Mercy

When a two and a half-year-old little girl gets pissed everyone knows it. She makes sure of it. I inherited my niece and nephew two years ago when their parents and my parents were going out for a night on the town while I stayed home to babysit the two little ones. A terrible auto accident claimed all four lives that were in my father’s car that night. The accident changed me from the fun aunt to responsible mother in the blink of an eye.

I’ve taken to it well, I think. It made me hurry up and figure out what’s real in this life. I was twenty-four when that happened. Still young and free, single and alone. With the responsibility of the kids, I grew up overnight.

It became apparent that I needed to start making money. I had my business degree and had done nothing with it at that time. With a few interviews, I managed to gain a managerial position at a Dallas luxury spa and I’ve done well.

I have to say the hardest part of being a parent is dropping the kids off at daycare. They just never seem to want to go. I suppose because it’s so early and they’d much rather be sleeping. I know I would.

I have to get up an extra hour early every day to get them to their daycare so I can get to work. At times, I do wish I had help. A man to even out some of the chores that come along with taking care of a feisty four-year-old boy and a two and a half-year-old girl might be nice. But then, again he might just get in my way.

Mia holds on tight to the car door as Carter stands in a sleepy daze, waiting for me to drag his sister away from the car and into the little building which they call home every Monday through Friday, from six in the morning until six at night.

I wish there was another way but so far I haven’t found it.

“Mia, Baby, please come on. Let go of the door, Honey. You’re going to have fun. You always do,” I beg her.

“No! I want to go with you!” she screams at the top of her lungs.

Another mother passes by as she takes her sleeping kids past us as quickly as she can. One crying kid can set off a chain reaction. No one wants that!

She gives me the stink eye and I duck my head with feelings of inadequacy and continue to beg my niece to stop being a drama queen. “Mia, how about we make a deal? I promise to take you kids to the pizza place when I pick you up. You can play in the ball pit and I’ll give you all the tokens you want. Please!”

“Do it, Mia,” Carter says with an air of authority in his four-year-old southern drawl with a slight lisp.

Miraculously, she stops crying and screaming and says, “K.” Her hands release the car door and she turns to hang onto me, slipping her arms around my neck. “I wuv you, Aunt Mercy.”

Running my hand over her disheveled blonde locks, I try to tame them a little. With her tantrum, one would never know I not only brushed her hair but ran my straightener through it too to calm her unruly curls into some type of submission. Now they’re everywhere like a wild child’s.

Carter slips his hand into mine as we finally make our way up the sidewalk to the front door of the yellow building with a red roof. That’s how I initially got the kids to come inside of the building when we first came here, two years ago. It resembled a McDonald’s, and they didn’t cry one bit. Until I left them here that is.

The kids suffer a bit from separation anxiety. We’ve been in counseling to help with that. When one’s parents walk out the door with a kiss and a hug and a promise to return but never do, it can leave a scar on your brain and your soul.

Since I lost my mother, father, and only other sibling in the accident, I can empathize with the kids. It’s not easy to take each day as it comes. Sometimes you just want to kick something or someone because life doesn’t seem fair.

Life is hard and you have to become hard to deal with it. I try not to let that philosophy of mine rub off on the kids. Mostly because our therapist told me not to. She’s pretty strict with me. She lets me know that I can grieve and feel somewhat sorry for myself now and then, but my main responsibility to the children my sister left behind is bigger than anything else.

---

She’s right and I know that. My sister, Hope, and I were only two years apart. She was the oldest, and I was the baby, though not treated very much like one. We were treated like twins. She and I looked a lot alike. And we wore the same size. I inherited her wardrobe as well as her kids so that was a plus as her husband kept her in the latest styles, a thing I couldn’t afford on a part-time salary as a waitress at that time.

I spot the teacher for my niece’s room and hand her over. Mia is all smiles now as she goes to the older woman. “Hi, Mrs. Jensen. Guess what?”

The woman smiles and tweaks her nose as she holds her on her hip. “What do you have to tell me, Mia?”

With a huge grin, she says, “Aunt Mercy is taking us to get pizza and play games after school today.”

“How nice of her,” she says then puts Mia down and sends her off to put her little backpack, filled with her things, away. “So, being a Friday, have you made any fun weekend plans?”

I shake my head as I watch Carter go to his room down the hallway. “Bye, Carter. See you at six,” I call out after him.

Just before he goes into the door he looks back at me and waves. My heart melts a little as I see he’s smiling as I guess he’s thinking about tonight and how much fun he’s going to have playing the games at the restaurant.

Such little things can make them so happy, it’s amazing!

---

Mrs. Jensen takes my attention as she says, “You know, Mia, my daughter is taking some childhood development courses. She could use the practice and would babysit for free if you’d like to make some plans anytime. She’s free most every night. It would actually be a help to her as she has to clock a lot of hours with one-on-one time with children of various ages. It would help her a lot if you let her babysit even a couple of weekends a month.”

“The kids already have to spend so much time away from me because of work. I hate to do that to them,” I say as I turn to leave. “But thanks for telling me, anyway.”

“Mia, you need a life, young lady,” she calls out after me.

I wave back at her and walk away. No one knows what it’s like to have so much on your shoulders and be all alone with it. My life is with those kids. I am their life now and there’s really no room for anyone else, anyway.

I suppose this is how spinsters are made!

Jude

The shrill sound of Ariel’s voice as she yells at the woman doing her pedicure has me flinching. I look at the phone in my hand as I sit in the chair across from her and try to act as if she’s not with me.

“You’re a fucking moron!” she shouts.

Briefly, I glance up and see the poor woman who has the misfortune of getting Ariel as her client today seems to be upset. Her hands are shaking and her face is pale. I should say something to Ariel about not treating people so harshly but then she might turn that nasty temper on me and I’d rather not deal with that.

Ariel is from a wealthy family just like I am. Rich from birth has us a little less tolerable of people. I can’t explain it. It just is that way.

I’m not as bad as she is, but then again I’m from Texas and she’s from New York. The south demands a certain amount of hospitality and manners whereas the New York socialites don’t seem to care too much about such things.

I live in a monstrous mansion that my grandfather had built when they discovered oil on his ranch. Since that time, some sixty years ago, he managed to buy several more properties where oil was discovered and now we are rolling in the dough.

I’ve lived a carefree life full of the things which come along with an endless supply of money. I’ve been to the best schools for reasons I do not know. College is where I met my occasional gal-pal, Ariel; she was an Art major. She nor I do anything with the degrees we’ve earned. I’m never going to do anything but live off the money that goes straight into accounts for me.

My degree is nearly useless. To me it is, anyway. I hold a Masters in Kinesiology. I know every muscle and every way to get them in the best possible shape they can be in. I use the information I have acquired for myself and that’s about it.

I’ve built a home gym others can only dream about. I also have a body most others can only dream about.

Some might call me arrogant, but I think I’m just being honest about my fantastic attributes. I do work hard on making my body this buff after all. Why not be proud of basically the only achievement I’ve ever really made?

I’m the oldest in my family of six. Mom and Dad are still together by some miracle and they had the four of us each three years apart. I just turned thirty a couple of months ago and we all went to Greece for the occasion.

To say I’m spoiled is just a matter of opinion. Do I get anything I ask for?

Well, yes I do. Do I ask for a lot of things?

Again, the answer is yes. I want the latest things just like anyone else does. A robot butler, an expensive drone, expensive watches that I never wear. Those are things I like to call eccentric collections.

They’re fun to purchase and mess with now and then. It makes life interesting. Much like Ariel is making the lives of the staff here at the Luxurious Dallas Day Spa interesting on this Friday afternoon.

---

With another quick glance at the shrieking Ariel, I see another young woman has joined the poor older woman who was doing Ariel’s toes. She seems as upset as the other woman and I don’t see how anyone will be able to calm the mad hen of a woman down.

This is frustrating for me as I had high hopes this little spa day would settle her a bit. She’s had jet lag since she flew in last night and has been unable to satisfy my sexual needs.

I foresee leaving her at the mansion on her own this evening and finding a hot night club full of women who’ve drunk away their inhibitions and are ready to get down and dirty with me. We’ll have to see how this plays out.

“I want to speak to someone in management!” Ariel yells, drawing more little women out of their private little cubicles to see who is causing all this racket. “I will not tolerate being handled like a piece of crap!” She points at the shaking woman in front of her. “You have no business touching anyone’s feet! None, what so ever!”

“I am so sorry, Mam. I didn’t even know I nicked your big toe. There’s no blood. There’s not even a red spot where you say I did that,” the woman says.

I put my phone down to watch Ariel’s reaction to anyone telling her such a thing. This should be good!

---

“Listen to me, you little nitwit!” she shrieks at the top of her lungs. “How dare you tell me that I’m lying.”

“No, Mam!” the woman says as she shakes her head and wrings her hands. “I did not say that, Mam! I never would say that.”

“How can you say you didn’t call me a liar?” Ariel asks as loud as she can. “You told me there’s no blood or even a red mark. Do you think I can’t feel my own body? Do you think I can’t feel the horrible pain at the tip of my big toe where you cut it?”

“I didn’t say that,” the poor woman mutters as she looks around for help. Her eyes land on me and I quickly pull my phone up to avoid any eye contact.

She knows Ariel is with me and I can see her asking for my help. But shit will hit the fan if I get involved. Ariel will make sure of that.

“I’m not about to pay for this. You can be sure of that. This entire day will have to be comped,” Ariel says with a huff. “Your little mistake just cost your company thousands of dollars as my friend and I have both had massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and the deep skin treatment that costs three thousand dollars each on their very own. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

A hush falls over the group of employees who have gathered together to ease the situation with Ariel. I find myself looking up to see why.

“May I ask what the problem is here?” I hear a sweet feminine voice with a delicate southern drawl say. She’s coming down the hallway and I’ve yet to see the woman behind the voice. “Back to work, please.”

The others disperse quickly as the woman who is being accused of mutilating Ariel’s big toe stands still with her head down. “Miss Harmsworth says I cut the tip of her big toe. There is no cut or even a red mark there.”

Ariel turns up the volume as she shouts, “I will not…”

The woman emerges from the hallway and lays one hand on Ariel’s shoulder. I find I can’t breathe as I look at the woman. She’s absolutely gorgeous!

Thick blonde hair hangs to her waist in a satin sheet. Her curves have curves and they are perfectly accentuated by the form fitting white suit she’s wearing. With a skirt that goes to just above a beautiful set of knees.

Knees aren’t always beautiful but hers are. Her lips are a shade of pastel pink that matches the blush on her high cheekbones then her deep blue eyes make my heart skip a beat. Thick, lush dark lashes surround those brilliant blue eyes and set them off perfectly.

She turns a little and her profile shows me her nose is a little turned up on the end and so cute I could just kiss it. “Now, now, Miss Harmsworth. No need to shout. I will be happy to take care of things for you.”

I watch Ariel’s face go from red to pink as she seems to calm down immediately with the young woman’s touch and words.

This lady is a miracle worker!

Mercy

The red-head in the pedicure chair has flames coming out of her head, but she seems to be calming down as I touch her shoulder. It’s a technique my therapist taught me to calm people down, I find it often works well.

The lady who looks to be about thirty or so holds up her right foot as she wiggles her big toe. “See,” she says with a little whimper following it. “She just about took the end of my toe off.”

Although I don’t see a thing to collaborate her accusation, I pat her shoulder and say, “My, that does look painful.”

“It’s excruciating,” she moans. “I doubt I’ll be able to wear closed toed shoes for a month with this horrific injury.”

Stifling a laugh, I say, “Thank goodness it’s summer and sandal season. I’m so sorry about this.” I walk past Rhonda, the employee who’s on the ropes here. “Rhonda, can you go to my office and wait for me, please?”

She nods and leaves as I go grab a carafe of Mint Julep from behind a desk in the little room. I notice a man is in here with her and has decided to sit quietly instead of helping to diffuse the situation.

Putting ice in a couple of tall, skinny glasses, I toss a piece of fresh mint into each one and fill them with the alcoholic drink that will hopefully calm her the rest of the way down. I walk over to the very handsome and built like a brick house man and hand one drink to him. He smiles and I smile back then go take the other drink to the over the top woman who’s acting as if her toe has been chopped off.

“Miss Harmsworth, I’ll be comping your visit with us today. Plus, that of your…,” I gesture to the man who is sitting quietly, sipping his drink. “…Boyfriend?”

She shakes her head. “We’re just friends.” She gives me a wink then whispers, “With benefits.”

---

We share a giggle and I cut my eyes to find the handsome man’s cheeks growing pink. Pulling a card out of my jacket pocket that I keep for these occasions when our guests find themselves put out with my staff, I hand it to the woman.

“Well, how would you like it if I sent you two out on the town this evening in our VIP, chauffer driven, brand new, state of the art, limousine? This is a voucher for one of Dallas’ five-star restaurants, anything you want will be taken care of.” I pull out another card and hand it to her. “Then you will be taken to the newest nightclub where only the most elite people go. It’s new and completely upscale. It’s usually a member's only kind of place but this will not only get the bouncer to let you in, it will get you anything you want and the check will be on us.”

