Page 34 of A Lonely Road (Spruce Hill #2)
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nora
I n a freak turn of events, my father seemed almost jovial after I returned from the restroom, which made me immediately suspicious. The men were both tight-lipped about whatever had transpired while I was gone, though.
When we walked out into the midday sunshine, I kissed my father’s cheek and bid him farewell, then waited until we were safely inside the truck to ask, “What did he say to you?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Jake blinked at my sharp tone in wide-eyed innocence.
I merely cocked an eyebrow and waited, so he finally caved and said, “He asked if you were staying at the apartment alone. Or rather, he was already assuming that either you were staying at my place or that I was staying at the apartment with you. I’m still here, so I guess he wasn’t too put out by learning the truth.
Then he shook my hand and welcomed me to the family. ”
My jaw dropped at the last part. “He did what?”
“I thought it was a joke, like he just meant it as a token of his approval?” Jake’s obvious delight in that assumption wavered when he saw my stunned expression. “Hey,” he said gently, touching my cheek, “I’m sorry if that upset you. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”
I shook my head, though more to clear it than to refute his apology. “No, I’m not upset. That’s just . . . very unlike him.”
Jake chewed on that for a minute before a smile tugged at his lips. “So, you think that means he likes me? I thought he was going to straight-up murder me. For making out with you in the truck or for not stopping that asshole from touching you, I wasn’t really sure. Fifty-fifty, maybe.”
“Let’s just put it this way. He made my first girlfriend cry when he asked about her driving record, scared my prom date into not even dancing with me, and threatened a guy I dated in college with a chainsaw, though that one was over the phone.
Apparently, you’re the first to pass muster. Congratulations.”
“Huh,” Jake said. For a moment, he paused to consider my words, then he frowned. “Does that mean you haven’t really dated anyone past college, or just that you started hiding them from your father for their own protection?”
I tipped my head to one side and replied, “A little of both, I suppose. Nothing like this, that’s for sure. ”
“Well, thanks for not hiding me away. Meeting him was, ah, shall we say, enlightening?” When my eyes narrowed a little, Jake winked and leaned over to press a soft kiss to my lips. “Let’s just leave it at the fact that I see now where your badassery comes from.”
My laughter filled the cab. “I guess I can appreciate that.”
“Good. So what now?”
“I don’t know about you, but I need to get some work done,” I replied. “For once, I feel like the quiet will actually help. My thoughts are loud enough as it is.”
“Your wish is my command,” Jake said swiftly, shifting into gear.
We drove in comfortable silence, then as we pulled into his driveway, he raised a brow and said, “So, now that I’ve met your father’s approval and you’ve admitted that you’re madly in love with me, will you finally let me fix up Baby? ”
“You’re a glutton for punishment, Jake Lincoln, but sure, be my guest.” Immediately, his blue eyes lit with excitement and I had to laugh. “If I knew you’d be this happy, I would've let you get started days ago.”
Jake laced his fingers through mine with a contented sigh. “I feel like I’ve just cleared the ultimate trust hurdle.”
“If that were an Olympic sport, you’d have a dozen gold medals by now.”
“Does that mean I deserve a reward?” he asked, smiling hopefully.
I laughed as I hopped out of the truck. “Nice try, Romeo, but not until I get some work done. ”
He grinned when he caught up with me, then wrapped an arm around my waist and twirled me across the driveway.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll get changed and take a look at Baby so I can start planning,” he said as he tugged me back against his chest and dipped me low over one arm. “We should go dancing sometime.”
“Why was dancing not on Sam’s list of your best qualities?” I demanded when Jake swept me upright. “I want to lodge an official complaint. That was a grievous error on her part, almost unforgivable.”
Jake caught me in a waltz hold and whisked us up the pathway to the front door.
“Indeed. You can lodge your complaint in person if you’d like, because Sam invited us both for dinner tomorrow.
I told her I’d let her know, so if you’d rather not, we can stay home and dance ,” he said, bouncing his eyebrows.
“You, sir, are incorrigible,” I told him haughtily, but all of my tension over lunch dissipated as he unlocked the door. “But go ahead and tell your sister we’d be delighted to attend. You can show me your moves after I’ve been a productive adult today, how about that?”
“I’ll hold you to it,” he murmured, kissing me soundly before he jogged upstairs to change out of his dress clothes.
I couldn’t help but smile after him for a long moment, then I grabbed my laptop from the kitchen table and curled up on the leather couch in the Dude Lair.
Jake returned in his torn jeans and a blue t-shirt that made his eyes pop vividly against his tan skin, dropped one more lingering kiss on my lips, and disappeared outside to give Baby a more thorough inspection.
I shook my head indulgently at his enthusiasm for fixing up my sad little car, but I knew Baby was in good hands.
Unlike any of my work sessions over at the apartment, the words flowed easily here at Jake’s house. Even the quiet didn’t present its usual—or unusual, rather—level of distraction.
As my fingers flew across the keyboard, I wondered why I was able to focus so intensely here.
It occurred to me that I’d never tried to work from Jake’s house.
Even on days I'd skipped going to The Mermaid, I always retreated to the apartment to work. It was no accident that I’d chosen a solitary career, one that I could do from anywhere in the world, but finding a place where I could be particularly productive was a rarity.
I waved Jake off when he stopped in to tell me he was going out to pick up a few parts for the car, though I vaguely remembered him saying he’d lock the door behind him and asking me to keep my phone nearby in case I needed him.
