Page 7

Chapter 7

Henry

“Thank you for telling me,” I said, loving the soft caress of his hair against my lips. “I’m glad the food helped.”

“I thought it was outrageous when you offered me the booth inside the bar,” Jack said, his words slightly muffled against my chest.

“Beggars can’t be choosers, huh?”

He chuckled. “I don’t think the trash bandits were trying to cause trouble. They were teens from what I saw. I never let them know I was around, but they looked like they were just fucking around.”

“Well, I’m not gonna cause a big stink, but I would like to figure out who they are so I can tell them to stay out of my garbage. They’re making a mess, and it’s really not sanitary to be digging through trash.”

We sat in silence for a while, Jack breathing so softly I wondered if he’d fallen asleep, as I did my best to ignore how good he looked in my shirt .

The pink underwear was really doing it for me too.

Which was a weird situation to find myself in. I’d experienced sexual attraction to a few people before, I’d even enjoyed sex with some of them. But none of that happened until we’d developed a close relationship. I wasn’t against sex, it just wasn’t something I needed or sought out.

But there I was, holding Jack on my lap with him in nothing but my shirt and tight pink underwear, and my body was torn between wanting to cuddle him all night long and wanting to make out with him until we couldn’t catch our breaths. The idea of him making a mess of those pink trunks had my mind going wild.

Jack had quickly become one of my favorite people in the world, as evidenced by the easy way we sat together on the couch. Which was saying a lot, because I didn’t really have favorite people outside of my dad, Hudson, and Lance. And even those three could work my nerves on the best days.

Sam and Kayla were good people, but we weren’t close beyond a working relationship. My other employees came to work, did their jobs, and I treated them with respect, but we weren’t ever gonna hang out.

I was courteous with people in town—it was good for business—and the Riggs family found ourselves invited to most of the events in Haven Grove because of our peaches and our family name. But I wasn’t meeting townsfolk for coffee and chit-chat. I just didn’t do that. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like people. In fact, I enjoyed talking to folks just fine in the Roadhouse and around town. I just wasn’t gonna risk getting too close to someone and then having to experience them walking away.

Until Jack.

Somehow, he’d appeared out of nowhere and turned my damn life upside down with his bright smile, sunshine gold hair, and aquamarine eyes.

And I wasn’t even mad about it.

It wasn’t just how gorgeous he was. I saw attractive people all day long. Haven Grove was a small town, so the numbers of good-looking people weren’t breaking any records, but percentage-wise, I’d say we had our fair share of lookers.

Didn’t mean I wanted to hold any of them on my lap while they wore tight pink undies and swam in my flannel shirt.

But sitting on my couch with Jack was absolutely perfect, and I was already thinking ahead to when I could make it happen again.

“So, when is this Great Cake Challenge going to take place?” I asked, hoping to keep my mind on less dick-hardening topics.

Jack shrugged. “Let’s get your dad home and back on his feet first.”

That sobering reminder sent guilt straight to my core.

“Shit.” I knuckled my eye. “Yeah. Hoping he’ll be back home soon.”

“Then I’ll wow you with my cakes when the dust settles.”

The next couple days passed in an absolute blur. Trips to and from the hospital melded into short shifts at the Roadhouse. Listening to Dad grumble and taking turns with Hudson blended with submitting payroll and balancing the books.

Through it all, Jack kept me going.

Coffee waiting for me when I woke in the morning to head to the hospital.

A smile for me when I walked into the Roadhouse. No matter the time or what he was busy with.

An offer to clean up so I could finish paperwork at the end of a shift instead of staying late to get it all wrapped up.

Jack single-handedly got me through those days, and guilt coursed through me because no one in my family even knew about him yet. Well, Dad had seen him, but that didn’t really count.

If Jack was going to be working for me, it was high time he met the rest of the Riggs family.

Once Dad was home from the hospital, I took a day off. The apartment needed a good cleaning, I needed to get groceries, and my brain needed a break from life for a moment.

“You wanna go with me to get groceries?” I asked Jack.

“I can stay and help Sam,” he hedged. He was dressed in his usual faded blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a denim shirt left open with the sleeves rolled up. His clothes—and the ratty tennis shoes he wore—had seen better days.

“Nah, he’s got it covered. Come with me. We’ll grab what we need, eat lunch, maybe get you some clothes for work. ”

Jack winced. “I probably need to wait until I get a few paychecks to buy new clothes.”

“Let me get you a few things just so you don’t have to do laundry so much. You’re going to be bringing in business with your cakes, it’s an investment on my part.”

Those aquamarine eyes narrowed, the sapphire flecks almost glowing, but he finally relented. “Beggars can’t be choosers,” he said with a shrug.

