Stronger With Her (20 page)

“I think Joe has a thing for Simone,” I say, wiggling my eyebrows.

“You’re very perceptive. He does, but I hope he doesn’t do anything to fuck up our company. She pretty much runs the place so he better not fuck that up for me,” he laughs.

“She seems like a great person. It must be kind of tough working with your siblings though. Do you ever fight?”

“We fight all the time,” he laughs out loud. “We’re very opinionated and nobody likes to back down. Most of the time our mom ends up finishing it for us. We have lunch with her every Sunday. It’s a mandatory meal and if anyone misses a week she makes us pay. She’s small but mighty, and we all know not to cross her,” he shivers.

“Sounds like she’s had to be tough to keep you boys in line,” I smile. What a great way to grow up, with love and laughter. I try to push those thoughts away.

“She was great. What about you? I have no idea about your family,” he says as he takes a bite of eggs and groans. “Damn, these are good.”

“I’m glad you like them. I’ve been cooking for years, it makes me happy when people like my food,” I say, trying to avoid the subject of my family.

“Well, your eggs are amazing. Almost better than my mom’s, but if you ever tell her I said that I’ll deny it.” He smiles and takes another bite.

“Your secret is safe with me,” I say and wink at him. Does he plan to introduce me to his mother someday? Do I want that?

“Okay, so, your family?” he asks and I try not to roll my eyes. I don’t want to tell him too much and scare him away.

“My parents are still married and live about an hour from here. They’re selling my childhood home and moving to something smaller soon.” I stop to take a drink and gather my thoughts.

“Who’s Erin?” James asks innocently. I feel my cheeks flush and I have to fight the tears that appear out of nowhere. I swallow a couple times before answering.

“She was my sister,” I whisper, looking down at my plate. I jump when I feel James’ hand on my arm.

“I’m sorry, did I upset you? I just wondered who you named your company after,” he says looking into my eyes.

“It’s okay. Erin was my older sister. She killed herself when I was eighteen.” A few tears fall over onto my cheeks. James brushes them away with his thumb.

“That’s horrible, Stephanie. I’m so sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine what you went through,” he says quietly. I shrug and wipe my face.

“It was a long time ago. I don’t know why it still bothers me so much.”

“I would still be upset if anything happened to one of my brothers, no matter how much they piss me off. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, if you don’t mind. I’m not in the mood to relive that night.” I try to smile at him and he nods.

“All right, we’ll let’s do something fun. Do you like miniature golf?”

“I’ve never played,” I admit with a grin.

“Well, it’s settled then. Let’s get dressed and we’ll stop by my place so I can change and we’ll go. It’ll be fun.” He stands and pulls me to my bedroom to get ready.

Fifteen minutes later we’re in James’ truck heading to his house. The radio is on, the windows down, and we’re sitting close to each other, not saying a word. It’s comfortable and I think I could get used to it.

We pull into the driveway of a two-story house in an older neighborhood. The lawn is neat with very little landscaping. It’s not really what I expected James’ house to look like.

He gets out of the truck and comes around to open my door. After helping me down, he holds my hand and leads me into the house.

“I forgot to mention that I live with my mom,” he says as we cross the threshold. I attempt to back up and return to the truck, but he holds my hand tighter. He stops and turns to face me.

“She’s going to love you, I promise,” he says as he kisses my forehead. I try to keep the panic at bay, hoping that he’s right. James leads me into the kitchen and there is an older woman who is actually a little shorter than me standing at the sink.

“Ma, I’m home for a few minutes to change. I’d like you to meet Stephanie Edwards,” he says standing next to me still holding my hand. James’ mother turns and looks at me with the kindest smile on her face.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Stephanie. Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee while you wait?”

“That sounds great, Mrs. Owens,” I reply smiling back. I’ve never met a man’s parents before, but this isn’t as horrible as those television shows make it out to be.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” James whispers in my ear as he pulls out a chair at the table for me. I look up at him and grin as I sit down. His mother brings two cups of coffee over and sits down with me.

“Tell me a little about yourself, my dear,” Mrs. Owens says as she passes the cream and sugar.

“I’m a computer security specialist. I just finished upgrading the system at Owens Ammunition,” I say focusing on my coffee.

“So is that how you and James met?”

I don’t have any idea what he has told her about me if anything, so I simply nod as an answer.

“He seems rather smitten with you,” she says as she winks.

“Oh, well, I think he’s pretty special too,” I say quietly.

“You’re good for him. He’s happier than I’ve seen him in a long time,” she confesses.

“We haven’t really known each other that long, but he seems like a really good guy.”

“My James has been through hell and back. He’s been lost for a long time, but I’m starting to see the man he was meant to be. I think that’s because of you.”

I’ve had a feeling that there was more to James than he’d told me, but I don’t want to push his mom for details yet. I think a subject change is the best choice at this point.

“He told me that you raised five boys,” I smile at her. “That had to be interesting.”

“Oh, my, it was something. I’m so proud of all my boys, but they were a challenge when they were teenagers. I had to go to the grocery store every day because they ate so much,” she laughs.

A door opens and a voice calls out, “Hey, Ma, is Runt here?” It’s familiar, but I can’t place it.

“He’s upstairs, Jacob,” Mrs. Owens says to the man standing behind me.

