Junkyard Dog (8 page)

H
ayes texts me to say he won’t be back in the office
for the rest of the day. While I’m happy to know he has a friend to play with,
I wish he’d return so I might know what the kiss meant.

The afternoon wears on, and I keep myself busy by
going through the remaining boxes. Each slip of paper is a reminder of Hayes. I
smell his cologne at times. Smell his cigars too. His presence remains in the
office, making me miss him even more.

By the time I pick up the kids, I’m relieved to
have their company.

“Crappy day?” I ask when they slide into the SUV.

“My teacher is an idiot,” Cricket announces, having
kept her mouth shut all day. “She only pays attention to two brats and ignores
the rest of us.”

“That’s probably why they act like brats,” I say,
heading home on the quiet, tree-lined streets. “How about you, Chipper?”

“Some boys said I can’t be in their group because I
don’t have a dad. I told them I didn’t want to be in their group because
they’re lame. I said they should ask their dads how to be cooler.”

Laughing, I relish how much the kids mimic me rather
than Toby. No doubt their father would obsess over getting into the one group
who wouldn’t have him.

“Did that go over well?” I ask.

“They didn’t get it.”

“Well they’re idiots, and there’s no fixing that.”

“My teacher says I can be the line leader next
week,” Chipper announces.

Pulling her dark hair out of the ponytail, Cricket
frowns. “I want to be line leader.”

“Life never promised you a rose garden,” Chipper
says, using my line. “I got the better teacher. You got…”

Cricket growls at him, and they frown at each other.

“Want to make pizza tonight?” I ask, hoping to
improve their moods.

The twins stop glaring at one another and look at
me. I see their heads nodding in the rearview and suspect my ploy worked.

“How much homework are we looking at?”

“A lot, but they’re the same.”

Sighing, I think the one part of parenthood I will
always loathe is homework. Ideally, we could go home and chill for the night.
Instead, they get a second dose of school.

I think about Hayes suggesting homeschool. I don’t
know if I could swing that setup. By the second page of homework, I’ve changed
my mind. I could use the meeting room for their school. They could stay with me
during the day while I worked. We could go on field trips to Nashville to see
the zoo and museum. Yes, it would be so much fun, and I could get out of doing
homework at the end of the day.

I don’t mention my daydreaming to the kids. The
likelihood of me pulling them from school and becoming their teacher feels
farfetched. Hayes wouldn’t want them around all of the time. He expects me to
run errands with him and check out work sites. The kids are too young to be
alone. No, it wouldn’t work.

“Did you make any friends today?” I ask them once
the homework is done and the pizza eaten.

Cricket gives me a pissy side glance. “At lunch, a
girl asked to be my best friend. I said maybe, and she stole my fruit cup. I
don’t need friends like that.”

Chipper sets up the PlayStation and hands his
sister a controller.

“I told you about those boys. They said I could be
their friend and then changed their minds.”

“Aren’t there any cool kids at school?”

“Yeah, but they already have friends. What do they
need us for?”

Shaking my head, I can’t believe how easily they’ve
given up. “You’re the cool new kids. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with you?”

The twins frown at me, and I can’t help smiling at
how much they look alike. Seeing my grin, they frown darker.

“Hey, when I was a kid and moved to a new school,
everyone wanted to be my friend. You two must be doing something wrong.”

The twins glance at each other and then at me
again. I only smile until they give in and smile too.

“We only see each other at recess. That’s the only
time we need friends, and I have Chipper,” Cricket says, sitting crossed legged
on the ground in front of the TV. “Tomorrow is fish sticks. Can you send
lunch?”

“Sure.”

The kids begin playing
LEGO Indiana Jones
while I stretch out on the couch and watch them.

My mind returns to Hayes. The man sure can kiss,
and I would have been perfectly happy to spend the afternoon wrapped against
him. Lust isn’t new to me, but wanting to act on the lust sure as hell is.

I touch my lips and realize I’m falling for Hayes.
I’ve never swooned for a man before. Never gotten breathless over a kiss. Never
wanted to chase what I shouldn’t have. This feeling in my gut is new and
exciting. It also scares the shit out of me.

