One More Day (13 page)

“You live here?" Alana asked suspiciously. “Who are you, one of his little cousins?”

Ridley would have laughed in any other circumstance. She was used to the criticism. When people found out who her sister was, their first question was usually
why don’t you look like that
? She was immune to rudeness at this point and she certainly wasn’t going to take offense when the criticism came from a woman who looked like she had bird feathers or something equally ridiculous stuck to her eyelashes.

“Yes, I live here.”

 
The ironic thing was she didn’t even have to lie. She currently
was
living there, and unless her sister changed her mind about letting her stay in her house alone, she’d be there until Raina came back.
 

Jackson’s hand tightened around her waist before he turned to look at her, his gratitude clear by the way the stress lines around his eyes relaxed a little. In that moment, Ridley experienced a fierce surge of protectiveness.
 

Cat fights weren’t her style and she’d never been the type to engage in verbal spats over a man. If a man wanted to be with her, then he needed to tell other women that he was taken.
 

Period.
 

But in this case, not only was Jackson not her boyfriend but she could clearly read the S.O.S. signals the poor man was sending out. This girl looked like the type who wouldn’t take no for an answer, and as his friend, she was more than happy to help him get this she-cat-in-heat off his back.

“Like I said, I’m going upstairs to rest. Are you coming?” she asked.

Jackson nodded slowly, as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. Alana watched them with slitted eyes, her mouth falling open slightly as Ridley threaded her fingers through Jackson’s. Just as they were walking off, Ridley turned back.
 

“And if Jackson and I are cousins, then I'm pretty sure we're both going to hell.”

*
 
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DID SHE REALLY just say that?

Jackson was fully aware that he was playing with fire. He couldn’t articulate what had made him do it. It was one thing to tell Alana he was dating someone else, but to draft Ridley into playing the part without permission was just asking to get slapped. He was lucky she’d gone along with it at all.
 

He certainly hadn’t expected to hear her stick up for him in that honey-sweet voice of hers. Not only had she gotten him away from Alana, but she’d slyly insinuated they were sneaking off to have sex. Or at least that was how he’d interpreted it. He wasn’t sure if she’d meant it to sound that way or if his dick had taken over his hearing.

Either way, he wasn’t going to resist if she wanted to drag him upstairs. Even if it really was just to sleep.

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that. She just pissed me off. One of your
cousins
. Really? Who hugs their cousin like that?” Ridley shook her head. “I won’t ask why you were attracted to her. She’s very pretty. Other than the crazy things stuck to her eyelashes and the pound of makeup she’s wearing.”
 

“No comment. But I’m willing to admit that most of my relationships are pretty shallow. My friends pushed me hard to get back into the dating scene after…”

“After your wife died. It’s okay, Matt told me. I’m really sorry.” She squeezed his hand as she said it.
 

His wife was usually a subject he didn’t discuss with anyone. Part of him was angry that Matt had told her, but the other part was glad. Jackson couldn’t figure out why, but for some reason he didn’t mind talking about it with Ridley. She seemed like she really was sorry for his pain and not just saying it to score points like most of the women who eventually found out.

“Thanks. It was a hard time and after a while I started dating just to shut everyone else up. I’m sure you can imagine the kind of women they were setting me up with.”

“Hey, I’m not judging. My own sister apparently thinks I’m a prude and need to sleep with a ‘real man’ like you.”

Jackson choked, letting go of her hand to thump himself on the chest. “What?”

“I know. Crazy, right?” Ridley continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was now completely aroused.
 

He put his hands in his pockets and tried to hitch his pants higher to cover his erection. “She actually said that?”

“Pretty much. She knows you’re exactly my type so she thinks I should use this time to seduce you. Of course, I told her I’d get right on that.” She laughed and covered her face with her hands. “Wow, that’s even more embarrassing than the first time I said it!”

