Page 11

Chapter 11

Henry

“Damn, talk about cake ,” Hudson drawled as Jack walked toward the little cabin with Lance for a bottle of water.

“Huh?” I asked, my eyes glued to Jack as he moved farther away. He was no longer walking with a sway, so I didn’t think he was tipsy, but water would still be good for him.

“That ass. Definitely the definition of cake .”

The backhand to his chest was probably a bit harder than necessary, but the gush of air from my brother’s lungs was worth it.

“Fuck,” Hudson groaned, but he chuckled. “Come on, you gotta know that kid’s got an amazing ass.”

Dad snorted and shook his head.

And I know just how fucking perfect he looks in tight pink underwear and my flannel shirt. And how good he feels cuddled on my lap .

“Doesn’t mean I need you drooling over him,” I grumbled. “You’ve got your own guy.”

Dad rolled his eyes and grumbled something.

Hudson smirked, ignoring Dad’s mini tantrum. “That I do.” His face softened, and he cocked his head. “Guess you do now too, huh?”

A protest died on my lips when I recalled the taste of Jack on my tongue. “Yeah, I guess I do.” I thought back to the conversation I’d had with Lance not too long ago. When you know, you know. Was that what this was with Jack? Was this what I’d wondered my whole life if I’d ever find? The elusive one who’d always seemed just beyond my reach? All I knew was the simmering heat in my belly wasn’t something I’d experienced with anyone else, and the giddy anticipation of working with him, living with him, and figuring this shit out with him sparked something I hadn’t ever experienced.

“Thought you always said you had to know someone before you felt something for them,” Dad muttered, a new sucker between his lips.

“I do know him.”

Hudson snorted. “ Know him know him?”

Another backhand to his chest shut him up quickly. “He’s been in town for a while. Been talking to him daily long before you went to the hospital. First by text, then face-to-face at the bar. We aren’t strangers.” Honestly, it felt like I knew Jack better than some of the folks in town I’d known my whole life. And I liked him a lot better than some of them too.

“You think it’s smart to be living together, working together, and getting together?” Hudson asked with a smirk, but a seriousness flashed in his eyes.

I shrugged. “He needed a place, I’ve got one. He needs a job, I can give him one.”

“Bet that’s not all you’ll be givin’ him.” Hudson whooped when I launched a bushel basket at him.

“Don’t be crude.”

“Both you gettin’ cozy with your guys, not sure there’s any chance for me,” Dad mumbled around his sucker.

“Huh?” Hudson asked with the same shock and confusion as I felt.

Dad hitched a shoulder. “Maybe you two have it all figured out.”

For a brief moment, I thought Dad was being sarcastic or poking fun at Hudson and me being involved with men. But the way Dad stared off into the orchard, the fine lines around his eyes more prominent in the dusk, I realized he was serious.

“You boys think there’s someone out there for everyone?” Dad asked.

Hudson nodded and I cleared my throat. “Yeah,” I said.

“Sometimes I think there’s more than one person for some people, while others truly only have the one. I think there are a lot of good matches for people, and some find the perfect match,” Hudson said.

Dad hummed around the stick. “For the longest time, I thought your mom was the only one for me. Thought she ruined me. Well, she did ruin the me back then, but maybe that’s not the me now.” Dad was quiet for a moment before he continued. “But then I see Lance comin’ back to town after his marriage not workin’ out. And now he’s gone and found himself his perfect match.” Dad’s words—as much as I knew they pained him to admit—were soft and slow, and for a moment I thought maybe he’d gotten into the cider. I cocked a brow at Hudson, and my brother just shrugged. “Maybe I shut myself off for too long.” Dad gestured toward us with his sucker. “What I oughta do is be more open like the two of you. See who comes along.”

“Dad, are you tryin’ to tell us something?” Hudson asked, his eyes flicking back and forth between me and Dad.

“Ain’t got nothin’ to tell,” Dad groused. “Just sayin’ I’m tryin’ to learn from my boys. Gotta be open to new things if I’m ever gonna find love again.” He snorted at his own words. “Bunch of bullshit. Ain’t gonna happen.” He pushed himself off the stack of baskets he’d been leaning on and gave a wave as he started up the hill. “I’m tired. Goin’ to bed.”

“Dad,” I called after him. “You okay?”