I find myself wondering what he’s doing right then.
Does he think about me? Is he with another woman?
My gut switches from
happy swirls to jagged rage.
How can he fuck other women when he has me
nearby?
He’s been inching closer to my bed since we met.
Does he think I
want him if he’s dripping with another woman’s germs?

Angry now, I sit up and focus on the kids’ game. I
don’t need Hayes or his hot kisses or his sloppy four hundred and fifty
seconds. I enjoy my job. I adore my house. I have the best kids. My life is
fucking aces. I don’t need any fucking complications. Great, now I’m even
thinking
the word “fucking” constantly.
The man is a bad influence.

I’m still grumpy about Hayes when the kids and I
later watch
Inside Out
. I sit in the middle of the couch with a kid on
each side. Both rest their heads on my lap while I play with their hair.
They’re so relaxed, and their calm infects me. Hanging in our pjs is the best.

Life never promised me a damn rose garden, so our
happy evening is interrupted by a knock at the door. The kids sit up and stare
at the front hallway as if we’re under attack.

I walk to the front door, take the baseball bat
from the umbrella stand, and open the door a crack. I find Honey and her brood
shivering on the front step.

“Can we come in?” Honey asks when I just stare at
her.

A part of me wants to tell her no. I have a quiet
life with my kids, and Honey reeks of messy drama. She might taint me with her
bad thinking, and I’ll corrupt the twins.

I don’t shut the door on her, of course. I’m
selfish, but not to the point of acting on most of my egotistical impulses.

Honey herds her shivering kids into the house, and
I realize they’re all wearing pajamas under their coats. The youngest Lauren is
barefoot.

“What happened?” I ask, shutting the door and
following them into the living room.

Honey opens her mouth to answer but sees the twins
and changes her mind. My kids don’t look thrilled to have visitors and less so
about having these particular ones. Cricket doesn’t like her cousins, while
Chipper merely tolerates them. They’re accustomed to a small, mostly adult
family unit. Other children don’t interest them.

“I need somewhere to stay tonight. We can go to a
hotel, but I don’t have any money. I’ll pay you back. I promise.”

Looking at my sister, I resent her for being in
this situation. I want her to be smarter than our mother. I need her to get her
shit in order. I feel all kinds of pissy emotions, but I force myself to
remember this is my sister. Once she was the person who held my hand when we
crossed the street. She made me peanut butter sandwiches when I got home from
school, and mom was still at work. Honey took care of me, and I can, at least,
help her out tonight.

“Why don’t you stay here instead?” I suggest.

Honey knows we’re not close, and she knows it’s
mostly her fault. She married an asshole, and he separated her from everyone
who didn’t worship him. I know she hopes we can be friends now that we’re
adults, but we’re not friends yet. We’re siblings who barely spoke for years
and now have an awkward relationship built on resentment and unspoken disappointments.

“Are you sure?”

I take Lauren from Honey and carry the toddler to
the couch.

“We’re watching a movie.”

Drew and Evan drop onto the floor in front of the
TV. They don’t even remove their jackets. The boys are immediately happy, but
Allison remains near her mother. The oldest child understands more than her
siblings, and she isn’t any more thrilled to be here than Honey.

Lauren lets me take off her jacket and then she
finds a spot between the twins. She thinks they’re cool. They think she
slobbers too much. It’s a match made in heaven.

After asking Allison to join her siblings, I
gesture for Honey to follow me into the kitchen. Once we have a little privacy,
I ask what happened.

“Andrew freaked and kicked us out of the house.”

“Freaked about what?” I ask, noticing bruises
around her throat.

“I don’t know. He came home and said he saw an old
friend of mine driving around town. Then he freaked and told me to get out.”

Honey is hiding something. I often sense that about
my sister. She possesses an aloof quality that makes her always seem as if
she’s only telling half of the story.

“You can stay here until this gets worked out.”

Honey nods, but behind her detached expression, I
suspect she’s barely keeping shit together.

“Why don’t we put Allison and Drew in Chipper’s
room. Can you share a bed with Lauren and Evan?”

“What about the twins?”

“They can sleep with me. I have a king sized bed,
and they often join me during thunderstorms.”

