Jason's Princess: A King Brothers Story (2 page)

“Eggs and bacon. Do you want me to help? I could mix the eggs for you.” Before she could reply he was up and into the ice chest again grabbing what he needed for scrambled eggs. He tossed her the package of bacon. She opened it up and started putting slices into the hot skillet on the small, two-burner camp stove. She could make it all in one pan since the old fashioned percolator was happily perking away on the second burner.

As the smell of coffee and bacon filled the air, Lauren hurried out of her tent and down to the bathrooms. The campground was outfitted with plumbing, so they had flush toilets and showers. Julie knew Lauren wouldn’t be wasting time on a shower though, not when a cool swim in the crystal clear mountain lake was a few feet away.

When Julie’s best friend in the world returned they all sat down in front of the fire to eat. They watched the Kings’ boat pull Jason to shore. It looked like Josh was at the wheel, Julie noticed, and Jarod was sitting in the back with the bright red/orange flag handy in case Jason bit it. She, Lauren and Josh had been in the same class in school. Josh was Jason’s youngest brother and a sweetheart when he wasn’t stealing the virtue of unsuspecting women or pummeling some jerk for doing the same. The brothers didn’t tolerate disrespect of any kind and would use their fists to pound their point home. But Josh was the sweetest out of the three; he was just as much her best friend as Lauren, who thought the same of him.

As the boat slowed down to do the drive by along the treelined shore, Jason let go of the rope and smoothly coasted into the beach on one ski. It was then that Julie noticed that their camp was right next to theirs. Yep, he was definitely stalking her.

“You guys up for some skiing?” was Jason’s way of saying hello. Honestly, the guy was so arrogant that she almost couldn’t stand it. She had seen him every single day since King Construction got the new shopping center deal. She had parked her food truck,
Cafe Armstrong
, near the site the day they broke ground knowing that it would be a steady source of income for the next 18 months or so. Jason had come to her order window that first day and everyday thereafter. If he wasn’t such a fine specimen, she would refuse service but he had been a perfect gentleman, so she tolerated his efforts to get on her good side. Unfortunately for Jason, she was a grudge holder and she just could’t let go of the past.

Charlie tossed his paper plate and napkin in the fire and stood up. “I’m in Jason,” he said, as he ran over to the tattooed god. Jason smiled and clapped him on the back.

He looked at Julie and Lauren. “There’s room for you guys. Josh has a new wakeboard he wants to try out if you girls are interested. The water is like glass right now.”

“Jason King, didn’t your mother teach you and your bullying brothers any manners? You guys were out there at the butt-crack of dawn waking up the whole lake with that behemoth boat of yours. Geez.” Lauren complained. Obviously, the boat had woken her up as well.

“Go get your suit on, Sleepyhead. The lake will do your disposition some good,” he laughed at Lauren. He gave Julie his killer smile and said, “Hop to it, Jujyfruit. You’re wastin’ daylight.” He was already turning to help Charlie with the vest when Julie rolled her eyes.

“He’s called you that ever since we were kids. You have to admit that it’s kind of cute,” Lauren said as she skipped over to the tent to change.

“Give it a rest, would you? I’m not getting involved with him.”

“I wasn’t aware that he’s asked you to ‘get involved’ with him.” she tisked. “I’ve never really understood why you don’t like him. He’s never been mean to you, he’s always a perfect gentleman and deep down Jason is a really good guy. Look at how he treats Charlie! A lot of women think he’s a prince charming. AND…he’s first in line to take over King Construction, since Jarod got into law enforcement. You should at least attempt to be polite to the man.”

“Fine, I’ll be polite. For Charlie’s sake,” she emphasized. “But, as far as what the other women in town think, they know that Jason doesn’t date. If we lived in merry ol’ England in the 1800’s, he would be described as a ‘confirmed bachelor’. That’s no Prince Charming in my book, Lauren.” Julie walked into her tent to change her clothes and her mood. She didn’t want to think about whether or not Jason was Prince Charming. She didn’t want to think about him at all. Her life was her life and she wouldn’t cry about it. Charlie came first and that was how it was going to be until he went to college, God willing.

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Jason couldn’t keep the satisfied smile off his face as he helped Julie into the boat. He was a little surprised that she had accepted the invitation but he knew it was mainly because Charlie would be trying the wakeboard. He wasn’t insulted by it. The deep love she had for her brother was just one of the many things that he loved about her.

