone sounded from his phone, prickling the back of his neck.
The caller ID displayed William Maher. He breathed easy. Her battery must be dead and she was calling from her dad’s line.
“James Preston?”
His dread returned at the sound of the deep male voice. “Yeah, this is James.”
A sigh floated through the earpiece. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I should’ve called as soon as the paramedics said Joni asked for you. A father doesn’t like sharing.”
Joni? Paramedics? James grabbed his keys on his way out the door. “What happened? Is she okay? Where is she?” His feet flew down the stairs. “Ugh. I begged her to sleep here.” He was almost to his truck by the time her dad answered.
“The airbag saved her life, but unfortunately her left hand is injured. She’s in x-ray.”
“Which hospital?” James turned the key and shifted into reverse.
“Mobile Infirmary.”
He gassed the engine. “Sir, tell Joni I’m on my way and thanks for calling.” On the ride to the hospital, he ignored the speed limit and ran three lights. After parking in a handicap zone, James raced by the triage desk to the treatment rooms.
“You can’t go back there.”
He ignored the warning. “Joni!”
“James.” Her voice was weak. Glancing in all the curtains, he ignored the nurses until he found her midway down the hall. The bed swallowed her. He ran a hand through his hair and caught his breath. A machine beeped beside her. He sat on the bed and lifted her hand.
A bruise marked her forehead and her lip was busted. A second bruise decorated her chin. He kissed the delicate fingers peeking from the white bandage. “You’re never leaving me again.”
A nurse sighed behind him. “Oh, forget it.”
“James.” Droopy eyes smiled from the bed. “I didn’t fall asleep. Some idiot blindsided me.”
Gently, he kissed the unblemished side of her forehead. “You scared me. No more late driving. You’re staying at the apartment. I’ll move out if I have to.”
Her good hand brushed across his cheek. “I can’t. What would the church people think?”
“Who cares about those self-righteous hypocrites?”
Her right hand plucked at the covers.
“Joni, you’ll be safe.”
“Where is this apartment?” Her dad stepped around the curtain, followed by her mother.
“Off Hillcrest.” If he could convince her dad, Joni would go along with it. “Sir, I work industrial construction. I’m home maybe one weekend every two months. During those weekends, she could stay with you, or I could stay at my sister’s.”
“I can’t put you out of your own apartment. What about Isaac?”
James ignored her protest and spoke with her father. “It’s fifteen minutes from campus. She takes care of the place during the week as it is. Checks the mail and whatever.”
“Bill, please.” Joni’s mother spoke for the first time. “I don’t want my daughter shacking up with some construction bumpkin.”
“Mother!” Joni rose up in the bed and winced.
James kissed her forehead while Mr. Maher glared at his wife. “I was once a blue-collar worker.”
She had the grace to blush. “Yes, but you were destined for a better life.”
After much debate they agreed. Joni would “share” the apartment, but only when he was out of town. To ease her mother’s conscience, James agreed to let them pay half the utilities.
~~~
Mr. Maher glared as he untied the rope securing Joni’s wooden dresser. James drummed his fingers against the bedrail as a police cruiser parked one building down. “A city cop and a sheriff’s deputy live in the complex. You won’t have to worry about Joni staying here alone, sir.”
Mr. Maher loosened the final knot and threw the rope at James’s chest. “My daughter staying here alone isn’t what I worry about.”
James untangled the rope in his arms and placed it in the truck. “Sir, I love Joni. I’d rather shoot myself in the foot than hurt her.”
Her dad’s hand paused on the tailgate. “I won’t be aiming that low.”
James heeded the warning in Mr. Maher’s eyes and kept his mouth shut. He didn’t know how to deal with Joni’s dad. The sooner her parents left, the better.
Without another word, they carried the antique furniture up the stairs. Joni and her mother stood at the new dining table unpacking a box labeled “Fragile. Grandmother’s china.”
Her smile relieved the tension in his shoulders. “What took you guys so long? I was beginning to worry that you dropped it.” Horror covered her face. “You didn’t, did you?”
Her dad answered. “No. James and I had a chat. I needed to lay some ground rules.”
A hand went to her hip. She frowned at her father. “Daddy, I told you not to do that.” She looked at James. “Did he threaten you?”
Although her protective streak was cute, he didn’t need her to fight his battles. He winked and asked, “Where do you want this?”
