Chasing Marisol (Blueprint to Love Book 3) (7 page)

She caught herself before she revealed his last name. Her father would be on the phone with his mysterious connections before she left the driveway. And Jefferson would wind up on the receiving end of an income tax audit. Or possibly a cattle prod. "He's— he works for the company building our addition at the shelter."

"What was that company?" Luis whispered, nudging her mother. "Bridgie— do you remember?"

Mari paused when her mother shushed him. "We've only known each other a month-"

"You've been dating him a month and you didn't tell us?" Serafina flounced into one of the dining room chairs.

"I
met
him a month ago and we've had two dates," she corrected. "And you just swung your hair into the mashed potatoes," she pointed out to her pouting sister.

Sera frowned as she removed her ponytail from the bowl on the table. The long, strawberry blonde curls that were her pride and joy held a glob of cold potato. "Dammit."

When her sister rose from the table and stomped to the bathroom, her older sister slid into the chair. "But that's big news for you, kiddo. You haven't dated anyone since Ni-" Caridad's voice halted mid-sentence when she realized where she was steering the conversation. No one wanted to be the one who riled up Luis Ortega. She quickly glanced at their father.

"That's right," she quickly confirmed. "I wasn't sure how I felt about dating— and I'm still not sure." She aimed the last comment at her father. It would be safer to acknowledge the elephant in the room and move on before Papi started stewing. Two years earlier, she'd feared her father would actually hunt Nick down and hurt him. Thankfully, her ex had proved to be more of a wimp than a bully. He'd bolted for parts unknown, saving her father . . . and probably her brother, now that she thought of it, from being brought up on assault charges.

"I'm taking things very slow." Hector reappeared with his backpack and jacket. Mari took the opportunity to edge closer to the hallway— only steps to her escape. "I would appreciate all of you remaining calm while I do this."

"Once we meet him— we'll be calm." Manny rounded the kitchen counter, his eyes intent. "Papi— I can take a few days off work-"

To her chagrin, her father actually nodded at her knucklehead brother. She glared at him and straightened to her full height. "I will do this on my own. Translated, that means
without
help from you." She waved off her brother when he would have interrupted. "And when I use the word help— I'm just trying to be nice. What I really mean is I don't want interference— no background checks. No stakeouts. No tailing me on dates. No GPS locator secretly installed on my car." 

Caridad smirked. "Oh, Mariboo— just wait. You have no idea what they're capable of."

***

"So, how's the shelter progressing?"

Jeff set his beer on the coffee table and reluctantly turned his attention from the game on his brother's giant screen television. The last thing he wanted to think about was the shelter. Because that made him think of Marisol. And when he thought of her— it made him want to call. But he couldn't call because he'd sworn not to.

"We received the permits Friday, which frees up Hank to head down there Tuesday. Groundbreaking is Monday— if Dad can squeeze it into his busy schedule." It was pathetic to want to hear her voice when he'd just seen her the day before. Especially since he'd decided it might be best not to see her again.

"They've secured all the financing?" Jake grinned when his son Alex threw himself onto his shoulders. "Careful, there kid. You're getting heavy."

"And your old man is out of shape." Jeff smiled when Alex cracked up. At age seven they were so easy to impress. All it took to be awarded favorite uncle status were knock-knock jokes and pizza. Even Hector had practically made him out to be a superhero because he'd tossed the kid a few baseballs.

"Yeah- Mari— the shelter," he corrected, "has secured enough to get us through to the finishes. So that gives us at least six or seven months of work before they run out of money."

"And the way Mari secures donations, they'll be in fine shape by then." Linc entered the room, a drooling infant in his arms. His mom followed with the other twin. Jeff still couldn't tell the girls apart yet. They were both adorable. And terrifying.

Glancing at his brother, he wondered how the hell Jake managed to do it. In just shy of two years, Jake had gone from an unmarried, bad-tempered workaholic to a seriously married, slightly less cranky father of four. Frankly, when it came to his wife and their kids, he'd turned into a friggin' marshmallow.

