Flora made him look like an amateur.
She twisted open the front door and locked it behind her after he stepped out, keys already in his hand so she’d know he wasn’t planning to hold her up.
He opened her truck door for her. “I guess I’ll see you in a little bit.”
Her brow lifted. Nerves seemed gone and that teasing he enjoyed so much was back. “You’re actually working today?”
He tugged at the wad of hair stuck on the top of her hair. “I do work sometimes.”
“You play. You don’t work.”
“That’s because Lane is hogging it all until Gretchen forgives him.”
She cranked her truck and snapped on her belt. “Uh-huh. Wouldn’t want you to go out of your way looking for something to do.”
He grinned. “I have my moments. Tell you what. I’ll help you today.”
She shook her head. “Don’t even try it. We both know you’d pull me off in a backroom and the last thing that would happen is work.”
Good plan. “But you’d come out all sweaty and look like you’d been working. It’s basically the same thing.” Why was this so easy sometimes and so hard others?
Her eyes narrowed. “Not the same thing. That big ass front yard needs mowed. Do that. You’ll be able to ride around all afternoon in the air-conditioned tractor. Besides your new niece can’t get into her pink and more pink bedroom until I can get some water pumped in there.”
The all pink room flashed in his mind and he winced. The all pink had been Grant’s handy-work. “You do have a point. Conserve my energy until you finish tonight.” He leaned in, leaving a swift kiss on her cheek.
When he pulled away, she was frowning. “Can’t tonight. I promised Gretchen I’d stop by and help with her house.” He groaned and she shook her head. “You’re a pathetic pouter. And this is your brother’s fault. Take a six-pack to your brother’s house and paint each other’s toenails while taking magazine quizzes. Maybe y’all will learn something.”
And she sidestepped him again. He played along. “You like red, don’t you?”
She pushed on his chest and he stepped back, shut her door and got to his truck to get out of the way. He backed down her street to let her out in front of him and made a slow drive to his house. Trent’s truck was parked at the diner, so he stopped there first. Trent was slouched in a booth towards the back and Jacob slid in across from him. “Hey.”
“Nice wrinkled clothes.”
He glanced down. “Thanks.”
“Managed another night with Flora. Thank god, now you’ll quit bitching about it.”
He sat back in his seat. “She’s being difficult.”
“Now you know what it’s like talking to you most of the time.”
“Fuck you. I’m not difficult.”
The corners of Trent’s mouth turned up. “If you say so.”
He had no answer and tapped his thumbs on the table. “She’s just not like other girls, but I’m being patient.”
“That’s something I never thought I’d hear you say.”
“She’s had a rough past. I’m trying to give her the space she needs.”
He frowned. “What happened?”
Jacob shook his head. “Shitty stuff. Kind of stuff that makes a man want to rip a few heads off and shove them up their asses.”
Tonya appeared and put a plate down in front of Trent. “Flora told you about her past?”
“Yeah.”
Tonya smiled. “Good for her. Can I get you anything?”
“Not that hungry.”
“Wave me over if you change your mind.”
“Sure. Thanks.” After Tonya walked away, he focused on his brother. “What are you doing tonight?”
“No idea.”
“Flora is doing something with Gretchen and suggested we drink beer, work magazine quizzes and paint our toenails.”
Trent’s brow cocked. “I’m not touching your feet.”
“I don’t want you to touch my feet, but I don’t have anything to do tonight.”
“Be fine with me if you come over. I’ve got Lane at my house mostly pissing over Gretchen.”
Damn, but he’d volunteered himself to play babysitter with Lane now. “Fun.”
Chapter Fifteen
Flora held her fork like a kid clutches their spoon, dug in, and refused to acknowledge that booth out the corner of her eyes. She was in a pie-eating contest and she was actually winning. Continually cramming food in her mouth had nothing to do with that booth and especially not Jacob next to her.
Even though she was tempted. Wanted to take him to the booth. Sit down and share this strawberry pie with fluffy cream like sweet clouds and big round berries while telling him this was the spot where she’d slept when she’d gotten to Apple Trail.
That booth cushion, so small her legs had hung off the end had been the only bed she could find. That after hiding in the bathroom, she’d crept to the booth and in that moment realized just how low her life had sunk.
Realized just what a mess she was in and that she had no idea what to do. Had no one to talk to. No one to tell her what to do and that all the anger she’d had in the world was nothing next to the utter and complete helplessness.
She’d put all her faith in her family and was turned out on her ass. The blessing of a stranger, tossing an apron over her face at three in the morning the next day and giving her the helping hand she’d needed and still it’d taken months before she’d accepted Tonya’s friendship.
Sleeping in the woman’s diner at night, working there during the day to earn that right, later sleeping on a cot in the back office that Tonya had brought in for her and still, she’d resisted friendship. Tonya had offered her a chance and it’d taken months before Flora could accept. Longer still before agreeing to stay in Tonya’s guest room at her house for as long as she wanted. But she didn’t. No one knew those things about her, except Tonya and Gretchen. Never in her life had she wanted to talk about those things, but with him, she did.
After weeks with Jacob, her mind was hanging on by a thread. There were rules and order in her life. Things she’d set up to live by so she wouldn’t become that helpless girl on the diner booth in need of someone in her life. Or not really rules, but more like guidelines she’d been going by and Jacob had flushed everything down the toilet.
Because the more they were together, the more she wanted to be with him. The more she wanted to tell him things. The more she thought of him and knew he’d be waiting for her every evening.
She’d sworn up and down in that booth all those years ago that she would never let it happen again. That she wouldn’t become dependent on anyone again in her life. That she wouldn’t be expecting things out of people anymore when it came to her.