“You don’t have to do this,” she mumbles in a weird
voice.

“No, I don’t. You and I aren’t close,” I say,
putting out the cold hard facts. “We could be one day. We’re the only ones left
in the family, and we could learn to be friends. I’d like that, Honey.”

Her indifference crumbles, and my sister bursts
into tears. I’m startled when she falls into my arms but quickly rebound with a
tight hug. Her tears only last a few minutes, but they come violently until
she’s spent.

“I’m so tired,” she whispers, wiping her eyes.
“It’s a tired deep in my bones. Like the kind mom had.”

I hear the fear in her voice. Not of her abusive
husband or a life raising four kids alone. I hear the terror of ending up like
Mom, who walked into a forest and never came back out. Yvonne Wilbert is still
considered missing, but we know the truth. Mom needed an end and didn’t want
her kids to know the ugly truth. We did, though. Anyone who knew mom knew she
didn’t go hiking that day. She went into the woods to find a peace life never
provided.

“You’re safe here,” I say after bringing her a
drink. “I will help you. If need be, I’ll ask Hayes for help too. He has houses
we can get for cheap rent. He can help you find a job. He’s smart and likes to
show off his power. He’ll help you when you’re ready.”

Honey nods, understanding I’ve accepted she isn’t
leaving Douche yet. Somehow, she can’t walk away. Not even after he threw her
out into a cold night. For so long, she’s conditioned herself to stay. Now she
doesn’t know how to leave. Despite all of Andrew’s training, I feel Honey
looking for the exit from her bullshit marriage.

D
espite sharing my bed with the twins, I sleep well.
Like me, they rarely move at night. As babies, they were so still I often
checked to make sure they were still breathing.

Waking at six, I take a shower and leave the kids
to sleep longer. I glance in at Honey curled up with three of her four kids.
Only Allison remains in Chipper’s bed. She sleeps with her arms and legs
stretched out, taking full advantage of the space.

Downstairs, I make coffee and scrambled eggs. By
the time the twins stumble downstairs dressed, I have their lunches packed, and
breakfast is waiting.

“What about them?” Cricket asks, glancing upward.

“Let them sleep.”

“Doesn’t Allison go to school?” Chipper asks.

“Oh, yeah.” Rolling my eyes, I shrug. “She has no
clothes to wear here. Let her sleep. Honey can figure things out for tomorrow.”

“How long are they staying?”

“Until Douche says they can come home.”

Cricket shakes her head. “I’m never getting
married.”

“Jinxed yourself, hug-a-baloo. Everyone knows once
you state something as a fact the universe immediately decides you must be
proven wrong.”

Cricket doesn’t believe me. I see her give Chipper
a weird look, and he nods. Their twin powers mean never having to make a snide
comment about me aloud.

I braid Cricket’s hair and fix Chipper’s floppy
bangs. Once they brush their teeth, we head to the car and leave the drama-filled
house behind.

Hayes is already in the office when I arrive, and
I’m nervous to see him. Anxious or not, I hurry inside and head straight for
his door.

“Miss me?” he asks, without looking up from his
computer.

“Yeah, actually.”

Startled by my lack of snark, Hayes frowns. “Why?”

“Didn’t you miss me?”

“Nope,” he says, standing up.

“Are you going to kiss me again?”

“Probably.”

I back away and he follows. “I haven’t had my
coffee yet.”

“Don’t care.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“I’ll be gentle,” he says in an anything but gentle
growl.

I keep backing away. “It’s a favor for Honey.”

“Unless you’re talking about a threesome, I don’t
give a shit about your sister currently.”

I stop retreating and frown at him. “That’s
disgusting.”

“You’re the one who said if I saved you and Honey
during the apocalypse I’d have two women. You were disgusting first.”

“I meant you’d boink one of us one night and the
other the next night, not that we’d have an incestuous threesome. You’re so
gross.”

Hayes crosses his arms over his wide chest. “You’re
stalling.”

“I’m afraid you’ll kiss away all my brain cells,” I
murmur, again retreating.

“Probably,” he says, returning to the chase.

“Can you talk to Douche and make him let her come
home?”

“If I talk to him, it won’t be about something that
minor.”

