Tame This (The McCallans, Book Two) (15 page)

“You know, if you really don’t want me here, I can stay somewhere else,” Tyse told him. “Your grandpa said I could stay with him, too. I’d rather not be here if I’m not welcome.”

Jay didn’t reply and just left for his bedroom.

***

“So why don’t you want to give him a chance?” Beck asked as he shut the hood of the GTO he was working on.

“Because I don’t need more drama in my life?” Jay stated sarcastically. “Jesus Christ, I can’t even have five minutes to work on my
goddamn car anymore.”

“So what, you need to humor him every minute of the day? Put him the fuck to work.”

“Hell no is he touching anything of mine,” Jay narrowed his eyes.

“He’s been here for five days. What has he been doing?”

Jay slightly shrugged. “Hanging out at the McCallan mansion, I guess. I really don’t give a fuck what he’s been doing.”

“Well if he’s out of your way, what the hell are you complaining about?”

“The fact that I can’t let down my fucking guard.”

“What are you worried about? Is he that devious? Melanie seems to like him.”

Jay’s attention was grabbed more aggressively with that comment. “What do you mean?”

With a shrug Beck answered, “She said he’s easy to talk to, kinda mellow, and just…
nice
. I don’t know.”

“When did you talk to Mel?”

“Yesterday when she dropped off the pizza for us.”

Jay’s nerves
started buzzing a bit more. Although he’d been starving that day, he’d been more excited to see Melanie. She barely stayed five minutes, but being around her had rattled him for the rest of the day.

Especially when she
really had mentioned Tyse a couple of times.

“Well Melanie likes everyone,” Jay stated. “She better be careful though, because Tyse might get the wrong idea.”

“The
wrong
idea? Maybe she really does like him.”

By the smile Beck was trying to hide, Jay knew he was
trying to get under his skin. But Jay brushed it off and went back to work. He stayed late that night to lock up so Beck could leave early. He was just about to step outside when Jessica entered.

“He left early for the game with Kyle,” Jay told
her as he was about to flip the lights off.

She only studied him for a momen
t, like she didn’t believe him, but Jay was pretty sure Beck mentioned that Jess was going out with her friends while Beck was out with his. Jay hoped to God that’s why she was dressed the way she was. The provocative clothing wasn’t something he was used to seeing her in—even with Beck.

“Yeah, I know
where he is,” she finally answered. “I’m, uh, here to see you.”

Jay lifted an eyebrow. “Me?
What’s up?”

Jess
didn’t reply at first and casually leaned against the wall, pushing her chest out. She looked Jay over and bit her lip with a partial smile. “It’s obvious, right?” she asked in a low voice. “Come on, Jay. Don’t play games with me.”

“What games are you talking about?” he scoffed, taking a step back.
Jess pushed off the wall to close the distance again and he put his hand against her shoulder to stop her. “What the fuck is going on?”

“You’re kidding me, right?” she lightly laughed. She narrowed her eyes at him and slowly shook her head. “You’ve gotta know by now, Jay. You’re not that dense, are you?”

“Know what?” he laughed uneasily. “You’re my best friend’s girl, Jess. I don’t know what I’m being dense about.”

She grabbed his wrist and pulled it off her shoulder to be closer to him, but Jay sidestepped her advancement just as quickly.

“Stay the fuck away from me,” he warned her. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you, but I love Beck like a brother. This is not happening, Jess,” he motioned between them.

“Out of all the women that throw themselves at you, you’re really going to do this to
me
, Jay?”

Her voice was mixed with anger but also hurt. But what the hell was happening? She had never, not once, expressed any interest in him in the past.
At least not verbally. Hell, if she looked him over now and then, that was one thing. But to seriously try to maul him in Beck’s shop?

Holy fucking hell.

“Whatever it is you think, I don’t have any feelings for you,” he held his hands up. “You’re amazing for Beck, not me. I don’t do relationships, sweetheart. I know Beck is all for that with you. Just forget this ever happened and leave. Go back to him and make him happy with…whatever the hell it is you two do.”