Something had clicked inside Jason the first time he laid eyes on Julie Armstrong and it had stuck with him all these years, called to him like a siren. Unfortunately, the feeling was not mutual. He could live with that and, in fact, he did live with it everyday. Not wanting to ruin the morning with his wimpy, melancholy feelings, he shook off those thoughts and concentrated on this rare time of recreation with her.

As Josh slowly motored his way to deeper water, Julie and Lauren settled themselves in the open bow. Jarod went over some wakeboard tips with Charlie while Jason got the rope ready. The big MasterCraft ski boat had a padded stern for easy access into the water. Charlie sat there at the ready, hanging on Jarod’s every word, excitement etched on his handsome, teenage face.

“Once you’re in the water, Jason will throw the line to you. The wakeboard is different than the ski, as your body is pulled to the side and not the front. You’ll naturally want to turn your feet forward but try to remember to keep them parallel to your shoulders. Got it?”

Jason watched his protege answer in the affirmative with a shit-eating grin spreading from one dimple to the other. The kid was eager, he would give him that. Charlie was also headstrong, something Jason understood, which made him worry that Charlie had something in mind that he wasn’t admitting to anyone else.

“Please be careful, Charlie.” Julie had slipped into the back of the boat to settle on the seat with the red flag. Jason immediately felt her nearness. He took deep breaths to maintain his focus on Charlie.

“He’ll be fine, Julie,” Jason said to her. Then he turned to Charlie with a look that brooked no argument, “Won’t you?”

Charlie grinned and nodded his head. Jason just raised his eyebrow. Yeah, the little shit was up to something, which made Jason grin. He loved that kid almost as much as he loved Julie.

When the boat stopped, Charlie jumped in, flicked his wet hair out of his face and signaled to Jason for the rope.

After catching the rope, he yelled, “Hit it!”

Josh throttled down and Charlie popped out of the water like a cork.

Jason was impressed, but not surprised. The boy had always been athletic. When Julie and Charlie lost their parents, Jason’s family had been shocked and worried that Charlie would be orphaned. Julie had surprised them all. At 20, she had stepped up and made the best home she could for the kid but Jason knew he would need a strong male influence around. Billy, Julie’s boyfriend at the time, wasn’t a suitable role model for Charlie. So Jason took on the responsibility. He made sure to volunteer his time to any sports teams Charlie was interested in and had taken him out in the boat for ski lessons. He wasn’t too worried about Charlie getting hurt because he knew the boy’s capability.

He glanced at Julie and wondered how Charlie would’ve turned out if Billy was still around. Jason could never stand that weasel and could never understand Julie’s attraction to the creep. He didn’t regret threatening bodily harm and getting him out of their lives, even though it had cost him Julie’s affections. Jason was there for her whether Julie wanted him to be or not. That was all that mattered right now.

When a shout from Julie had the hair on the back of his neck standing up, Jason knew Charlie had been hurt. Everyone went into action at once. Julie kept her red caution flag high in the air alerting other watercraft that there was a man down in the water. Her eyes never left her brother. Lauren had stood up and was now helping Josh guide the boat at the wheel, while Jarod got an extra floatation device ready. Jason jumped in the water to get to Charlie, who floated lifelessly.

Jason’s heart was in his throat as he cradled Charlie’s head, keeping his face out of the water. He was breathing but he had a gash on his forehead that was bleeding profusely. Jarod leaned down to grab Charlie by the shoulders of his vest while Jason gained leverage on the bottom rung of the small ladder that was attached to the stern, pushing Charlie out of the water from the bottom.

“Oh my God, Charlie!” Julie immediately tried to wipe the blood from his face.

Charlie groaned and Jason let out a relieved breath. He removed the board from his feet and examined him for more injuries.

“Hey buddy. Open your eyes.” Jason gently tapped his cheek. Charlie groaned again and tried to squint.

“How’d it look?” he asked hoarsely.

Puzzled, Jason asked, “How’d what look?”

“The 360. I know I messed up the landing but did I complete the rotation?”

Julie set back on her heels in a huff while the men began to chuckle.

“You rocked the rotation but the landing really took our breath away,” Jarod deadpanned. “No, don’t sit up yet. Let’s get this bleeding slowed down first. Then we’ll get the smelling salts for your sister. She looks a little green.”

