Chapter Sixteen
Jake
Something was off. I blinked several times, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling before everything came flooding back. I was in my new rented house. I hadn’t drunk all that much the night before, but it had been a hell of a day and I hadn’t been sleeping well. It only took a second to clear the cobwebs from my brain and remind myself of everything that had happened. I found that was my new morning routine. I secretly hoped I would wake up one morning and find Tracy’s death had been a nightmare.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes before throwing my legs over the side of the bed. I needed coffee and a lot of it. I didn’t bother getting dressed. It was still early and the chances of running into Avery in the huge house were slim to none. I didn’t care if she saw me in my boxers. Big fucking deal. I needed coffee.
I made my way into the kitchen, squinting as the full glare of the hot Arizona sun streamed through the large windows that provided plenty of natural light in the foyer. By the time I made it to the kitchen, I was scowling and cranky as hell.
Avery was standing in front of the coffee pot. She heard me, turned around, and shrieked.
I ignored her sound of alarm and grabbed a cup from the rack and poured myself a cup of coffee from the pot she had clearly just made. I took a sip and let the liquid work its magic as it slid down my throat.
I turned around to see Avery blushing fiercely and staring at me in horror.
“What?” I grumbled.
She waved a hand up and down my body. “What do you mean what? You’re practically naked!”
I looked down at myself to make sure I still had on the briefs. They were still there, and I wasn’t sporting a hard-on, so I didn’t get what her problem was.
“I have underwear on.”
Another strangled sound escaped her throat. “That’s all you have on!”
“So? It isn’t like you haven’t seen it all before.”
Her eyes bulged, and I thought she was going to stroke out right there on the gleaming kitchen floor. “Put a shirt on next time!” she hissed before stomping out of the kitchen.
I smiled as I watched her go. I finished the first cup and poured a second, taking it with me back to the bedroom. I hopped in the shower, appreciating how big it was and really loving the extra jets that had been installed. I felt like a new man by the time I emerged and was ready to try to get some work done. Drew was supposed to be coming by soon to go over the details for a merger we were trying to make happen.
The master bedroom was as big as the hotel suite I had recently vacated. There was an adjacent office with big picture windows that overlooked the grounds at the back of the house. There was a desk under the window, which I quickly commandeered. I set up my laptop and began to answer emails. I liked working from home.
I laughed when I looked down at my current state of undress. Poor Avery would become apoplectic if she saw me sitting in my boxers. If I didn’t have to put on a suit and tie, I wasn’t going to. After replying to a few of the most important emails, I did a quick check of the stock market and was pleased to see I was still making money.
Then it was time to call Drew.
“Are you headed over soon?” I asked.
“I’ll be there within an hour.”
“I want to get a car,” I blurted out.
“What? You don’t drive. What are you going to do with a car?”
I sighed. “I drive. I want a car. Should I buy one?”
He laughed. “Only you would have that problem. You can lease one. That may be a better option over buying unless you plan on taking it back to California with you.”
“No. I just want it for here.”
“Okay. Should I have one delivered?” he asked.
“Uh, I don’t know. Should you?”
He chuckled. “Sit tight. I’ll see what I can get done. What do you want? Sports car? SUV? Truck?”
I thought about it. I hadn’t owned a car in a long time. “SUV. That’s family-like, right?”
Another laugh. “Yes. Alright. I’ll be delayed a bit while I do your latest bidding.”
“Fine. I’ll see you soon,” I said, hanging up the phone.
I worked for another hour before I got bored. It was too quiet in the house. I was used to a busy office and being interrupted by someone every ten minutes.
I headed downstairs in search of Avery. I wanted to let her know we would soon have a new family car to help sell our story. I checked the kitchen and then the main living room but didn’t find her. As I was walking across the foyer, I saw a note sitting on the entryway table telling me she had a shift at the library and would be back later today.
She had left, and I had been completely oblivious. I was a little offended she didn’t bother saying good-bye. I knew why. She was pissed Drew hadn’t brought her car. I would reimburse her for the cab fare, I decided, and put the note back down.
I was bummed. I had hoped to hang out with her and maybe help thaw her out toward me. I knew we could get along if she tried. We had moments of peace between us. I hoped to have more of those.
I was bored. I hated being idle. An idea popped into my head. I was going to show off my cooking skills for Avery. It was one of my secret joys. I had hired a world-class chef to give me cooking lessons a while back. I rarely got the chance to actually use what I had learned, but with all the downtime and the gourmet kitchen at my disposal, it was the perfect opportunity.
I pulled open the fridge and then the pantry only to discover there was nothing for making a meal. Snacks and sandwiches weren’t going to cut it. Something Avery said earlier gave me an idea. I would go grocery shopping. I could do it. It had been a few years since I had stepped foot in a grocery store, but how hard could it be?
