Hometown Love (20 page)

Without another word, Jessie walked around Bethany. No matter what, she planned to enjoy giving Grace her gift. If Bethany wanted to be a cold bitch, so be it.

“Before we give her the one from both of us, I have a small gift just from me.” Remembering how much she’d enjoyed unwrapping presents, she’d picked up a small gift at the mall.

“I have my gift for her, too.” Bethany grabbed something from her purse and joined everyone in the living room.

Seated on the floor with Socks next to her, Grace looked between her presents. “I don’t know which to open first.”

Bethany leaned forward, her breasts almost falling out of the low-cut top she wore. “Why not save the one from Jessie for last since it’s the biggest, and open mine first since it is the smallest?”

Jessie had learned enough about Bethany today to know that size had nothing to do with her suggestion. Bethany assumed her gift had the biggest
wow
factor.

Going along with her mom’s suggestion, Grace peeled off the paper, letting it fall around her. “They’re earrings just like Mom’s!” Grace said after she opened up the black jewelry box.

“Now be careful with those. They’re real diamonds.” Bethany returned the hug her daughter gave her before throwing Jessie a smug smile.

“Look, Jessie.” Grace turned toward her.

Stunned, Jessie looked at the earrings. She didn’t know a lot about jewelry, but she suspected the diamonds were close to half a carat each. Who gave that kind of gift to a six-year-old?

“You bought her real diamond earrings?” Mack asked, his voice heavy with disbelief. “She still loses her shoes. How do you expect her to keep track of those?”

Bethany gave no outward appearance that Mack’s words fazed her. “She doesn’t have to wear them now. You can always put them in a safe place until she’s older if that makes you feel better.”

Her idea held merit, but Jessie kept her mouth closed as the tension in the room grew.

“Why don’t you open another present, Grace?” Rose asked from across the room.

Mack’s expression said he wanted to say more, but he took his mom’s advice and handed Grace the next present. “This one is from Jessie and me.”

Oblivious to the tension, Grace ripped off the princess-covered wrapping paper, and opened the box. First, she pulled out the plastic tiara with the fake gemstones. Next, she grabbed a piece of paper with something on it that Mack had made on his computer. Since Grace’s reading was limited, he’d included pictures such as an airplane and a castle.

“Get,” Grace said. “What’s this word?” She pointed to the paper.

“Ready,” Mack answered.

“Get ready for,” Grace’s voice trailed off her eyes taking in the pictures. When she put it all together, her eyes got big. “We’re going to Florida!” She leapt to her feet, dancing while wearing the tiara. After a few twirls around the room, she hugged Mack. “This is the best present ever!”

Mack grinned from ear to ear as well. “It’s from Jessie, too. She’s coming.”

Grace launched herself at Jessie—with just enough enthusiasm to set Bethany scowling at her.

“I’m going to Florida!” Grace bounced away toward her grandparents, the last gift still unopened, but Jessie kept silent. After real diamond earrings, a dog, and a trip, the new dollhouse furniture she’d bought would look lame.

***

“What a day.” Mack sat next to Jessie and she leaned into him. It was the first chance all day for them to have some alone time. His parents had stuck around for dinner, as had Bethany. While his parents had left not long after, his ex-wife had stayed until Grace’s bedtime. “She was fighting it, but I bet she’s sound asleep now. Her eyelids were half closed when we tucked her in.”

In the past, they’d tucked Grace in together when she visited. Tonight, with Bethany around, Jessie had hung back and allowed her mother to do it instead, even though seeing Mack and Bethany walk upstairs together had torn her up inside. “She had a busy day with lots of excitement.”

Mack pulled her back against him as he reclined. “Did you see her expression when she opened the gift from us? I wish I’d taken a picture.”

That expression and the one on Bethany’s face were burned into her memory. “I did. I’m not sure which gift she liked best the dog, the trip or those earrings.”

“What the hell was Bethany thinking, diamond earrings for a six year old? I have no problem with her buying Grace some nice jewelry, but those are ridiculous.” Mack spat out the words.

Jessie agreed, but rather than further comment on the silly gift, she said, “You’ll just have to hold them for now.” Then she changed the subject all together. “I enjoyed visiting with your parents. It was too bad Erin and Marcus couldn’t stay longer. Brianna didn’t want to leave.”

Mack’s hand snuck under her sweater. His skin was still cold from when he’d taken the dog outside and goose bumps formed on her stomach. “I thought everyone would never leave tonight.” His hand continued upward until it reached her bra then it pushed the fabric back and caressed her breast. “My parents are crazy about you. They told me on separate occasions how happy they are that we’re together.”

His statement brought to mind someone else’s feelings and unease sneaked through her stomach. She didn’t blame Bethany for wanting Mack back if that was, indeed, what she’d meant by her comment, but Jessie didn’t have any intention of breaking things off just because his ex-wife wished Mack was still hers.

“You okay?” Mack’s hand paused.

Jessie cleared Bethany’s expression from her mind. “Yeah, why?” No, she wasn’t one hundred percent okay, but Mack didn’t need to know about her and Bethany’s conversation.

Switching his hand to the other breast he caressed that one too. “You’re stiff all of a sudden.”

Forget about Bethany. She’s just being a bitch.

Determined to enjoy their time together, she inserted her hand between their bodies and ran it down the length of him. “I’m not the only one,” she said, her boldness taking her by surprise. In fact, a lot of the things she’d done lately had surprised her, and she loved it. For the first time, she felt not only sexy and desired, but also part of something besides her own immediate family.

