Jason's Princess: A King Brothers Story (10 page)

And she certainly wasn’t going to worry about the four “wrong numbers” she’d received tonight.

No, she was going to relax on her couch with a strong man until she couldn’t stay awake any longer and tomorrow things would be a whole lot clearer.

Slowly, her eyes sank closed as her head rested on Jason’s strong shoulders once more.

CHAPTER 9

ERRANDS

It was even worse than he imagined. Jason’s back was killing him from the lumpy padding the futon company called a “mattress”. He had received two more hang up calls in the middle of the night that were forwarded from his house. He’d unplugged Julie’s landline after he had carried her to bed, not wanting to take a chance of the phone waking her, or Charlie, in the middle of the night.

After a fast shower that didn’t help his sore muscles much, he got the coffee going and started frying potatoes. She had plenty of eggs and there was some bacon in the door. He’d fix a skillet scramble for breakfast and then take her shopping. He sighed as he mixed the eggs. With any luck the shopping wouldn’t take too long so they could hit the shooting range.

He spent most of the night thinking about how to keep her safe until this was resolved. She was right, he didn’t have the right to keep her from her work. If he kicked her off of his site, he wouldn’t be able to keep a close eye on her because the stubborn woman would just move her truck somewhere else.

He’d already hired the extra security that was due to show up on Monday. In retrospect, having her on his site was better than not knowing where she was parking her truck or how far away he would be from her. Keeping her parked next to his office trailer meant she would be easy to get to if she needed him. He could see every person who came to her window. Hell, he could even remount some of the security cameras to keep Cafe Armstrong in view, as well as the people coming and going on the site. Why didn’t he think of that before? He gazed into his empty mug.

Coffee should be considered a superfood
.

Charlie was first out of bed. Shuffling into the kitchen, scratching his belly, he stopped short. In stunned disbelief he said, “You’re not my sister.”

“No shit, kid. Are you hungry? Food’s in the skillet and there’s coffee ready in the pot.”

Charlie stood there staring at Jason for a minute before he moved to the cupboard. He grabbed a mug and poured some coffee. He doctored it with some milk and sugar. He blew on it and took a sip, casually eyeing Jason.

Here it comes
.

“How was the futon?” Charlie smirked, as he proceeded to fill his plate with the scramble.

Jason punched him in the shoulder and they both started laughing. He grabbed his plate and sat down next to Charlie.

After an hour or so Julie hadn’t appeared and Jason began to worry.

“Your sister should be up by now, right?”

“I’ll check on her.” Charlie padded barefoot down the hall into Julie’s room. Jason could hear muffled voices before Charlie came back. “She’s getting into the shower now. She doesn’t need any help. She promised not to get her head wet in the spray.”

“Did you remind her not to?”

“Yeah.” He pointed to his forehead. “Mine don’t come out ’til Thursday.”

“How are you washing your scalp?”

“I duct taped a piece of plastic wrap over the wound. Then when I get out of the shower I use a wash cloth where the duct tape was.” Charlie made hand motions over his forehead to show where he meant.

Jason was trying not to choke on his laughter when he asked, “Did you loan Julie any duct tape and plastic wrap?”

Charlie looked puzzled over his question, but said, “No, because if she got the duct tape in her hair we would probably have to cut it out. I couldn’t stand doing that to her.”

“Yeah, I’d probably be pretty pissed at you too if we had to cut off all that beautiful hair. So what is she using to keep the water off of her wound?”

“I guess she’s using a shower cap.”

Jason shook his head. Of course that’s what she’s using. He got another cup of coffee; the caffeine was obviously wearing off and his brain was slowly disengaging again.

As he put the carafe back on the burner, he heard Julie’s door opening. She sashayed down the hall in her soft, blue bathrobe. Her hair was indeed dry but it was pulled back into a ponytail.

“Morni…” She stopped dead at the sight of Jason in her kitchen. After a slight pause she cleared her throat and said clearly, “Good morning, you two. Have you eaten or are you waiting for me to make you breakfast?”