She looks at the man and asks, “How does that sound to you?”

He nods without saying a word and I find him way too handsome to be with this piece of work. He seems laid back and cool and she seems like a nightmare. But that’s what some of these rich men want. A complete bitchy handful of a woman. It makes no sense to me.

She seems pleased as she says, “This will do. Thank you for being so professional with me. I find that refreshing. Our bills will be very high today.”

I wave my hand at her. “Think nothing of it. And I’d love it if you came back to visit us again. I can promise you won’t be getting any of our services done by Rhonda again.”

She nods and tilts her head to the side as she says, “I may. You have been more than nice about what the woman did. I hope you take care of her. She is not fit for this type of work.”

---

“I will take care of her, Mam. That is a promise,” I say as I gesture to the dressing room. “Your clothes are in there. We’ve moved them to that dressing room for you. Please do not hesitate to give me a call if you need anything else. My name is Mercy Noland. It’s written on the back of the card attached to the VIP card I gave you.”

The man in the room who has been very quiet is already dressed in a very nice casual suit in a chocolate color that makes his tanned features even more attractive. He gets up as I start to leave the room and the other woman gets up and limps to the dressing room. Her antics are amazing!

As I walk down the hall to go back to my office, I feel a hand touch my elbow and sparks shoot through me. “Oh!”

---

“Sorry, did I startle you?” the gorgeous man asks me. He seems to have followed me and I have no idea why that is.

“A little. What can I do for you, Sir?” I ask as I try hard not to look into his big brown eyes with a hint of green in them and drool.

“I’m sorry about her. She’s not very even-tempered,” he says then extends his hand. “I’m Jude Hurst.”

I shake his hand and recognize the last name. “As in, Hurst Oil and Gas?”

He nods. “That’s the family business. So, what’s your story?”

Walking slowly along the hallway, I have to wonder what he’s getting at. “It’s boring. Just a normal girl in a normal world. Nothing that’s anywhere near as impressive as the people in your circles, I’d imagine.”

“Try me,” he says as he takes my arm, stopping my retreat. “I’d like to get to know you, Mercy.”

My stomach lurches as he seems to be hitting on me. “Mr. Hurst…”

His fingertip touches my lips, stopping me. “Jude. Please call me Jude.” He pulls something out of the breast pocket of his jacket and places it in my palm.

My body goes crazy as he grazes his fingertip over it and I find a little business card in my hand. “Look, Sir, I don’t make it a practice to fraternize with our clients. I’m sure you understand.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t understand at all. You see, I’m not really a client. This is my first visit. If there’s a problem going out with me because I come here, then I won’t come here for your services again. It’s just that easy. So how about you give me a call later on when you get off work and we can go out for a drink and see what happens after that?”

“You have a date for the night, Mr. Hurst. I just set that all up for you,” I say as I cannot believe this man’s audacity.

---

“She can take someone else. She and I aren’t a thing. She stays at our place when she’s in town. She was bored and came for a visit. I have brothers that would love to accompany her this evening.” The back of his hand grazes my cheek. “So what do you say? Drinks after work with me, Miss Noland.”

With a shake of my head, I walk away and say over my shoulder, “No thank you, Mr. Hurst. Thanks for asking, though. I assure you, I am not a woman who you would be interested in and I’d hate to take up your time.”

The elevator doors open and I quickly step through them and hit the button to take me away from the very handsome and totally out of my league man.

What a day!

Jude

Watching her walk away with the slight swish of her skirt being the only noise at all in the quiet hallway, I’m left more than a bit stunned by her answer to my offer of a drink after work.

Who the hell declines a drink with a fucking billionaire?

“Jude? Where the hell are you?” I hear Ariel screaming as she looks into the hall. “Oh, there you are. Come on. Let’s get out of this dump.”

I turn to leave then stop and say, “You have that private car waiting on you and I brought my Jag so you go ahead. I’ll tell Zeek to escort you on your evening out.”

“What?” she shrieks yet again, and it’s a sound I am completely tired of. “No! I want you to come with me, Jude. Come on.”

She comes to where I’m standing in the place that woman left me so callously and grabs my arm. “You come with me. Zeek can be so handsy and you understand it when I say I’m tired. He doesn’t. Plus, my toe hurts like hell.”

I look down at her exposed toes as she has on these little flip-flops and see absolutely nothing on either of her big toes. “Which one is hurt again?”

“Don’t worry about that. I took care of the bill, didn’t I?” she asks, spreading an anger through me as I had an idea she was being scammy but now I know she was.

“Ariel, you may well have gotten that woman fired,” I hiss at her as I take her by the arm and lead her to the lobby so she can get the hell out of here.

“So?” she asks as she comes along with me, pretending to limp as we go.

“You aren’t hurt. It’s wrong,” I can’t believe I have to tell her this.

“It doesn’t matter. These people can get hired right back on at another place. It happens all the time. They’re a dime a dozen. And since when did you get all Good Samaritan, Jude?” She looks up as a young man comes from behind the main desk in the lobby walking toward us.

---

“Miss Harmsworth, my name’s Dave and I have your car ready for you and your friend,” he says as he comes up to us. He has a basket full of fruit and wine and I see some expensive cheeses in there as well. “Please accept this gift from us at The Dallas Day Spa. We’re so sorry for your pain and want you to let us know if you experience any type of medical problem or treatment of your injury. We will be more than happy to pay for that.” He looks down at her feet then frowns and looks right back up at her.

Her brown eyes narrow as she silently dares him to ask her a thing about her supposed injury. He heeds the warning and I am glad to say he thinks better about saying anything. Instead, he motions for us to follow him out the side door of the huge lobby.

Past the fountain with a mermaid rising from the center and three dolphins seemingly swimming around her, we go as we follow the man all dressed in white scrubs that fit a lot better than any I’ve seen before.

“You work out?” I ask him as I hold Ariel by the arm and pull her along faster than her fake limping allows.

“Yes, Sir,” he says as he looks back at me with a smile. “Every day, twice.”

“You know, with the right nutrition and the right exercises, you don’t have to work out twice a day to stay in the shape you’re in. I work out one hour each day and along with the right foods and nutritional supplements I manage to keep my body very fit.”

He opens the side door and looks me over. “Wow! How do you manage that? Please don’t tell me steroids because I’m against them.”

I shake my head. “I have a Master’s Degree in the fitness genre. I know where each and every muscle is and how to make it work to its best capacity.”

“Do you have a gym or a private training gig?” he asks as he opens the car door for us.

“No, I have a home gym and my own regiment. I could make out a program for you if you wanted me to. No charge,” I say, surprising myself.

When the hell did I get so chatty or offer anything to anyone?

Ariel slides into the very nice, deep black, leather covered backseat and reaches for a bottle of chilling Champagne immediately. “Look, drinks.”

Looking inside the car, I say, “So off you go, Ariel. If you don’t want Zeek to go with you, then I’ll ask Rose to. You two can make it a girl’s night out.”

“You really are leaving me like this?” she asks as she glares at me. “Really? What else do you have to do, Jude?”

---

I’d rather shovel sheep shit than go anywhere with her after what she just pulled. That was low in my book. The woman has more than enough money. When you add in the fact I was going to pay for everything it really ticks me off. She pulled the scam just to prove something to herself.

“I have to take care of some business, Ariel. I’ll see you around.” I close the door before she can squawk at me anymore. I give Dave a nod and a thumbs up and he tells the driver to take her without me.

As we walk back inside, I tell him, “I want to pay the bill, anyway.”

“I completely understand,” he says without adding any more to it.

I like a man who knows when not to ask too many questions. The fact she was being a crazy, conniving bitch is pretty obvious. But when people with vast amounts of money complain, people do what they want with no questions.

I’ve seen it done all of my life. The rich may pay for extravagant things but let there be the least little complaint about virtually anything and they get it free with no hesitation at all. I think it’s ridiculous.

I don’t mind spending my money. Even when things are subpar. I have it, I may as well pay for the things I want. There’s no reason to scam anyone.

Following Dave to the front desk, I take out my wallet to get my credit card as he looks at the computer to find the bill. “Let me see here. Oh! Well, I’m sorry, the bill has been removed from the system. I suppose our manager did that. Looks like your spa day was free after all, Mr. Hurst.”

With a shake of my head, I say, “That’s not going to do for me, I’m afraid. I live in this town and I won’t have my name bantered about as a person who doesn’t pay his bills and pulls scams on the local companies here in Dallas. I’m afraid I’m going to need to see whoever is in charge here.”

Dave looks at the time on his watch then back at me. “Sorry, she’s left for the day. She leaves at five-thirty sharp every day. You missed her by mere minutes. I can tell you that once she puts her mind to something, she never changes her direction. If she took this bill off that quickly, then she’s not going to change things.”

“I want to pay. This makes no sense. Can’t you just call her and get her to come back?” I look at my phone and see it’s only three minutes past the time she left. “She’s probably still in the parking lot. Just call her. I’ll wait.”

I watch him do as I’ve asked and am not happy with the results as I hear him telling her things, then saying the words, ‘yes, mam.’

After he puts the phone down, he says, “Like I thought. She’s compensated the bill and she won’t be changing that. She told me to tell you to have a nice weekend, Mr. Hurst.”

Well, she’s made that impossible, hasn’t she?

Mercy

After giving Rhonda a three-day weekend, with pay, so she can recuperate after that she-wolf made a meal out of her, I’m on my way to pick the kids up from daycare and thinking about the phone call I just received from Dave.

It seems Mr. Hurst wants to pay the bill anyway. Perhaps he’s found out his girlfriend is a huge liar. Or maybe he just wanted another chance to talk me into drinks with him. Either way, I’m not buying into any of it.

The company can handle the loss. It’s not that bad at ten thousand dollars. Bad reviews would’ve been worse than the lost profit.

I tap the steering wheel as I see our private car pulling out behind me. Miss Harmsworth, the horrible bitch, is inside of that car. Along with the, thinks he’s so smooth, Mr. Hurst.

So what if my body heated when he touched me. It’s been over two years since I’ve had any male attention, it’s to be expected for my poor body to react to his touch. The crazy thing would be if I didn’t react at all to the man’s touch.

Jude Hurst is tall, dark, and handsome. The way his dark hair stays perfectly in place is pretty cool. His eyes are a combination of green and brown and shimmer all on their own like he has a little secret he wants to tell you.

His lips are the color of a pink swirled caramel and pretty damn luscious. The bottom one is a touch more full than the top one which has a cute little Cupid ’s bow right in the middle of it.

I wonder how those lips would feel on mine.

What’s the matter with me?

Shaking my head to clear it, I notice our limo pulling up next to me at the stop light and wish my windows were tinted darker. I can almost feel his eyes on me as he’s probably looking out the window at me.

I wish I could see that to be sure. And maybe to get one last look at him.

Oh my goodness! What has gotten into me?

I take a left at the next light to get away from them even though it will take me fifteen minutes longer this way. I just can’t have him staring at me like I assume he was.

Easing off the gas, I notice a chocolate-colored Jaguar hauling ass behind me. They must have somewhere important to be so I pull off to the side to allow the speeding car to pass me.

It’s him!

Wait, I can’t be sure that was him. He was going too fast to really see. Great, now I’m seeing him all over the place. What has he done to me? And why wasn’t he with the horrible bitch?

My curiosity is too much and I hit the button on the screen to call the front desk back at the spa. “Dallas Day Spa, Dave speaking. How can I help you today?”

“Dave, it’s Mercy. You can help me by telling me if Mr. Hurst accompanied Miss Harmsworth in our car earlier.”

“He did not, Mercy,” he tells me and it sets something off inside of me. A little heated triumph.

“Did he say why he didn’t go with her?”

“No. But if you ask me, he seemed to be ashamed of her. How come you didn’t let him pay the bill, Mercy?” he asks.

“I have my reasons,” I say. I don’t even know myself what they are. Stubborn pride I guess. “You didn’t happen to see what he drove, did you?”

“A dark brown Jag. It’s a beast of mechanical engineering. I saw it when the valet brought it up to the front. I happened to be standing there with him talking about things. He’s a nice guy. Not stuffy like a lot of the rich guys who come here are. He asked a few questions about you.”

“What?” I ask like a teenage girl. “What did he ask about me? Oh, God! What did you tell him? Oh my God, Dave! Please tell me you didn’t tell him anything about me.”

“Whoa! Calm down, Mercy,” he says with a laugh. “You seem a little frazzled by the man. He’s just a man, Mercy. Anyway, he asked about your personal situation, if you had a boyfriend or a crazy ex-lover he might have to contend with.”

“Contend with?” I ask feeling somewhat confused. “There will be no contending. He asked me out for drinks. I told him no. See, no need to contend with anyone or thing.”

Another laugh erupts out of Dave, then he says, “Okay, no need to contend. And that’s what I told him.”

“Wait, you told him I had no one in my life?” I ask, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. “What did he think about that? Did he think I’m a complete loser for being all alone?”

“Not at all. He seemed happy you were all alone. He also asked me where you usually hung out on your days off,” he says.

“My God! What did you tell him, Dave?” I shriek at him.