He groaned despite his best efforts. All she had to do was touch him and he wanted to carry her upstairs. Who would’ve thought Jessica Quinn, the skinny girl from high school, would be able to do that? Definitely not him—or any of the other guys in town since she’d stayed single for so long. A fact he’d be forever grateful for. Just thinking about what might have happened if Tony or Striker had asked her out before he’d moved back turned his blood to ice.

“And whose fault is that?” He let his free hand wander down her stomach and inside the front of her jeans, then down more so that he could touch her through the cotton panties she wore.

“Mine?” Her voice came out half question/half moan, and he pushed her panties off to the side so that he could touch her skin.

“Damn right. Now what should we do about it?” So far they’d only been intimate when Grace wasn’t in the house, but that didn’t seem like a permanent solution.

Jessie’s breathing became ragged. “We can’t do anything, can we?”

“As long we’re not too loud and we lock the door, we’re good.”

She sucked in a deep breath when he touched her again. “Are you sure?” She sounded like she’d run a whole marathon.

“Positive,” he said, his lips inches from her ear.

Satisfied with his answer, she wiggled away from him then stood. Her sweater remained bunched up under her breasts, and her cheeks were flush as her chest rose and fell. Without so much as a single word, she held out her hand.

Unlike in the past, she gave him the control, that one little action signaling just how much she trusted him whether she realized it or not. In no time, he had them naked and in his bed. But before they could take things any further, his cell phone rang. At first he ignored it. He wasn’t expecting any calls, Grace was safely tucked into bed, Jessie was in his arms, and it wasn’t the ringtone he’d set for work.

After several rings, it stopped—only to start up again.

“Maybe you should get that.”

He tore his mouth away from her neck. “They can leave a message.”

Again, the phone stopped and he moved from the sensitive skin on her neck back to her lips, his hands teasing her the way another part of his body wanted to.

The third time the phone rang, she pulled his hand away and broke free from his kiss. “It must be important, Mack.”

With a grunt, he grabbed the phone.
Someone better be dying.
“Hello.” His voice came out as a growl.

“Hi, Mack. It’s Bethany.”

His ex-wife’s voice sent a litany of curses through his head. “Now’s not a good time.” He should’ve turned the ringer off then she could’ve called all night and they never would’ve heard it.

“My car broke down. Can you pick me up at the garage? I wouldn’t have called, but they can’t fix it tonight.”

“I’m with Jessie. Take a bus, Bethany.” Bethany was a grown woman. She should be able to handle her current problem.

“I don’t think there are any around here.”

Mack pinched the bridge of his nose. “What about a taxi?”

Jessie’s hand touched his arm. “What’s the matter?”

Mack moved the phone away from his mouth. “Bethany’s car broke down, and she wants a ride.”

Jessie rolled her lips together. “You should go get her. It is late.”

“She can call a taxi.”

“Would you want me taking a taxi this late at night?”

No.

“You’d never forgive yourself if something happened to her. Go get her and I’ll stay here with Grace.” Jessie climbed off the bed and grabbed her clothes.

Fuck, Jessie was right. He put the phone near his mouth again. “What’s the damn address?” Mack wrote down the information and ended the call. “This sucks.” He tossed the phone onto the nightstand but didn’t get dressed.

Instead, he watched Jessie pull on her panties, plain blues ones tonight, nothing like the lacy thong she’d worn for him before. Not that it mattered. His body burned to be joined with her regardless of what she was or wasn’t wearing. He contemplated finishing what they’d started and letting Bethany wait.

“The sooner you go the sooner you’ll be back.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I know that expression and how you think,” Jessie answered.

With an angry jerk, he picked up his own clothes. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Are you sure you don’t mind me picking her up? I’m more than happy to call her back and tell her to take a taxi. Trust me she can afford one.” Jessie’s thoughtfulness continued to amaze him even now.

“Really. If I was in Bethany’s position I wouldn’t want to take a taxi. I’ll watch television or something.”

***

Several people sat in the twenty-four hour fast food restaurant near the garage when Mack walked in. Seated near the far door, Bethany stood out and not just because many of the customers were twenty-somethings. Even he wouldn’t deny that she was a beautiful woman. But while many of the men stared at her, drooling and most likely fantasizing about her, he felt nothing. Not a single tingle of desire touched him.

Mack stopped at her table, but didn’t sit down. “I’m going to grab a coffee before we go. Do you want anything?” They had an hour and half drive back and he could use a caffeine boost.

She joined him at the counter, her arm brushing against his. “A diet soda.”

All the way outside, she stayed glued to his side. Every time he moved a few inches away, she closed the gap again.

“Did they say what was wrong with the car?” It would be a long ride back if neither spoke. Since they’d done their usual superficial convo that morning, that didn’t leave much now.

“They said some part needed to be replaced. I don’t remember what they called it. They closed not long after my car got towed in.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder and fluffed it up with her fingers. “Whatever it was they have, but since they were closing, they didn’t have time to work on it until tomorrow.”

The way he saw it, she was lucky the guys worked Sundays. Most garages didn’t. “Did you call a hotel already? If not, there are a few in Salem.” He closed his door and started the car up.

The streetlights provided some illumination—not a lot, but enough to see her face. “I thought maybe I could stay with you and Grace.” The beginnings of a smile tipped the corners of her mouth upward. “It’ll give me a chance to spend more time with her. Then late tomorrow, you can give me a ride back to the garage.”

He did have a spare room he could throw the air mattress in, and he understood her desire to visit with Grace longer. Plus, it would save him the drive into Salem tonight.

“It’ll be like before, with the three of us together.” Her fingers touched his arm and slid down to his hand.

With a jerk, he put his free hand on the steering wheel. “You can stay, but you’ll have to take the air mattress or the couch.”