Jason studied her for a minute before he replied, “No, we’ve already eaten. How about you, though? Can I fix you a plate?” He gestured toward the breakfast he still had warming on the stove. She followed his glance and he swore he heard her stomach growl.

“Oh.” She turned those pretty brown eyes on him in surprise. “You cooked?”

“Well, duh. I live alone, Jujyfruit. I cook all the time or else I would starve.”

She laughed at that and grabbed a plate. Surprised that she didn’t bother with coffee, which was always his first plan of action in the morning, she loaded up on the meal. She pulled one of the tall chairs from the table. She was about to sit when she stopped midway and walked back over to the coffee pot. He grinned at her antics. When she filled her mug he thought she would go back to her plate but she immediately grabbed a small bottle of pills and a glass of water.

“Are you in a lot of pain?” he frowned.

“No, actually I’m not taking the pain killer. I think I can get away with just some Tylenol today. I don’t want to spend the day trying to stay awake. I have a lot of stuff I need to get done.” She stopped to take a deep breath. Then she calmly looked at him with round eyes and asked, “I don’t want to be impaired if we decided to go to the range today. If…if you still want to show me?” She looked unsure but hopeful.

He smiled and told her, “That was my plan too. I thought I’d take you wherever you need to go this morning and then we can hit the range for an hour or so, later this afternoon. I don’t want you to over do it. We’ll see how you feel after the shopping.”

She sat at her plate with a big smile on her face. “Thank you, Jason. That would be great. Charlie, do you want to go with us?”

“As much as I want to see you with a gun in your hand, I have to meet with my study group to finish that project.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Mark is picking me up around noon. We thought we’d grab something to eat and then head over the Ryan’s house to work on it.”

“Sounds like a plan then.” Jason walked back into the spare bedroom to grab his cell phone.

“Do you have any small caliber firearms at your house?” Jason asked, as soon as Josh picked up.

“Smallest I have is the .44 revolver. Why?”

“I’m taking Julie to the range today and I didn’t want to break her arm off. I’ll call mom and see if I can borrow her .9mm. What are your plans today?”

“I’m hooking up with a lucky lady sometime this afternoon. When do you need me to relieve you from your baby sitting duty?” Josh chuckled and Jason didn’t appreciate it.

“First off, I’m not babysitting, and second, Charlie is going to be with his friends starting at noon. He won’t be alone but Jarod wanted him watched. What do you think we should do?”

“Call Jarod. If he wants me to tail the kid while he’s with his friends I will, but I honestly think he will be ok, as long as he’s not alone.”

Jason agreed with that because nothing, so far, had been directed at Charlie. All the incidents had been focused on Julie, except for the phone calls.

“I’ll be staying here at night, so you don’t have to worry about that part. I’ll see you tomorrow at work. I need to talk to you about where I want her truck and what I want to do with the security cameras around the office trailer,” Jason said, before they said their goodbyes and disconnected the call.

When he returned to the living room, Julie was sitting on the couch with Charlie, fully dressed. She looked like she was ready to leave. She stood up when she saw him and grabbed her purse. “Ready to go?”

“Uh… Yeah, sure.” He patted his various pockets in his cargo pants then grabbed his sun glasses off the coffee table. “Let’s go.”

When they reached his truck, she hopped into the passenger seat and closed the door. He laughed, glad that she had a plan. He hurried to the driver seat, started up the truck and backed out. “Where to first?”

She proceeded to show him the two wholesale grocery outlets they had in their small town. He grabbed the industrial sized carts and pushed away while she filled it with whatever she needed for the next week.

They talked amicably all morning. By one o’clock in the afternoon he was getting hungry and his truck was pretty full. She looked like she was running out of steam, as well. He pulled into a drive-thru and ordered for the both of them. She didn’t complain that he had taken charge, which he was thankful for. He handed her the drink cups and bags and headed for her house.

“How did you know what I would want?” She looked at him out of the side of her eyes.

“I didn’t. I just ordered two of what I like. It’s the main sandwich at that restaurant. Why? Do you want me to go back?”