“I had a fuckin’ heart attack, I need to rest.” Dad raised a hand gripping the sucker over his head in a gesture of farewell.

Hudson and I watched him go.

“He been drinkin’?” I asked.

“Not a drop that I know of,” Hudson said. “He’s been with Lance and me pretty much all day.”

“His medication making him loopy?”

“None of the warnings listed anything like that.” Hudson wiped his hands on an old towel.

“Well, keep an eye on him. If he keeps goin’ on like that we maybe oughta get him to the doctor. ”

“Will do.”

Their voices reached us before Jack and Lance emerged from between the trees. “You come by the shop someday, you can build your own sundae. Any toppings, all the fixings.”

Something crossed Jack’s face—a look I couldn’t quite decipher—but he smiled and nodded. “I usually just stick to plain vanilla, but I’ll definitely take you up on the ice cream. Best I’ve ever tasted.”

The four of us chatted for a bit longer, making plans for the renovation and upgrade to the extra space at the Roadhouse, and then said our goodbyes.

As Jack chugged his second bottle of water, I savored the tingly heat when our pinky fingers brushed together. Finally, determined to just bite the bullet even though I had no clue how to play it cool when it came to relationships of any type, I hooked our pinkies together.

“Do you not like ice cream sundaes?” I asked.

Jack shot me a look, and I shrugged.

He cleared his throat and tucked the empty water bottle in his back pocket. “Um, all the toppings and I have a bumpy past.”

“Not a fan?”

With one hand tucked protectively in mine, Jack used his other hand to bring the collar of his shirt up to rub against his bottom lip. “For about three years in a row at school we were supposed to learn these lists of sight words. For every list we learned, we got to add a topping on the chart. At the end of the year, we had ice cream with whichever toppings we earned. ”

My gut churned. I didn’t like where this story was going. I gave Jack’s hand a squeeze.

“I sucked at reading. I eventually learned the words, but I was so much slower than most the class, so I never got the toppings. And the next year, I’d have to start at the lower lists, and I just never could get caught up.” He chewed on his collar. “So, I got plain vanilla every year. I told people I didn’t like toppings. Convinced myself I liked plain ice cream.” A huff of humorless laughter escaped him. “Thing is, I spent so long eating plain ice cream, I really do prefer it to all the toppings. I love the taste of pure vanilla ice cream, and I don’t want to miss out on that flavor by adding toppings.” He wrinkled his nose. “But as a little kid, I sure wanted to earn all those toppings like the other kids. It’s not like I have anything against ice cream sundaes, just some bad memories that go along with them.”

“That’s a sucky thing to have to go through,” I said as we neared the Roadhouse.

“It is what it is,” Jack said. “One good thing about it was Joseph paid very little attention to anything to do with my education—unless it was the school trying to get me extra help—so he either didn’t find out about me never earning the toppings, or he just didn’t care.” He rubbed his arms in the cool breeze. “I was always so grateful he didn’t know because he and Douglas would have made it into a huge thing for sure.”

“Thank goodness for small blessings, I guess,” I said as we made our way up the stairs to the apartment.

Jack leaned into me while I fiddled with the key in the lock. “And now I’m in the perfect place with the best vanilla ice cream in the entire world.”

“Everything works out in the end,” I said.

Jack hummed. “I don’t think I’ve ever really believed that.”

I cocked my head.

“My mom died. I ended up with a terrible family. A large chunk of my life seemed to be just one bad dream after another, so thinking things were going to work out wasn’t something my brain considered.” He huffed a little laugh and brought the collar of his shirt to his lips, half with me and half lost in unpleasant memories. “Not until I hightailed it out of there and ended up here. For the longest time, I figured this was just a stopover until I was able to get somewhere else. What do I know about living in a small town?”

“But?” Maybe I was fishing. Maybe I wanted to hear that this town had proven it had something to offer him. Maybe I wanted to hear I was enough to make him stay. Selfish? Yes. But it was what my heart longed to hear.

Jack smiled. “But each day I stayed convinced me maybe I’d taken a leap of faith and landed exactly where I’m supposed to be. Can’t say I’ve reached the end , but the whole everything works out part almost feels like it’s a real thing.”

With the door cracked open, I slipped a finger under Jack’s chin and lifted his head so his eyes met mine. “You are one of the most resilient, positive people I’ve ever met.” I brushed a kiss over his full lips. “It’s something I’ve admired about you since we first met. I’ll be sure to get you as many dishes of ice cream as you can stomach. ”

Jack grinned, his big blue eyes locked with mine, his full pink lip caught between his teeth. “I like when you kiss me,” he whispered.