“Yeah, ‘whatever the hell it is,’” she
repeated. “It’s called
nothing
. There’s nothing there. I don’t feel anything for him anymore. I’ve just become Beck’s comfort zone. I’m not what he needs. I’m not even what he
wants
, he just doesn’t realize it.”

“You
are
what he wants. He’s told me a million times. He’s so in love with you that—”

“I don’t feel that for him. Yes I love him because…well, he’s Beckett. He’s easy to love. But love is not what I want right now. I just want to enjoy life and have fun. You and me… We are more compatible that way. I know it, Jay. I’ll prove it to you…”

She made a move for him again, and even though she managed to put her hands against his chest, Jay easily countered her.

“If you care about
him, then you will not do this,” he said firmly. “But beyond that, Beck is my boy and I would never fucking betray him like that. Now get the fuck out. I’m not gonna say it again.”

Jay yanked the door open and stood there until she moved, which took several long seconds. Finally she brushed past him without a word
, but he could tell she was pissed like hell. He waited until her car disappeared around the corner before he flipped off the lights and locked the door behind him.

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Holy shit…”

Chapter Thirteen

There was no way that Jay could keep this secret any longer. It’d been three days since Jess had thrown herself at him in Beck’s shop, and what Jay thought would be something easy to sweep under the rug had turned out to be something he just couldn’t look past anymore.

Even now, while he and Beck were touching up the Chevelle for a potential buyer,
his buddy was going on and on about Jessica and how amazing she was. Jay didn’t even have to respond because Beck hardly gave him a chance, but after nearly an hour of listening to this shit, Jay had had enough.

“I get it, okay? She’s incredible. Can we please talk about something else now?”

Beck stopped what he was doing and glared at him. “What the fuck is your problem? Can’t stand to hear about someone else’s happy relationship because you’re too stupid to have your own?”

Jay let that one slide, just this once, and grabbed a clean rag for polishing. “Yeah, I’m tired of it, okay? It gets old.”

“Well excuse me for sharing my personal life with you, dickhead. I didn’t realize it was such a nuisance to you.”

“Well it is, so if you’re gonna talk about shit like that, do it with someone who cares.”

Beck was obviously disgusted with that last remark, and Jay couldn’t blame him. It was absolutely the wrong thing to say and there was no taking it back.

“That’s not what I meant, Beck,” he sighed.

“Sounds like you’re being pretty clear to me,” Beck laughed sarcastically. “Why don’t you just go home early if you’re so bitchy. Better yet, go hit the gym and blow off some steam.”

T
he idea had been appealing earlier that day, which is why Jay had already gone before work. But he shook his head and said, “Hey look man, I gotta be honest with you here…”

Jay did not know how to break the news, even though Beck seemed to be waiting for him to do so.

“God, there’s no way to say this without it hurting, Beck.”

“Then just say it,” Beck shrugged. “Spit it out, pal. What’s up? You’ve been acting all aloof for the past few
days.”

“It’s
Jess,” Jay said quickly, just so he didn’t change his mind.

“What about
Jess,” Beck answered evenly, crossing his arms over his chest with narrowed eyes.

Jay took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “She, uh, she stopped by here on
Wednesday.”

Beck waited for a few seconds and then shrugged. “And?”

“And…you weren’t here.”

Again there was a pause before Beck replied, “The night I went to the game with Kyle. She must’ve forgot. So’d you put her to work?” he lightly laughed, bending over to polish the chrome on the bumper.

“She hit on me, Beck,” Jay finally came out with. “Like…big time.”

Beck slowly brought himself to his full height and gave Jay a level gaze. “Watch your fucking mouth, Jay.”

“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” Jay closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but when he opened them, Beck was in his face.

“You’re full of shit!” he yelled, shoving him in the chest so hard Jay had to take a step back.

“I’m not messing with you, man. I just thought you should know. That’s why I didn’t want to hear you going on about how fucking fabulous she is, because she would have had her damn tongue down my throat if I’d let her!”

Beck’s fist went r
ight into the side of his face and caught him by surprise. “Shut your goddamn mouth, Jay! That is
bullshit
!”