Jack had two travel mugs of coffee ready by the time I emerged from the shower, and I fought the urge to hug him close and tuck him under my chin. The difference between recognizing some random person was physically attractive versus the warm, gooey ball of emotion oozing around in my chest for Jack was mind blowing. My past experiences with attraction, relationships, and sex hadn’t even come close to preparing me for what I felt for Jack.

But I wasn’t Hudson. I didn’t just fall into bed to scratch some itch and then move on like nothing had happened. Until Jack, I assumed I’d continue on with life the way I had for thirty-five years. Sex was nice, but it wasn’t something I needed. Falling in love wasn’t part of my plan.

Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Riggs. Slow the fuck down. No one said anything about falling in love.

My head and heart were definitely on different pages when it came to my feelings for Jack. It was likely best to listen to my head. My heart had been trampled on. Could it really be trusted? It wasn’t like that part of me had been involved in any real relationships before.

So, yeah. I needed to put the brakes on. There was no way I could truly be falling in love with Jack. Even if the age thing wasn’t an issue—which it was. Right?—he was going to be working for me. He lived with me. And in reality, I barely knew him.

You know he’s the person you look forward to spending time with every day. And you know him better than anyone in your life except your dad and brother. Pretty sure you know Jack just fine. Plus, you know he makes you feel alive for the first time in forever.

My heart wasn’t going to be pushed aside so easily.

Okay, maybe it was for the best to just take things slow and see where we ended up. After all, it wasn’t like Jack had made any declarations of love for me.

In fact, I was likely saving us both from me making a fool of myself. There was no way Jack felt anything for me. He probably looked to me as a father figure or something equally unsexy.

We headed down the stairs and climbed into my old truck. The 1987 black and grey Chevy Silverado had been my baby since I bought her to fix up several years earlier. She was a good girl, and I’d spent a lot of time getting her running and keeping her spruced up.

“I like your truck,” Jack said, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he climbed in.

“Thanks.” I patted the dash. “She’s old, but she’s got personality. I keep her happy, and she serves me well.”

“She, huh?” Jack asked, his eyes boring into mine.

I shrugged. “I’m equal opportunity, I don’t discriminate.”

Jack bit his lip and brought the collar of his shirt up to rub it against his chin. “How do you keep her happy?” he asked as I pointed the truck up the road toward the big discount store .

“Oil changes mostly. Change her tires if they need it.”

“I never learned how to do any of that.” A soft frown formed between Jack’s pretty brows. “Not that my uncle or cousin would have known how even if they’d been willing to teach me.”

“I’ll teach you,” I said. “It’s a good skill to have.”

Jack didn’t say anything, but he nodded, and a grin teased his lips from under the shirt collar as he rubbed it back and forth.

“So, you lived with your uncle and cousin?” The truck rumbled along; she was in great shape, but she wasn’t a luxury ride. I didn’t want to push Jack into talking, but he needed to know I was interested and willing to listen.

Jack’s lips formed a thin line, the shirt collar pressed between them—I didn’t think he realized how much he gave away with this quirky habit—before he nodded. “Yeah. And my aunt.”

“Since you left, I’m guessing it wasn’t a good set up?”

The snort was full of dark humor and pain. “You could definitely say that.”

Withholding the questions I wanted to ask, I focused on the road for a few moments.

Finally, Jack said, “My mom died when I was six. I was sent to live with her sister, Chrissy.” His words were barely audible over the truck’s engine. “Mom never met Chrissy’s new husband, Joseph; she was too sick by the time he came into the picture—at least, that’s what I could figure out later. No way my mom would have been okay with her sister marrying him or me living with him. Joseph and his son, Douglas, were absolute pieces of shit. Chrissy was high as a kite on prescription medication most of the time. She wasn’t a bad person, just caught up in her own personal demons, and married to a total jerk.”

The urge to put my arm around Jack’s shoulders and pull him close was strong, but I pushed it away. He was opening up, and I didn’t want to risk something that might make him clam up. Although, based on the way he’d reacted when I got home from the hospital that first night, I wondered if he was starved for caring, protective, intimate touch.

“Joseph wasn’t a car guy?”

Jack didn’t reply for a moment, his gaze trained out the window, lost in thought. But then he blinked those pretty blue eyes and scoffed. “Not hardly. I mean, he was a car guy, but he didn’t have the slightest clue how to change oil or take care of a car. He was a car salesman—owned Hill’s Autos—and Douglas worked for him, but he would have died before he got his hands dirty in a car. He took his personal cars to the flashiest most overpriced service centers so he could brag about how much he paid. The cars he sold got serviced on-site before the sale was completed. But I doubt he ever got so much as a smear of oil on his bougie suits.”

“So, they were both dipshits and wouldn’t know a dipstick if it slapped them in the face?” My attempt at oil changing humor fell a little flat, but Jack smiled.