“I told him I didn’t know,” he says. “Because I don’t know. What do you do on your off time, Mercy?”

---

I’ve kept my private life, mine, and mine alone. I don’t go telling my story to anyone. I don’t like the sorrow-filled eyes looking at me with pity and asking how I’m doing with it all.

“Never mind what I do. I do plenty,” I say because I do a lot on my off time. I probably work harder on my days off than I do at work. Being a mom isn’t a very relaxing job. Not with a two and a four-year-old, anyway. “Did he ask anything else?”

“No, his car pulled up and that ended our conversation. “Mercy, why would you tell the man no about having a drink or two after work? There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Never mind, Dave. You’d never understand. Thanks for filling me in. I appreciate your help. You should get back to work. I’ve taken up too much of your time on this silly thing as it is. Bye now,” I say then end the call before he can try to dive into my personal life any further.

---

The daycare comes into view and my heart sputters as I think about the kids and wonder how their day went. I love those little midgets!

I hope they don’t protest too much that I have to stop off at the house and change my clothes. I can’t go into Pizza Palace dressed like this. I do foresee a fight, though.

As I pull into the parking area, I think about that awesome Jag and the awesome man who was behind the wheel. His fast driving was dangerous and he’s nowhere near the kind of man I would need in my life.

I need a safe man who’s responsible and great with kids. I need a man who drives slow and watches out for other traffic. A real defensive driver is what I need in my life. Not a reckless man who thinks he’s invincible.

No, Jude Hurst is not the man for me. There may not be a man for me after all. It might be me and the kids forever and ever.

Oh my, that sounds a little depressing, doesn’t it?

Maybe I should think about finding a man. Not Jude Hurst, of course. But someone to share my nights with. Not that I have room in my nights anyway. Not with getting up to take Mia to the bathroom at least twice a night.

No, I’m better off alone. The kids need me.

Jude

Armed with the knowledge that Mercy Noland is free of any men, I’m making my plan to find her this weekend. A little chance encounter might break open some of that person she has closed off.

The guy at the spa who works for her gave me some insight into the woman. She’s extremely professional at all times. He’s never witnessed even one occasion in the last couple of years since she took over the management of the facility where she lost her cool.

I’d like to see that woman lose her cool just for a little while. Screaming my name as I pleasure her is where I’d like to see her lose it. By the way the guy talked, he’s never known of any man in her life these last couple of years.

That makes me highly interested in her. Almost like a virgin, fresh and ready to be picked. She thinks she can throw me off. But I’m a long time hunter and she’s in for a surprise with me.

An infinite amount of patience is required in hunting and I have all the patience I need to make her mine. She has no idea about me. I get what I set my eyes on. Always.

My sights are set on her now. She is my prey. I have many tricks to catch my quarry. I’m above nothing when it comes to getting what I’m after.

Pulling into the private road that leads to our family estate, I see my father has purchased a few more Longhorn cattle to reside on the left side of the road. A black and white one and two red and white ones. All have extremely long horns and seem to be getting along well with the other eight he already had.

The members of my family have different things they collect. Dad has his cattle of various breeds he keeps separated by miles of fences. Mom has her little dogs. Also of various breeds. They are not separated at all and roam freely all over the house.

Mom has a maid just for the dogs and the clean-up required as they rarely like to venture outdoors to do their business. Even though they have a yard exclusively for them and that business they do a hell of a lot of.

My younger brother, Zeek, collects antique cars. My sister, Rose, collects porcelain dolls. She’s twenty-four-years-old with a room that adjoins hers and it’s full of her dolls. It’s weird if you ask me.

Then there’s the youngest of us all, my baby brother, Ram, he’s twenty-one and as wild as they come. He collects motorcycles. He also rides them wherever and whenever he can. He’s a daredevil who’s broken several bones in his young life.

I collect guns. I have so many guns, I had to use the spare bedroom next to mine for them. Six gun-safes hold my personal arsenal in that room that I keep locked up tight.

It was my mother’s father who taught me how to hunt. I was the first born and he took me under his wing when I was just five years old. I’d go sit with him in his hunting blind.

---

Depending on what time of the year it was, we’d hunt everything from deer to squirrels. He also taught me how to clean and prepare them. We never wasted a thing on the animals we took.

I miss that old man. I lost him five years ago to cancer. He taught me so much about nature and how to respect it. None of my brothers or sister ever wanted to go with Grampa. They found hunting boring.

Not me, though. I loved it. A bad day of hunting is better than a good day of work. One day, I hope to have a son or two to pass down what all Grampa taught me. Though I haven’t even begun to settle down yet.

I haven’t found the right woman for me. Everyone I know is wealthy and spoiled in ways I don’t care for. I know I’m spoiled too. I’ve gotten every single thing I’ve ever asked for.

Well, now that you count Miss Mercy Noland and her not giving me what I want, I can’t say I’ve gotten every single thing I’ve ever asked for, anymore. I’ll have to change that.

As I pull up, I hear my old hunting dog I inherited from Grampa barking as he hears my car pull up. The old hound dog knows the sound of my car and he only gets excited when he hears me pull up. He could give less than a shit about any other member of our household.

Well, that’s not entirely true. He likes the cook, Mrs. Juarez, too. But that’s only because she gives him all the bones he could ever want. He has his own yard right off the kitchen and his weight is showing that as he waddles around to the driver’s side door to greet me.

Rubbing his red head, I say, “How’s my puppy, Sebastien?”

He makes odd little growls and groans as his answer which I assume means he’s seen better days. He follows me along to go inside the mansion. It’s a large three story number that my parents have added onto at least three times since I can remember.

All of us have our own suite of rooms and my old dog follows me as I go toward mine. A shrill cry has us both groaning as it hurts our ears. I see Ariel has made it home first.

---

I didn’t even notice the limo out front. “What are you doing here? Where’s the car?” I ask.

“I let it go. I don’t want to go alone, Jude. I want you to go with me. Since you won’t, I told the driver to leave. I kept the vouchers, though. That way you and I can still go out and have fun. Only you can drive us. Doesn’t that sound better?” she asks as she waves the cards around.

I hold out my hand and ask, “Can I see those?”

She hands the cards over to me as she walks toward the guest house. “I’ll be getting ready. I want you to wear something better than that suit. It has no tie or anything. I’m thinking since that one club is private that you should wear a tux. I like the way you look in a tux anyway.”

I spot Mercy’s name on the back of one of the cards and underneath it, there’s a little note saying to call her with the amount of the bill and there’s a phone number. It might be her cell phone.

I cross my fingers that I’m right as I walk up the staircase that leads to wing of the house my rooms are located in. Ariel finally figures out that I’m ignoring her and turns to look at me with a loud yell, “Did you hear me, Jude?”

I nod and walk up the stairs. There’s no way I’m going to take her anywhere. I have my sights set on Mercy and Mercy, alone.

She seems to be the kind of woman who wouldn’t give the time of day to a man she sees as a player. To get her attention, I will have to camouflage myself as a one-woman man.

It’s not that I couldn’t be one. I can be whatever I want after all. I’ve just never seen fit to before. And after I find out more about the young woman, I may release her back into the singles pit where she came from. Or I might keep her as a trophy. Then again, I might make her my pet.

One never knows what they’ll do with their prey once they’ve managed to trap them!

Mercy

With both kids in the giant pit of plastic balls, I take the time to myself to use my cell phone to Google Jude Hurst. And just like that, I see a few pictures of him on social media.

His Facebook page has a link to it so I click it and the next thing I know I’m stalking his page.

What am I doing?

Well, I am here anyway so I may as well see what he’s really about. The first thing I notice is his profile picture is new. Like today new. He’s wearing the brown suit he had on earlier and that same little smile that makes people think he knows something no one else does.

He has a lot of friends on his page and I have to say most of them seem to be wealthy too. There are a hell of a lot of pictures of people on yachts and private jets and in exotic places. No, I am not in his league at all!

Then I see one picture of him wearing camouflage with his arm around an old man who is also wearing similar gear. An old, red bloodhound is standing in front of them with a duck in its mouth. Jude’s grin goes from one ear to the other and he seems to be very happy.

A few more pictures are here with him doing some type of hunting in them. So the man is a hunter. I didn’t call that one. I mean, the wealthy men I’ve seen at the spa don’t seem the hunter type. But then again I have a mindset that most men who hunt are named Bubba and have long beards and smell kind of funny.

Jude didn’t smell funny at all. Quite the opposite, he smelled wonderful.

Stop!

I have got to stop thinking about this man. Not only am I not in his league, he’s not what I need or want. He’s a fast man and I know he only wants to get into my pants then he’ll leave me wanting more as he goes off to Peru or Russia on his next billionaire excursion.

That will leave me heartbroken at home with two little kids. I couldn’t even drink my pain away after he leaves me because I have to stay sober to take care of my niece and nephew.

No, he’s a risk. He’s a heartbreaker. He’s dangerous. But damn it, he’s hot.

Oh, look here. It says he has a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology. Maybe that’s why he’s so well built. Here’s a picture with his shirt off and oh, Lord!

My body just went about ten degrees hotter and I can’t seem to take my eyes off the picture of the man with massive muscles all over his chest and those abs! He’s built like a statue.

He can’t be real. That picture has to have been doctored. No man is that perfect. No man!

My cell rings and I find myself juggling it as it startles me. Once I have it steady back in my hands I see it’s a local number that I don’t recognize. But it could be important so I answer it, “Mercy Noland here.”

---

“Well, hey there, Mercy Noland. Guess who this is?”

The sound of the male voice on the other end is soft, deep, the tiniest bit gravelly, and I know who it is immediately.

“How did you get my private number?” I ask.

“How do you think?” he asks back.

I pop my forehead with my palm and remember that my cell number was on the back of the voucher for the private club so I could pay the bill over the phone for that bitch tonight.

“So, you found my number. Are you two having fun? I hope you are. I meant for you too. Is Miss Harmsworth doing better? I hope she is. I want to apologize again for her injury. It was a misfortunate accident. Please tell her…”

“Mercy,” he says, cutting me off. “I’m not with her. I’m in my bedroom thinking about you. And it sounds like you’re at some badass club having a great time. So tell me where you are and let me come join you.”

He could not be more wrong about where I am and it makes me laugh, “Ha! I’m not at a club. And I’m leaving soon, anyway. It’s getting late, I have to get back home.”

“It’s eight o’clock, Mercy,” he says with a deep chuckle that makes my toes curl it's so manly and sexy and my Lord I have to stop thinking about him like that.

“Already?” I ask as I really had no idea it had gotten so late.

The kids still need baths and the house is fifteen minutes away and they need to be in bed by eight-thirty or they’ll be so cranky and then it’ll be hard to get them to sleep.

“Already?” he asks, chuckling again. “Mercy, that’s not late at all. Not one bit. Now, come on and let me in on where you are so I can come see you. I miss you already.”

A little chill runs through me with his choice of words. Then I shake that off and realize he’s such a player. “Miss me? You don’t even know me, Mr. Hurst.”

---

Making my way to the ball pit, I start the long process of trying to get the kids’ attention with a whistle and a wave. But like all the other mothers, I’m completely ignored.

“I know that, Mercy. I want to get to know you. What’s the harm in that?” he asks.

I kick off my flip flops and head into the pit of despair to gather my niece and nephew and say, “Sorry, Mr. Hurst. I really have to go. Goodbye.” With a swipe of one finger, I end the call and put the phone in my bra as I fish for the kids. “Carter, Mia, come on. It’s getting late.”

A voice comes out from under the plastic balls, “No! We aren’t ready yet.” It’s Carter’s voice I hear.

I start to dig in the area I heard his voice come from. “I know, Pumpkin, but it’s getting late and you both still need baths.”

A ridge forms underneath the balls and I see two little figures bolting away from me. Making a lunge to intercept them, I grab the back of a shirt and pull up kids that are not mine. “Hey, leave my kids alone,” comes a shout from an angry mom.

“Sorry,” I let them go and reach into the balls at another lump in them. “There you are, Carter. Grab your sister and let’s go.”

“Awe, man,” he whines as he pulls his hand up and his sister dangles from it. “We have to go, Mia. Aunt Mercy is being a grumpy old lady again.”

Pulling them along with me, I head out of the noisy pen of kids and balls, getting knocking in the head by one and listening to laughter fill the air as whoever threw it is being high-fived by a bunch of the little scoundrels.

As I pull the kids out of the pit, I think about what I could be doing right now instead of wrestling them and dodging incoming, tiny, plastic balls. I could be sitting across a small table, sipping some fancy little drink while staring into the green-brown eyes of one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen.

Instead, I’m pulling some very stinky socks onto a pair of stinky little feet and cramming them into a pair of stinky tennis shoes.

Why did I tell him no?

Jude

Well, that was a bit rude!

I didn’t think she’d be so abrupt. I didn’t think she’d give into me either. But I’m laying the groundwork.

You have to keep your target aware that you are still there. Still on the hunt for them. The key is to let them in on what your plan is so they have a fighting chance at making an escape. It’s no fun if there’s no challenge at all.