“Not funny, Jarod! I think I’ve aged ten years.”

“I’m fine, Sis, it’s just a scratch.”

“I don’t know, Charlie. That wound looks a little deep to me. What do you think, Jarod?” Jason asked his older brother.

“He needs a stitch or two to close this up. Let’s get back to camp. I’ve got some butterfly strips in my bag to hold him together until we can get him to the doc.”

Even though her hands were shaking, Jason noticed how Julie let them take charge of the situation, sitting quietly with Charlie. He was afraid she would try to argue or blame him for the injury but she just stayed with Charlie making him as comfortable as possible while Josh slowly moved the boat back to camp.

Once they were on shore, everyone moved in different directions. Jarod retrieved his bag and the butterfly strips, Jason and Josh helped Charlie sit still for Jarod’s ministrations, while Julie and Lauren grabbed dry clothes for Charlie’s ride to the emergency room.

Jason had just got Charlie in his truck when Julie returned with her brother’s clothes. “What are you doing?”

Here it comes, Jason thought. “Just get in the truck and I’ll drive you to the ER.”

“Jason, you don’t need to go with us. I’ve got this,” she argued.

“I won’t ask again, Jujyfruit. Keep him comfortable if you must, but you’re too shaken to drive anywhere.” He knew she was on an adrenalin rush and shouldn’t be driving. There was no way he was going to let her risk them both after the scare Charlie had given everyone.

“If you hadn’t followed me out here this weekend, he wouldn’t have been behind that boat getting his head bashed in!”

Charlie put his hand to his ears and glared at his sister. “It’s not Jason’s fault, Julie. And stop yelling. My head is killing me.”

That shut her up. Jason gave her a pointed look and was relieved when she got in the truck. As they drove off, Jason realized that it WAS his fault. He had taken his eyes off of Charlie for one second, distracted by Julie’s presence. He had seen the look of determination on Charlie’s face as he jumped in the water and knew in his heart that the kid would try something crazy. So much for staying focused this weekend and having a good time. At least he would get to spend some more time with her on the way to the ER. Crap, he really had it bad.

CHAPTER 2

CAFE ARMSTRONG

On Monday morning, Julie parked Cafe Armstrong in her normal spot across the street from the construction site. Crews were already there working. As she began prepping the small kitchen for the breakfast crowd, she wondered what she would say to Jason when he showed up. The camping trip had ended early and the road trip back to camp had been a quiet one after they left the ER. She was on autopilot thinking of him now, while making his regular order of breakfast sandwich on wheat toast, smoked gouda, fried egg with the yokes broken and three crisp strips of bacon.

“How’d Charlie do this morning?” Jason asked, startling Julie from her thoughts. She turned to see his bright green eyes, which always reminded her of emeralds, staring at her from the window.

“It was a rough start, but he made it out the door on time. Wild horses couldn’t keep that kid from school,” she said with pride, passing the green-eyed stalker his sandwich through the window. An electric shock ran up her arm when Jason’s fingertips touched the back of her hand. He grinned that wicked smile of his and then took a huge bite. She rolled her eyes at him before handing him his coffee. He was always the first to arrive in the morning, so they were still alone. It had become a ritual of sorts and was disturbingly comforting. She turned back to the small galley to continue her morning preparations. She really didn’t want to like Jason, especially not after what he did to Billy.

“Why do you do that?” he asked.

Startled, she answered his question with one of her own. “Do what?”

Softly, he said, “Pretend I’m not here.”

She’d never heard him speak that way; he was always so autocratic and confident. Turning to face him, she saw something unsure in his beautiful, green eyes. She’d only seen that look once before, years ago as he was being ushered out of Fun Park by security.

She took a calming breath and said, “I can never pretend you’re not here, Jason. I just need to get ready for the morning rush. Was there something else you needed?” She figured that the uncomfortable tension would disappear if she stuck to being all business. Instead, she saw disappointment in his face before he masked it with a smile.

“No. I’ll let you get back to it. I’ll see you at lunch.” He tossed his paper cup and napkin in the waste can she always put out for her customers. He slipped his sun glasses in place before he walked back across the street to his trailer. His stride was just as confident and sure as it always was, but she had known him long enough to notice that his gait was slower. Seeing him like that cracked the hard shell of animosity she felt towards him. However, it wasn’t a big enough breach for her to do anything about it.