“Dipshits for sure.”

“Are they still around?” We’d been talking about them in the past tense, but I didn’t know if that meant they were out of the picture permanently or just because Jack had left home.

He nodded, looking miserable. “Unfortunately. ”

“I’m glad you got away from them.” Unable to help myself, I reached out and squeezed his shoulder. Jack’s warm smile went straight to my core.

We drove in silence for a bit longer. Just when I thought Jack was done with his trip down shitty-memory-lane, he huffed out a sardonic laugh. “They’re the reasons I don’t like Jackie .”

I shot a glance his way but waited.

“My mom used to call me Jackie when I was little. When I had to go live with them, my aunt would call me Jackie when she cried about her dead sister.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, I know she missed her sister, but I missed my mom too, and having her go on and on about ‘My precious Jackie. My sister is dead, and she trusted me with her Jackie,’ got really old. Like I couldn’t even mourn my own mom because Chrissy so was so damn dramatic about all of it. Then Joseph and Douglas picked up on the name and used it to make fun of me.” He shrugged. “They ruined the name for me. Can’t even really remember my mom using it, just them degrading me. So, I never go by Jackie. Ever.”

I gave a nod. “Understandable.” Pulling into a parking spot at the discount store, I killed the engine. “You let me know if you ever want to talk. My mom didn’t pass away, but I know what it’s like to grow up without one.” Giving his shoulder another squeeze, I went on, “I’m sorry you had to deal with those pieces of shit growing up.”

Jack smiled. “Thanks. And I’m sorry about your mom too.” He scowled, rubbing his shirt collar over his chin. “I know she didn’t die, but…” His words trailed off as he caught my eye .

“It sucks for both of us, no matter how it happened.”

He nodded. “Yeah. It does.”

We spent the next forty-five minutes stocking up on groceries. I always tried to shop at the Juicy Peach when possible, but buying in bulk and getting big discounts made the trip up the highway worthwhile.

“Where you wanna eat?” I asked as we loaded our reusable grocery bags into the back of the truck, and I played Tetris filling up the cooler with ice and frozen goods.

Jack bit his lip. “Oh, it doesn’t matter to me. I can wait until we get home.”

“Fuck that.” I slapped my hand against the side of the truck. “ I can’t wait that long. What do you feel like? Burgers? Pizza? Chinese? Subs?”

“Chinese? Oh my god, I haven’t had good lo mein and crab Rangoon since college.” Jack huffed and rolled his eyes. “Uncle Joseph was always going on about how ‘The Hills are an American family, we eat good ol’ fashioned American food.’”

“Damn, he sounds like an absolute ass.”

“You have no idea,” Jack agreed with a smile. “Makes your dad look like a saint, I swear.”

I laughed, thinking back to the day I told Jack my dad was an asshole. “Chinese sounds great.” I backed out of the parking spot and headed toward one of two Chinese restaurants in town. Both were good, but I knew one had the best crab Rangoon for a hundred miles. “What did you go to college for?”

“Business degree,” Jack said .

I couldn’t help the surprise on my face, and he chuckled.

“Yeah, I know, not what you expected, huh?”

Shrugging, I navigated the crowded parking lot in the strip mall. “Just figured it would have been something to do with baking.”

“I wanted to go to culinary school for Baking and Pastry Arts.”

“Let me guess, Uncle Douchebag wouldn’t allow it.”

Jack beamed. “Ding, ding, ding. He wanted me to take over Hill’s Autos with Douglas, so he made me get a business degree.”

“Did you have any interest in taking over the car lot?” The look Jack gave me made me laugh. “Well, then. I guess that answers that.”

He smiled. “I had no desire to work with them, be around them, or even have my name associated with them.” He sighed. “Probably sounds ridiculous since I stayed for so long.”

I thought about that for a moment. “I think you probably had your reasons.”

We climbed out of the truck and met by the tailgate.

“For the longest time, I was just too young. And Joseph did a great job scaring me into thinking I didn’t have any options.”

“People like him get off on taking away control and making you think there’s no way out.” We neared the door to Lucky Egg Roll #13. I wanted to stop right there in the parking lot and keep the conversation going.

“In high school, I started planning to leave, but Chrissy demanded Joseph pay for my college. He agreed as long as I got a degree in business so I could work in the family business.” Jack snorted. “Figured I’d let him pay for my degree first, then I’d make a plan to leave.”

“Guess it worked out.”

Jack pursed his lips. “Not exactly. I left before I meant to.”

I cocked a brow.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I left, I just wasn’t prepared to leave when I did.”

“Why?” I opened the door, a blast of cool, savory air washing over us.

Jack bit his lip. “I’ll tell you sometime.”