With that little phone call, I let Mercy know a few things. One, that I have her number. I have access to her when I want it. Two, that she’s on my radar. And three, that I’m not about to give up.

Now those things are settling into her brain. This is when she’ll try to come up with her own plan to stay hidden away from me. Maybe she’ll think about going on vacation for a week or two and hope I’ll lose interest in that amount of time or move on to some other quarry.

Maybe she’ll fake an illness and stay at home, leaving her phone turned off so she can rest. Or maybe she’ll do something smart, like turn the tables on me and become the hunter herself.

That happened to me once when we were tracking a mountain lion in Wyoming. It was only when we saw the tracks behind us did we figure out we had gone from being the hunters to being the hunted.

The only thing is, that didn’t stop me from taking the prize in the end. It just meant we had to have a battle and I happened to win that one. So even that tactic will not stop me from getting what I want.

Loud bangs fall on my door, making me jump.

“Jude, are you ready yet?” Ariel calls out from the other side. “I’m dying of thirst out here. I need a drink and you to hang onto while I drink and dance. Come on. If you play your cards right, I’ll sleep in here with you when we get back.”

My stomach twists on itself and I stifle a gag.

“I’m not going,” I say as I go to open the door.

When I open the door, she looks me up and down and realizes I haven’t changed like she told me to and her face goes red in a flash. “Jude, damn it! I came all the way out here from New York to hang out with you. It’s been months since I’ve seen you. You seem to be staying to yourself far too much. I came here for you not myself. Which is not a thing I usually do. Now come on. I guess you can go like that. I mean you look okay.” She grabs my hand and attempts to pull me.

With one hand on her shoulder, I push her gently away from me. “Go ask Rose to go with you. I’m not going, Ariel.”

The sound of feet pounding the stairs has us both looking toward them and my youngest brother’s filthy body emerges from them. “Hey,” he says with a wave.

“What happened to you?” Ariel asks him with wide eyes.

“Nothing,” he says as he stops and looks from me to her. “I was riding out on the bike track. You look pretty, Ariel. Where are you two headed?”

“Out,” she says as she looks at me. “Only, Mr. Stubborn here is refusing to go along with me.”

“Hell, I’ll go with you,” Ram says as he looks at me. “Is that okay, Jude?”

With a nod, I say, “It’s fine with me. Ariel and I are not a thing, Ram.”

---

Ariel’s head jerks as she narrows her eyes at me. “You don’t need to say it like that, Jude. You and I have been intimate after all. It’s not entirely out of the realm of things that we could be together.”

“It is too,” I say with a little laugh. “Anyway, there’s your date for the evening.” I hand her the vouchers. I’ve put Mercy’s cell number on my phone so I won’t need to hold onto the card any longer.

Ram kicks up his heels then shoots down the hallway to his suite. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

“Wear a tux, Ram, please,” she calls out to him.

He laughs as he goes into his room. I let her in on what’s about to happen but only a little of it or she won’t accept him as her escort for tonight.

“He won’t be wearing a tux or a suit. He’s a blue jeans and boots kind of kid. And you’ll want to make sure he eats at dinner. He can drink a lot more than most men can but he has to have food on his stomach first to be able to handle it.”

“I’m not about to be his babysitter. I’m not into raising children, Jude. How old is he again?”

“He just turned twenty-one, last month,” I say and watch her bite her lip.

She makes a humming sound and looks down the hallway as she says, “Would it upset you if I spent the entire night with him, Jude?”

A snort comes out of me. “No. I don’t know how much clearer I can be with you, Ariel. I’m not looking for a relationship. That’s not me. Be with whoever you want.”

Her brown eyes move up to mine as she says, “Really, Jude? I mean you’ve never thought about me and you and making a thing out of us?”

With a shake of my head, I tell her, “No. Sorry, Ariel. It’s not a thing I’ve ever thought about.”

“Not even when you held me in your arms after we had sex?” she asks.

I hate when women do this shit!

“Not even then, Ariel. Look, I’m just not ready to settle down. And I have to be honest with you. You’re not what I’m looking for in a girlfriend. I like down home women with down home style. I like manners and I like nice behavior. I can’t stand people who treat other people badly. Get it now?”

---

She nods and runs her hand over my cheek. “You want a country bumpkin and I’m a New York lady who will never fully capture your attention. Okay. I get it now. Will I stop vying for your attention? No!” She gives my face a little slap and walks away, shaking her little ass as she goes. “See you on the morrow, Jude. You have a nice night yanking your wanky all alone.”

Stepping back into my bedroom, I shake my head as the woman is just so clueless. There are plenty of rich East Coast assholes who she’d get along with well. Why does she want a country boy like me?

Settling back on my bed, I pick up my phone and see it’s nine o’clock. So I think it’s still early enough to send a little text to my intended.

-In bed yet?-

I wait and pick up the remote to the television. Then I see my screen light up on the phone and pick it up to see she has replied. I wasn’t sure she would.

-Not yet. I had some things to do when I got home. I hope you have a nice night with Miss Harmsworth, goodnight.-

Man, she’s really getting under my skin.

-I’m not going out with her. I won’t be going out with her anymore, as a matter of fact. Her ways don’t suit me. Your ways are something I’d like to know more about. How about you call me and we can talk over the phone?-

And now I wait and wonder if she will call me. Bet she will!

Mercy

The phone sits on the bed next to me as I watch television with the sound low so I don’t wake the kids who climbed into my bed after their baths and fell asleep after their long day.

It’s been thirty minutes since I got a text from Jude Hurst, asking me to call him. I haven’t responded at all. I hope he gets the hint.

I don’t want to get into the specifics with him about why I’m not a viable candidate for his harem of women that I’m sure he has. The kids make it a bit problematic.

He surely will move on and stop this nonsense with me soon. He has to. I don’t know how long I can hold out.

His voice, alone, makes me wet. Add in his gorgeous face, hot body, and that charm. Well, let’s just say, I am only human. A human who has other humans to think about now.

I foresee an office full of flowers when I go back to work on Monday. Perhaps a few boxes of expensive chocolates and maybe a bottle of wine to inebriate me into giving into him. He underestimates my resolve in keeping men at a distance for the foreseeable future.

I suppose when the kids get grown, I can date. That’s merely sixteen years away. I’ll only be forty-two then. Whoa! No way!

I can’t wait until I’m forty-two to start dating! That’s just crazy!

Now I’m back to looking at the damn phone and wondering what the hell I’m doing. How do single moms know when they can have a life again? How old do the kids need to be before introducing a new person into their little family pack?

I wish there was a solid plan all single parents could follow. That would be so helpful. But there isn’t and I’m not prone to following advice since our situation is fairly unique.

There are plenty of nights when the kids sleep in their own beds. But there are also plenty of nights when one of us needs the support and comfort of the others. Even me from time to time.

Thinking about my lost family is a thing I try not to do. It always brings me heartache and pain. And not in that cathartic way our therapist talks about.

It’s in a way that leaves me weak. It leaves me on edge and wondering if I can really do all that I need to do.

My niece and nephew have no one else. Their father was an only child and his parents had him when they were older. Both of his parents died before he married my sister. There are no other relatives that we have who are near the age where they could care for the kids.

I am it for them. If I don’t keep myself on the straight and narrow, then they’ll have no one. No one to hold them when they miss their parents and grandparents who they were very close to as well. No one to know what kinds of little things make them happy. No one to love them the way only a family member can.

Gazing at my phone, I know I’d be all over that man if I was still a single woman with no kids. But I am, so I can’t be. I suppose I could talk to him and let him know what my problem is.

I have a feeling he wouldn’t care. It’s not that I think kids would scare a man off. I’ve seen plenty of men take on women with their own kids. It’s not unheard of.

It’s just that I think a man would complicate our lives at this point. We’re still kind of a mess. There are still nightmares all three of us have on occasion. There are still odd times when one of us bursts into tears for reasons others would never understand.

I try very hard never to fall apart in front of the kids. I do fall apart, though. Mostly after they’ve fallen asleep and I’m in the shower to drown out my cries. I do have my weak moments. What man would understand that? What man would want to be a part of this mess?

Not the ultra-wealthy, Jude Hurst. I know it. He might not, but I do. If I let him, he’ll take what he wants from me and that’s it. And that man could completely steal my heart. I know he could.

My heart has pounded with only a few words from him. What would happen if I got an actual taste of him? If I felt his hands all over my body, what would happen then?

The light from my cell phone screen shines. I have the phone on vibrate so any incoming calls won’t wake the kids. And I see it’s him calling. I guess he decided not to leave it up to me.

But I won’t answer. I can’t answer. I shouldn’t answer.

The light fades as he’s hung up. And now I find my heart really pounding. What if he needed something? What if he’s in trouble?

I shake my head with the stupid thoughts. I’m nothing to him. He’d never call me in the event of an actual emergency. I’m being stupid and making shit up to make an excuse for why I need to call him back and make sure he’s alright.

The screen lights up again and it seems he’s sent me a text. I pick the phone up and see that he’s sent a message.

-Pick the phone up when I call you back in five minutes, please.-

Okay, so now I know he’s fine and I can stop lying to myself that he needs anything other than a booty call. So I text back, -I’m asleep. Don’t call.-

Not even a second passes by then he’s texted back.

-Bullshit! Answer your damn phone when I call you in four minutes.-

Well, now he’s cussing at me!

I can’t accept being treated that way, anyway. Thank goodness he’s making this easy for me. So I text back.

-No.-

There’s nothing coming back. I thought there would be something coming right back. A vague threat of him showing up at my door. Or the promise of a special night with him. Something to tell me he is not giving up. But nothing is coming back.

Maybe he has given up. Maybe he understands now that I am a woman who means what she says. No matter how ludicrous it might be that I do not want to go have drinks with a man who is gorgeous and loaded as well as completely charming in his own right.

No, I’m a woman who has her reasons for her actions. All the things I do are calculated for the risks involved. And Jude Hurst is a risk. A huge risk. A risk that is so not worth taking.

What am I saying? He is completely worth the risks involved but I don’t have the freedom to take that risk. Not any freedom at all. I’m held accountable for two little lives after all.

Why did he have to look at me the way he did? Why did he have to touch my cheek with the back of his soft hand? Why did he have to look into my eyes with those mischievous eyes of his?

I swear the man has little secrets that must be wonderful because his eyes dance when he looks at you. When he looked at me, anyway. When he took that picture earlier today and posted it to his profile he had that look.

I wonder why he did that.

Quickly, I open up Facebook and stalk his page again. And I find another interesting thing there. Before, when I checked his relationship status, it said single. Now it says, it’s complicated and guess whose name is under that status?

Mine!

I cannot believe he’s added me to his social media profile. So I do a friend request.

It’s not because I want anything to do with him. It’s simply because he’s seen fit to put my name up there with his and we’ve yet to even have a simple discussion. He’s so presumptuous!

An instant later he has accepted my friend request and has sent me a direct message full of kissy-faces.

Then my phone starts vibrating as he’s calling me.

Well, now what do I do?

Jude

After three rings I’m feeling a bit tempted to hang up and send her a barrage of direct messages. But then something happens.

“Hello,” she says in a whisper.

“Hey,” I say as I’m kind of caught off guard. “Why are you whispering? Is someone there with you? Because that guy, Dave, said you didn’t have any man in your life.”

“Um, no. No one’s here. I just don’t want to talk loud and bother the neighbors who may be sleeping is why I’m whispering.” I hear a shuffling sound then she says in a normal tone of voice, “So why did you think it would be okay to put my name on your Facebook profile, Mr. Hurst?”

“Why were you stalking me, Miss Noland?” I wait to see how she’ll take that because I think she might take it kind of badly.

“I make it my business to know as much as I can about men who want to go out with me. So I use the resources society affords me to do that,” comes her viable answer.

“Oh,” I say as I was preparing myself to get bitched out. “That’s smart of you, Mercy. Very smart. You seem like a smart woman.”

“I am,” she says with not one word after that.

She just states a fact and stops, so I ask, “Are you always so professional?”

“Of course not,” she says, sounding very professional. “I know how to act appropriately in many kinds of ways. Our relationship is a business one so I will remain on a professional level with you, Mr. Hurst.”

“I am never going to your spa as a client again, Mercy. So you can lose that tone with me.”

“Look, I know you’re probably a very nice man. I’m just not available right now. It’s nothing about you. I’m not trying to play hard to get in order to entice you. I’m merely unavailable. Can you understand that, Jude?”

---

She called me by my name! Now this is progress!

“Why don’t you tell me why you are unavailable, and I will tell you if I can understand that or not. And thank you for finally saying my name. It sounds sweet coming out of your mouth,” I say and lay back on my pillows.

Talking to her as I lay in bed reminds me of my high school days. Talking to a girl on the phone before I was old enough to simply bring them home with me or stay at their place or take them to a hotel room. It takes me back to simpler times.

“I just am. I don’t like to talk about myself. You can understand that, can’t you?” she asks with a sweet lilt to her slight southern accent.

“Did you grow up here in Dallas?” I ask her as I just have to put a place to that accent she has.

“No, I grew up in a tiny town called Utopia. It’s in the southern part of central Texas. Have you ever heard of it?” she asks.