Jay recovered quickly and shoved Beck away from him, but he didn’t throw a punch. “I’m not making this shit up, Beck! Why would I? She practically had me pinned up against the damn wall!”

“You probably said some kind of charming shit, and when she had to make a tolerant retort, you took it the wrong way! I can see that coming from you, Jay! God
damn
it!

“You’re out of your mind,” Jay shook his head with disbelief. “Jesus, Beck. I’m trying to do you a favor here. You told me that she’s been pulling away from you wanting space, and now she’s trying to get with other guys? Are you blind?”

Beck came at him again, but Jay was prepared for it. Pound for pound they were equal, but Jay was quicker and held more of a defensive advantage when they hit the ground. Beck was yelling, calling him names, and Jay was doing his best to avoid getting punched. Finally he just nailed Beck in the jaw, stunning him. Then he hit him again, splitting his lip open.

“Knock it off, Beck, before I knock the fucking shit out of you!” he shouted. “I don’t wanna hurt you!”

Beck shoved away from him as he stood, and pointed at Jay as he wiped the blood from his mouth. “You can’t possibly hurt me more than you already have, Jay. You stay the hell away from Jess, do you hear me? And get the
fuck
out of my garage! You’re
fired
!”

He pointed to the exit, but Jay didn’t move right away. This wasn’t how he expected Beck to react. The thought
never even occurred to him that Beck wouldn’t believe him. But after a few seconds, Jay decided it was best to just leave. He would give his buddy time, but he hoped to God that he would figure out the truth sooner than later…

***

“I can’t even believe that the bird says ‘fucker’ and the dog comes from the other room,” Tyse shook his head. “I have never seen anything like it.”

“Well, you combine a bird with a dirty mouth and a dog named Tucker,” Melanie smiled. “Weird things can happen.”

Tyse laughed with a shrug. “Yeah, I guess. But seriously, do you ever have company that is offended by it?”

Melanie thought for a moment as they climbed into her car. Camryn and Teague had invited Tyse over for lunch,
and even though Tyse had his own car, Melanie had volunteered to pick him up on her way home from the store.

“Not that I can think of,” she replied. “The first time Grandpa Neil came over, Geraldo said ‘hey there fucker.’ At first he looked really pissed, but I guess he was just confused because
he had a best friend from college that used to always say that to him, and he’d just passed away recently. To the bird he said, ‘Jeffrey, you been reincarnated into a goddamn bird?’”

Tyse laughed as Melanie
headed for Jay’s house. “He’s a funny old guy. I wasn’t sure about meeting him, to be honest.”

“He
used to be pretty gruff and unfriendly. He’s kind of shifted his mindset a little bit, from what I’ve been told. Teague and Jay said that he didn’t used to be so approachable. He was always kind of upper crust and totally into his business life.”

“And I’m sure Jay is an expert when it comes to ‘unapproachable’,”
Tyse smiled knowingly.

“I know I’ve said this
before, but just give him time. You just can’t take what he says too severely or give up too soon; you’ll never get anywhere with him if you do.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re a beautiful female. I think he gives you a little more slack than I could ever get away with.”

“You don’t seem to be afraid of him in the least bit,” Melanie pointed out as she slowed at a stoplight. “I’m not going to lecture you on how to deal with your own brother, but I know Jay pretty well and he’s not only stubborn as hell, but he’s not afraid of much. You seem to be the same way, but I’m just warning you, Jay does not back down from anything. You push him the wrong way and sparks will fly.”

“I’m fully aware of that. And to clarify something, I’m not looking for conflict with anyone. The other day in the kitchen… It caught me off guard. I thought it was pretty sweet of you to bring him dinner and he practically yelled at you to get out of his house. I understand the whole Alpha male thing, and he was totally giving
me
a blatant warning, but I didn’t like seeing
your
feelings get hurt.”

Melanie sighed as the light turned green and she pulled through the intersection. “Jay doesn’t recognize that feelings are involved,” she laughed lightly. “He reacts completely and utterly on wha
tever is in front of him. That’s how he guards the things he feels responsible for. I’m his friend, I was in his house, and
you
were there—someone he doesn’t entirely trust right now.”

