Help Wanted (7 page)

“You have to promise me that you won’t tell Charisma or the rest of the gang I said anything to you.  They will be pissed if they knew I didn’t keep the secret.”

“We have been friends too long. I won’t ever betray your confidence,” Jim said. Now he was even more curious about was going on.

“My wife is very worried about Keira. She has noticed a change in her since the plane crash. Do you know that she was the only survivor?”

“Shit,” Jim said. “That would play with anyone’s mind. What a horrible weight to carry on her shoulders.”

 “Now you understand why all of us are so worried about her. I mean Keira isn’t the same funny loving, outspoken woman I hung around with in Jamaica. Charisma is concerned Keira will get so withdrawn that no one will be able to reach her. The plane crash, her father’s death along with losing the shop came pretty close together. She was only thinking maybe you could take her mind off her problems for a while.”

“How does Charisma even know that I would be interested in getting to know Keira any better? Did any one of you think I might already have someone that I was dating?”

“Are you saying you would rather lie about dating some imaginary person than help out one of my wife’s closest friends?” Dave’s dark brown eyes flashed with sudden anger as he got up from his seat.                         “Jim, I thought better of you. You may come across as an unyielding bastard to most people, but I always defended you.  I guess I can’t do that anymore.  Don’t worry, I won’t tell Charisma how pissed you were at the thought of helping out the godmother of our child.  We’ll think of another way to reach out to Keira.”

Spinning on his heel, Dave stormed towards the door as Jim stared after him in stunned disbelief. A tight knot grew in the center of Jim’s chest at the thought of his second family disowning him because they might think he didn’t like Keira.

The real problem was that he had been drawn to her since their first meeting at the airport. His uneasiness grew the more he spent time around her because his attraction for Keira was getting hotter by the moment, but it was a chance that he was willing to take.

“Dave, wait a damn minute!” he yelled at his best friend’s back as Dave’s hand wrapped around the doorknob.

“What? I don’t have time to listen to you bad mouth Keira for the hundredth time. I have to meet Charisma for lunch and then go baby shopping for Dave Jr.”

“I’ll do it.”

“You’ll do what?” Dave faced him.

“I’ll try to get closer to Keira and bring her out of the sadness all of you are so bothered about. I’m not saying I’ll have any power to make her like me, as I know she hates me with a passion.” He hoped that was true because it would be a lot easier to keep his growing feelings at bay instead of acting on them.

“Oh, I think Keira likes you far more than she’s admitting. Thanks for doing this. Charisma will be so pleased that you said yes. Also, it will give her one less thing to think about.  I’ll talk to you in a couple of days.” Dave waved at him before going out of the door with a huge smile on his face.

Jim wished that he could smile, but he was scared he might end up falling hard for Keira and he wasn’t sure if that happened he would really be able to make a true commitment to her.

Chapter Eleven

“I’m surprised to see you still here so late. I thought you would have left hours ago since Clinton and Jenisha were throwing that house warming party for Dave and Charisma.”

Jim finished washing his hands in the sink and wiped them dry before he gave his attention to Keira. He had been thinking about her ever since Dave left. She was truly a gorgeous looking woman.  Even the thick black hair that she usually had pulled back into a loose bun at the back of her neck did nothing to take away from her. It only seemed to enhance the rich darkness of her skin and seductive quality of her bedroom brown eyes.

He liked that she wasn’t overly tall or too short, but right in the middle maybe around five feet five inches tall. It gave her body all of those sexy curves black woman seemed to have been blessed with naturally. Curves that he would love to run his hands over if he ever got the chance.

No, Dave was
so
wrong.  It wasn’t going to be hard for him to spend time with Keira at all. “I told the gang I was going to take a rain check,” he finally answered after he finished staring at her pretty face.    “Why aren’t you there?”

Keira shrugged her shoulder. “I wasn’t in the mood to be around a lot of people tonight. I’m just going to relax in front of the television.”

