CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Deadline Met

 

 

His truck’s in the drive.

I almost fall over my feet scrambling to get inside the house before my heart explodes. Thank goodness he didn’t call for directions earlier, or I wouldn’t have gotten any work done.

“Jack!” My call echoes through the house. Where is he?

When I dash to my father’s study, he’s just pulling himself out of a chair. “You’re here!”

I pitch myself at him, and he catches me. Strong arms I’ve been dreaming of close around me, and we spin in a circle. When he sets me on my feet, his head lowers for a kiss, and I pull back. “No. Not here.”

His chuckle skitters down my spine, and I can’t help stepping back into him.

“He can’t see.” Jack’s head dips again. Even though he’s positioned us so that his broad shoulders and back are all Dad can see, it’s just too weird for me.

“You might as well,” Dad says. “After all, I hear you’re planning to vacation with him soon.”

My eyes feel like they’re gonna to pop outta my skull. “You told him?” I hiss. “Let me go.”

His hand tightens on my wrist. “Let’s talk.” He turns to my father. “Excuse us.”

Jack guides us out of the room. Once out the door, he pins me to the wall with his long, hard body, fastens my arms with his to the cool surface, and plunders my mouth with all the pent-up energy of our abstinence.

God, he feels so good. A familiar languor pours through my veins. My body relaxes into his, and he drops my arms to gather me closer. I’ve craved the way he claims me, attaches us from head to toe. I wrap myself around him and unleash my hunger, our tongues whipping each other’s, teeth clashing, chests heaving. The evidence of his arousal fits itself against the softness of my belly, and I melt.

The need for air trumps our desperation for each other, and we stand, forehead to forehead, gasping.

“Better?” he asks.

“Not even close.”

“Yeah.” He nibbles down my neck, sending shudders of pleasure through me. How had I survived five days without this?

“Dinner should be ready,” I breathe.

His lips travel to my collar bone. “Plenty to sample on this buffet.”

I laugh and push at his chest. It doesn’t move an inch. “Come on. I’ve got hungry pickers to take care of.”

He sighs and lets me go. “You’ve got a hungry worker right here.”

“I’ll take care of your stomach. You take care of that.” My gaze falls on the bulge straining in his jeans. “Looks painful.”

He adjusts himself. “It is. Give me a minute.”

“Okay. I’ll even make small talk.”

“Please. No, wait. I need to ask you something serious.”

Much as I enjoy studying his hard-on, something in his voice rips my focus to his face. His brows are pulled down, and his eyes…is that regret?

“I saw Nola the other day give Felix a torn-up piece of tarp, and he carried it away.”

“Okay.”

“When I asked him about it, he said he had been on his way to the paint shed, so he took it to them for her. But then some things happened that made me suspicious of him. So today, I asked her why she gave it to a pipefitter supervisor rather than the painting supervisor, her boss.”

“What’d she say?”

His lips thin. “She said you know why.”

My head snaps back. “What? I don’t know anything about a tarp.”

“She wouldn’t answer at first, seemed real hesitant, almost embarrassed, then she said you knew why.”

Why would Nola say that? I haven’t talked to her since before my last day. “That makes no sense.” She thinks I know why she gave a piece of torn-up tarp to Felix? Wait.

A grin cracks my cheeks. “I think I know—” His look stops me cold. That’s not regret in his eyes. It’s accusation. “What are you thinking this is about?”

He doesn’t answer. He just keeps stabbing me with his eyes.

Shock zaps my gut. “You think something’s going on behind your back. That I’m plotting with my old friend, Felix, against you. And my new friend, Nola, is an accomplice.” A tendril of slow-burning flame licks through me.

“I don’t know what to think. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Asking. Right. Well, for your information, I think this is about Nola having a crush on Felix. I think she took that tarp to him to make him notice her.”

“What about Felix?”

I throw my hands up. “What about Felix? I realize y’all have some hate going on between you, but that has nothing to do with me.”

His laugh is hard and deprecating. “It’s all about you, wildcat. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“How many times have I told you? You’re wrong. I don’t like him that way. We’re long-time friends. That’s all.”

His face is still hard and closed, like he doesn’t believe me.

“You know what? Go ahead, be mad. Don’t accept my answer. I really don’t have time to deal with it right now. I have pickers to feed and a harvest to bring in. Everything else has to take a back seat.”

I turn and walk away, leaving my lust and as much of my anger as I can shed, in that hallway.

 

A deep chuckle makes me want to put my fist through the wall.

“Guess I don’t have to worry about that vacation, after all, do I, son?”

Fuck.

I made a mess of things, and of course he was there, soaking it all in. Now he’s going to feed it back to me, one whip’s lash at a time. If Frank were here, he’d be kicking my ass, too.

I’m an idiot.

“I see what you mean about her testing her wings. How’s that workin’ for you?”

The look I give him could curdle milk, but it just makes him laugh.

“We’ve all been there, kid. Give her some time. What you need right now is some chow and more Scotch.” He throws an arm around my shoulders and walks me to the dining room. “You can have dinner with her brothers and me.”

“Can’t wait.”

When we get to the dining room, two men about my age are already seated. Nate makes the introductions.

“Jack, this here’s Jilly’s brothers, Rafe and Chaz. Boys, Jack’s a friend of your sister’s, but he pissed her off, so he’s going to hang out with us a while.”