“Oh.” She became animated. “Put it against the wall at the foot of the bed.”
“But that’s where my weights are.”
She fluttered down the hall. “I had Daddy move them out of the way. We put them in Isaac’s closet.” She glanced over her shoulder. “That’s okay with you, isn’t it?”
Her dad snickered and then covered with a cough.
Before James could stutter a reply, Isaac barreled out of his room and hugged his knees from behind. “Daddy, guess what? Joni gets to live here.”
Mrs. Maher playfully swung his son in her arms. “Oh no you don’t, little munchkin. You’re daddy’s carrying a family heirloom.”
He could only stare as Isaac playfully kissed Mrs. Maher’s cheek.
“James?” Joni peeked out their bedroom door. “Hurry up. I want to have everything settled before you leave.”
He ignored Mr. Maher’s gloating smirk as they placed the dresser where Joni indicated. From Mrs. Maher’s arms, Isaac reached for him. James claimed his son and escaped to Isaac’s room. The master bedroom wasn’t meant to be shared with parents. With one hand, he opened the closet and pulled out Isaac’s duffle bag.
The little boy wiggled to the floor and packed his tote with toys. “Where we going?”
James rolled up Isaac’s little jeans and shirts. “A shutdown in New Orleans.”
“When we coming home?”
“Four days.”
Little hands threw in some building blocks. “Is that the short tomorrow or the long?”
James chuckled. Isaac got smarter every day. “The short one.”
“Excuse me.” Mrs. Maher stood perfectly poised in the doorway. “Might I have a word?”
James shoved Isaac’s pajamas into the duffle and stood. Whenever someone asked permission to ask a question, it required more than a simple answer. He leaned back against the chest of drawers and kept his tone light. “Sure. What can I help you with?”
The knots in his stomach tightened as Mrs. Maher entered the room and closed the door. Her hands fisted under her chin and her shoulders lifted. “Joni is very much loved by her father and me. She’s been sheltered from the depravity of the world and, as a result, I’m afraid she’s naïve to dangerous consequences.”
This wasn’t the right time to point out that any danger Joni faced as a result of her sheltered life was because her mother kept her in a bubble.
Mrs. Maher twisted a ring on her finger. “Joni refused to keep her appointment with my gynecologist. Although I do not agree with thi
s move, I will respect her father’s wishes, as per our agreement to her upbringing. However, this places me in a delicate situation where I find myself having to depend on you to protect her future.”
James held perfectly still as his mind raced to keep up with the woman’s jargon.
Joni?
Woman’s doctor?
Protection?
Duh. James felt like slapping his forehead. Now who was the naïve one? Wait. If Mrs. Maher wanted Joni on birth control then that meant… “Are you saying that it’s okay for…”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted. “Absolutely not.” Her arms crossed over her chest. “Keep your filthy hands off my daughter.” She held up one finger. “But, should a lapse in judgment arise…” Her shoulders rose and her chin lifted. “Wear a glove.”
Words failed him. Chaotic thoughts ran rampant in his mind as Mrs. Maher continued her lecture with statistics of pregnancy rates and STDs in college students. “I see I’ve offended you. Well, no matter. If you’re embarrassed to procure the necessary items, I can visit the drug store on my way hom—”
“Joni!” He needed help. “Can you please come in here? Uh, now would be good.”
The door snatched open and he breathed easy. Joni appeared behind Mrs. Maher in the hall. “James, are you okay?” She crossed the room, stepped in between them, and faced her crazy mother. “What’s going on in here?”
Isaac snapped the lid on his tote. “Grandmother wants to buy Daddy some gloves, but he already has some in his truck. Don’t you, Daddy?”
Mrs. Maher lifted a bow-shaped brow. “Does he?”
“Mother, what James wears or doesn’t wear isn’t any of your business.” As Joni defended him, the reality of the situation cleared.
Her stuck-up mother had offered to buy him condoms. James erupted into laughter. Ray would never believe it. His arms circled Joni’s waist, hushing her defense of him. “Mrs. Maher, I promise, I’ll keep Joni protected.”
“Then it’s settled.”
Mr. Maher appeared behind his wife. “What’s settled?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing.” James and Mrs. Maher were both quick to answer.
Isaac pulled his toy box along the carpet. “I’m packed, Daddy.”
Whatever He Wants Page 15