I settle into the pillows and reach over to pick up the beer I’ve been nursing as I’ve been waiting for her to call me. To be honest I had to give up and call her. Not a thing I usually do once I’ve put out a text to call me.

---

I have a lot of pride after all!

“I have heard of it. So when did you move to Dallas?” I ask and take a sip of the beer, finding it warm now and get up to go get me a cold one from the mini-fridge in my bedroom.

“My parents and I moved here a little over four years ago. My older sister had gotten married and moved here with her husband. They met in college. They both went to The University of Texas. She was a cheerleader and he was a football player and they fell in love very quickly. Anyway, they got married after they graduated and when she became pregnant, we all felt like we wanted to be closer to them. To enjoy the baby, you know.”

“I do,” I say. “Who doesn’t want to enjoy the new baby in the family? So that brought you here to our fair city then. And how long do you plan to live here?”

“I’m not sure. I suppose for at least the next sixteen years. I do like my job. It pays well and I should stay in one place,” she says.

“Why do you need to stay in one place for sixteen years?” I ask as that sounds odd to me.

“Um, oh.” She’s quiet for a moment and I find myself freezing in front of the little fridge in a panic.

Shit! I’ve hit a soft spot with her. “Not that it’s any of my business. So let’s go on to another subject. When I accepted your friend request I went to your page and noticed you haven’t used it in a long time. Why not take a selfie and put it up there so I can see your gorgeous face?”

“I’ll think about it. I’m too busy to get on it. I think it was a little over two years ago when I was on it last. I use the site for the spa now. I post a lot on that site,” she says.

“Nothing personal, though,” I say as I pull out a beer and pop the top open and go back to my bed.

“No,” she says. “Personal things aren’t meant to go on that site.”

“So who does know you, personally?” I ask then take a drink of the cold beer.

“Not many. I’m just so busy with work and…” she just stops talking.

“And?” I ask.

“Work, that’s all. I’m very busy with that,” she says. “What do you do?”

---

“When?” I ask then feel stupid. “I mean I don’t have to work. I do things like travel, hunt on occasion, and stuff like that.”

“How rewarding,” comes her sarcastic reply.

I’d love to get offended but she’s not wrong. “I know. I’ve been kind of consumed with trivial things. Like drinking, carousing for wild women, and wasting money. I need a positive influence in my life, Mercy. Do you know anyone who might be of help to me?”

---

She laughs and I love the sound. It’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh. It’s sweet, sexy, and fucking honest. Not premeditated to enchant me. Not rehearsed to sound exactly on pitch like I’ve heard so many times from the pretentious women I now know.

“Are you talking about me being a positive influence on you, Jude? I assure you I have very little influence over anyone,” she says then I hear her sigh and wonder why that is.

“Mercy, do you ever eat breakfast on Saturday mornings?” I ask her. “Because I know you don’t do drinks after work on Friday nights. So I was thinking a little coffee, a few pancakes, maybe a donut or two and a little conversation would be a thing you might like to do.”

“Really?” she asks me as if she doesn’t believe me at all.

“Really,” I say then put my beer down. “I don’t want to merely get in your pants the way I know you’re thinking I want. I want to get to know you.”

“That’s like the one thing I can’t allow, Jude. I really am sorry. It’s just so complicated,” she says.

“See, the thing about that, is it’s alright with me. Didn’t you see our relationship status, Mercy? It says those actual words. So I’m cool with complicated. And I’m only talking about an hour or two for breakfast in the morning. I’m kind of aching to see you again.”

“Aching?” she asks.

“Um, hm.”

“I tell you what. Can you let me call you around nine or ten to let you know if I can make it?”

The only answer I have for her is a quick, “Yes.”

Wow, we may have a date!

Mercy

Nervously, I pace back and forth as I tell the babysitter, Mrs. Jensen’s daughter, Becky, where the cheese and crackers are that stop Mia from crying and where the first aid kit is, then she assures me she brought her own.

“Wow, you are prepared,” I say as she nods her head.

“I am. And I have your number. I promise to call you if anything at all happens to either of them. I’ve been in the classes for six months to learn all kinds of ways to take care of and interact with children. You can trust me, Mercy,” she says with a sweet smile.

“I know I can, Becky. Thank you. I’ll only be an hour,” I say then turn to leave but turn back. “Or two. Will that be a problem, if I’m two hours instead of one?”

“Heck, stay all day. All night even. I can handle these two. Have fun. Mom told me you haven’t gone out at all in two years. Since it all happened. So who is this lucky fella who has you finally going out?”

I hesitate to say his name then think maybe someone should know who I’ll be out with. One never knows who might be a killer or a kidnapper after all. That’s what Mom used to say. “His name is Jude Hurst. We’re going to meet at the Denny’s down the street. I don’t want him to know where I live. Not yet, anyway.”

“I completely understand. And are we talking about a member of the Hurst family that owns that huge oil company?” she asks as her hand goes to her slim hip. Becky is a young twenty and looks all of sixteen with her high ponytail and classic sweet kid looks.

“Yes, he’s part of that family,” I say as her mouth drops open.

“Okay, girl!” she says then holds her hand up for a high-five.

I laugh as I give her the high five she’s requested and feel kind of giddy. “Okay, I am out of here. I will call you if it goes past two hours.”

With a wave, I leave. We purposely put the kids in the backyard to play with a puppy she brought to distract them from my departure which I found pure genius on her part.

My hands are shaking as I hold the key fob in my right hand and press the button to unlock the Mazda that was my sister’s. I inherited that too. I have three cars now. Hope’s little, red Mazda, her husband, Jasper’s, four-wheel-drive truck that I have never driven, and Mom’s Suburban. That’s what I use when I have the kids with me.

I realize that’s been most of the time. As I sit in the soft leather seat of my sister’s car, I sink back into it and turn the radio up. It’s been a month since I’ve been anywhere in this car. And that was a quick trip to the grocery store while the kids were still at daycare and I got off early from work to do the grocery shopping.

I don’t like to take the kids to the store with me because people ask too many questions.

Questions like, ‘Are those your kids?’ and ‘Do you kids love your momma?’

People actually say that shit!

I can’t lie to them right in front of the kids. So I have to tell them I’m their aunt and then come more personal questions like, ‘Why do you have them?’ and ‘Where is their momma?’

It comes to me that the reason I keep to myself so much is that talking about what happened isn’t easy for me so I’d rather be alone. My therapist says that’s unhealthy. And she might be right.

I shake it off and put the car in reverse and leave the garage. My sister and her husband had a very nice home in a very nice section of a suburb of Dallas. The house has three bedrooms and baths with a four car garage. The garage is nearly as big as the brick house is.

---

The other vehicles I inherited were also Jaspers and also things I haven’t driven and never will. A couple of Harleys are parked in the other parking space of the garage. I should sell them and put the money in the kids’ accounts. That feels like a thing I should wait on, though.

Carter might want them when he gets older after all. So I make sure to start every vehicle once a week, on Sundays, and let them run for thirty minutes to keep their mechanical parts moving.

I find myself singing along to the song on the radio as I make the left turn to get to the Denny’s where he said he’ll be at, at nine this morning. I haven’t talked to him since eight. He sounded a little tired and I felt like I should’ve told him to forget about it but when I started to say something, he stopped me and told me to meet him, that he’d be there, waiting for me.

And as I pull into the parking lot, I see his chocolate Jag and feel a smile move over my entire face. “He’s here!”

I forgot to tell him what I was driving and I just realized he wasn’t the one to tell me he has that car. He’ll know I did more asking about him if I walk up to it. So I text him that I’m here in a red Mazda and see him get out of his car and wave at me.

I can’t feel my feet as I get out of the car as I’m nervous as hell. I purposely came here in the same fashion I always spend my weekends in. Hair in a ponytail, make-up free and shorts with a little top and flip flops. I have to dress nice every day of the week so I take my weekends seriously and dress down on them.

So let’s see if he likes the real me!

My voice cracks as I say, “Hi, Jude.” Thankfully, we both laugh.

He’s in shorts too and a light green button down he has the sleeves rolled up on about a quarter. He’s wearing flip flops too as I told him I was coming very casual. It makes me secretly happy he dressed down for me.

His expensive sunglasses have some name on them I can’t even pronounce and he pulls them off as he gets to me, extending both hands. I take them and give him a smile.

“Is it possible?” he asks as his thumbs run over my knuckles as he holds both of my hands.

“Is what possible?” I ask as I have to focus so my legs don’t give out with how his touch excites me and makes me want to lie down on the pavement of Denny’s parking lot and let him have his way with me right here on a Saturday morning.

He pulls me closer and kisses my left cheek then says, “That you look even better without any makeup.”

I laugh with an elation I’ve never felt before. Then tone it down. “Jude! You’re silly.”

He lets my hands go but puts one arm around my shoulders. “No, I’m serious. Anyway, you seem nervous and I don’t want that. I’m ordering you some happy face pancakes this morning. I want to see that beautiful smile for our whole date.”

“That’s the other pancake place. But you can ask. For you, they’ll probably do it,” I say as we walk in the glass door and the three old men at the counter look at us.

And already I feel all eyes on us. This man is too damn good looking!

Jude

Her silky blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail and I can picture it with a cute little, pink camo hat and her hanging out with me in my hunting blind. She has no makeup on at all and seems completely comfortable and is still mesmerizingly beautiful.

She gets in on one side of the booth and I have to take the other because the sides are meant for one person only. It dawns on me that might be the exact reason she picked this place. I asked her to go with me to the very classy Regency Hotel for breakfast and she told me, no way.

So here we are at a place I’ve never been to in my life. But I’m going to pretend I’ve come to these little chains tons of times. You have to act at home in the prey’s territory to get them to feel safe around you.

An old, and extremely heavyset woman with yellow hair comes to us with an orange pot of coffee, I assume, as she’s also carrying two little off-white cups. She places them on the table and fills them with some steaming hot, black as night, coffee. “Here ya go. Now, do you two need a minute or do you know what you want?”

Good God! What kind of manners are those?

“How about a pancake with some bacon and a couple of fried eggs for the lady? Put that all in a smiley face fashion. I’ll have the same. And a couple of orange juices,” I say.

Mercy quickly adds, “Make mine an apple juice.” Her eyes cut to me. “I’m allergic to oranges.”

Reaching across the table, I take her hand that’s resting on it..

“Aw. You shared something with me.”

She slaps my hand and looks back at the waitress.

“And can we have some fresh cream for our coffee?” Mercy hands the woman the little silver pitcher with a thick drizzle of cream hanging on the side.

She takes it with a smile on her wrinkled face.

“Of course, Doll. Now that special order will cost you extra, you know that?” she asks as she looks at me.

“The sky’s the limit,” I say. “Feel free to toss your freshest fruit on the plates too. And remember there’s a hefty tip waiting for you if you can make this special and memorable. This is our first date.”

“You don’t say,” the woman says then points to her yellowing name tag. “Well, as you can see, my name is Lola and I will be your server this morning. And I will be right back.” She sashays away and I catch Mercy smiling.

“You have a beautiful smile, Mercy.”

“You have all the right words, Jude,” she says then laughs a little. “So, you have managed the happy face breakfast. What other magic do you know?”

---

I lean forward and take both her hands which are conveniently resting on the old brown table. “I have so much magic stored away, you have no idea. And I want to thank you for your call this morning. I was worried you wouldn’t call and I’d have to call you again and beg you to do something else.”

She looks away then bites her bottom lip then looks back at me. “So, you sounded tired when I called. Did I wake you up?”

“You did,” I tell her. “I couldn’t fall asleep very easily as you were heavy on my mind.”

“I was?” she asks and I see a light in her blue eyes.

That’s the one thing lacking in the young woman. There is no real light there in those beautiful eyes. I find myself wanting nothing more than to put a light there. Then I find myself entwining our fingers and wishing like hell she was closer so I could kiss her and bring her that light I know I can.

“You were. Hearing your voice last night made me think things I never have before,” I say.

“Like what?” she asks.

The waitress comes out with a big bowl of assorted fruit and I notice there are no oranges in it. I give her a smile. “You listened, great job, Lola. Thank you very much.”

The rotund woman leans in and whispers, “I have some vodka in my purse. If you want, I could spike your drinks.” She gives me a wink.

I shake my head. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you but not this morning. I think I’d like to keep my head straight.”

She nods and leaves. Mercy and I laugh quietly so as not to embarrass the woman. She meant well after all.

Taking only one of her hands again, I take a piece of banana with my fork and hold it out for her. She takes the bite and picks her fork up and gives me a plump cherry.

I take the sweet fruit and eat it then say, “Was that metaphoric?”

Her face goes beet red. “Oh my God! Why did I give you that?” She laughs then points at me. “Hey, wait! You gave me a bite of banana! I think it’s not metaphoric as much as it’s Freudian!”

I have to laugh too and find I’ve never felt this relaxed this quickly with anyone. She’s amazing and it’s been like five minutes. So I go for it, my plan to keep her with me all day and into the night.

“Do you like boats?”

After placing a grape in my mouth, she answers, “Who doesn’t? They’re boats!”