“I have a better idea,” Jim said as he walked towards Keira. “I still haven’t repaid you for that wonderful home cooked meal. Let me take you to one of my favorite hangouts. The food isn’t as good as yours, but I’m sure you’ll like it. I’ve never had any complaints about it.”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Keira said shaking her head.

The panicked look in Keira’s eyes didn’t escape his attention. He didn’t like this scared side of her. He would rather see the feisty woman who got in his face at the airport. He was beginning to see why Charisma was troubled about her.

“It’s a good thing your opinion doesn’t matter.”  Picking up a helmet, Jim handed it to Keira. “Come on let’s go.”

“I’m not getting on your motorcycle. Are you out of your mind?” Keira followed him out the door.

Jim took the time to make sure everything was locked up properly before he tried to ease Keira’s mind about his motorcycle. “Sweetheart, I never took you as the type of woman to be scared of a bike. I promise I won’t let you fall off.”

“I’m not scared of you or your bike.”

“Excellent! That is so good to know. Now let’s hit the road.” Going past Keira, Jim gave her a light tap on her ass before hopping on his Harley Davidson. He liked how Keira glared at him with her mouth open and the helmet hanging from her cute little hand.

“How dare you hit me on my ass!” she sputtered.

“I know I’m not the first man to give your luscious ass a tap. Now get over here and get on this bike. I’m starving for some buffalo wings and beer.”

“What if I don’t come over there?” Keira asked placing her hands on her hips.

“Keira, you don’t want me to get off here.” The warning was loud, clear and not up for debate.

Stomping over to the bike, Keira glared at Jim. She didn’t want to do this at all, but she wasn’t going to let him get the best of her. She wasn’t about to admit that she was scared as hell.

“How do you get on this thing?

“Swing your leg over and place your butt on the seat, wrap your arms around my waist. But the first thing you need to do is place that helmet on your head. Charisma would kill me if you got hurt while you were riding with me.”

“See, that’s a good reason for me to not go with you,” Keira said trying to get out of it one last time.

“Nice try. Get on and hold on tight.”

Jim waited while Keira did as he instructed. He could tell she was scared as hell, but trying to hold it in. He couldn’t blame her. Anyone who hadn’t been on a bike before always harbored a hint of nervousness.

His body reacted the instant Keira slid behind him and the warmth of her body touched his. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. He had to calm himself down or he wouldn’t be able to control the motorcycle on the road.

“Okay, I’m on,” Keira said wrapping her arms loosely around his waist. “Let’s go, so I can get back. I’m taking you on your word that this place serves good food.”

“First, you need to move closer to my back and wrap your arms tighter around my waist.  Without a doubt, you will fall off before we get half way there.”

“Mr. Russell, you are getting on my nerves,” Keira complained as she did as he instructed.

Jim’s cock jumped in his jeans as Keira pressed her breasts against his back and wrapped her arms around him. He had forgotten how good it felt to have a woman pressed to him especially one as attractive as Keira Winters.

He quickly started the motorcycle and pulled away from the curb before he said something that would get the both of them into trouble. He was trying to build a cordial bridge between him and Keira, so he couldn’t do anything to burn it down before the first piece of it was formed.

Chapter Twelve

Keira couldn’t believe she was on the back of a motorcycle with a man that she barely knew. It was just a couple of days ago that Jim was her most hated enemy. Now, he was taking her to his favorite restaurant for hot wings and beer. What was going on with her?

She shouldn’t be doing this with him.  She needed to be at home figuring out if she might have to change careers. The nightmares weren’t getting any better. In fact, they were getting worse. As much as she wanted to tell Charisma about it she couldn’t because her best friend would do nothing but worry and then drag her to the shrink’s office. A place she wasn’t ready to visit yet.

Anyway, Charisma had her own family to take care of now. She was woman enough to deal with her own issues and overcome them without any outside help. She would go back to her job in her own good time. Plus if the worst happened and she couldn’t go back to being a flight attendant then she would deal with it and move on.