“Shit,” I muttered. I didn’t have a car.
I called Drew. “Well?” I asked impatiently.
“Well what?” he asked.
“Did you get me something to drive?”
He sighed. “You know, sometimes these things take time.”
I looked at my expensive watch. “It’s been two hours.”
He laughed. “Only you would think that was a long time. Yes, I got you an SUV. I’m following the guy right now. We should be there in about ten minutes.”
“Awesome! You’re the best,” I said, hanging up and quickly dressing for a trip to the grocery store.
I was going to enjoy this regular guy gig. I was pacing outside when the black SUV rolled up the driveway. I smiled at the sight of it.
A young guy jumped out of the driver’s seat and brought me the keys. Drew pulled up behind the flashy SUV and walked over to us.
“Happy now?”
I smiled and nodded. “This is perfect.”
“Do want to know what it is?” he asked dryly.
I shrugged. “Not really. It doesn’t matter to me.”
He rolled his eyes. “All right, kid, let’s get you back to the dealership.”
“I’m going shopping. I’ll be back here later and we can go over that stuff,” I told him, heading for the rig in the driveway.
Drew stopped in his tracks. “You’re going to do what?”
I grinned. “I’m going grocery shopping.”
Drew turned around and walked back over to me. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Are you drunk?”
“No! I want to make dinner, and to do that I need food,” I explained.
He leaned closer and sniffed near my mouth. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing’s wrong. If I’m going to be playing house, I may as well have some fun and put those cooking lessons to use. I’m hoping it will make Avery like me a tad more than she does now.”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t even try to get her into bed. I’m pretty sure she will cut off body parts you would rather keep.”
“Ha, ha. I just want us to be friends and get along. If we’re going to live together and raise a child together for the foreseeable future, I want us to at least be able to be in the same room without her shooting daggers at me. It gets kind of old after a while.”
He took a deep breath and nodded. “Remember, we drive on the right side of the road. The red octagons mean stop. Green is go.”
I ignored his jests and got inside the rig. It was very comfortable. I was going to have to seriously consider getting one for myself when I got back to California. It would be fun to escape from time to time without relying on someone else to drive me.
I punched the words “grocery store” into the navigation system and got on my way. When I got there, I was overwhelmed. I had no real idea what I planned on cooking. I stared at all the meat choices and realized I was in over my head.
I took a deep breath. I could do this. It was food for heaven’s sake. Before I knew what I was doing, I was in the checkout line with a cart loaded with food to the point where it was nearly overflowing. People were giving me strange looks as I awkwardly took the stuff out of the cart and put it on the belt.
“This looks like you are cooking a feast,” the cashier said with a smile.
“I hope so,” I said, watching everything slide across the little scanner.
“Did you bring your bags?” asked a kid at the end of the belt where all my groceries had been sent.
“What?”
“Bags. Did you bring your bags?”
I looked around, wondering what the hell the kid was talking about. “No, I didn’t bring bags.”
The kid sighed and made a big fuss about my lack of bags before reaching down and popping open a plastic bag.
“He means the reusable bags,” the cashier whispered.
“Oh. I didn’t know I was supposed to have those.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry about it. The plastic bags are fine.”
I paid for the groceries and went through the tedious process of loading everything into the back of the SUV. I was really glad Drew had purchased something big. I wasn’t sure my haul would have fit into a car the size of Avery’s.
When I arrived home, I realized I now had to haul everything into the kitchen. Grocery shopping was not all that much fun.
I had the first load in my arms when Avery pulled up in her car.
“What is all that?” she asked, gesturing to the bags in my arms.
“Groceries.”
“Groceries? You went grocery shopping?” she asked, sounding as surprised as Drew had.
I nodded. “Yes. They’re heavy. Grab a couple bags, will you please?”
She looked at the SUV with the back end opened and then back at me. “Holy shit! Did you buy the entire grocery store?”
I ignored her and headed inside. I quickly deposited the bags on the long counter and headed out for another load. I passed her in the entryway and smiled.
When we were finished unloading the car, she stood in the kitchen with her hands on her hips. “What is all this?”
“I wanted to make dinner.”
“For how many people?”
“Us,” I said, feeling embarrassed.
“Jake, this is a lot of food. I mean, how do you expect to eat all of this before it spoils?”
“I don’t know. I guess I got carried away. I wanted to make sure I bought stuff you liked.”
She burst into laughter. “Well, I think you have it covered. We are set for a while.”
“Good,” I said and looked at the kitchen counters covered with bags of food.
It was somewhat overwhelming.