“I have one,” I say then put a piece of apple into her mouth.

She nods as she chews then swallows. “I bet you do.” She stabs a pineapple and places it in my mouth. “I bet you have every kind of vehicle they make.”

---

I pick up a grape that refuses to be forked and place it on her lips. She parts them and takes the small fruit in and my cock straightens all the way out as her pink lips wrap around the orb of purple and pull it into her mouth until it disappears.

And she isn’t even trying to do that sexy!

Dear God, how can I keep my head on straight with this woman?

My voice is a little shaky as I try to think about what she’s said and add to the conversation instead of jumping over the table and boning her right here in the small booth at Denny’s, “I don’t own even one motorcycle.”

That’s true. My youngest brother would covet it if I had one.

“I have two of them,” she says then takes a tiny sip of her black coffee the waitress still hasn’t brought fresh cream for yet. “A couple of Harleys.”

Fuck me! She’s perfect!

“Wow. You ride?” I ask as I sit back and really look at her. I never pegged her as a motorcycle chick.

She shakes her head, making that blonde ponytail flow over her right shoulder and across her tit which looks completely edible under her little white top. “No, but I own two of them.”

There has to be a story behind that, so I ask, “Did you win them?”

Another shake of her head answers me. “No. I’d rather not talk about how I got them if you don’t mind.”

“Of course,” I say. But the fact she doesn’t want to talk about that has my curiosity peaked. I’ll let it go for now, though.

“So, how about a morning boat ride with me?” I ask.

She sits back in the booth and crosses her arms in front of her chest and seems to be thinking about it.

My fingers are crossed, my breath is held, and I am waiting for her answer.

Mercy

I know I should not be doing this. I know I should be going back home to be with the kids but the idea of a little boat ride on this gorgeous morning is too much to pass up. And let’s face it, hanging out with Jude is more than a little fun.

Dashing off to the bathroom after breakfast, I made a call to Becky to let her know what I would be doing and she said the kids were doing great. I heard them playing in the background so I think this is okay for me to be doing.

I do feel kind of selfish for taking this time away from them with all the time I already take away from them with work. Then I look over at the completely hot man in the driver’s seat and that pretty much flies out the window.

I left my car in the Denny’s parking lot and am riding with him to the marina on some big lake about forty-five minutes away. I watch him change the radio station then his hand moves toward me instead of the steering wheel and he takes my hand and holds our hands on the little leather armrest that’s between us.

“Your car is really nice,” I say because I don’t know what else to say. I kind of hate being trapped in a car with people. It’s one of my little quirks. You just never know what to say.

“Thank you,” he says then lifts our clasped hands and kisses the side of mine. I nearly yank my hand to get his mouth to touch mine instead of just my hand.

I realize I’m holding my breath as he looks at me from behind his dark sunglasses and a half smile is on his lips. Letting out the breath, I say, “So, how much farther is this lake?”

“Your voice went kind of high there, Mercy,” he says with a little chuckle. “Am I making you nervous?”

“No!” I say with the same too high tone.

Of course, I’m nervous. The touch of his lips on the side of my hand made my insides heat and a pulse start in my lower regions. If I don’t watch myself this man will have me naked and writhing in passion underneath him in minutes.

Oh God, why did I have to make that image in my head?

Now I’m aching a little for him to fulfill that little scene my mind created. Imagination can be a truly awful thing.

“Mercy, when was the last time you were kissed?” he asks as he looks at the road.

“I’d rather not talk about that. Just for the record, I do not want to know when you were last kissed, okay?” I say then look out the window and find the glimmer of water filling in the areas between the tall pine trees that grow along the edge of the road. “Is this the lake where you boat is?”

“It is. Have you ever driven a boat?” he asks then gives my hand a squeeze.

“No,” I answer and try not to think of us alone on a boat in the middle of this big lake and what I’ll do if he kisses me out there with no one around.

“Well, you will today. I’ll show you how to do it. It’s fun,” he says then lets my hand go as he pulls into the small marina with quite a few very nice and expensive looking boats pulled into separate stalls.

“You’d trust me with your boat, Jude?” I ask as he pulls to a stop.

“I’ll be right there. Right behind you, making sure you don’t get overwhelmed.” He runs his hand over my arm and up to take my chin in it. “Let me get your door.”

“K,” comes my weak response.

---

I watch him get out of the car and have to adjust myself as he walks around. He has me nine types of hot and bothered and I don’t know why I agreed to this. It was the worst idea ever.

Alone with him. Him standing behind me as he teaches me to drive his boat. I can almost feel his erection on my ass now and it’s making me uber-uncomfortable. Damn, my vivid imagination!

The door opens and I see I’ve forgotten to take off my seatbelt. He leans in to do it for me and is closer to me than he’s been so far and I’m nearly shaking with how bad I want to grab him and kiss him right now.

So I close my eyes and feel his lips graze my cheek as he moves back across me and takes my hand, lifting me out of the car. “Come on. I can’t wait to get you out on the water.”

Opening my eyes, I follow along until he pulls me up to walk beside him and lets my hand go, running his arm around my waist. “I can’t stay out here very long, Jude. Maybe an hour.”

He stops and gets in front of me, taking both my hands in his as he looks at me, “Why?” He just stands there looking at me, waiting for my answer as to why I can’t stay out on this lake with him for more than an hour.

I’m like a deer in the headlights. I have no idea of what to say to him so I make something up. “Laundry, I have a lot of laundry to do.”

He laughs and moves back around to my side, slipping his arm around me again as he says, “I can help you do it, later on, tonight when I take you home. I’ve never done laundry before but with you, it might be fun.”

When he takes me home?

I have no idea what to say now. He can’t go back to my place. I can’t bring him into the kids’ lives yet. I never can, really. Just the way he drove us over here was a bit hard to take. He drives fast everywhere he goes. Like he’s trying to beat some time limit to get from point A to point B or something.

I’m sure he’s a real dare devil and the children can’t be subjected to that. Not when their parents died in a car wreck. That would be emotionally damaging to them.

---

Jude Hurst can be no more to me than a little secret side action. And even that will have to be kept in check. There cannot be any sex between us. Not ever. This man could make me fall for him so easily. I have to keep my guard up or I’ll get hurt.

I know I will!

“Here she is,” he says as he gestures to a very badass looking boat.

It’s white with canary yellow striping on it. A little canopy is pushed back I assume so he can drive it faster than the canopy would allow if it was up.

He walks onto the flat deck up front, taking me along with him. There are two little steps down into the main area of the boat. Four seats are in the front and one long seat goes across the entire back of the boat. It’s so long we could both stretch out on it and the canopy could be raised to make shade and a little privacy.

Oh, Lord! I’m already scoping out a place where we could have sex. What’s wrong with me?

Jude

For reasons I cannot fathom, Mercy seems to be trying to figure out reasons why she can’t hang out with me for much longer. She’s having fun. The smile hasn’t left her face very often at all. It can’t be because she’s bored or doesn’t like what we’re doing.

Maybe she just doesn’t like me.

Nah, that can’t be it!

There has to be something she’s hiding. Something she’s ashamed of.

Maybe she’s a hoarder and doesn’t want me to see her place. Maybe it’s not like that at all, maybe she’s a freaky chick who has a dungeon and likes to play the mistress part in kinky sex games with strange men.

Oh wait, that’s one of my fantasies!

Whatever it is, I will get to the bottom of it, because I’m keeping her all day and into the night. Whether she protests or not, she’s going to hang out with me until she gets past this weird thing she has about going back home all the time.

“Do you have pets, Mercy?” I ask to see if that might be why she wants to get back home so quickly.

She shakes her head, “No. Why? Do you?”

Well, that’s not why. “I have an old hunting dog I inherited from my grandfather who passed away a while back. So no pets huh?” I pull out of the boat slip and back up slow and easy.

She shimmies in the seat next to mine and seems a little nervous. “Where are the life jackets?”

“Look under your seat,” I tell her.

She looks and sees one of the orange life jackets there. “Oh, okay. That does look easy to get to if I need it. Have you ever wrecked a boat before?”

“No, I have not. I’ve been driving boats since I was just a kid. We have a yacht too. There’s a captain for it but he lets us all try our hand at driving it when we want to,” I say as I start to pull away from the marina.

The lake is smooth as glass this morning. The air is warm and the sun feels amazing.

“I don’t suppose you have sunscreen onboard, Jude,” she says,

“No,” I say then wish like hell I did have some.

“See, we can’t stay out long or I’ll get a sunburn. So keep it under an hour,” she says with a smile on her face like she’s found her out.

The first aid kit is in the glove box so I pull it out and toss it to her. “See if there’s some in there. I took Mom and Dad out a few weeks ago and I think Mom might have put some in there.”

She sighs and opens the little kit and pulls out a tube of the thing she thought would get her taken home sooner than I want to let her go. “Yes, there is some.”

“Would you mind putting some on my face? I don’t want to burn either,” I ask her so she has to run her hands all over my face and I’ve been wanting to see how that would feel.

Going slow out of the marina, I let the wheel go and turn in the seat so she can lather me up. She squeezes the tube and a glob if white lands on her palm. Then she rubs her hands together, getting them all white and stands up, coming to me and places her palms on my cheeks.

---

“The beard usually keeps those covered just fine. But you’ve already greased it so go for it, Mercy,” I say as her hands move over my face. The sensation makes me hard as a rock and I can tell she and I will be very compatible in the sack.

Her hips are begging me to rest my hands on them so I go for it. “Getting a little handsy there, aren’t you?” she asks as she rubs the lotion in.

“I’m holding you steady, Mercy. Geeze, don’t go jumping to conclusions.”

“Right,” she says with a little laugh. “There, you’re all safe now.”

I hold her by her hips and look up at her. “How about a little kiss before I have to let you go?”

She leans down and I ready myself for some much sought after lip action and hope a bit of tongue comes into play. Then her lips touch the tip of my nose and she stands back up. “There you go, player.”

Man!

---

I let her go and find I’m going to have to put in more time if I want to get to the goods with her. She has some restraint, that’s all I have to say.

Taking her seat, she lathers the lotion all over every spot of her skin that’s not covered by clothing. “Get ready to go fast, Mercy,” I say just before I throw the throttle back and let her rip.

“What?” she screams as the engine reeves and the nose of the boat comes up high as we go fast.

I glance over and see her gripping the seat and her lips are pressed together in a hard line as she looks ahead. She seems on the edge of being terrified. So that’s good.

It’s not a good ride if you’re not a little afraid it’s going to all go south in an instant!

I decide a little more intensity is in order and shout, “Hold on tight!”

Her head jerks to look at me. “Tighter than I already am?” she screams as her head shakes back and forth, trying to let me know not to do whatever it is she thinks I’m about to do.

I nod and pull the wheel hard to the right, taking us in a hard circle and watching her knuckles go white as she holds tighter to the seat. It makes me smile like a lunatic as her mouth comes open and she shrieks the entire time.

Easing the speed a bit, I give her the idea I’ll be slowing down now. Then I rev it up and take off in the opposite direction. She sits back, still holding onto the seat as I fly over the water.

Waves from another boat make our boat bounce along on top of them and she looks at me then back in front of her. I think another bounce over the waves is in order. I make another hard turn and go back over the waves, catching air three times.

Her scream is worth it and I laugh as I watch her coming unglued. Man, this shit is fun!

Slowing the boat, I reach over and touch her arm. Her body is shaking and she has goosebumps. I did good!

“Okay, Mercy, your turn to drive,” I say as I pull her from her chair and onto my lap.

“No, I don’t want to drive like that,” she says with chattering teeth. “You scared me half to death, Jude.”

Pushing her ponytail to one side, I kiss the back of her neck. “Aw, I’m sorry.”

I’m not really sorry. I got what I wanted. Her on my lap, shaking like a leaf and needing me to calm her down.

Moving my hands over her shoulders and down her arms, I take her hands in mine and put them on the steering wheel. I rest my chin on her shoulder then turn and kiss her neck as I say, “Just drive it like you would a car. We can go slower now.”

“K,” comes her slightly less shaky voice.

I have her right where I want her. In my lap. Life is good on a Saturday morning on the lake!

Mercy

This man is something else!

After nearly killing us both, he’s cooing into my ear as I’m sitting on his lap driving the boat very slowly as he kisses my neck from time to time with his arms wrapped around me.

I didn’t notice all that at first since I was more scared than I think I’ve ever been before. But it feels amazing and I know in my head that I should get the hell off of his lap and stop this from happening but my damn body refuses to move.

Instead, it’s aiding the man with his agenda as I moan a little with every kiss he makes to my neck. It’s like it just happens on its own without me even trying!

His hand moves over my arm then he clicks the key, shutting the engine off. His words are hot on my neck as he mumbles, “I can’t take anymore.”

He’s up and I’m in his arms then he’s walking to the back and lying me on the long bench and laying right beside me, wrapping his body around mine and then he presses his lips to mine.

I know I should struggle to stop him but my arms wrap around him instead as I pull him closer to me. As close as he can get, that’s how I want to feel him. His breath is warm and he tastes like syrup and orange juice, sweet and citrusy and amazing.