Taking her mind off her problems, Keira focused her attention more on how good Jim’s body felt beneath her fingers.  She ran her fingers across the flatness of his stomach and liked the hardness she found there. It was like Jim spent as much time working out as he did at
Choppers.

All of her girlfriends seemed to think Jim was so nice and would make the perfect boyfriend for her, but she thought he was a little too domineering.  He came across like a man who loved to get his way and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Jim had already proven her half right by not taking the offer she gave him for her father’s shop. It wouldn’t have killed him to let her buy it back from him. Sure, it might have been his dream for years to own a motorcycle shop. However,
Choppers
has been in her family for years and she had more of a right to it than he did.

Maybe over dinner, she could plead her case again and he would give it back to her. She wasn’t expecting him to hand the keys over to her, but it was worth a shot.  Keira noticed that Jim pulled into a bar at the very end of an alley where several motorcycles were already parked along with a few cars. A huge sign with the word
‘Dante’s’
was positioned on the roof of the building. It looked like the ultimate biker bar on the outside.  She could only guess how it looked on the inside.

Jim pulled his motorcycle into an empty parking spot and then turned it off. He took off his helmet placing it on the handle bars and then looked back over his shoulder at her. “Are you okay back there? It looks like you made it all in one piece.”

Keira took off her helmet and handed it to him. “I’m fine. I have to say that I enjoyed the ride a lot more than I thought I would.”

“Good, I’m glad you did. Maybe after tonight you might be up for another ride.” Jim got off the motorcycle and helped her off after placing her helmet on the other handlebar.

“I never said that,” Keira said tugging down her shirt that had risen up during the ride. “Let’s just see how tonight goes. I haven’t been out in a while, so I might not be the best company.”

“As long as you can carry on a decent conversation with me over dinner and know how to enjoy the best hot wings in town, I think the two of us will get along perfectly. Are you ready to go inside?”

“Sure, why not?” Keira smiled at Jim as he took her by the elbow and lead her inside the building.

* * * *

The second Jim walked inside
Dante’s,
his hideaway, all of his worries from the day left his body and the familiar smells of food and beer filled his senses. The jukebox was playing an upbeat country tune. Dave had introduced him to this place several years ago and he had been coming back ever since. There was something about
Dante’s
that really relaxed him making him become more of a frequent customer while going through his divorce from Kathy. This was the place he would come after Trevor was asleep to get away from Kathy’s bitchy ways and any argument she was trying to start.  It gave him peace and solitude.

“This place could have been in the movie
Road House,”
Keira said.

Moving his attention away from her and back to the busy establishment, Jim realized that Keira was right.
Dante’s
did have a
Road House
feel to it. He was surprised that he never noticed it before. “How about we grab a booth unless you want to sit at a table?”

“No, a booth is fine with me.” With his hand still on her elbow, Jim took Keira to his favorite booth in the back of the room. He knew what he wanted, so he didn’t even bother looking at the menus already placed there.

“How often do you come here?” Keira asked looking at him from across the table.

“At least twice a week,” Jim answered. “If I can make it three I do. I love it here. I find it very relaxing.”

Keira tried not to let the loud country music get under her skin, but it wasn’t something that she was used to hearing. It wasn’t her favorite style of music.

“So, you’re a regular?”

“I guess you could say that I am.” Jim nodded. “The owner and I have become pretty good friends. I’ve done some work on his bike. He’s a good guy. What about you?”

“What about me?” Keira leaned back in the booth like she was preparing herself for his next question.

“I know that you’re a flight attendant, but what do you do for fun when you aren’t working? You’re a good-looking woman. I’m sure that you get asked out on dates a lot.”

“Nothing…work usually keeps me pretty busy.  So, I don’t have time for a huge social life. I mostly just work, stay at home or visit Charisma and the baby. I could ask you the same question.” Keira  tossed the ball back into his court. “You aren’t too bad looking with your long hair and goatee. Most women would find your bad boy image very appealing, maybe down right sexy. Why aren’t you remarried or at least dating someone?”