She grinned and shook her head. “No, it’s what I normally get too, so no worries. Thank you for driving me around today, Jason. And thank you for lunch. I really appreciate everything you are doing for me.” She briefly put her hand on his thigh before returning it to the bags in her lap. He felt the touch all over. He cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat to get comfortable.

“You are most welcome. I’m glad I can help.” He glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road. She was looking down with a small smile on her angelic face. God, he loved her.

CHAPTER 10

ANNIE OAKLEY

Getting smashed in the head must burn a lot of calories
, Julie thought, as she shoved her burger and fries down her throat. She tried to wipe her face as daintily as she could after she made such a huge pig out of herself.

How embarrassing
.

“What’s the matter, Jujyfruit? Think I haven’t seen a hungry woman eat before?” the big jerk laughed. She glared at him as she put her wrappers in the garbage, then she started unloading the items that needed to be refrigerated.

“Point me in the right direction to help you get ready for the week.” he said seriously.

They were back at her house, having already brought the groceries in from the truck before they dug into their nutritious fast food. She really did appreciate what he was doing for her. She gave him direction on where to put things. Some stuff, would go in the garage on either the storage shelves or the spare refrigerator-freezer that she bought secondhand.

She’d converted the small single-car garage into her Cafe Armstrong food pantry some years ago. Charlie had helped her put up the shelving and Josh had helped with the electrical by putting in outlets for the fridge. He even added storage space in the rafters with a pull down ladder that would slide down when she needed to get up there. It tucked away again when she was done.

Josh had enlisted his brother’s help in the conversion. Jason had walled off the room with insulation in front of the garage door. They left the door on the outside so from the street it looked like a normal garage. It was a good way to secure her inventory. They had sealed and painted the original cement floor to keep bacteria down while also allowing for easy cleanup should there be any spills or messes.

“If it’s ok with you I’d like to go to the range now.” They were done putting everything in its proper place and she was starting to get anxious about the guns. Not knowing anything about firearms, she found the whole subject intimidating and scary. She wanted to be able to protect herself in the future because those men had made her feel small and powerless, and she never wanted to feel like that again.

“Of course. I’m ready when you are, Jujyfruit,” he said, as he put his hand out for her. With a smile, she took his hand and let him lead her to his truck.

On the way there, he gave her pointers and talked about what she could expect when she was at the range. The closer they got the more nervous she became. At this rate, she was going to embarrass herself by not being able to hold the gun steady.

Just breathe. JUST BREATHE
.

He pulled into a gravel lot and got out. After opening her door, he grabbed a canvas bag out of the back and put the strap over his shoulder. He held out his hand for her. She didn’t hesitate to take it, and he walked her to the front door.

“We’ll check in first and get you some eye and ear protection. At this range, we can fire the guns that I’ve brought with me,” he said, patting the bag he was carrying. “Or you can rent weapons to see which ones you are more comfortable firing. There’s a selection on the wall behind the counter when we get inside. Is there anything in particular you would like to shoot?”

“I … I’m not sure but I was thinking a small pistol and a shot gun. What do you think?”

She looked up at him and got lost in his eyes… again. She had to look away. He was too good looking for his own good. This new Jason, who treats her like a mature woman and not a child, was really getting to her.

“I think we should stick to the pistol for now and move to the shotgun later if you don’t get too tired. Deal?”

She smiled. “Deal.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and get out your I.D. while I fill out the proper forms, ok?” She nodded her head, pulling out her wallet while he held the door open for her.

The lobby was not what she expected. It was a lot like a jewelry store with glass cases and items along the back wall. The difference between this place and a jewelry store was instead of having sparkly gems on display, they had sparkly guns on display. Lots of them in all sizes, shapes and colors. She was amazed. There was even a woman behind the counter along with two other employees. And instead of soft, classical music being piped in from an expensive sound system, there was a muffled
BOOM BOOM BOOM
coming from the indoor range.

Jason propped himself up at the counter and started the process of filling out the forms, whatever they were for; she figured liability maybe? She didn’t really know what to do with herself, so she stood close to him while he wrote.