I hear the sound of a little motor humming then feel the heat of the sun go away as the canopy moves out to cover us. It’s like my little fantasy only way better.

His tongue twirls expertly with mine and his hands are absolutely everywhere. My tits, my ass, my waist, my hair. He pulls the rubber band off my ponytail and runs one hand through my hair.

I do the same thing with my hands, feeling the softness of his dark hair. I cannot believe I’m doing this. This was not on my agenda today. Not at all. I was going to make sure this didn’t happen. What am I doing?

My body hasn’t felt a man’s touch in over two years and it’s begging for more. I find myself arching up as he moves over me. His hard cock grinds into me and I go even hotter.

He groans as he dry humps me and I moan with how good it feels. I know this is wrong. I know this is all he wants then it will all be over. He’ll move on to his next conquest and I’ll feel more alone than I ever did before.

His fingers move over the front of my shirt, leaving the buttons undone in their fast moving path. Seems he can do many things fast!

---

Not me, though. I want him to slow way down with me and then I find the woman inside of me who knows what she’s alive for. And it’s not to be this man’s toy.

Pulling my tongue back to my own mouth, I press my lips together and he pulls his head up to see why I’ve done that.

“Mercy, don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

Pushing against his wide chest that is so well muscled it should be illegal, I whisper, “I have to.”

“No, you don’t. I’m not trying to have sex with you. Only make out with you. Get to know you and your body and how it reacts to my touch and how mine reacts to yours. Nothing more than that, I swear.” His mouth comes back down on mine and I let him kiss me again.

He said it would be nothing more than kissing and touching. I can handle that. I think.

He continues with the last button on my shirt then I feel his hand pushing my bra up and his palm covers my breast with a nice firm squeeze. My arms tighten around him as I moan with how great it feels.

Soft, gentle squeezes he makes then his thumb runs over the nipple which is more erect than it’s ever been in my entire life and it’s throbbing under his thumb. My stomach is quivering as he starts to grind into me again.

---

I know I’m going to climax. It’s just a matter of time and that’s going to be so embarrassing. I haven’t had sex in so damn long anything will set me off. So I stop the kiss and bring my hands around in front of me and push at his chest again.

“I really can’t be doing this. I feel like I’m leading you on. This can’t go anywhere.”

“And why is that?” he asks then ignores my gentle push for him to get off me and starts kissing my neck.

Oh my, God, that’s even worse!

My body begins to sweat as his lips and tongue run over my neck, as he leaves tiny nips along the trail he’s blazing. “Jude, it just can’t. You’re making things hard for us both.”

“I’m trying, darlin’ you should just be quiet and go with this,” he mumbles as he continues to make me insane with his tortuous neck kisses.

His thumb moves in a rough motion around and around my nipple that’s aching it wants his mouth on it so badly. On its own, my hand runs to the one he has on my breast and presses it harder. He groans and his cock jerks against me then he makes the move.

Our eyes meet as he changes from kissing my neck to sucking my breast. His are intense and dark brown with lust. I think mine are most likely filled with fear and there’s got to be some lust in mine too. Only I’m fighting my desire and he’s completely giving into his.

I arch up as his hot mouth takes my breast and I make a throaty cry as his teeth nip my swollen nipple. “God damn, that feels so fucking good, Jude.”

Did I just say that out loud?

His tongue goes crazy on me. My body starts shaking and I know this man is not going to let up on me. One of his hands moves between us then he starts rubbing in between my legs crazy hard and fast and I can’t take it anymore and climax.

His quick fingers unbutton my shorts and in goes his fast hand. Pushing his fingers through my hot and now very wet folds, he pushes one of those fingers into me and starts wiggling it in some motion that has the orgasm continuing.

I want to tell him to stop as I’m breathing like a race horse and raking my hands across his back like a person trying to dig themselves out of a grave. But all I can do is accept this gift he’s giving me. A perfect and extremely welcome gift.

As he eases his stimulations, my body grows quiet as does my mouth. His mouth leaves my breast and his head raises to look at me. “There, now that you’re relaxed we can enjoy the rest of our date. I plan on keeping you all day long and into the night. Now, what do you say to that, Mercy?”

Only one word comes to mind. “Yes.”

Jude

With Mercy fully relaxed, we have managed to have a remarkable day. She made me take her back to the dock so she could use the bathroom to freshen up but other than that, she hasn’t said one word about going back home.

The sun is setting over the water as we eat a couple of hot dogs I bought from a vendor at the marina and we sip on some beers I bought from the marina store as we end the first part of our date.

After taking the last bite, she puts her head on my shoulder and sighs. “This used to be the most favorite part of my days when I was a kid. There was a clear river near where we lived and almost daily, I’d make the short hike through the woods to it and sit by it as the sun left the sky.”

“I too love a good sunset,” I say then put the last bit of hotdog into my mouth and wrap my arm around her.

We sit in silence while the sun disappears. It’s the most comfortable silence I’ve ever been a part of. “Come on,” I say as I get up off the dock and pull her up with me. “I need to get you home so you can shower and change then I’m taking you out dancing.”

“No, really, I can’t do that. I really cannot do that, Jude,” she says as her eyes go crazy wide.

“You don’t dance or what?” I ask as I wrap my arm around her shoulders and continue taking her to my car. “We don’t have to dance. We can drink a little and gaze into each other’s eyes a little. When a slow song comes on, I can hold you and rock with you with a little swaying motion. Nothing hard.”

“I can dance,” she says as she rolls her eyes. “I just can’t go out like that. If I go home I need to stay there. I couldn’t possibly go back out after being gone all day like I have.”

Opening the car door for her, I pull her to the side and press my body against hers as I kiss her neck with soft kisses. “Why is that?”

“Because it’s like that. And I really should be getting home. I’d like to be all settled in very soon. The time has gotten away from me.”

My kisses are doing nothing to settle her down so I stop making an attempt to get her to change her mind that way and try a different tactic. I help her into the car then get in myself.

With a smile, I take her hand and kiss it then say, “I get it, Mercy. You aren’t a social butterfly. Going out to clubs isn’t your thing.”

She sighs a deep and long sigh then says, “Thank you for understanding, Jude. That’s just not my scene.”

“It’s cool, Baby. I can go to the liquor store and pick us up some wine and maybe a little popcorn and we can watch a movie at your place. We don’t have to go out. Or would you like to come out to my place? We have a home theater and a bowling alley.” I pull out of the parking lot and find her chewing nervously on her lower lip.

---

“How can I put this without making you think that I didn’t enjoy our time together because I did. I really did. Way more than I thought I would. I do like you. And we can talk on the phone if you want. But I have to get home. I can call you around nine and we can talk all night, if you want to,” she says then smiles at me with a devastating smile that is sure to haunt my dreams tonight.

If I manage to sleep at all as I think about what the hell this chick is hiding. A thought pops into my head so I ask, “Do you have asthma or some other condition and have to wear a funny looking breathing treatment mask? Is that why you don’t want me to come over? Are you afraid I won’t like you anymore if I see you have a special contraption you need because of a medical condition? Because I will not stop liking you over a thing like that. I swear to you it won’t affect me at all.”

“I don’t have a weird mask I have to wear, no,” she says with a laugh. “Just take me to my car. We can have a good night kiss and then we can go our separate ways. Maybe next weekend or the weekend after that we can see each other again. If you want.”

---

“What the hell are you talking about?” I ask as I make a sideways glance at her. “I want to see you tomorrow. I want to take you out to my place so we can ride horses. I want to introduce you to my parents. They always have Sunday bar-b-ques and it’s very laid back. You’ll love it. And I know they’re going to love you.”

“That is so nice of you, Jude,” she says with this really high voice. “But I can’t do that. Maybe we could schedule that for next Sunday. I can only do something one day out of the weekend. The other I’ll need to stay home.”

“Were you raised super strict or what, Mercy?” I ask with my own high voice. “I mean, who can only go out one day out of the weekend? And what about after work? I want to pick you up and take you out to dinner and maybe a movie or something. I want to see you every day. I want us to hang out together a lot. Not once a damn week. That shit’s for the birds!”

“Aw,” she says then runs her hand over my cheek. “How sweet you are, Jude!”

“Cool, so you get it now. I like you. I want to spend time with you. Lots and lots of time with you. I’m glad you finally understand me. It feels much better to be on the same page.”

“No, it changes nothing. I have a tight schedule. So, if you want, you can schedule me and you for next Sunday. Whatever you want to do will be fine with me. I do like you too. I would love nothing more than to spend a lot more time with you and get to know you better. Unfortunately, at this time, that’s impossible.”

I pull up in the parking lot of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store and stop the car then turn to face her as much as I can in a car. “Why?”

She gets this deer in the headlights look and her mouth drops open. All I have to say is she better have a fucking great-ass excuse or I don’t know what I’m going to do!

Mercy

Staring back at Jude as he glares at me, I have no idea of what to say to the man. His want to see me again, and often, is unexpected. I never in a million years saw this coming.

I thought he’d be glad I didn’t want to take up all of his time. So I make an offer instead of giving him the real answer as to why I can’t see him more than once a week, “Jude, how about this? How about we do lunch a few days out of the week?”

“Tell me why Mercy,” he says with an icy glare.

“Tell me why you’re so adamant that we see each other so damn much,” I counter.

“I’ve told you. I like you and I want to get to know you much better. You’re being so damn difficult, it’s making me wonder if you’re hiding a husband at home or something even worse than that,” he says then he reaches across the armrest and takes my hand in his as his eyes grow soft and he loses the glare. “Mercy, this is crazy to be arguing over. Yes, I’ll take the lunches with you. Be prepared for me to pick you up every single day and take you somewhere nice. Maybe then you’ll see I’m only trying to get to know you.”

I should’ve just had sex with him on the damn boat. Then he’d be rushing to get me to my car instead of doing all this. I know that, how come he doesn’t?

---

“Okay, then. Lunches. Not every single day, though. Once a week, on Tuesdays, I have a lunch meeting with the owners of the spa. Then on Thursdays,” I stop there because that’s the day I go to the daycare and eat lunch with the kids. So I make something up.

“I go to my dentist and get my teeth cleaned and whitened.”

There, that should do it!

He laughs as he shakes his head. “Do you expect me to believe you go to the dentist for that once a week? Your teeth are brilliantly white and really gorgeous but once a week? Come on. Let me in on the real reason Thursday lunches are out.” His thumb grazes my knuckles as he continues to hold my hand.

Maybe I should tell him. Maybe he’ll give up then. Or maybe he’ll push to meet them. I can’t have that. This man is very pushy already!

He’s right, no one goes to the dentist that much. I’m so not practiced at lying!

“You’re right, that’s not what I do at lunch on Thursdays,” I say as I chew on my lip and try to come up with something quick.

“I knew it!” he says with a triumphant shout. His free hand does a fist pump into the air and I find myself laughing.

“Really, Jude?”

He nods. “Tell me the real reason.”

“The real reason is pretty embarrassing to me. Do you really have to know?” I ask, stalling for time to come up with something that sounds viable.

I suppose the word, embarrassing, hit him and I watch him change from the have to know man, to a man who must value his privacy some too. “No, you don’t have to tell me if it will embarrass you. I’m sorry. Sometimes I push too hard. I’m used to getting my way. Now, I realize I’m being pretty bratty. It’s a thing I hate to see in others and here I am being the same way.”

“Wow,” I mumble. Then I lean forward and touch his lips with mine for only a moment. “That was something to see, Jude. Thank you for understanding.”

With a nod, he turns back and repositions himself in the driver’s seat and takes off again. “So, can I call you tonight then? Or are you tired of me?”

“I’m not tired of you,” I say as I reach over and take his hand. “And yes, please call me around nine tonight. If you want to, that is. No pressure.”

He frowns and glances at me then back at the road. “Not like the pressure I’ve been putting on you, huh?”

I’m not sure what to say to that. The man has been putting on the pressure. So I try to ease the tension he has going on in his body with a laugh. “Jude, your pressure is something I never thought would happen today. The fact you’d argue with me just to spend more time with me is a thing I find almost endearing. No one has ever fought for more time with me.”

He squeezes my hand as he says, “I’m not like most men. I’m a hunter deep down. When I spot what I want, I always get it. And I want you, Mercy. I want to get to know you and see where that leads.”

A chill runs through me with his words. He’s a hunter. He’s looking at me like prey, I guess. I don’t know if I like that.

My silence has him glancing at me again as he asks, “Did what I say put you off?”

I shake my head but it did a little. I can’t be stalked. Things have to be safe in my little world with the kids. I can’t have some man set on making me his.

I have to do something to get him not to like me so much. I’m not sure what, though. There are so many things men hate for women to do.

Whine, be clingy, be lazy, and I don’t think I can do any of those things!

---

Pulling into the Denny’s parking lot, I see my car is still there, safe and sound. He parks next to it then pulls my hand to his lips. “Let me let you out.”

I nod and he lets my hand go and gets out then comes around to my side of the car. Taking my hand, he pulls me up and then he has me wrapped in his arms. His eyes search mine for the longest time.