I narrow my eyes and shrug off his comradely arm. “You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” I rumble at his retreating back.

“You have no idea. Here, grab a plate and help yourself.” He stops and turns back to me. “Hope you like our buffet.”

Damn. He heard that, too? I’m about to come back with something hot and crude. But the shock and confusion I’m reading from the brothers stops me. They don’t need to be dragged into this power struggle their old man and I have going. “Not what I was expectin’, but it looks all right. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

His eyes dance. “But you’ve had better?”

“Think I’ll keep that to myself.”

He bows his head to me, and I swear I read grudging admiration in the flicker of his eyes.

“What’s going on here?” Rafe demands, looking back and forth between his dad and me.

“Nothing to worry about, son. Nothing a’tall.”

I fill my plate and carry it over to the empty space beside Chaz.

“You’re a friend of Jilly’s?” Chaz asks, pouring me a glass of red wine. “How do you know her?”

“She used to work for me.”

Both brothers halt what they’re doing, but the dad keeps chewing. “Wait. That green energy job? You were her boss?”

“Yep. She did a fine job.”

Rafe sets down his glass. “So, are you here to bring her last check, or what?”

“She invited me to help with the harvest.”

Judging by Nate’s double-take, that’s news to him, too. After a second’s startle, he calmly continues his meal.

“Well, that’s good. With the rains about to hit, we need to pick and pack as many grapefruit as we can. Have you ever been through a citrus harvest before?”

“No. If I don’t catch on, maybe I can pack or load. I’m up for whatever needs doing.”

“Thanks, man,” Chaz says, with a warm smile. He and his sister are alike in temperament. But so far, I haven’t heard any sass from him.

I’m hit with a wave of longing. Knowing she’s in this house somewhere, and I’m not with her, doesn’t sit right with me. I need to find her and apologize. A woman whose lust nearly knocked me over a half-hour ago wouldn’t give up on me, would she? Even if she had a perfect right to.

Fuck, I’m an ass.

“Tell us about yourself, Jack,” Nate invites.

“Not much to tell. I’m from North Carolina, the youngest of four boys. I liked building things from an early age. My dad insisted we all get a college degree. While I worked on it, I started a construction company on the side.”

“AmerItalia?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Cutting a bite of meat, Nate cocks his head. “As I recall, didn’t your CV say your degree is in architecture?”

“And engineering.”

“Two degrees? How old are you?” Chaz asks.

I hate talking about myself. All I want to do right now is find Jilly. But as long as I’m involved with their sister, they have a right to ask me questions and get my honest answers. “Twenty-eight.”

“Wow. That’s how old Rafe is.” Chaz and his brother exchange a glance. Reminds me of my brothers, Tony and Leo. Close enough to have an entire conversation just with exchanged glances.

Jilly’s family is close, in spite of what she thinks of her dad. Maybe he treats her brothers differently from how he treats her. Wonder if my dad would have treated a little girl differently if he and Mom had had one. Would she have gotten to spend the day on the water with us men, drinking beer and fishing for Mom’s favorite tuna? What had Jilly missed, being a girl in this family? Is that what’s fueled her need for independence from a family that obviously cares about her?

I want to ask Jilly all these questions. I want to know more about her. Which amazes me, because I’ve never needed or wanted to know more about other women.

Rafe crosses his silverware on his plate, indicating he’s finished eating. He picks up his glass and leans back in his chair. “So, do you have another project lined up—”

A door swings open, hitting the wall. Felix charges in and stands, legs wide, hands in tight fists. “What are you doing here?”

“Felix!” Chaz says, startled.

I set my cutlery down and wipe my mouth on the napkin in my lap.

“Hey, buddy, what’s up?” Rafe asks.

Felix jabs a finger at me. “I told you what would happen if you hurt her.”

The brothers look bewildered. “Jack hurt Jilly?”

“She’s outside, trying to hide tears.”

Oh, no. Jillian. I can fix this. I need to fix this. My proud ray of sunshine, Jillian, should never shed tears over something I say or do. I rise. “Take me to her.”

“Not on your life. You’re getting into that junker truck of yours and getting the hell out of Dodge.”

I sigh, trying to hold onto my temper, but this guy is pushing every button. “Felix, go home. Jillian would not want this, and you know it.”

Nate’s sitting in his chair at the head of the table, fingers steepled in front of his mouth. No help there.

The brothers are clearly torn between their friendship with Felix and the scene he’s creating.

“Chill, man,” Rafe cautions. “Let’s go into town and find some fun.”

“Don’t you even care that he has designs on your sister? That he makes her cry? He’s not worthy of her, and you aren’t doing anything about it.”

“I’m going to find Jilly.” I move away from the table. I figure if I get back to Nate’s study, I’ll find a back door and can go hunt for her.

Felix lunges for me. I sidestep him. “You don’t want to do this, Felix.”

He growls like a wounded animal and grabs my shirt.

Fine. This has been a long time coming, and I’m in the mood to kick his ass. I twist his wrist until he lets go. Rearing back, I wait and let him get in one good sock to my jaw.

Then it’s Katy bar the door. I send one hard punch to his solar plexus knocking the wind out of him, and two quick jabs to his kidney sending him to the floor. The fight’s over before it much started.

Jilly bursts into the room. “Felix!”