His totally awesome sister-in-law was whipping up something fantastic in the kitchen. The smell made his stomach growl in anticipation while he watched Jenna's son scramble over his brother's shoulder to plop into his lap. His brother loved Jen's two kids as though they were his own. Their daughter Megan was the spitting image of her mother. And now they'd added the twins.

Jake's laughter filled the room. He'd never seen his brother happier. What Jeff had trouble imagining was ever wanting that scene for himself. Settling down. The words seemed so foreign. And so— final. Yet seeing what his brother had achieved sort of made him start thinking. Not any time soon- But . . . someday. Maybe.

"What do you think of her, son?"

Huh? His thoughts scattered when his dad spoke. "Think of who?"

"Marisol. Isn't she fantastic?"

"Yeah. She's great." Why did his old man have to keep bringing her up? He'd been trying to go more than thirty minutes without thinking about her. "They're all great," he was careful to add. "But I seriously could've used your help over the past few weeks. Getting those ladies to make decisions requires a charm I seem to lack."

"Don't be silly. I knew you'd do a bang-up job, Jeffie."

"When are you coming back, Dad? I need your help sorting out the decorating issues. Some of the finishes have a pretty long lead time and those women are feisty. I need to get the colors selected and get the damn order placed."

"I don't know, exactly. I've still got a couple irons in the fire. Might be a few weeks."

"
Weeks
? I'm starting to get stacked up in estimating." That caught his brother's attention.

"How stacked up?" Jake stopped tickling Alex long enough to shoot him a look.

"Not that bad," he admitted. What the hell was going on with the old man? It was only a few years ago that Linc Traynor lived, breathed and bled for Specialty. To the tune of his marriage, his family— his everything . . . Now, Jeff couldn't get him to commit an hour? "Is there a new lady in your life, Dad?"

"Is there one in yours?" His mother chimed in from her corner of the couch.

"Yeah— no. I mean— no one . . . special." Liar. Jeff felt the urge to pace again. What was with the sudden interest in his love life? Was there no one else they could focus their attention on? "So, Alex— how's school?"

Linc shifted his grandbaby to the opposite shoulder. "I woulda thought you'd like Mari. She's a beautiful woman."

His mother jabbed Linc with her elbow. If he'd blinked, he would have missed it. His dad grunted before he turned to scowl at her. What the heck was going on between those two? Despite their divorce, his parents had been getting along pretty well the past two years. He shot a glance at Jake.

His brother shrugged. He'd seen it too. "How's the budget looking?"

"We're over by about seventy-five grand, but that's my fault. I added in some high end kitchen equipment. They feed so many people each day— and their equipment is crap. I just wanted to see if I could make it happen for them."

"What happens if we get to the end and Mari-the-amazing-fundraiser doesn't secure enough donations?"

Jeff grinned. "You know me. Somehow I'll make it work."

"That's what I was afraid of." Jake sighed. "Try to remember I have four kids to put through college."

Jenna appeared in the doorway. "Dinner in five. Can I borrow someone tall to help with the serving dishes?"

He rose before his brother could dislodge Alex. "Let me do the honors. I'm the only one not wrestling a kid."

Jake waited for his brother to leave the room before he caught his father's attention. "Hey— break it up, you two."

His parents stopped squabbling long enough to turn their attention to their eldest son. If he wasn't mistaken, Jake could've sworn he'd seen sparks flying between them. But that wasn't possible— was it? They'd been apart for a decade. He made a mental note to discuss the subject with Jenna. His wife had an uncanny knack for picking up on vibes that usually went completely over his head.

"What's goin' on with you, Dad?"

Before his father spoke a word, Jake knew he'd hit on something. Linc was guilty. It was written all over his face. But— of what? "Come on— give. Is this about Jeff?"

His mother looked horrified as she raised a finger to her lips.
Sweet
. The plot grew more interesting by the second. She rose from the couch, still clutching Madison to her shoulder and hurried over to sit beside him. "Not so loud."