“Whatever. If you have to break a few of his bones
to make him agree, I’m perfectly okay with that. I just need her to be able to
return home. Her staying with me isn’t ideal.”

“Kick her out.”

Shaking my head, I dodge him and walk to the kitchenette.
“You’re full of shit. If she showed up at your house, no way would you kick her
out.”

“Wouldn’t have to because I’d never let her in the
house in the first place.”

“Cold.”

“She ain’t my sister.”

“No, she isn’t,” I say, running out of space.

Backing me against the wall, Hayes grins
triumphantly. “Where were we yesterday?”

Smiling up at him, I take his hands and place them
on my hips. “Somewhere around here.”

“That sounds about right.”

Hayes kisses me, and I turn to mush. Fuck him for
being so sexy. I hate him for possessing the power to make me swoon, yet I love
the way he makes my body react. Such powerful lust awakens my every nerve.

My fingers dig into the rough fabric of his shirt,
and I tug him closer. Hayes can’t bow to my will. He pulls me against him,
wrapping my body in his strong arms.

I don’t know how long we remain entangled together.
My mind falls away, leaving my body in charge.

Sliding under his shirt, my fingertips explore his
warm skin. Hayes tightens his grip on me, and I know he’s unsatisfied. The
kisses are delicious, but he’s hungry for more.

“Not here,” I say when he finally allows me to come
up for air.

“Fucking duh, Candy.”

“Why fucking duh, Angus?”

He runs a hand through his dark hair while my hands
tease the seams of his shirt.

“People show up here unannounced all the fucking
time.”

“Yeah, what’s that about? Aren’t you supposed to be
scary? People sure don’t respect you much.”

“Watch it,” he warns, but there’s no anger behind
his words. In fact, he sounds a bit uncertain.

Feeling brazen, I ask, “Have you ever fucked a
woman in this office?”

“Sure. I did last night.”

Glaring at him, I ask, “What if I believed you? Do
you ever consider how shit might turn out if you keep talking to me like that?”

“I think it’ll turn out how it was always going to
turn out.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Hayes shrugs and turns away to pour me a cup of
coffee. “I haven’t decided how complicated I want to make my life,” he says,
handing me the cup. “You’re a good assistant, and I’m too smart to go back to
those moron temps.”

“I am a great assistant, and I think I understand
what you’re getting at. I’ll try to be less sexy in your presence. You should
do the same,” I say, walking to my desk. “You’ll probably want to stop shaking
your ass around the office so much. I can’t handle all the temptation.”

Hayes places his hands on my desk and leans forward
until we’re eye level. “I don’t make any promises about keeping my hands to
myself.”

“I wouldn’t believe you if you did.”

Hayes studies my face. “You’re a good woman. I’m
not a good man.”

“No, you are not,” I say, holding his gaze.

“I’m not necessarily a bad guy either.”

“No, I suspect you aren’t.”

Hayes gaze tears me apart, looking for my every
secret. “This is complicated.”

“Yes.”

“If you weren’t my assistant, I’d have gotten you
in bed by now.”

“In theory, yes, you would have.”

“You wouldn’t be able to tell me no.”

“I can tell anyone no. It’s my gift.”

Hayes smirks. “Do you worry I’m your curse?”

“I do now,” I say, frowning at him. “I thought you
were a fun fantasy before. Way to ruin the damn dream.”

Hayes stands up and crosses his arms. “I think I’ll
kiss you again this afternoon.”

“I’ll schedule that in for you, boss.”

Grinning again, Hayes walks back to his office.
“I’ll visit your douche-in-law after I get a few other things done.”

“Thank you.”

“Remember these heartwarming moments when I forget
your birthday or name down the road. Oh, and I’m not giving you shit for Secretaries
Day.”

“I’ll steal some of your emergency cash from the
sugar container and buy myself something for Secretaries Day.”

I hear Hayes laugh quietly. He falls silent while
working on plans for new housing units. I’m tempted to peek in on him and see
if he needs anything. I know he doesn’t, and he’ll know I know he doesn’t. My
lust makes me want to do it anyway. In fact, I’m fairly certain my lust will
get me into loads of trouble sooner or later.