Jacob tore through the promise she’d made with tears streaming down her cheeks with little to no effort.
Three times now she’d slept over with him because she knew he’d wanted her to stay. At his house when she could have easily left.
Three times she’d had fantastic good-morning sex. It was good, no complaints there. She also knew when he had sex in the mornings, he wore this goofball of a smile the rest of the day that she utterly adored.
It wasn’t just the time together. Work and various reasons had them apart for a couple of days at a time. And what would happen? He was always steady in the back of her mind. Thoughts wondering to what he was doing to the point she’d worked herself to the bone in an effort to get him off her mind. It was for nothing though, because when she laid down at night, he was the last thought in her head as she drifted asleep and the first when she woke.
She knew what she had to do and it was going to be hard as hell. It was time to drift-and-fade. Things had changed and that was the biggest rule of them all.
When one of them wanted more, or something different, it was time to let go. He was defying logic and. Someone contact one of those old white guys with fluffy hair because the rules of relativity were clearly being broken. It was the only explanation. And she didn’t like it. It was all dependent and stuff. The opposite of things she’d worked her ass off for years to obtain and she was standing at an open window over a cliff ready to toss out the last few years so she could fall into his arms every night and talk about her work or whatever else happened to come up.
And for what? She glanced up, and that cozy feeling threaded through her veins, just the way she liked. There was that subtle power to him. Physically strong, charming, funny. And that cuddly feeling in her body was quickly followed by a cold knot in the pit of her stomach.
His lips curved up in a smile. “As sexy as it is watching the two of you cram food in until your cheeks are blown up, I’m going to sit with my brothers for lunch.”
She nodded. Good. Go. Away. Thank you.
Then, before he scooted out of the booth, his hand rubbed across her back and a kiss was left against her head. “Good luck.”
Just like that, she didn’t want him to go.
Oh, but she did!
No wait. She didn’t.
But did, too!
Damn it
.
She put her fork down after he walked away and pushed away her pie.
Tonya shrieked. “What are you doing? You’ve got Gretchen’s record in the bag! She left, but I’m still keeping time.”
“I think I might puke.”
“What? No.” Tonya leaned forward, her eyes getting bigger and threatening the sockets. “You can’t throw up in my diner. People are going to think something is in the food!”
Flora shook her head. “Thanks for the concern, but it’s not the pie. It’s Jacob. I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.”
Tonya continued whispering. “You do remember I’ve been in an imaginary relationship with a fake boyfriend. I may not be the best person to keep coming to for advice. Not that I don’t enjoy hearing all about your issues.”
“
Har-dee-har
. And fake or not, you’re the only person I know who’s been in a long-term relationship and with the shit Gretchen is going through, I hate to even bring it up.”
Tonya pretended to clean eyeglasses that didn’t exist on her shirt. “The doctor is in. I think you’ll owe me a nickel.”
Flora drummed on the tabletop. “I want him to fade, but I’m not sure how to make him fade.”
“Real people tend not to fade away. Physics are a bitch like that.”
Flora shook her head. “I mean, it’s time to let our thing fade away and end. Like any other thing I’ve had in the past. And I’m not sure how to start the…process.”
“Uh-huh.” Tonya nodded and
hmm’d
. “I see. Continue.”
“I don’t know what to do. I like him, but things are changing in a way I’m not comfortable with.”
“Just a thought, but a good place to start would be no more sex.”
“I know.” She dropped her head on the table. The hard plastic top didn’t do a thing to fix her messed up head. “But he has these hands.”
“Fucking hands.” Tonya pretended to spit. “I vote all men should have them cut off after they find their penis.”
Flora snorted. “You are no help.”
Tonya reached across the table and patted her hand, dropping the games. “This isn’t anything I can help you with. You want me to tell you what to do, but I can’t do that. You have to decide what you want Flora. Take a chance on Jacob. Or keep your independence.”
“I worked hard to get my independence.”
“I know you have.”
“I don’t want to give it up.”
“I know you don’t, but you’ll have to give a little if you want Jacob bad enough. And I think you do want him bad enough.”
“I do want him. More than I’ve wanted anybody.” She sat back with a heavy sigh and rubbed her face. “But I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I want to reach a point where I have to depend on someone else.”
“You depend on me and Gretchen.” Tonya frowned. “At least I hope you do.”
“I do and I wouldn’t be where I am without y’all, but he’s different.” She picked at the worn white edges. Brown wood that was rubbed smooth by thousands of wipes peeked out. “If I let him in, it’ll change everything.”
“How?”
“Like where I live. Let’s pretend this goes somewhere.” She sat up and cleared her throat. “And I mean like really goes somewhere. Where do I live?”
“In a house?” Tonya’s brows lifted.
“Yes. But whose?”
“Probably yours since he’s renting a trailer right now and you have a three bedroom brick home. With a pool.”
Flora warmed over at the mention of the pool and that long ago skinny-dipping night where he’d been so patient and just there. Supportive. “Yes. Okay. I can see that. What about a bank account?”
“You could keep separate.”
“Okay, true there. People do that all the time.” She sat back, thinking for a minute on other things. “But I’ll have to share everything.”
“You’re not that stingy of a person and would give me the shirt off your back if I needed it.”
“Fine.” And that was true too because she had done it before. In fairness, she’d put on the grease soaked shirt Tonya had been wearing because she was headed directly home. She slouched in her seat and stared at her friend. “I don’t know if this is what I want. If I’m ready. I’ve been single for so long. I’m right in the middle of a good groove and he’s changing all that. I can’t go a day without thinking of him and I don’t like that he’s always clinging in the back of my mind like a cockroach that won’t die.”