“Well, well, who do we have here?” he asks as he walks around to stand in front of me. I freeze in my seat when I see Jake from my old job. He grins down at me and I shiver. “Stephanie Edwards in my mother’s kitchen. This is an unexpected treat.”

“You know your brother’s date, Jacob?” Mrs. Edwards asks innocently.

“Oh, yes, Ma. She used to work in my building. I’ve known her for a long time, but I didn’t know she was seeing Runt.” He turns and looks me up and down giving me the creeps. “How’ve you been?”

“I’m fine, Jake,” I say sitting up a little straighter. I won’t let him try to intimidate me anymore.

“So, you’re fucking my little brother but you wouldn’t give me the time of day, huh?”

“Jacob, you watch your language in my house,” Mrs. Owens scolds. I feel my cheeks heat as I look down at my hands and try to figure out how to escape.

“You do know about Danielle, right? Did he mention he also has a kid?” he asks raising an eyebrow at me.
Who’s Danielle? He has a child that he’s never mentioned?

“Son, are you going to stay for lunch? I can make us something to eat,” Mrs. Owens asks. I hear her chair scrape the floor, but I can’t look up or move. I’m still trying to figure out why James hasn’t mentioned another woman or child.

“I can’t stay, Ma. Just tell Runt I’ll call him later. Stephanie, it was great to see you again,” he says trailing his hand across my back as he leaves the room. I don’t bother saying anything in return, mostly because I’m trying to hold in the tears that are threatening.

I
hear the door close as I come down the stairs, but I can’t tell who was here. When I enter the kitchen, I know something’s wrong.

“Who was that, Ma?”

“Jacob stopped by. He said he’ll talk to you later, dear,” she says with a regretful smile. Stephanie still hasn’t moved. She’s staring into her cup not saying anything.

“Okay, well, I guess we’re going to get out of here. Are you ready to go, Steph?” I ask hesitantly. She blinks and nods silently.
What is going on here?
I walk around to kiss my mother on the cheek and she pats my hand. Looking into her eyes I see sympathy but I have no clue why.

I put my hand on Stephanie’s shoulder and she jumps away like I’ve burned her. She gets up from the table, still not looking at me.

“Thanks for the coffee, Mrs. Owens,” she says. “It was really nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure is all mine, sweet girl. I hope you come back to visit again soon,” Ma says in a way that implies that might not happen.

Stephanie turns toward the front door without acknowledging me. I look at my mother for a clue as to what has happened.

“Did you know that your brother and Stephanie used to work in the same building?” she asks.

“I guess I never put it together,” I reply. “Why?”

She just gives me a sad smile and turns away carrying the coffee cups to the sink.
What the fuck did that little shit do now?

I hurry to catch up to Stephanie, who’s standing on the front porch. “Are you okay?”

“I want to go home. Take me home right now,” she says without looking at me.

“Please tell me what’s wrong. What did he say to you?” I know this has something to do with Jacob. He’s such a shithead sometimes, but I have no idea what he’s done to upset her this much.

“I just want to go home, James. Right now,” she says as she marches toward my truck. I sigh and follow her, not wanting to piss her off anymore. She doesn’t wait for me to open her door and is snapping her seatbelt in place on when I climb in.

“Please talk to me. Tell me what happened so I can fix it.”

“There’s nothing to fix. You had your fun, now it’s over. I want to go home so if you’re not going to take me then I’ll get a cab or call a friend to come get me.”

I stare at her not knowing how to handle the sharp change in the situation. All I did was change my clothes and suddenly she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I’m going to kill Jacob.

“Okay, fine. I’ll take you home. But this is not over, not by a long shot,” I say as I start the truck.

We make the trip back to her place in silence. I try to get her to talk to me a couple times, but she just stares out the window. She has her door open before I can put the truck in park and I have to jog after her to catch up. I grab her wrist before she can get through her front door.

“Please, Stephanie, I’m begging you to tell me what’s happened.”

She twists her arm away from me.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Who’s Danielle?” she asks with fire in her eyes.

I feel like I’ve been kicked in the nuts. How does she know about her? I stumble away from her a little, trying to gather my thoughts and find a way to answer her without losing my shit.

“Who is she, James? If you don’t answer me in five seconds, I’m going to believe all the voices in my head telling me to run. So, I’m going to ask you one more time. Who is Danielle and where is your kid?” She stands with one hand on her hip and the other on the doorknob.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. As I open my mouth, I hear the sound of the door opening.

“That’s what I thought. I don’t do cheaters, James. I’m out,” She says as she slams the door in my face.

I stand there staring at the piece of wood that’s separating me from the first woman to make me feel something since I lost Danielle and Madison. I refuse to accept that things are over between Stephanie and me.

“Open this door, Steph. Let me in so we can talk this through,” I say banging on the door. There’s no response from her. I keep knocking and calling for her until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn and see a security guard standing there.

“Sir, I’ve been asked by Ms. Edwards to escort you away from her residence. Would you please come with me?”

She’s kicking me out? I look back at her door and then at the security guard. He’s smaller than I am, but I don’t really feel like going to jail today. I nod and walk away from him, getting in my truck and driving out of the complex, determined to find out what the fuck happened.