“Jesus, Ridley.” Jackson held a hand to his heart, which was now pounding so hard he worried it might jump out of his chest and land on the grass. “If I actually thought you meant that, you wouldn’t be safe anywhere.”

“Jackson…” she pleaded. “Don’t make fun of me.” She peeked at him from between her fingers.

“I’m not making fun of you, trust me.” He stepped closer and pulled her hands down, holding them firmly in his. She watched with wide eyes as he dipped his head, her lips parting as he moved in.
 

There were a million reasons this was a bad idea. In fact, he’d listed them mentally just last night. However, he suddenly couldn’t come up with even one reason he shouldn’t kiss her. As he zeroed in on her mouth, all he could see was that her bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top. He was going to
bite
that plump lip.

Just then Matt walked up. “Hey. Look who just arrived.”
 

It took Jackson a few moments before he could tear his eyes away from Ridley’s. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a soft sigh, her breath wafting across his cheek. There were so many thoughts running through his head, all of them screaming at him to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder and take her in the house. Then they could “get right on it” as she’d jokingly put it.
 

Only he wouldn’t be playing around.
 

“Jackson? Uh, should I give you two a minute?” He met Matt’s amused eyes and then followed his finger to where he pointed across the grass. What he saw cooled him down instantly. He took a deep breath and stepped back from Ridley.
 

“We’ll
definitely
pick up this conversation later.” Then he turned to the older couple walking in their direction.
 

“Mom! Dad! Over here.” He waved his arm to attract their attention.

Alana, who’d been hovering off to the side watching them, huffed out a breath and scurried in the opposite direction, her short dress riding up as she trotted away.

“Well, what got her so excited? Not that I’m not happy she’s finally gone.” Ridley said.
 

He reflexively pulled her against his side again. Not that he wanted to fool his parents. His mother had eyes like a hawk and fooling her was something he hadn’t attempted since he was a teenager. No, he realized he wanted Ridley to meet his parents just because he liked her.
 

“She never got along with my mother. She’s probably afraid to face her. My mom is a bit intimidating sometimes.”

Before she could answer, his parents approached. His father immediately pulled him into a hearty hug. “There’s my boy!”

Jackson laughed and hugged him back, his father’s joy contagious. Mark Alexander had a way of making every gathering a party and treated everyone he met like family.
 

Between volunteer work mentoring at their church and taking on more summer workers than he needed, just so the local boys could have productive work, he was always helping others in some way. When Jackson was younger, it was hard for him to understand why his father gave so much of his time and energy to others. In some cases, he’d felt like people took advantage of his father’s welcoming nature.

Now that he was older, and hopefully wiser, he saw his father’s actions for what they truly were.
 

Kindness.

He hugged his mother and gently kissed her cheek, then stood still so she could fuss over him as she liked to do. After several exclamations over how thin he was and how he needed to take better care of himself, he was finally able to get a word in edgewise.

“Mom and Dad, I’d like you to meet Ridley Wells. Ridley is my neighbor and lives on the next street over. Ridley, these are my parents, Mark and Julia Alexander.”

Ridley glanced up at him and smiled softly, looking relieved when he didn’t mention anything about the accident. He hated that she still seemed ashamed about it. His parents wouldn’t fault her for her circumstances. If anything, his mother would probably bundle her up and coo over her just like she did her own children.

“Hello, Ridley. I’m so glad you decided to join us today.” His mother hugged her briefly and she shook hands with his father.
 

“Jackson was really nice to invite me. I just wish I’d had time to prepare something.”

His mother’s eyes lit up. “That’s all right, honey. Do you like potato salad? Mine is on the end of the buffet in the red and white bowl.”

“I’ll be sure to try it. My potato salad was never anything special but I make really good seafood salad. It’s one of my sister’s favorites.”

Jackson was amazed. The one time he’d introduced Alana to his parents, they’d spent the entire evening making awkward conversation. Ridley, however, seemed to have no problem chatting with them. When he tuned back into the conversation, his father was trying to convince her to make him a shrimp salad.