A text from him came through sometime later, informing me that he was back and working in the driveway.
I tore myself from my work to send him a selfie for encouragement, making sure I leaned forward far enough to display a tiny glimpse of cleavage, then laughed to myself when he sent back a row of fire emojis.
It was amazing how light my heart felt just then, how peaceful. Not even my father’s involvement in landing me in Spruce Hill could detract from the fact that this place, these people, had changed my life for the better .
Suddenly, my words to my father came back to me and I let my hands hover over the laptop keys as they echoed through the silent room.
Because I feel safe here.
I'd allowed myself to not pay attention to the crowd at The Mermaid that night because I felt safe—safe in Spruce Hill, safe around Jake, safe with my own thoughts. Now, it was like I was finally allowing myself to ignore the silence that had nagged at me for so many years.
By the time Jake came inside, I'd sent off two finished projects to clients and translated more of the novel I was working on than I’d ever finished in a single day. My neck was beginning to ache, so I closed the laptop and set it aside when Jake peeked in at me from the archway into the kitchen.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Incredibly well, actually. I can’t even remember the last time I got this much done. How’s Baby?”
Jake smiled. “She’s got heart, and soon she’ll have enough new parts to have some guts, too.” He saw me rubbing the back of my neck and held out a hand. “Come on, that’s my job. You’ve been a productive, responsible adult all afternoon, now it’s time to let me take care of you.”
Rising, I took his hand and let him lead me straight to the master bathroom. He threaded his fingers through my hair, massaging my neck and scalp as the tub filled with steaming water. I rested my forehead against his chest and hummed with appreciation .
“God, I love your hair,” he said softly. “So thick and soft. It always smells like fresh fruit.”
“Pears. It’s my shampoo and body wash set.”
“It’s unbearably sexy.” While his thumbs dug gently into the muscles of my neck, he pressed his nose to the top of my head.
I scoffed, but didn’t move. “And you with the tousled curls and a dimple are fighting fair, I’m sure.”
He laughed against my hair. “We’ll call it a tie then.”
After another minute, he reluctantly drew away to turn off the water, then returned to lift my shirt over my head.
We finished undressing in easy silence and stepped into the tub.
Jake positioned me in front of him this time so he could continue easing the aching muscles in my upper back with his strong fingers.
I melted under his hands, the sensation more intoxicating than any drink he could serve up from behind a bar. Little by little, I relaxed further into him, until it was almost impossible to tell where his body ended and mine began.
With a deep sigh, I shifted, turning sideways so I was curled up against his chest. “Thank you,” I murmured.
“For the massage? I consider it my duty and my pleasure, ma’am.”
“No,” I said, lacing my fingers with his under the water, “for not letting my dad scare you off.”
His lips feathered across my forehead. “No one’s going to scare me away from you. I’m completely hooked.”
“Good, my plan worked. ”
“Phenomenally. By the way, why does your father call you Bear?”
I groaned against his neck and grumbled, “Not important.”
That only piqued his curiosity. “Oh, now you have to tell me. Come on. It’s cute.”
“It is not cute.” Jake waited with his usual patience, so I huffed in frustration.
“Fine. My dad used to send me little teddy bears from wherever he was stationed. The year I turned ten, he was supposed to be home for my birthday and something happened, I guess he got delayed. Whatever the reason, I was pissed, so I set them all on fire in the backyard.”
“You didn’t,” he breathed, sounding both impressed and appalled.
“My mom didn’t even know I’d gone outside. Fire trucks showed up, it became a big huge thing. He shortened it to Bear, but for the first couple years after that, I was known all over base as Bonfire Bear.”
Jake’s shoulders shook with laughter beneath my head. “Oh my god. You’re right, that’s not just cute, it’s the most freaking adorable thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“It’s not adorable and definitely not funny,” I muttered, poking him hard in the ribs.
“Oh, Nora. It is funny, because I can just picture a prickly little version of you in the glow of a burning heap of teddy bears.” He laughed even harder as he said it, wrapping his arms tightly around me. “Oh, shit. You have to tell Sam this story. ”
An annoyed hmph was my reply, but then my head popped up. “Well, now,” I drawled, “if dinner tomorrow results in a sufficient number of embarrassing stories about your childhood, I might be willing to share it.”
“That’s a deal I will take.” Jake grinned, clearly picturing his sister’s reaction. Then, like he simply couldn’t resist, he teased his lips across mine. “I am completely crazy about you.”
My expression softened at the sweet way he said it. “I’m pretty crazy about you, too,” I replied, a little shyly. It still felt foreign to make those admissions.
“Can I ask you something?” He brushed a wet tendril from my cheek, gazing down at me until I nodded. “When’s the last time you told someone you loved them?”
My eyes widened as I tried to remember. “Aside from my parents, I assume you mean,” I said dryly. “Ah . . . never, actually.”
Jake’s lips curved until that dimple twinkled at me like a beacon. It was distracting enough that I spent a solid minute just staring at his mouth before I realized he hadn’t responded to my answer.
“What? Why are you smiling like that?”
“No reason. That just makes me extraordinarily happy,” he murmured against my lips as he kissed me again.
When the kiss ended, I shifted to face him as I resettled myself on his lap. “Then I’ll just have to give you a chance to show me how happy you are.”
Jake, as always, was more than willing to rise to the challenge.