“Is that something new?” I wrapped an arm around his waist and hauled him inside, kicking the door shut behind me.

“Liking when you kiss me?” Jack asked. “I mean, we just started kissing today, but I’ve liked it from the first time.”

I chuckled. “No, I mean is it new for you to like kissing?”

Jack paused and cocked his head. “Yeah, for sure. I’ve either had shitty kisses that led to shittier sex, or no kisses that led to the shittiest sex.” He snaked his arms around my neck. “Kissing you feels right. Like it’s full of promises rather than demands.” He trailed his lips along my collarbone. “Like I know it’s eventually going to lead to something breathtaking, but it doesn’t feel like you’re rushing me to get there.”

I gripped his chin gently between my thumb and forefinger. “I will never force you into anything you don’t want to do. I don’t just fall into bed with people, so I wouldn’t expect you to move any quicker than what you’re comfortable with.”

“Thank you,” Jack whispered against my lips.

“You never have to thank me for respecting boundaries?—”

“No, thank you for being the type of person who can help me savor the journey of getting there.” He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth. “Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to have sex with you, I’d just rather explore along the way before we reach wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, and you throw me out like Roadhouse garbage.”

I couldn’t help the huff of laughter. “First,” I murmured at his ear, loving the way he shivered in my arms. “The journey is sometimes the best part, at least in my experience. Second,” I trailed my hands down his slim, muscular back and palmed his perfect ass, “wham, bam, thank you, ma’am isn’t something I’ve ever been very good with, even if that was what you’re looking for.”

Jack shook his head. “It’s not.”

“And third,” I pulled his hips flush against mine, Jack’s tiny, needy whimpers filling the air, “I need you to know that going through relationships like yesterday’s trash isn’t something I can do. I will be very honest and tell you I haven’t really had very many relationships, but the few I’ve had have meant something to me. They ended on good terms, and I appreciate what I learned from them. But if this is something you think will flame hot and then sputter and die quickly before we both say goodbye, I need you to know that’s not how I work.” I pressed him against the countertop in the kitchen.

“What does that mean?” Jack asked, his hot breath against my ear as he rutted his hard cock against my zipper.

“It means I’m in this for the long haul,” I said, my words rough against his temple before I took his earlobe between my teeth. “I’m not proposing marriage or claiming we’ll be together forever…”

“Forever sounds like a really nice place to be if you’re there.” Jack’s thick words penetrated my hormone-addled brain, and I couldn’t help the groan as I held him close.

“I’m here,” I whispered, lifting him onto the counter. Jack’s spread legs were an invitation, and my body rejoiced at how perfectly we fit together.

“Even if we let things move slow?” Jack asked.

I nodded.

“What if I want to move faster?” Jack asked.

Sucking gently along his collarbone, I shrugged. “We move however slow or fast we want. There are no rules, just what feels right for us.”

We made out for what seemed like an eternity. Soft, plump lips, warm, gentle caresses, rolling hips pressing together. We could have easily stripped down, jerked each other off, and called it a night, but that wasn’t where our kisses led us.

When Jack’s sleepy eyes stared up at me, his grin drunk on kisses and desire, I hugged him close. “You want to shower first?” I asked.

Jack nodded and slipped from the countertop, his dick rubbing against mine on the way down. “Tomorrow, I’m baking cakes for you.”

I watched as he sleepily stumbled his way to the bathroom. When the water turned on, I grinned and shook my head. What the hell had I gotten myself into? A few months ago, I was single, not looking for any type of relationship, and perfectly content with the way the Roadhouse was running.

Then Jack walked into my life and turned everything upside down.

In the best way possible .

I couldn’t imagine going back to life before I knew him.

How had I lived without him by my side?

And the Roadhouse clearly needed to add cakes to our cocktails. Not something that had been on my Bingo card, but thinking about starting the new venture with Jack had me excited about the business in a way I hadn’t been in a long time.

Damn.

I was head over heels.

And my heart was at risk more than I’d allowed it to be since my mom left.

But I couldn’t even summon the energy to care.

Because having Jack in my life was quickly proving to be the chunk of something I hadn’t even known I’d been missing.