“Dad! She’s not here to work. You’re going to scare her away.”
 

His father winked at him and nodded in Ridley’s direction. Jackson shook his head slowly, hoping his father understood that they were just friends. The idea of being just friends with a beautiful woman was foreign to his dad, well, to pretty much every guy he knew. But after the way they’d connected last night, they definitely weren’t strangers, yet they weren’t going to be lovers, either. He owed her better than that.

“Oh, honey. What happened to you?”
 

When Ridley went rigid at his side, he knew his mother had caught sight of the bruises she’d tried to cover with her long sleeved shirt.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was in an a-accident,” she stammered.

“That looks really bad, honey!” Julia held Ridley’s wrist and pulled her sleeve back up to examine the marks on her wrist.
 

“Mom, don’t—” He shook his head at her.
 

Julia’s eyes went wide and then she looked back at Ridley, who pulled the sleeves of her shirt all the way down. Then she gave him a short nod, as if to say, “We’ll talk about this later.” Jackson had no doubt his mother would want the whole story as soon as she could get him alone.

“Well, I hope we’ll be seeing more of you. Such a pretty girl!” She pulled Ridley into a tight hug, rocking her back and forth. When she finally released her, she smoothed a gentle hand over her hair.

Ridley blushed. “Thank you.”

“Well, excuse us kids but it’s time for me to say hello to the rest of the family.” Julia turned to Jackson. “Oh, and I found a nanny for you, Jackson. Remember, Miss Bessie from church?”

“Miss Bessie? She used to babysit
me
. And I’m pretty sure she was really old even then.”

His mother narrowed her eyes.
 

“Not that it matters,” he added quickly. “Thank you for the recommendation, Mom.”

“Of course. I want my babies to be well taken care of. Speaking of which, I got new bunk beds for the boys. Why don’t you drop them off on Sunday so they can spend a few days with me? I’m due for some grandma time with my little rascals.” She glanced at Ridley with a sly smile. “You can bring Ridley with you. We’d love to see you for Sunday dinner.”

Jackson smiled knowingly. “Right. Thanks, mom. I’ll take you up on that.” He bent over so his mother could kiss his cheek again before his parents crossed to the table where Elliott stood, bobbing his head to the music.
 

“Your mom is something else. Was I imagining that or is she matchmaking?” Ridley asked.

“It means she liked you. She’s probably hoping I use the kid-free time to wine and dine you.” He winked at her.
 

When Elliott saw their mother, he immediately cut the music and handed her a microphone.

“When she said she needed to say hi to the rest of the family I didn’t think she meant a speech.” Ridley turned to him with wide eyes.

“Welcome to life with the Alexanders.”

“HELLO, FAMILY! THANK you for coming to the annual Alexander Memorial Day barbecue!”

Ridley felt like she was in a sitcom as she watched Mrs. Alexander tap her microphone a few times before beaming her bright smile at the guests assembled.
 

Her blood pressure was still high from almost kissing Jackson. As embarrassing as it had been, she was glad Matt had come to warn them. They’d been right outside where anyone could see them. What if his
parents
had walked up while they were tonguing each other down?
 

“We used to meet at the family home, the Alexander-Bennett Co-op, affectionately known around our parts as the ‘ABC Farm’. A few years ago I asked Jackson to start hosting, mainly so he couldn’t avoid us.”

There was a resounding cheer from the crowd before Elliott held up a hand to quiet them. Ridley glanced around. It was an eclectic group of people, some older, some younger and every shade of skin possible.
 

“I see a few new faces this year which really warms my heart. Our party always includes family
and
friends because in the Alexander family, if we love you, then you’re one of us. My sons have friends that have been hanging around since college and just because I didn’t birth you doesn’t mean you aren’t mine.” She waved to Trent, Matt and Mara who were standing near the front.