Tyse studied her for several seconds. “So…you
really didn’t take offense to how he acted? That’s how he normally regards you?”

“No, I’m saying it had nothing to do with
me
. I think he’s stressed about a few things lately and you making an arrival in his world has him rattled.”

Tyse was quiet for quite a while as Melanie drove and she could tell he was deep in thought. Finally he said, “I think you’re wrong, actually.”

She glanced at him curiously. “About what? I’m not wrong about much when it comes to Jay.”

“I’m sure that’s true,” Tyse smiled. “But I don’t think you’re weighing the facts the right way. I only know a little bit about his personality, but maybe that’s why I can read this better. Yeah he’s rattled, but it’s about
you
, Melanie.”

They were just pulling down Jay’s street and Tyse’s words kind of hit her in a funny way. All this time she’d kept a certain secret to herself, but even without Tyse stating it out loud, she knew exactly what he was talking about and didn’t even pretend she wasn’t clued in.

“Jay isn’t the type to get serious about anyone,” she said. “Just ask him.”

“What if he says one thing but feels another?”

Damn, why did he have to specifically state out loud what she already hoped?

With a sigh Melanie pulled up to Jay’s house and
shut the engine off. “Have you ever been in a situation in your life where one decision meant it would either make you or break you? Something great could happen, or just the complete opposite and leave you with nothing?”

“Uh, like coming here to California to meet a family I never knew I had?” he smiled.

Melanie smiled too and nodded her agreement. “Gotcha. So we are both pretty much at the mercy of Jay McCallan.” She got out of the car and shut the door.

It took Tyse a few seconds longer, but when he did, he was studying her carefully
again. “I see the similarities to our situations with him, but you have options,” he said as they walked up the driveway together. “His feelings for you are plain as day.”

“Plain as day?” she narrowed her eyes at him. Then she motioned to her stomach and added, “You realize there’s kind of something that changes things, right?
Jay has plans and
this
is not a part of it.”

Tyse
stopped and faced her. “You’re saying he’s got an issue with you being pregnant?”

He looked utterly disgusted, and whe
reas Melanie felt somewhat relieved that Tyse disregarded that as a factor, it only complicated things more.

“Some people aren’t as accepting of things like you may be,” Melanie told him. “And I understand that. I made choices that got me in trouble and I’m willing to accept everything that comes from it. Do I wish things were different? Yes, sometimes. But I have faith that there is something good in my future. I’m not sure what, but I can’t regret past choices when I still have a future to live.”

Tyse slowly smiled and shook his head. “You’ve got your head on straight
now
. It’s obvious. And if Jay can’t see that, he’s a fucking idiot. I’m sorry for saying that about my own brother, but it’s true.”

“Jay’s not an id
iot. He’s just afraid of him
self
. Once you get to know him, you’ll realize that he is afraid of
letting people down
. We are good friends, yes, and we’ll always be good friends. But he won’t commit to more than that because he doesn’t realize his potential.
I
see it in Jay, but
he
doesn’t. At least not in the broader spectrum. He has business goals and he has confidence that he will achieve them, but he doesn’t see that he would be amazing at a myriad of other things as well. But…I would
never
hold him back from his dreams. Never.”

“I
didn’t say that, Melanie. I only meant that you’re selling yourself short, as well. You’re worth any changes in his life that he would have to make. He just doesn’t get it yet.”

Melanie sighed, grateful for his support.
And then she hugged him because she felt it was necessary. “Thank you, Tyse. I so needed to hear something like that today.”

“Well it’s the truth,” he replied, hugging her back. “I think you two have a ways to go, but I can see it for sure.”

She lightly laughed. For some reason his confidence didn’t quite reach her own heart and it hurt a little bit.

“Thanks—” she started to say, bu
t the rumble of an engine close by startled her and she pulled away from Tyse just in time to see Jay screech into the driveway next to them. Her heart immediately sank even lower the second she saw how pissed he looked, but he barely glanced at them as he climbed out of the Nova
and slammed the door behind him.