I see so much in his dark eyes with the bright yellow Denny’s sign reflecting in them. I wish I could spend more time with him right now. I wish I didn’t have the responsibilities I have. Or the guilt for leaving the kids with someone else while I mess around.

Then I feel awful for thinking that and I sigh and lean my head on his shoulder. He doesn’t say a word. He only holds me and rocks back and forth a little. His lips touch the top of my head and I find myself wanting to tell him everything.

Only I can’t yet. It’s too soon.

He knows I have a secret. I can feel it in the way he’s holding me. He’s trying to let me know it will all be alright. But it won’t. Not anytime soon, it won’t. My life isn’t really all mine.

My life is part of two others. Two, very important people to me. Two little people who have no one else, nor do I for that matter.

He starts moving with me, dancing me backward toward my car. I put my hand on his shoulder as he hums a slow tune and takes me to my car. His lips touch my cheek then his hand takes my chin and I look up at him.

His mouth comes to mine and we kiss. Sweet, slow, with just the right amount of tongue. A good night kiss at seven in the evening, in a Denny’s parking lot, on a Saturday night.

Man, I’m lame!

Jude

Fighting the urge to follow her out of the parking lot and back to her place, I watch Mercy drive away from me. She’s got a lot on her shoulders and isn’t willing to tell me a thing about it.

I think I’m going to have to light a fire under that girl to get her to trust me. She seems set on taking things way too slow for me.

My chest feels heavy for some reason. I guess it’s because this is the first time I’ve ever really felt disappointed in my thirty years. That’s a little hard to even wrap my head around.

In thirty years, I have always managed to get my way and this little lady shuts me down pretty damn easily. What’s happened to me?

I’m not the guy who takes no for an answer!

Yet, she’s made me do something I almost never do. She’s made me think about her and her feelings. She’s made me think that she’s got some things going on in her life that are pretty complex and hard to understand.

I should probably just walk away from this thing. It would most likely be the smartest thing to do. Walk away and let her have all the space she wants. I know I should do that.

Driving through the city to get out to the ranch, I notice the difference in the temperature. The streets keep the city hot and when you go down a little two lane road with thick, green grass on each side of the road and tall trees to give shade all day, it gets cooler.

The nights out at the ranch are amazing. You can see more stars than you can in the city. You can smell cleaner air that invigorates you. I wanted to bring her out here so badly.

I wanted to show her off to my family. I wanted them to see that I had brought home a real woman. Not a version of a woman made up of Botox and plastic surgeries. A real, flesh and blood, completely natural beauty.

Instead, I’m coming home empty handed. I hate coming home with no prize!

After parking my car, I go inside and find no one around. Though not unusual, it brings home the fact that I’ll most likely spend the entire evening alone, in my suite. I don’t like to be alone.

---

Going to the kitchen, I find it void of anyone and I guess my parents gave the cooking staff the night off. Then I go back out to the garage and see everyone has left.

So I pull out my phone and call my mother. She answers the phone with a laugh, “Jude, where are you? Did you forget?”

I slap my forehead as I recall the date. It’s Mom and Dad’s anniversary party. “I did. Damn it! I’ll get dressed and be there as soon as I can. I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Okay, sweetheart. We’ll be here all night. Bring a date if you want to,” she says then hangs up.

Bring a date! I wonder if she’ll do that for me.

Making another call, I hurry up the stairs to shower and change. My heart skips a beat when she answers, “Jude?”

“Yes, it’s me, again. Look, I know you said you were swamped and all that but I have only one more choice if you turn me down and I sure don’t want to have to take her.”

“What?” she asks. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s my parents’ anniversary party tonight. I forgot all about it because I got myself all wrapped up in thinking about you and only you. Do you miss me?” I ask as I get to my bathroom and get out of my clothes then start the shower.

“Jude, you’re silly,” she says with a laugh.

In the background, I can hear someone saying something to her and she asks me to hold on a second. I listen hard to see if I can make out any of either of their words. The only thing I figure out for sure is she’s talking to another woman.

Good, no man!

“I’m back. So, your parents are having an anniversary then. That’s nice,” she says.

“It’s a big thing downtown. I need a date. I know it is short notice and I know you said you can’t do anything else tonight. If you can’t go with me, I’ll be forced to take Ariel. You wouldn’t subject me to that torture, would you?” I cross my fingers some type of jealousy will make her accept my invitation.

“Hold on,” she says then I hear her mumbling and the other woman’s mumbles are added to hers then she’s back. “I can’t leave until after nine and I’ll need to be back before dawn. And I’ll take a cab there and back home.”

“You sure have a lot of stipulations, Mercy. But I’ll take them. I’ll text you the address and leave here when you tell me you're calling the cab. I’ll meet you out in front of the hotel. Thank you.”

She sighs a deep sigh. “No, thank you. I’m glad you asked me and gave me the chance to go instead of just taking that vile woman. I’ll leave here at nine, okay?”

---

“Okay, I can’t wait to see you again. Get all dolled up. I can’t wait to see you like that. Dress sexy,” I end the call with a growl and put the phone down then step into the hot shower.

I don’t know how I just managed that but I’m damned glad I did. Singing as I wash my hair, I’ve never felt more on top of the world. Then the bathroom door opens. Through the glass shower wall, I see Ariel. Her red hair is all up and seems to have been professionally done. Her green dress is sparkly and skin tight and she’s looking at me through narrowed eyes.

“Where in the hell have you been all damn day, Jude Hurst?”

“Do you mind, getting the fuck out of my bathroom, Ariel?” I ask her in a calm tone so as not to escalate her sour mood.

“Yes, I do mind. You’ve had your fucking phone off all fucking day. I need you to hurry up. I’m starving and bored. Everyone else left over an hour ago and I was all alone here, waiting for you.”

Oh hell!

“Why is that?” I ask as I finish the shower and grab a towel and wrap it around my lower half that seems to keep catching her attention.

“I’m going to the party with you. I didn’t want you to have to go alone,” she says as she starts fanning the room with the door to let the steam out.

I know how to get her out of here now. “The steam is making your hair fall and your makeup run.”

“No!” She hauls ass out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Now to figure out how the hell I can get her not to go to the party. And with a glance at my phone as a text shows up, I have it all figured out. I hope!

Making sure my towel is secured, I walk out and find her snooping through the top drawer of my dresser. She picks up a row of condoms and wiggles them. “Think you might be wanting to take any of these with us tonight, stud?”

Not for her, no.

“I’m not going to the anniversary party. It’s a bore and I’ve already set something up with some friends of mine. They’ll be by here in ten minutes to get you. Since I’m running late, I’ll join you guys once I get dressed,” I tell her and watch her face droop.

“Do I know any of these people you’re about to put me in a car with?” she asks.

“You know Shelly, and I think you know Lyle too. They’re partiers like you are. And there’s food in the limo so you can eat.”

“And you’ll come as soon as you get ready?” she asks with a little shine in her eyes. “Okay.”

She’s all perked up and I’m free. “Okay, go wait for them at the front and I’ll see you in a little while,” I tell her and watch her walk away.

As long as she has something to do, she’s fine. I hope she’ll stay the hell out of my way for the rest of the night. Tomorrow, I’m jetting her ass back to New York!

Mercy

I can’t believe I’m going out after all. But when he said he would have to take someone else and that someone else would be that horrible woman, I simply had no choice.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself!

Becky is able to stay and I’ll put the kids to bed before I go so I do feel a little bit better about that. They didn’t seem upset that I was gone all day and that was a plus. Another plus was that Becky taught Carter how to tie his shoes.

He was so proud as he showed me his new accomplishment. And Becky had a very good idea about Mia’s middle of the night bathroom visits. It’s so simple I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before. Simply end the drinks with dinner. No drinks after that.

If Mia can sleep through the night, then that means I can too. What an accomplishment that will be!

I have to be honest with the kids this time about my going out. I’m all dressed up in a dress that was my sister’s. It’s tight, black, and the sexiest thing I’ve ever worn. Along with some sky-high black pumps, I’m kind of kick ass looking.

Becky helped me with my hair. I have it piled on top with little tendrils dropping out of the pile every now and then. We found some pretty hairpins with little diamond looking stones in them that she placed randomly in the pile on top of my head.

Going in to tuck Carter into bed, I sit on the side of the bed and ask, “Do you think I’ll get laughed out of the fancy party, Carter?”

His little fingers move over my dangling diamond earrings which were also his mother’s.

“Nope, you look like a princess, Aunt Mercy. The most beautiful one ever.”

I kiss his forehead and think he may be biased but I’ll take the compliment.

“Thank you, Carter. You’re the sweetest little boy ever. Now you have some sweet dreams and I will see you in the morning.”

With a smile, he nods and closes his eyes as he snuggles down and I tuck the blanket around him nice and tight the way he likes it. “I love you, Aunt Mercy. Have fun and dance a lot with the prince tonight.”

I smile as I walk to the bedroom door.

“I will. I love you too, good night.”

Closing the door only half-way, I go to help Mia into her pajamas. She likes to try to put them on all by herself but never gets it quite right. With a knock on her closed door, I ask, “Can I come in?”

“Yes, Aunt Mercy,” she says with a little sniffle.

She sneezes as I come in and my heart stops. “Do you feel okay, Mia?”

Oh, Lord, don’t let her get sick right now!

---

She runs the back of her hand under her nose. “No. I’m just cold from the bath and my clothes won’t go on.”

Hurrying to get her dressed, I notice she has little goosebumps. “Oh my goodness. Let’s hurry up and get you warmed up, Mia.”

Once she’s dressed, I pick her up and put her in her little bed and tuck her in tight then sit next to her and run my hands over the blankets to make some friction and in no time her cheeks are pink and she’s smiling.

“I’m warm now,” she says.

Her eyes are already heavy as she wiggles her head to make it more comfortable. “Do you need a story tonight?”

“No,” she says. “I’m really sleepy. We did a lot of fun stuff today. I like Miss Becky. She’s fun and funny. She always has bubbles in her apron pocket. That’s fun.”

“I see.” I kiss her forehead and find her already breathing slow paced breaths, meaning she’s well on her way to sleep.

While very glad they had fun with Becky, it does point out to me that she knows what she’s doing and I do not. Carter has made it all the way to four and a half without me teaching him to tie his shoes.

To be honest, it didn’t even occur to me to try to teach him. The only reason I knew how to potty-train Mia was because I was around when my sister, Hope, was training Carter. They died before he was fully trained so I got my practice in with him.

---

Thinking even for a fraction of a second about their deaths has me feeling a little sad and melancholy. I shake it off and go get my phone to call the cab service.

If I didn’t have the kids, I’d just let Jude come get me. But I do and I don’t want him to know where I live yet. Maybe never. Most likely, never!

After making the call, I text Jude that I’ll be leaving soon and my phone rings as he calls me. “Hey,” he says.

His deep, smooth voice is so nice to hear even if he did just say one word. “Hey,” I say back as I play with the diamond necklace, also my sister’s.

“Can you call me instead of texting me?” he asks. “I like to hear your voice when I’m talking to you.”

I giggle and feel a warmth move all through me. “I suppose I could do that. I just didn’t want to bother you is the reason why I texted.”

“You will never be bothering me, Mercy. I mean that. So I’ll take off and meet you in about thirty minutes. You know I’m going to hold you in my arms all night, right?”

The warm feeling turns to heat and I know I’m flushing. “You promise.”

He makes a little moaning sound. “I do. You know it’s at a hotel. My parents booked a lot of rooms there. I’m staying in one and I’d love it if you stayed with me.”

I freeze. Stay the night with him. After only one date. Well, this technically makes it two dates. Wait! If you count the breakfast as one, the boat as two, and this party as three then that’s three dates. That’s the rule, isn’t it? Three dates have to go by before sex happens?

I shake my head and laugh. “You’re too bad. I’ll see you there.”

He groans a little then says, “Fine, I had to try. See you there.”

Making my way down the hall, I check in on both kids and find them both making little snores. They’re fast asleep and won’t even miss me while they sleep. Everything seems okay.

I find Becky in the living room reading a book as she sits on the sofa. “You can stay in my bedroom, Becky. I’ll sleep on the couch when I get home.”

“No, I’ll take the couch,” she says. “It’s not a problem.”

“No, you will take my bed. After all you’ve done for me today, you’re taking the bed,” I say with that stern tone I use for work.

She smiles and nods, “Okay, boss.”

“And thanks for this. I promise I won’t be slamming you with babysitting requests the way I’ve done today.”

“I love hanging out with them. Please ask me anytime you want to. I still live at home with Mom and my four brothers. This is like a vacation for me, to be honest with you.”

I laugh and look around. “Where’s your puppy?”

“I left him in the back yard. I’m not about to bring him inside of your home.”

“Nonsense,” I say with a wave of my hand. “Do you keep him inside of your home?”

She nods. “I do. But this isn’t my place so he can stay outside. It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. Bring him inside. I insist.” The cab honks outside. “I have to go now. You can leave in the morning. I don’t want you driving home late. Have breakfast in the morning with us, please.”

She smiles and nods then goes back to her reading as I leave. For the first time since I took the kids over, I feel a little normalcy is back in my life. Thanks to the competent young woman.