He winked at Alex, who until now, had been getting bored with the conversation. But any mention of a secret meant he would be all over it. "Okay— we promise not to tell, right Sport?"

"Uh-huh. I promise."

Mona heard his dad snicker and paused to glare at him. "Your father's trying to set Jeffie up with the woman from the shelter. That's why he bailed on helping him."

"What woman?"

Alex snorted and gave him a poke. "Jeez, Dad— pay attention. Even I picked up on that one. It's the girl Mari-somethin', right?"

Mona rewarded her supremely intelligent grandson with a smile. "It's Marisol," she whispered. "Grampy thinks they're meant to be together."

"Lord help us."

Jenna appeared once again in the doorway. "Come on, everyone. Let's eat."

Jake hoisted his son from his lap and plopped him on his feet. "Mark my words, Alex— this might feel like the longest dinner of your life."

Alex ran three steps before whirling around. "Yeah, but then we get to have Grandma's brownies."

***

She was a big chicken.

It had been four days. Mari threw her pencil down and rubbed her eyes. Four endless days since she'd seen him Saturday. She'd somehow managed to live twenty-six years and four months without ever knowing Jefferson Traynor
existed.
Then a month ago, it had all blown up. Her perfectly safe, moderately exciting— but definitely adequate life had ceased.

She'd known Jeff was trouble the moment she'd spotted him ogling her in the parking lot. But he'd been so persistent and sweet and so damned attractive that she'd caved. And look where it had gotten her. She was smiling . . . hopeful . . . pathetic. Wanting desperately to see him again— and never wanting to see him again. When she could have seen him Monday— she'd gone out of her way to avoid him. All day long, she'd both dreaded and anticipated his arrival. How would he act toward her? Would he take one look at her and know she was seriously losing it for him? What if he'd changed his mind? Would she be able to resist throwing herself at him and kissing him senseless?

In the end— she'd chickened out. Oh— it had started out innocently. She'd taken a call from a former client— a woman who was out of the shelter and living on her own. A success story who'd needed a little advice. But as the call ran longer, Mari started thinking how much safer it would be to just avoid the meeting altogether. Perhaps she should take a few days to think. Being in close proximity to Jeff was the last thing she wanted when trying to think clearly.

As she'd driven home that night, she'd been forced to admit she'd deliberately made herself scarce for the ground breaking ceremony.
Her project
— her dream. And she'd lacked the courage to show up. Even worse, she'd been forced to suffer the knowing glances she received from Sharon and the others. And there was no better tormentor in the building than Sharon.

"Did I mention he asked for you specifically?"

"I was on the phone, Sharon." Two days later— she was still bringing it up.

Her boss grinned. "That he stayed late— hopin' you'd show up?"

"If it was urgent, he knows where my office is." Mari sighed as she reviewed her monthly donation goals. A few of her old standbys were late with checks again. She'd have to pencil in a few visits on her calendar.

"You look tired. You sleeping okay, Sugar? The nightmares aren't back, are they?"

"I'm fine," she reassured her work mom and tormentor. "Just a little concerned about Annie's problem." Her ‘problem’ being that her ex had shown up again last night— just as Mari was leaving for the day with Hector. Phil had been drunk— again. And making threats. Poor Annie had taken it hard. All the strides she'd taken in therapy— all the confidence she'd begun to build had been knocked to the ground again. It was to the point where Sharon and the other administrators weren't sure they could continue to keep Annie and her boys safe. New Beginnings was the third shelter they'd lived in. Each time, Phil found them. Now Annie was afraid to leave the grounds, for fear her ex would be waiting.

Mari sighed. She knew what that fear felt like. She'd experienced the same terror after Nick's assault. Of not knowing where he was— wondering whether he watched her, whether he was following her, plotting his next attack. . . She scrubbed at the sudden goose bumps on her arms. "What's our plan?"